MPP Yasir Naqvi
Ottawa Centre's freshly re-anointed MPP Yasir Naqvi talks with Centretown News political reporter Mashoka Maimona about minority government, the last election and his hopes for his next term in office.
Centretown News: The Liberals have lost some familiar faces. You have gained some new faces. You are now a “major minority.” How has the dynamic changed, going from being part of a majority government for four years to a minority?
Yasir Naqvi: The difference is only in the numbers. The talent is still there. We have elected some good new people. The camaraderie is still there between all the members. Our strong and experienced leader is there, Dalton McGuinty, which is incredibly important for the whole organization. One of the things the premier made very clear to all members of the caucus is that we have to work together. We have to make sure we collaborate with all parties. Our number one role is to serve Ontarians.
You have been very clear that collaboration is one of your own personal mandates. The slogan for the Ontario Liberal Party is “Forward. Together.” In this new term, will there be more collaboration with the opposition parties?
We always look at ways of collaborating, we always find ways to work together – to make sure all diverse interests are presented and are part of the debate. That is inherently the nature of the system. With the dynamics of the new numbers, it becomes even more imperative that all three parties collaborate. So there is going to be give and take on all sides, not just one party.
Speaking specifically about Ottawa Centre, are you looking to collaborate with the defeated candidates who ran alongside you in the race? Is that part of your mandate?
I’ve always sought to reach out. I did the same thing when I was elected four years ago. In fact, I was just in the process of writing a note to all of them, first thanking them for putting their name on the ballot – it is not the easiest thing to put your name on the ballot and to participate in that exercise. And secondly saying, “Let’s talk.” Everybody brought some really good ideas to the table. There were a lot of commonalities in the issues we were talking about. So I want to take the opportunity to harness that positive energy in the best interests of the community.
What are the specific issues you want to target and “harness” energy for in the community?
There are three things I articulated during the campaign, which I heard loud and clear from the community. One is around development issues – bringing the community’s point of view and role back into the discussion, and I presented very specific proposals in that regard. Secondly, the future of the LRT in the second phase. I’m of the view that the Ottawa River Parkway is not the place to build it. We should be focusing on Carling. There is some movement on that front, (and) there is work that needs to be done there. I’m also looking at the expansion of the O-Train to alleviate traffic congestion from Bank to Bronson. And lastly the Hintonburg Hub is another important issue all candidates agreed on. That is something I want to work on to ensure we secure the necessary funds so we can move along on that project.
During the ACORN debate, candidates brought up the dire statistics on the affordable housing waiting lists in Ottawa You said for the 350 families that moved into affordable housing units in Ottawa Centre, the numbers are not a “drop in the bucket.” What are your plans for tackling this issue?
I will continue to work very closely with the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing at the provincial level and with the City of Ottawa. There is money already in tune of about $25 million coming to the city over the next three years for affordable housing. My big focus is to have some of that in Ottawa Centre.
You have had a couple of weeks to digest what took place on Oct. 6 and in the weeks leading up to the election. Were you as surprised by the magnitude of your win as others?
I am very happy by the support I have received from the community. You never take any election for granted. I will never take my job for granted. I’m grateful to the community for putting their trust and confidence in me, for working along with me.
Internal polling didn’t give you a heads-up that you were leading by a larger margin than generally perceived?
The best polling during a campaign you do is going door to door. As you know, I’ve been doing this over the last four years. As I was going door to door, I was getting very positive feedback, very encouraging feedback for the ideas I was putting forward. And all of that is reflected in the results from Oct. 6.
You are known as a “tireless workhorse.” When you were working 12- to 18-hour days during the campaign, was there even a brief, hopeless moment you thought, “I might just lose this”?
I’m a very positive person. I’m an optimist. I believe in working hard. I never let negativity come into my mind, because it impacts your behaviour and how you relate to people. I have very little time during my long days to think about things that may be negative in nature.
