Bruce-Grey-Owen Sound now has an Ontario NDP candidate in this month’s snap provincial election.
James Cameron Harris will campaign for the riding’s seat in the provincial legislature.
He tells Bayshore Broadcasting News “At the core of my being lies an impulse and a drive to help others.”
Harris adds, “When I’ve witnessed the corruption happening under Doug Ford. the privatization of our healthcare, the underfunding of our schools, the unfair tipping of the scales in favour of large corporations, the erosion of our labour rights, I could go on…When I see all of this, and when I was encouraged by the local riding to run for the NDP ticket, I saw this as an opportunity to work with a team in the Ontario NDP that is going in the same direction as I am. Where if people are hungry, we help put food on the table. Where people are sick, their needs are looked after and if they can’t find a home, work with all levels of government to create housing and when times are tough we come together as a community. That’s who we are as a people in the Bruce Grey Owen Sound, that’s who I find with Marit Stiles and the Ontario NDP.”
When looking at local issues, Harris says, “Healthcare is definitely on a lot of people’s minds this time around,” pointing to a long line of people in Walkerton who turned up to sign up with a new doctor in town last month.
He says, “That distresses me. But the NDP would ensure that all Ontarians would have a right to a primary care physician or a nurse practitioner in a timely manner.”
Harris adds, “I think housing is something many people are worried about as well. During the course of Doug Ford’s term as premier, we’ve all witnessed a massive increase in homelessness and the Ontario NDP would would in cooperation with municipalities and the federal government to create affordable and accessible cooperative and social housing. We just need that opportunity. You guys have got to get us there so we can do this.”
He says he’s less interested in guessing what the people in the riding are interested in, and more interested in getting out into Bruce-Grey -Owen Sound to listen to the concerns of the constituency here. That’s who we are with the NDP. we’re the party that listens to your concerns, we’re the New Democratic Party. We’re with you.”
“I want to be able to listen. To be able to hear what people have to say. That’s where my heart lies,” says Harris.
James Cameron Harris, who is 45, is from Owen Sound with roots in the are going back generations. He attended Keppel-Sarawak public school, and graduated from West Hill Secondary. He has worked in a number of industries, including sales, manufacturing and video production. He’s also a singer/songwriter.
A bio from the local Ontario NDP riding association says, “He has focused these last few years on contributing to local community-building efforts. These have included Solidarity Sundays, a weekly community gathering at the Harmony Centre in Owen Sound and Food Not Bombs, a community lead group that makes large communal meals together and is dedicated to working against environmental destruction, war, and poverty.”
Also running for the seat so far, are Ontario Liberal candidate Selwyn Hicks, Green Party candidate Joel Loughead and Progressive Conservative candidate Paul Vickers.
