Meet the Candidates: John Northey, Green

John Northey wants to make sure the provincial government isn't wasteful, whether it be environmentally or financially.

The Thunder Bay-Atikokan Green Party candidate said armed with degrees in statistics and economics, he has the experience and education needed to watch over government spending.

"And ensuring that our government is being run in an efficient fashion as opposed to the current method," the 44-year-old father of three said.

"We hate to see waste in any area."

With a background in computers, Northey said there's no way as an MPP he could be fooled into thinking putting together a batch of databases, referring to the e-health scandal, would cost $1 billion.

"That just blew my mind when that occurred," he said.

Health care, along with education, are two of the main reasons Northey said he's running for provincial office. Like most people, he's seen loved ones in long-term care and thinks there's a better way.

"I watch what's going on and it scares me. I worry about the health care of everyone in this province about and the sustainability," he said.
Getting people to stay in their homes is the cheapest method for health care. It's also the most preferred.

"Who doesn't want to stay in their home as long as they possibly can," Northey said.

It could also alleviate gridlock and prevent the spread of disease at hospitals.

On the Ring of Fire Northey said the province needs to plan long-term. Uncertainty in government policy has led to the industry scaling back work in the Ring of Fire in recent years.

"That's no good for anybody," Northey said.

And rail is the better option. Roads will be costly not only financially but having trucks speed through small communities won't make those places safer.

"That'll be dangerous for their families and those communities," he said. 

The city would know whether it had provincial funding for its proposed event centre already with a Green government instead of the hap-hazard case-by-case funding model in place right now Northey said. A stable funding system that cities can rely on is needed.

"No one knows if it's going to get through the provincial government or not and that's ridiculous. This is a waste of time and resources for everyone."