THUNDER BAY -- Christine Elliott doesn't claim to have all the answers.
But she says she's listening when it comes to concerns from municipalities and voters in the North.
In Thunder Bay for the second time in less than three months, the Whitby-Oshawa MPP and Progressive Conservative leadership candidate said what she's hearing is that the region needs better winter road maintenance for its highways and more action in the Ring of Fire.
"I'm really surprised that the Liberal government isn't taking it more seriously and really doing everything it can to expedite the process of approvals and so on that are necessary to open up this huge chromite resource," she said.
On municipal concerns, Elliott said as Premier she'd strike a balance to share costs between cities and the province. That at the very least takes communication, sitting down and talking it out. The same goes for problems the region is facing with MPAC reassessments cutting into tax revenue.
"I'm not going to tell you I have the magic formulas just yet but I know that it is a concern," she said.
"I think it's basic communication."
Elliott, along with candidate Lisa MacLeod, was in the city to meet with party members and anyone interested in getting involved with the PCs. The grassroots has always given their time, energy and money to the party but felt frustrated after getting shut out of policy decisions.
"We need to change the culture at the top," she said. "We failed them at the top level."
