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Home , 42nd Canadian Parliament, Neil Ellis (politician)

Photojournalism Program Edition

Vol. 47 · Issue #4 Thursday, Oct. 22, 2015 Loyalist College · Belleville, ON · Canada

Neil Ellis heads to

By Gretchen Chi, Robyn Hertz, Lindsay Leveque and Charles Vilagut

Liberal candidate Neil Ellis, 46, clenched his position as the first Member of Parliament for the new Bay of Quinte riding Monday night. Ellis, alongside his team of family, volunteers and supporters, gathered Oct. 19 at the Empire Theatre in Belleville to watch as election ballots were counted for the 42nd Canadian parliament. “Just fantastic, you see the people here, the people that helped me, not only family and friends, but peo- ple I’ve never met before.” Ellis praised those who volunteered in helping his campaign. “Our support, we broke 50 per cent, which speaks volumes to the team I had out there. We had a lot of volunteers that got behind me, a lot of people put signs on the lawns, people donated to the campaign. It’s a good feeling tonight.” Out of a total of 241 polls, Ellis took the Bay of Quinte riding with 27,795 votes (50.6 per cent of all ballots casted), beating Conservative member Jodie Jenkins with 18,844 votes (34.3 per cent). member Terry Cassidy came in third with 7,081 votes (12.2 per cent), Ra- chel Nelems finished with 1,278 votes (2.2 per cent) for the , and independent party, True- man Tuck finished last with a mere 350 votes (0.6 per cent). With the change to a majority government, there are to be new ideas put into play and a re-evaluation of the way certain laws work within Canada as a country and communities themselves within their municipal government. This is something Mark Rashotte, owner of the Empire Theatre, will be look- ing for. “I think it’s good for a change, everybody wanted a change, we got a change so now it’s up to team Trudeau to show everybody what they’re made of,” said Rashotte. Ellis, former mayor of Belleville for eight years, has had the experience and now the knowledge to put the community’s most relevant issues first. “Neil has the experience being the municipal leader, and he knows that our number one problem is infrastructure, so it’s going to be very good. He’s going to have a direct line to Ottawa to get us more financial assistance for infrastructure,” said Belleville Mayor Taso Christopher. Diane Raniowski is also happy to see the former mayor win the election. “He started building the Belleville community when he was the major of Belleville. He did a lot to bring change to the community. Now he will build the whole of the Bay of Quinte riding,” she said. Among the participants at the event at the Em- pire was Aruna Alexander, the founder of United Nations Association (UNAC) Quinte Branch. As a loyal supporter of the Liberal party, Alexander is an active volunteer who promotes the campaign un- conditionally. Alexander said the United Nation Association has been receiving help from the Liberal party for the last 20 years. She said she thinks the Liberal win will bring positive changes to UNAC Quinte branch. “I’m really pleased with this result,” said Alex- ander after Ellis’s speech at Empire Theatre. “They know our works, they understand our purposes. I can’t wait to see the real change.” She added that if the Liberal government keeps its promise to invest in youth job creation and co-op positions, it would not only help young Canadians Photo by Lindsay Leveque but would also give more chances to immigrants who The red wave hit the new riding of the Bay of Quinte Monday night when the former mayor of Belleville, Neil Ellis, was named the first member of want to start their personal and professional lives in Parliament. Ellis’ victory was yet another for the Liberal party on election night when was named the 23rd Canada. with a majority government. Ellis and his wife, Susan, took to the stage to speak to their supporters at the Empire Theatre on the election night. “We will witness this together,” said Alexander. Voter turnout also increased this election from 61.1 per cent in 2011 to 69.6 per cent. In recent Canadian Ellis, his wife Susan, and the rest of his family took “The way the election was run, Mr. Trudeau got The Liberal candidates for all three Quinte area federal elections, voter turnout has been declining. to the stage at the Empire Theatre in downtown Bel- stronger and stronger and our campaign stayed on ridings consisting of the Bay of Quinte riding, the “I would say that the Liberals did make quite a leville to address their supporters after all the votes message. It was probably one of the best campaigns, Hastings-Lennox and Addington riding and the large push to get the youth vote out,” said Zachary were counted. federally, that I have every witnessed,” said Ellis. Northumberland-Peterborough South riding won Ellis, 23, son of Ellis. “It goes back to when we first started. There was a Ellis said he hopes to represent the residents of Bay Monday night. Ellis joins Mike Bossio, who won a “I mean, typically speaking, we all do have an core group of probably six or seven and it bloomed to of Quinte on the municipal, provincial and federal lev- tight race against Conservative , who opinion, but a lot of us are either disengaged, apa- probably 200 people. And when you have that many, els, taking all matters and resolutions to Ottawa. held his seat in the old riding since 2004. Bossio won thetic, or just disillusioned with the whole political it is just hard not to win.” “This is more than just creating good jobs and eco- a tight race by just 373 votes. Joining them is Kim process. So it was nice to actually see the party take Ellis said he could not have asked for a stronger nomic growth. It is also about building communities Rudd, who beat out Conservative Adam Moulton in an interest in what some younger people had to say.” campaign to put himself behind. that we are proud to call home,” says Ellis. her riding.

