Education Matters Online
Feature

Volume 1, Issue 2: June 16, 2003

Chris Bentley - London West

I live in London West with my wife, Wendy, and our two daughters. I have been part of the London community since 1967. After graduating from Sir Frederick Banting Secondary School and attending the University of Western Ontario, I received my law degree from the University of Toronto Law School in 1979. I later obtained a one-year masters level degree from Cambridge University, England.

I have been practicing criminal and labour law for more than twenty years and have also taught part-time at the UWO Law School since 1992.

My community involvement includes being on the organizing committee and the first chairperson of Neighbourhood Legal Services London & Middlesex, a legal clinic established in London in 1985 to assist low income clients. I also run, and have been a regular participant in the 24 Hour Relay to raise funds for London’s hospitals. I have completed three Boston marathons.

London West needs a strong voice at Queen's Park. We must have a representative who will help to build the community we want by focusing on our community’s priorities. Those priorities include a strong publicly-funded education system, excellent public health care for all, the assurance of clean air and water and an effective government. An effective government solves problems, it does not create them, and it does not attempt band-aid measures just before an election. It combines good management with a caring and compassionate approach to those in difficult circumstances.

Liberals believe that educators are professionals, and you deserve our respect for the work that you do. We will be cancelling the re-certification requirement. We are committed to a strong, publicly-funded education system, and will be cancelling the private school tax credit. Our program provides for substantial reinvestment in education, and for stable, long-term funding. Our Best Start program will make high quality child care available and affordable for our youngest learners. The Liberal education program recognizes the importance of education to our children, our future, and to the society in which we all live.

I have never hesitated to speak up for those I represent, and I intend to speak up for London West and for the community we want.

Source: Chris Bentley

Brian Brown - Oxford

Brian Brown, Liberal candidate for Oxford, is a small business owner, a former educator, and an active community leader for whom agriculture, small business, health care, families, education, and the environment are priorities.

Brian describes himself as “a husband, a dad, a new grandpa, a small business owner, a wilderness canoeist, a church member, a concerned environmentalist, and a passionate Liberal.”

Always active in the community, Brian plays leadership roles in the Woodstock Canoe Club, Embro’s Thistle Theatre, St. David’s United Church, the Woodstock Recreational Advisory Committee, the Women’s Emergency Centre, the Ontario Recreational Canoeing Association, and Charles Dickens’ Christmas Carol readings which raise money for emergency shelters and food banks in Oxford. 

He is a frequent speaker at Town Hall meetings, an annual participant in the Terry Fox Run and a guest columnist for the Woodstock Sentinel-Review. He is co-chair of the United Way of Oxford, which last year exceeded its target of raising $701,600.

A Woodstock resident for most of his adult years, Brian was Head of English at College Avenue Secondary School until his retirement in 2001. He grew up in London, attending South Secondary School and the University of Western Ontario.

Brian and his wife and business partner, Laurel Rowbotham, have three grown children: Jason, Matthew and Tricia. Brian and Laurel own and operate an outdoor adventure business, “Laurel and Brian’s Wilderness Adventures,” guiding wilderness and white water canoe trips in northern Ontario, Quebec, and B.C.

Source: Brian Brown

Deb Matthews - London-North Centre

She was born in London North Centre, raised her three children here, and continues to live and work in the riding.

 Deb has been involved in a wide range of community organizations, including Big Sisters of London, Memorial Boys and Girls Club, Orchestra London and Thames Valley Children's Centre.

She also has extensive political experience, having volunteered at the riding level and at the provincial level in Liberal campaigns since 1975.

Deb's work experience is wide-ranging and includes business experience in the construction industry and, more recently, teaching at the University of Western Ontario where she has twice been awarded a place on the University Students' Council Teaching Honour Roll.

Currently, Deb is completing the final year of her PhD in social demography.

Source: http://www.debmatthews.ca/

Steve Peters - Elgin-Middlesex-London

Dear OSSTF District 11 members:

Thank you for this opportunity to introduce myself and provide you with information on the Ontario Liberal party.

My name is Steve Peters. I am the Member of Provincial Parliament for the riding of Elgin-Middlesex-London. I am a graduate of Arthur Voaden Secondary School in St. Thomas and the University of Western Ontario where I earned a Bachelor of Arts degree with a history major.

I was first elected to public office as a member of St. Thomas City Council in 1988 and went on to be elected mayor in 1991. Re-elected as mayor in both 1994 and 1997, I served on all city committees and many outside boards and agencies.

Elected as an M.P.P. in 1999, I was first appointed as the disabilities critic and later moved to the agriculture portfolio in September 2000.

You can learn more about my background by visiting my website at http://www.stevepeters.com. You can also read all of my speeches in the Legislature and press releases released by my office by following the links on my website. The Elgin-Middlesex-London Provincial Liberal Association (EMLPLA) also has an election-orientated site at http://www.stevepeters.ca. 

The Ontario Liberals have a very detailed and exciting plan for education called "Excellence For All". The entire document, as well as all of the rest of our policies, can be found on the EMLPLA website www.stevepeters.ca.

Here is what our "Excellence for All plan does:

Thank you again for the opportunity to tell you more about the Ontario Liberals and myself. Please call my office any time if you require any further information.

