BY GREG CHISHOLM
A local group used Ontario Premiere Kathleen Wynne’s visit to Oakville to stage a protest again her new carbon tax.
The protest, organized on the Facebook page, Ontario Proud, managed to attract over 100 people from around the province on a cold weekday morning to the Oakville Convention Centre. The crowd was vocal in their many voices chanting that Wynne needed to fix her mistakes and take accountability for her actions.
The Premier was in town at the invitation of both the Oakville Chamber of Commerce and the Burlington Chamber of Commerce and gave a speech about building up Ontario to empower the people.
Some of the biggest issues addressed in the protest were the carbon tax, the continuing scandals within the Liberal party and a very loud call from the Hamilton steel workers union to stop using U.S. based steel and focus more on local growth.
Jeff Ballingall is the founder of the Facebook group Ontario Proud, which has more than 107,000 members from across the province and has garnered over 62,000 signatures on a petition to get Kathleen Wynne to resign.
“We’re a group of Ontarians from all over the province outraged by Kathleen Wynne’s hydro price, tax hikes and scandals. Kathleen Wynne is on her mistake/apology tour and were going to be going everywhere she goes and organizing against her to remind her that she is out of touch with regular people,” Ballingall explained.
He added “There is a reason she is the most unpopular politician in Canada and we’re here to remind her of that and it’s time for her to quit and time for some change in this province… When people are choosing between heating and eating, that’s not right.”
Many of the protesters were vocal and chanted for Wynne to resign as she arrived at the venue, entering through a side door under a veil of security guards.
Sheila and Nelson Labelle came down from Cambridge, to protest Wynne stating, “Wynne has to acknowledge that people in Ontario are not happy with what she is doing to us. There are people in Cambridge deciding if they’re going to pay their hydro bill or feed their families this month… How high does she think things can go?”
Imre Kenedi came down to protest. “We have a collection here of individuals, trade unions, and business owners who are all protesting today… she’s governing by the Liberal party, for the liberal party and ignoring the citizens of Ontario”
