Sydenham Students Host All-Candidates Meeting

Feb 27, 2025

In an exercise in civic engagement, students at Sydenham Highschool hosted an all-candidates townhall for the prospective MPP candidates for Lanark-Frontenac-Kingston in their cafeteria on Thursday, February 20, 2025 - one week before Ontario’s snap election is to occur.

The town hall, organized by Chris Shibley’s Grade 10 Civics class, gave the candidates a chance to connect with students to hear what issues are on their minds this election and gave them access to hands-on learning and context they may not receive during a typical semester. For Chris Shibley, the Grade 10 civics teacher and organizer of this event, this was the first time an election has occurred at the same time he had a civics class, so he felt this was a good opportunity to bring the learning to life for students. “The provincial election presented an opportunity to make Civics more real, more engaging, and more hands on for the students, which, as a teacher is all you really want,” he said. “I think civics is a subject that is tricky to teach in many ways because it is intimidating for students but it’s also hard to care about at that age. But this is a good event that will bring the learning to life and make it more hands-on and real in a way that watching videos or listening to me speak cannot provide”

PC candidate, John Jordan, Liberal candidate, Rob Rainer and NDP candidate, John MacRae were in attendance and were asked questions, created by the students, that mirrored the concerns of Ontario voters. Marlene Spruyt, the Green Party’s MPP candidate was not in attendance.

The first question was about creating a policy that would allow affordable and accessible prescription drugs for chronic illnesses such as diabetes. In response, PC Candidate John Jordan discussed the drug plan that Ford’s government had implemented in 2019 that made most prescription medications free for anyone under the age of 25. He also explained that there were drug plans that people could opt into with a small fee. Liberal candidate, Rob Rainer, and NDP candidate, John MacRae expressed the need for universal pharmaceutical care, no matter the age or income of an individual.

The second question was about how each candidate planned to maintain strong public services while keeping taxes low. Rainer and MacRae explained how to reframe the thought of “taxes” to students by explaining to them that if the government shifts where tax money is spent, public services will improve while keeping taxes relatively the same rate. Rainer also explained an initiative being proposed by the Liberal party of Ontario to shift the tax bracket for income earners of $51,000 - $70,000 a year so they will be paying less income tax. Jordan explained the importance of economic growth and contributing to the work force to mitigate the strain taxes have on individuals as well as expressing his desire to reduce the carbon tax.

The third question asked about the recent federal tax break and how the MPP candidates plan to continue to reduce costs for the residents of Ontario. MacRae spoke of a $120/month grocery rebate for families, building more permanently affordable homes, increasing rent control and creating more policies to ensure grocery store owners can not increase prices without reason and supervision.

Rainer discussed reducing GST on energy costs like Hydro/heating and systemic measures like universal basic income.

Jordan expressed reducing the carbon tax again and reiterated the importance of students finding “good paying jobs.”

The fourth question was about homelessness and how each MPP candidate planned to reduce the issue of homelessness in Ontario. Each candidate recognized the issue of homelessness as a multi-level issue without a one-size fits-all all answer. They all expressed the need to invest in addiction and mental health services and permanently affordable housing. The final question was about the affordability of post secondary education and what each candidate plans to do to ensure accessibility and affordability for students in post-secondary education.

Jordan explained that Ford’s government has provided subsidies for students who want to pursue nursing, personal support workers and other healthcare professions as well as the initiative to mitigate the cost of education if a student plans to stay in a rural area to work. He also discussed apprenticeships and other “get paid as you learn” models.

Rainer expressed a plan to increase the amount of time a graduate has to pay off student loans, and guaranteed discounted housing for all first year students at any post-secondary institution in Ontario.

MacRae expressed the need to invest in post-secondary education to reduce the cost for students. In all of their closing statements, the candidates encour aged students to remain involved in politics and to pursue their dreams.

Jemma Harper, 15, is a student in Shibley’s civics class and was in the audience for the town hall. She says the experience of hearing what the candidates had to say in person allowed her to want to stay engaged in politics. “Before (this) I wasn’t really interested in politics but after the town hall I became more interested because it was different than I was expecting,” she said. Harper, who is not old enough to vote in the upcoming election says she is intrigued to see how the next few years unfold. “I’m really curious to see what is going to happen,” she said “It was interesting to hear all of the candidates speak about how expensive everything is and hear their state ments about how they are going to bring the cost of living down. I thought it was a really good experience for when I’m older.” For Shibley, watching his students engage in the civic process was a rewarding moment. “The kids are quite insightful, and ask really really good questions that I sometimes haven't considered myself,” he said. “ As with so many other things in their lives, whether that's trying out for a sports team, or joining the band at school, sometimes they just need a little nudge from us as teachers. I was quite proud of not just how willingly they have latched on to provincial politics, but also how well so many of them did, stepping out of their comfort zones and into public speaking.” “Teaching can be a very challenging career at times, es pecially the last number of years, but its things like this that really give me some perspective on the whole thing.” Shibley’s civics class will be hosting a student vote on Wednesday, February 26th, 2025.