Will you introduce a private member's bill on OMB reform?
I’m starting to explore different ways of managing the proposals I was talking about. Private member’s bill is one way of doing it. I want to see how best to ensure that it comes into play. So it could be changes in regulation, changes in policy, changes in directive. That is the next set of work that needs to be done – not only to work with community here, but also to start working within Queen’s Park, within the bureaucracy, within the ministry after the appointment. The private member’s bill is one way, but there are many other ways of doing things. Building alliances is another important way. I want to reach out to members in other parties as well, so we can find effective ways to achieve these reforms.
The warm-up period is over. You’re no longer a rookie MPP. How have you changed after four years of Queen’s Park?
I often said in the campaign, and I really meant it, that I’m more motivated running the second time around, simply because I saw the changes that one can bring in a mandate, how the potential of incredible power exists in working with the community to bring positive changes. Now after four years, I have a very good relationship built with the community. And I’m back at it. I’m already engaged. I’ve been out there talking since the day after I was elected – I have meetings already set up to start saying, “What are the next steps?” It’s like I never stopped. That’s what excites me – that I don’t have a learning curve to go through.
There is a tendency toward diffidence or hesitancy as a rookie politician, to adopt the position of a backbencher. Will you be more vociferous in Queen’s Park after four years of acquainting yourself?
I don’t think anyone will tell you I held back (laughs). I have a style. I’m not a confrontational guy. I am someone who believes in working with other people. I will always find ways to build bridges, to find that consensus, to find that middle ground where we can achieve things. I’m a collaborator, I’m a facilitator, and that’s the approach I will continue to take. Which means a lot of the time, you’re not up on your feet shouting from the top of the roof (in the legislature), but working behind the scenes in getting things done.
What is the direction you will take with your role as president of the Liberal Party of Ontario now?
The very first task is a post-mortem of the election – to do a thorough debrief to learn from what went well, what didn’t go well. Reaching out to those members of ours who were not successful, to the candidates who ran for the first time but didn’t win. We need to start devising the plan for the future – organizationally, to examine the ridings in which we were not successful to make sure we’re ready for the next election. The best starting point, to have a thorough conversation, is to examine the numbers on the ground.
What message do you think voters were sending when they reduced the Liberals to a minority government, removing four cabinet members?
There is a lot of time to do the punditry on the election results. What Ontarians have asked all of us is to really focus on jobs and economy – to really ensure all of us, especially the government, has a laser vision on helping grow this economy. One can argue that the composition of the house shows that the Ontarians have ensured the government remains attentive to that need.
What concessions do you think the Liberals will have to make to stay in government for another four years?
It’s too early to start talking about those things. I don’t want to pre-judge the intentions of all parties. I think there is a lot of good will – everybody wants to work together. The most prudent thing at this stage is to wait for the economic update from Minister Duncan. That will allow for a better guidance for where we need to move next.
Voter turnout in Ottawa Centre was not as low as the historically low provincial average, but it was still only 54 per cent. Is this an acceptable turnout?
This is very personal to me. You have often heard me tell my story. The big reason I’m a Canadian today is because there was no right to vote in the country I was born in. The crime that my father was imprisoned for, for nine months, was inciting people to have the right to vote. Yes, how absurd. So, when I see people avoiding the polls in an open and free democratic society like ours, it’s bothersome. People are giving their lives to vote in other parts of the world. I don’t think there is one big reason (people didn’t vote). Kudos to Elections Ontario for going out of their way to help people to vote. . . There was no excuse. There are a couple things that could have been a factor. One, people don’t feel there are any motivating issues for them to exercise their vote – so, a stamp on status quo. “All parties are tinkering on the margin and there is nothing drastic to impact my life” is the sense. Another point of view I heard was that none of the political parties were able to motivate to come out and vote. Or that media portrayed this election as a boring, lacklustre one. We’re seeing this trend at all levels of government. We need to find ways to turn this around.This is a national conversation we need to have.