Analysis: Could the Red Wave wash away our mental health woes?

By Andrew Johnson ment, giving them something to base fur- ther policies and legislature on. A red wave has swept across the country, However, in the summer of the same and with it ride the hopes of many Cana- year, it was announced the Commission dians yearning for change and progress would shift its mandate to include study- after a decade of and his ing the correlation between mental health Conservatives. To Harper’s supporters, it issues and drug addiction. is a deadly tsunami, threatening to de- The commission had originally steered stroy all Harper has built over the years clear of addictions research and focused and gripping Conservatives in despair. on priorities such as reducing stigma, All parties claim to have the solutions mental health in the workplace and help- for what ails our country. But exactly what ing the homeless with mental illness. ails us is often disputed. One issue that all Advocates of the new shift claimed parties could find common ground on is mental health and addiction go hand in the issue of mental health in Canada. hand and should be researched together. Under the Conservatives, a Mental But the announcement for the new Health Commission was set up in 2007, shift was made by Harper during the hus- made up of a committee and board mem- tings of the election where the Conserva- bers which Harper said “represented the tives wanted to be seen as tough on drugs best people in the mental health field in and keeping streets safe. The target was Canada today.” The Conservative govern- often Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau and ment committed $55 million over five his plan to legalize marijuana, which the Photo by Andrew C. Johnson years to help them meet their goals. Conservatives said would threaten secu- Federal Conservative candidate and incumbent Lisa Raitt shares an emotional moment with supporters at EddieO’s From then on, until January 2015 when rity and give youth better access to illicit Pourhouse and Kitchen in Milton, Ont. after being re-elected by just over 2,000 votes in the federal riding of Milton on the Commission released its report on the substances. Monday night. state of mental health in Canada, it was successful in better informing the govern- ...See Analysis, page 2 Page 2 · The Pioneer · Oct. 22, 2015 Analysis… Continued from Page 1 For advocates of mental health issues, which party is in power doesn’t matter as much as whether or not they’re commit- ted to helping those in need. Fred Smith, founder of Veterans Help- ing Veterans, a charitable organization aiming to help homeless veterans and those suffering mental health issues, thinks the government needs to quit using veterans and mental health for partisan games. “We’re just trying to get veterans off the streets. It’s a shame that our government hasn’t been able to help those who’ve sac- rificed so much, and charities like mine have to pick up the slack. “We need to get them off the streets and get them the help they deserve,” said Smith as he watched the results of the red wave roll in at a Conservative campaign event on election night in Milton, Ont. The Liberals have alluded to their de- sire to create a pan-Canadian Expert Ad- visory Council on Mental Health to advise on the implementation of the MHCC’s recommendations. It remains to be seen what direction it will steer the Commis- sion’s energies, if it is even created at all. Trudeau’s party platform on mental health aims to improve access for care in-

