By Nicole Hunt
Ontario NDP candidate Will Murray was propelled into politics after winning a court battle in 2004 that ensured that mentally ill suspects would be sent to hospitals instead of jails – a decision he says has been ignored by the McGuinty government.
“I couldn’t believe that the government wouldn’t care,” the veteran lawyer says. “And I’m convinced they’re not pushing for fairness and they are unworthy of the public trust.”
Born in Ottawa and educated in Toronto, Manitoba and London, England, Murray has been a lawyer for over a decade and would like to make a difference in people’s lives on a permanent basis.
The most important issue for Murray is making sure that cities such as Ottawa get a fair deal.
“The government promised $200 million to Ottawa for transit, and then gave Toronto and Hamilton $17.5 billion,” Murray says. “Ottawa is not getting a fair deal.”
Murray says there is no stable funding to make the changes Ottawa needs to cope with its problems. He notes that the $200 million would not even fund two kilometres of the tunnel Ottawa needs to build through the city.
Murray says he is frustrated with provincial dollars going towards countless reports that state exactly what the city needs.
“We need a 48-bed treatment centre for youth,” he says. “I’m not interested in any more delays.”
Instead of addressing what Murray calls the “privatization creep” in health care, McGuinty has focused on hospital waiting times, statistics that Murray says have been manipulated.
Likewise, he contends that there is a real problem in the public education system that is being masked by the controversy over faith-based funding.
“We don’t need to weaken the public education system further. We need to make the system work, to fix the problems,” he says. They are playing politics with children’s education.”
Another issue Murray says the current government is not serious about is affordable housing. Murray says there should be more NDP members in parliament to put the problem on the agenda.
Murray says smaller parties would prioritize issues like affordable housing if the electoral reform being proposed on October’s ballot is approved. He says the move towards list candidates would see better representation for those who do not vote Liberal or Conservative.
“It will be a more accurate reflection of the democratic will. We can’t allow good ideas to wither and die.”