Sincerely,
Steve Peters, M.P.P.
Elgin-Middlesex-London

Source: Steve Peters

Khalil Ramal - London-Fanshawe

Thank you for the opportunity to introduce myself.  Many of you already know my commitment to educators in this district and the province.  As a former teacher and social service counselor I understand the sacrifices those in education make for their students.  The school is a community and all of you who work in education are leaders of that community.  The Liberals are committed to creating an atmosphere of peace, stability and productivity for Ontario educators.   We realize the enormous pressures you have been under for the past several years and we are determined to repair the damage that Eves and the conservatives have done.

Our plan is clear and responsible.  We will reform the College of Teachers with the cooperation of teachers, eliminate teacher re-certification procedures, and reinvest new money into public education.  Where will this money come from?  Right now there is 500 million dollars in private investment for education.  The Eves government abandoned public education, created a crisis of unimaginable proportion, and then turned around and blamed all of you for the problems.  There is no accountability on the part of the conservatives and their cynicism has damaged the whole education system from the top down and the bottom up.

The Liberals and I will make public education a priority.  We will expand new programs and see to it that teachers and students feel good about education in Ontario.  We will create a system where educators feel they are equal partners not statistics in a poll.  As a small businessperson with a background in education I value the work of educators.  You are building a society of trained, intelligent, citizens to provide a stable future for our province and country.  Many do not recognize the tremendous impact you have on our children.  A Liberal government and I will work with teachers to see that you have all that you need to enrich the lives of our communities by educating our children.  Thank you to all of those who have been supporting my campaign.  To those who wish to discuss any concerns please call me at 668-0676.

Source: Khalil Ramal

Maria Van Bommel - Lambton-Middlesex-Kent

Teachers deserve the respect of their government. Over the 8 years they have been under attack by the Harris-Eves Tories.  With a Liberal government, I promise that will change.

I am Maria Van Bommel, Liberal candidate in Lambton-Kent-Middlesex.  The riding is predominantly rural with small towns of Petrolia, Forest, Wallaceburg and Strathroy.  The riding also includes five First Nations communities.

My multifaceted experiences make me the right choice for such a diverse riding.  Together with my husband Rene and five children, we own and operate a poultry farm near Strathroy.  I am also employed by the Ontario Federation of Agriculture which takes me into the farm communities on a daily basis.  I am heavily involved in my community as a volunteer, and am credited with the founding of Ontario's first provincial organization for women in farming.

My experience in health care comes from having served for nine years on the Strathroy Middlesex General Hospital Board.  I am the immediate past chair of the Middlesex Hospital Alliance which includes Four Counties Health Centre at Newbury and the Strathroy hospital.  I am currently a trustee on the Strathroy Hospital Foundation.  Municipally, I was a councillor for two terms in East Williams Township. 

In my role with OFA, I worked with parent groups who fought to keep schools open in Lambton-Kent in 1999-00, and then again with the Thames Valley Board and the St. Clair Catholic Board.

Unlike Mr. Eves, we believe teachers want to develop as professionals.  As part of our policy of respect, Dalton McGuinty has promised to introduce a more professional Ontario College of Teachers comprised mostly of working teachers.  We will leave it up to the College to set professional development standards, as is done by any other self-regulatory college in the province, and we will not interfere with its decisions.

Source: Maria Van Bommel

John Wilkinson - Perth-Middlesex

John Wilkinson, 44, lives in Stratford with his wife and three school-age children. He is a Certified Financial Planner and a founder of Wilkinson & Keller Financial Planning Ltd.  John is a Past President of the Perth-Huron Chapter of his professional association, Advocis.

John is best known for his record of community service.  He was an inaugural Board Member and first Chair of the Renaissance Campaign in support of the Discovery Centre, raising in excess of $1.5 million.  He is the youngest Past President and Senior Member of the Kiwanis Club of Stratford.  John currently serves as the Secretary of the Kiwanis Club of Stratford Charitable Foundation.  He is very active in his church, where he served 7 years as Finance Chair and oversaw a $700,000 renovation project.

John’s remarkable achievements on behalf of the Canadian Cystic Fibrosis Foundation are of special note.  In 2002, John was awarded both the national Foundations’ highest volunteer tribute, the "Julia Award" and was recently presented the Queen's Golden Jubilee Medal in recognition of his outstanding work for the Canadian Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.

John has been a life-long Liberal and a member of the Perth-Middlesex Provincial Liberal Association since its’ inaugural meeting in 1997.   He was acclaimed our candidate in September 2002 for the upcoming provincial election.

 In 2001, John served as President of the Riding Association, and previous to that, he was Vice President of Fundraising.   He continues to organize an annual Gala fundraiser centred around the Stratford Festival in support of the Ontario Liberal Party.  In 1999, John was our Candidate in the Provincial Election.

Source: http://www.perthmiddlesex.com/

District 11 PAC - Liberal Page

Contact information, membership information, riding maps and profiles can be found here. There are also links to the Liberal Party platforms, each candidate's campaign website, and the Ontario Liberal Party website.

Let us not take thought for our separate interests, but let us help one another.
(OSSTF Motto)

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