Photo by Hannah Lawson cluding: implementing an integrated ap- proach to ensure access to acute services, A raucous group of Catherine McKenna supporters celebrate her MP victory at the Richmond Road Clocktower Brew pub on the night of Canada’s 2015 federal tertiary care referrals, housing, primary election. McKenna was running for Liberal MP in the central Ottawa riding. A tidal sea of red seemingly sweeps across Canada on this historical night. care, and community and multidisci- plinary team management. The Liberals have also promised $100 million to expand support for families Slogan resonates with Ottawa voters of veterans who may be suffering from mental health disorders as a result of their By Hannah Lawson McKenna delivered her emotional vic- erupt with enthusiasm: will shape the future of Canada is in its service. tory speech. “The beer’s on me tonight.” international stature. It’s too early to say with certainty what “Add women, change politics.” She shared that her desire to be in- Not more than an hour and a half later, “People will sit up and take notice that will happen to the Commission under These prophetic words sum up the sto- volved in politics is deeply entrenched in it was announced that Canada has a new you can change things. You can change a Liberal government, or which prom- ry of Liberal Catherine McKenna’s long getting people involved, while her three majority government. Justin Trudeau will things no matter what country you are in. ises will be kept. What can be said is that, 522-day campaign in central Ottawa, and young children stood proudly at her side. now lead Canada as prime minister. Look at what we have just done,” Patten with a new government, Canada has the what she used as her slogan. “Politics is a lot more than people yell- “Change politics.” said. opportunity to renew the fight for better On election night, as results were still ing and screaming at each other on Par- Penny Patten, a 70-year-old former Prior to the second wave of poll results, mental health in this country. streaming in from across the country, liament Hill,” she said. “Politics is about teacher and life-long Liberal supporter, when results were only just slowly trick- loyal and passionate supporters of McK- people having conversations about the said she was ecstatic to witness the eve- ling in, there were few people at the pub. enna’s screamed in triumph when it was issues they care about, and we did that ning’s events — especially as a Liberal However, at around 10 o’clock, the room announced that her place in Parliament together.” supporter who was involved during the became impossible to navigate, it was so was secured. McKenna also put forth a request to her era. full of energy and people. “Add women.” listeners, that their involvement would “Nobody has really written about the Although the Clocktower officially impacts on TV’s were briefly turned off in the not end that evening. It is not just about reason Justin is doing so well, and for me closed at midnight, it was standing room crowded back dining room of the Rich- running a campaign, she said. Even more, it’s because he is positive and uplifting — only even at a quarter-after twelve while mond Road Clocktower Brew Pub in Ot- it’s about showing that politics matter. he makes you happy to see him and listen Trudeau followed McKenna’s victory woman’s life tawa, where supporters were gathered to At the conclusion to her speech, she to what he has to say,” Patten said. speech with his own, broadcast on na- By Nakita Krucker celebrate — or potentially weep — and uttered five words that caused people to She added that one way the Liberals tional television. Strategic voting is something that was on the minds of many Canadian citizens when it came to voting this year. Voting strategi- Vaughan defeats Chow in GTA red tidal wave cally to avoid another Harper government or vote for the party that truly represents By Marissa Tiel edging out NDP Joe Cressy by 19 per of the night. After a 78-day campaign in “This country needs Alexandra Park. It your values and voices the opinions that cent. which Chow and Vaughan campaigned needs the ingenuity and resourcefulness matter most to you as a Canadian. The sea of red that started to flood the The former riding of Toronto-Spadina tirelessly, Chow gave her resignation and the spirit and the fight of the resi- For Guelph citizen Cecile Gough, this Atlantic ridings early in the evening on has historically been a battle between the speech in front of supporters. dents of Alexandra Park and tonight they was not at tough decision at all. Oct. 19 continued into Toronto as Adam NDP and Liberals since it was created “There was a red wave that went from have put me in Ottawa,” he said. “Gord, you got my vote on Friday at the Vaughan, the incumbent Liberal MP in in 1988. The Liberals held the seat from Atlantic Canada to and I got He told transit users who watch packed advance poll and I think it was the hap- the Spadina-Fort York riding in down- 1993 until 2006 when