By Lindsey Parry
Richard Patten says education cuts, the threat of school closures, and restabilising the health care system are the top issues in Ottawa Centre.
The current Liberal MPP says his party plans to “get creative” with excess space in smaller schools, opening up buildings to daycare, organizational training, and ESL students.
“We think that a small school is fine, that there’s nothing wrong with it,” he adds. “Now, at the end of the day, if space can’t be used up, then maybe close one or two schools . . . but certainly not the 15, 20, or 30 schools that the Conservatives are talking about. That would be extremely, extremely damaging. We’d redo their formula, and probably keep about 80 or 90 per cent of the schools in business.”
As an MPP, Patten has spoken on behalf of parents and trustees concerned with the impact of cuts to special education, which could affect up to 120,000 students in the Ottawa-Carleton region.
“If you start integrating kids with special needs into regular classrooms, they’ll still have special needs,” he says. “They’ll still need the extra time, will take up the time of the teacher, and then other kids will suffer.”
Patten has also vowed to restablize the health-care system. He names the Montfort Hospital as one institution in need of support.
“It’s the only one for the francophone community, very crucial and important to that community,” he says.
“It’s more than just a hospital; it’s a communications centre, a cultural centre, a symbol to a degree of who they are.”
Patten adds that his most important work in health care has been his personal involvement with the Schizophrenia Society of Ontario, and private member’s bills he presented to the legislature to make hospitals and professional medical workers more responsible for the rehabilitation of mentally ill patients.
Although the proposal is still under review for passing into law, the Conservatives have since made changing the Mental Health Act a part of their political platform.
As the Opposition critic for Housing, Privatization and Human Rights, Patten was also involved this past term in a Liberal initiative to increase social housing in the area.
Currently, Patten’s concern beyond the main campaign issues involve what he calls a weakening role of the MPP.
“I believe we in Ontario now have the most undemocratic jurisdiction in all of Canada,” he says. “Our legislature is sick, weak, and now geared towards the expediences of government.”