The leaders of Ontario's four main political parties will be in North Bay on Friday for a debate on northern issues.
Progressive Conservative Leader Doug Ford, NDP Leader Marit Stiles, Liberal Leader Bonnie Crombie and Green Party Leader Mike Schreiner have all confirmed their attendance at the debate hosted by the Federation of Northern Ontario Municipalities (FONOM).
"FONOM’s mission is to improve the economic and social quality of life for all Northerners and to ensure a prosperous future for our youth,” says FONOM president Danny Whalen.
“This debate provides an important opportunity for Northerners to hear directly from provincial leaders about the unique challenges and opportunities impacting our daily lives.”
The debate will begin at 1 p.m. and will be live-streamed on all Village Media websites, including this one. Reporters from our provincial politics bureau, The Trillium, will be on-site to cover the event.
It will be held at Canadore College in North Bay, but tickets to attend in person are already sold out.
Asked on Wednesday what she wants to talk about in the debate, Crombie said that the issues in the region are "similar" to those in the rest of Ontario, but "even more acute in northern communities, where even fewer family doctors reside."
"My priority will continue to be health care in this province, no matter where we host a debate or meet Ontarians," she said.
Schreiner said the issue he has heard the most about from both northern and southern Ontarians is "the affordability crisis driven by the housing crisis."
"Affordability challenges are even greater, oftentimes in northern and rural communities than in southern Ontario," said Schreiner.
"I've met with a number of businesses in the north who are having trouble hiring workers because their workers have no place to live, and that's because Doug Ford has failed to address the housing crisis."
Another debate is being planned for Family Day on Feb. 17, organized by a consortium of broadcasters including Global News, CBC, CTV, TVO, CHCH, CPAC, CityNews and CP24, and moderated by CBC host David Common.
All four major party leaders have confirmed their participation in this debate as well.
