Treated Like A "Colony"

The Northern Ontario Party has been getting a lot of press lately, including a couple mostly-complimentary write-ups in several national newspapers. Our message is getting out and things can only get better as more and more Ontario voters find out what we're all about.

That said, there is one legitimate question the various media raise: Why does our party fail to address "French or Native issues"?

With a few minor exceptions the NOP platform does not lay out any specifics for appealing to these groups, addressing their grievances, or solving their problems. According to our detractors this is a glaring failure. All the traditional parties have extensive plans for our province's minority groups—sweeping promises, billions in new spending, and more government feature prominently. The Liberals, NDP, and PC all boast how they will fix things.

And that is where we fundamentally differ. We do not view our French and Native neighbours as things in need of fixing. That's colonial thinking.

Rather than tell these people what we're going to do for them, we prefer to work with them. The NOP believes asking questions is better policy than dictating terms. Northern Ontario knows first hand how demeaning and frustrating such treatment feels—our region has been marginalized that same way for decades!

So yes, our party's platform is light on solutions to the "French and Native problems". For us there are just Northern Ontario problems. After all we're in this together.

Giving the North, all of the North—regardless of race, language, or political affiliation—a voice is our founding principle. If that means forming a new province then we will fight for that. If it means serving at Queen's Park then we will go to Toronto and take the fight to them. It's time for a change.

Don't let the traditional parties dictate our future. Remember: together we stand, divided we fall.

Thank you kindly.