Sudbury, Nickel Belt NDP candidates introduce northern platform

The Ontario New Democratic Party candidates for Sudbury and Nickel Belt touted the party's northern Ontario platform on Friday, after it was unveiled by leader Andrea Horwath in Thunder Bay.

Similar events were held by NDP candidates in other ridings in the north.

The platform includes a $19 billion investment in health care for new facilities, repairs and upgrades, as well as $1 billion toward the Ring of Fire mining operation.

The party also promises to improve travel by making winter road maintenance public and bringing back the Northlander train.

Lowering gas and hydro prices, keeping northern and rural schools open, and establishing a "government-to-government" relationship with First Nations were also highlighted in the platform.

Sudbury candidate Jamie West, and Nickel Belt candidate and MPP France Gelinas said in a media release the platform would bring "long-needed change to families and communities" in both ridings.

"For twenty years, consecutive Liberal and Conservative governments have ignored our northern communities where cuts to services have made overcrowding and hallway medicine the norm in our hospital," West said.

West told reporters in Sudbury on Friday the hospital system is the issue that speaks the loudest to him.

"We cannot have a hospital system where people are waiting in hallways and not having adequate patient care, and that needs to be fixed immediately."

Gelinas said that services many Nickel Belt communities rely on are no longer available.

"Wynne stood by and did nothing while our schools closed and little kids are put on hour long bus rides," she said in the release.

Gelinas added the school is the heart of the community for many small communities, when speaking with reporters.

"Once you close the school it is really like a recipe for this community to die, and I have seen this over and over and over."