Chow, the late Jack caught up by it,” she said. street cars pass them by every morning, piest time in my life I have ever voted,” town Toronto, won his seat in Parliament Layton’s widow, took the seat. Vaughan, meanwhile, watched the “help is on the way.” Gough announced to Guelph’s Green Par- once again. Just after 10 p.m, the back room for polls come in at home with his two kids He repeated his campaign promise of ty candidate, Gord Miller, before she turns Vaughan celebrated with supporters at media at the Rivoli for the Vaughan camp before addressing his supporters at the no jets on the waterfront. Vaughan also to the Green Party Leader Elizabeth May. the Rivoli on Queen Street West Monday was mostly quiet. A few more Vaughan Rivoli. promised to resume the party’s national “And Elizabeth May, you pioneered some- evening. He won 54.5 per cent of the vote, supports had trickled in and were given “This is a huge win,” said Vaughan. “It’s child care program, cancelled nearly 10 thing last December that directly affected winning by 14,825 votes over NDP candi- Vaughan T-shirts, red with a silhouette of a huge win because it’s built on hope and years ago by the Conservative government. the impact of my life so I’m a ‘greener’ for date Olivia Chow. his trademark spectacles on the front. hard work and that’s the best kind of win Vaughan will sit in Parliament along- life and that’s Bill C-442.” Spadina-Fort York is a newly created A widescreen television played in the in politics.” side the country’s first Liberal major- Gough was the first to bring her con- riding that encompasses parts of Trinity- corner, showing CBC’s coverage of the Vaughan addressed the room packed ity since 2000 with Justin Trudeau as the cerns forward at the Guelph town hall Spadina and . Chow was election as polls came in and seats were with media and Liberal supporters, “The Prime Minister. hosted by May and Miller prior to the the MP for Trinity-Spadina from 2006 announced. urban agenda is back on the main stage.” Although early polls suggested NDP election, making Bill C-442 the focus. until 2014, when she stepped down to run But it was a small screen underneath Vaughan said the campaign started wins, Trudeau created a red tide that Bill C-442 was a private member’s bill for Toronto mayoral office. one of the network’s television cameras in Alexandra Park, a low-income neigh- MP candidates rode into the majority on brought about by May to create a national Vaughan won the by-election that year, that showed the riding’s most telling story bourhood just south of Dundas Street. Monday evening. strategy for Lyme disease and was given Royal Assent on Dec. 16, 2014. Gough was diagnosed with late-stage Lyme disease in October of 2014 which was after 10 years of ongoing tests and numerous diagnoses. Gough has been di- Finance minister loses seat in Liberal sweep agnosed with Celiac and Thyroid disease, as well as Neuromyotonia, all of which By William Acri could stem from Lyme. The problem is and Zachary Prong that currently in Canada we do not have an effective strategy for dealing with Lyme More than a hundred enthusiastic Liberal disease and it is widely misdiagnosed by supporters gathered in a tightly packed To- the Canadian health care system. ronto restaurant to celebrate Marco Men- “It presents a complex series of symp- dicino’s victory over Conservative Finance toms and it is not easy for the average family Minister Joe Oliver on Monday night. practitioner to recognize it. If it is misdiag- Riding on a wave of Liberal support nosed, it’s often misdiagnosed as multiple that saw all of Toronto’s 25 ridings go to sclerosis,” explains May. “Sometimes I’ve Liberal candidates, Mendicino, a lawyer known Lyme disease patients who have and first time candidate, took back the been sent to a psychiatrist because a doctor hotly contested Eglinton-Lawrence rid- just can’t figure out what this is.” ing after it fell to Conservatives in 2011. The bill called for a national conference Speaking to a cheering crowd, just on Lyme disease to be convened with pro- before midnight, Mendicino declared, vincial and territorial health ministers, rep- “Look what we have done! resentatives of the medical community and “Now I want to ask you a question: Do patients’ groups to work on ensuring the you think Justin Trudeau is ready?” recognition, timely diagnosis and effective The crowd responded with cheers and treatment of Lyme disease in Canada. chants of “Marco, Marco, Marco.” “Fewer then two per cent of private Mendicino responded by telling the member’s bills ever get passed. This one crowd, “This country has chosen real got unanimous support in the House,” change from coast to coast.” May pauses as the crowd’s applause reach- In the remainder of his speech, Mendi- es its peak, “and it got unanimous support cino spoke about investing in the econo- in the Senate.” my through middle class tax cuts, lifting Gough’s biggest concerns were if and children out of poverty and improving when the conference was going to