After weeks of promises and guarantees, the provincial election is finally in the home stretch. Residents of Pickering will be paying close attention to Thursday’s vote, that also includes Mayor Dave Ryan.
This isn’t Ryan’s first rodeo — he’s been mayor of Pickering since 2003.
Ryan shares similar concerns ahead of election day to those of Pickering residents.
“They’re very much concerned for jobs, for affordable housing, they’re concerned about health care and concerned about transit,” Ryan said.
When it comes to jobs, Ryan says it’s a team effort between all three levels of government.
“We can’t actually create jobs, that’s a misconception that many people have — governments don’t create jobs, we create the environment for jobs, and the market actually creates those jobs,” Ryan said.
Some jobs that could be affected are the 4,500 at the Pickering Nuclear Generating Power Station.
On May 22, Ontario NDP Leader Andrea Horwath in reference to the Pickering power plant said, “We will begin the decommission process immediately.”
Ontario PC Leader Doug Ford responded, “I want to be clear with you today, we will keep Pickering open until 2024.”
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The Pickering power station generates 14 per cent of the province’s energy.
Ryan says the plant, which can be operational until 2024, can’t just be shut down tomorrow.
“We’ve grown up around the plant. When the plant was commissioned, we were a population of 18,000. We’re a population of 100,000 today and I think that tells the tale, so when we get used as a bit of a political football, as the representative of this municipality, it annoys me,” said Ryan.
Durham Live is also front and centre for Ryan. It’s been a back-and-forth battle between two municipailities as well as the government. Ryan says that residents shouldn’t be worried about changes for something that has already been approved.
“How many times have the government who comes into power actually reversed the actions of the government previously in power on a grand scale? Very, very few,” said Ryan.
Regardless of who emerges victorious on election day, Mayor Ryan says he’s intent on working with them to ensure Pickering’s interests are well represented at the legislature, working with Ontario’s new premier.
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