By Greg Dunlop
The McGuinty Liberals’ “revolving door” of justice is to blame for the capital’s rise in drug related offences, graffiti and aggressive panhandling says the Progressive Conservative party candidate for Ottawa Centre.
Trina Morissette rejects the notion that Ottawa is as safe as it could be, pointing towards local unresolved murders and recent sexual assaults as evidence.
“Statistics may give some comfort,” says the 34-year-old lawyer. “But we must be prepared to listen to our community and to their concerns as opposed to telling them they should feel safe because of a number. People do not feel as safe as they should.”
She argues the McGuinty Liberals have been soft on crime and argues it is time to see the justice system get tougher on criminals with a ‘zero tolerance’ approach to crime.
Growing up in the small, bilingual Northern Ontario towns of Herst and Sturgon Falls, Morissette says she grew up knowing the importance of giving back.
After studying undergraduate criminology then graduating from law school at the University of Ottawa, in 1998 she was employed by her local Liberal MPP for 12 months.
Later, she went to work for the Minister of Labour as a policy advisor, becoming a member of the Progressive Conservatives in 2000.
In hindsight, Morissette says the Liberal party lacked vision and leadership.
After campaigning in the 2003 election for the Progressive Conservative party she has since returned to private practice in a bilingual law firm.
In early September she took a leave of absence from the firm to campaign full time.
An advocate of faith-based school funding, Morissette argues Catholics should not receive publicly funded benefits denied to members of other religions.
“What we’re proposing is to include these faith based schools into the public system,” she says.
Morissette argues proposed changes would simply be consistent with the six other provinces who’ve already implemented faith based school funding.
An opponent of electoral reform she says she has serious concerns about there being representatives appointed by a party rather than being elected. There’s a lack of accountability there, she argues.
Morissette says she would like to see more recycling and more education around recycling so that children grow up knowing the benefits of responsible waste management.
“We’re right in the heart of the city,” she says. “Waste management is an issue. We don’t want these huge landfills.”
She says she would fight to clean up coal-fired power plants and push for a nuclear powered Ontario.
Morissette says if she is elected she’d like to rejuvenate Bank Street and ‘kick-start’ the local economy.
“I have the energy,” she says of her leadership ability. “I know how Queen’s Park works and I’m not just a talker.”