A look at what the northern MPPs are prioritizing this year

Northern MPPs discuss the possibilities for 2023 Timmins MPP, George Pirie, Sudbury MPP Jamie West & Nickel Belt MPP France Gélinas share their thoughts the opportunities a new year brings.

With the new year here and the holidays behind them, members of provincial parliament in northeastern Ontario are sharing their priority issues for 2023.

Timmins MPP and Minister of Mines George Pirie told CTV News he hopes to continue last year’s momentum and push for more area improvements.

“A new emergency wing for the Timmins and District Hospital we’re after again,” said Pirie.

“A bypass road and a few other high-priority issues that we want to make happen here.”

Pirie said he will also be working with his municipal counterparts in Timmins to improve primary care in the region.

“We need all levels of government working together,” Pirie said.

Health critic and Nickel Belt MPP France Gélinas said health care in small communities is at the top of her mind; particularly all those without a family doctor or nurse practitioner as the positions remain vacant in the region.

“We could change this for thousands of people really quickly,” said Gélinas.

“I started to talk to the Minister of Health. I’m hoping she will be open to this.”

Gélinas said she also wants to see the province regulate gas prices.

She told CTV News she speaks to constituents regularly who have concerns about health and safety issues.

“I talk to them all. I put the things in writing, I give them time too,” Gélinas said.

“Then I go back, did you have a chance to read this? Can you help?”

Gélinas added she hopes for better road maintenance on Highway 144.

In Sudbury, MPP Jamie West said his number one priority is affordability.

“The number one thing I was hearing at the door was how expensive things were,” West said.

“How expensive food was, how expensive gas was, how expensive rent was. For the first time in my life, I heard people talking about never being able to afford a house.”

He said that getting the Government of Ontario to walk back its appeal of Bill 124 would go a long way to help the province’s health care crisis and improve wages for all public sector workers.

“(We need) to call out bad ideas, like the attack on education workers that we saw this fall,” said West. “But also (we need) to suggest ways to improve things.”

The MPPs CTV News spoke with Wednesday all said they can work across party lines to take meaningful steps forward on issues in northern Ontario.