convene housing in the Eglinton and Lawrence and the re-evaluation of forms regarding riding for low income earners. out-of-country care. Late-stage chronic He concluded with a list of thank you’s Lyme disease is not recognized as a medi- to his volunteers and supporters and cal diagnosis in Canada, meaning patients heaped more praise on Trudeau and his turn to out-of-country care, which is not efforts opposing the Conservatives. Photo by Zachary Prong covered by the Ministry of Health. The mood among the crowd was ec- celebrates his victory over Finance Joe Oliver in the hotly contested Eglinton-Lawrence riding with “I used to be a chemo nurse. I can’t im- static as live results earlier in the evening his wife Diana and daughter Michaela. agine someone suffering from cancer be- indicated the Liberals had won a majority. ing denied chemotherapy in this country. Alex Macaybu, a resident of Eglington- Harper’s Conservatives who based much he promised to fund one third of Mayor Mendicino spoke to these concerns as However, I was 24 years undiagnosed and Laawrence, said, “I’m so, so happy. After of their campaign on economic policy. John Tory’s SmartTrack transit plan and he said, “We’ve chosen to close the chap- I can’t even get the doctor from Canada to 10 years of Harper, we need change, big Across the GTA the Liberals secured all also pledged to make infrastructure funds ter on a decade of divisiveness. This is sign the form that I even need to apply for change.” but five ridings and also managed to un- available for social housing repairs. something to celebrate!” Health Canada,” Gough said. It was this desire for change that Oliver seat another Conservative cabinet min- But among Liberal supporters at Men- J. Maditulu was another supporter who Lyme disease is one of the fastest blamed for his defeat. ister, the Minister of Immigration, Chris dicino’s victory party, it was not so much was celebrating at Mendicino’s victory spreading infectious diseases in Canada. Speaking to CTV reporters after con- Alexander. the Liberal’s funding promises that wooed party. She lives and owns a business in the The Public Health Agency of Canada ex- ceding defeat, he said, “Clearly we were These victories in the vote rich GTA them but rather anger at the Conserva- Eglinton-Lawrence riding, after moving pects that by the year 2020 there will be victim of a desire for change and when went a long ways towards securing the tive’s more divisive policies such as the here from and is originally from 10,000 new cases a year. that kind of wave sweeps across the coun- Liberal’s majority, an astounding victory niqab debate, their handling of the refu- West Africa. May has been working hard to ensure try it’s very hard to stop.” after a disastrous 2011 campaign saw gee crisis and a perceived lack of concern Maditulu said she hopes that Mendici- the gravity of Lyme disease is known. Oliver had served as finance minister them relegated to the position of Parlia- for the environment. no and Trudeau’s commitment to middle May recognized the delay in assem- since 2014 when he was appointed after ment’s third party. Nicole Foster, Mendicino’s next door class tax cuts and improving housing for bling the conference and also voiced her the sudden death of Jim Flaherty. His de- During the campaign Prime Minister- neighbour, said, “Canada under Harper is low income earners is going to translate concerns regarding the timeframe of the feat was a particularly painful blow for elect Justin Trudeau promised significant not the Canada I know and love. We’re all into quick changes for the Eglinton and Bill, but has committed to finding answers federal funding for the GTA. In particular, ready for change.” Lawrence area. immediately after the election. The Pioneer · Oct. 22, 2015 · Page 3

MP celebrates with her supporters at the election party at Turtle Jack’s In Richmond Hill, Ont., Monday when she heard she was elected for the riding of Aurora-Oak Ridges-Richmond Hill. Photo by Callum Rutherford

Following last week’s reading break, photojournalism students chose a federal wwriding to attend to take photos. Here are some of the mo- ments they captured from around Ontario.

(Above) , Liberal candidate in this week’s federal election, won the Peterborough-Kawar- tha riding. Monsef, who immigrated to Canada with her family from Afghanistan about 20 years ago, is the first Afghan-born MP. She hugs her mother after her victory. Photo by Assad Sharif

(Left) After giving her speech, MP Catherine McKenna danced to music with her support- ers at the Clocktower Brew Pub in Ottawa. Photo by Nino Liu

(Above) addresses his supporters during his victory speech at the Rivoli on Monday night. Vaughan, the incumbent Liberal MP, won the Spadina-Fort York riding, defeating NDP candidate Olivia Chow. Photo by Marissa Tiel

(Left) Neil Ellis gives his victory speech with his family at his side following his win Monday night. He is the Member of Parliament for the newly created Bay of Quinte riding. Photo by Gretchen Chi