Why I'm the best candidate: Mitzie Hunter

My name is Mitzie Hunter, and I am running as the Ontario Liberal candidate for the upcoming by-election in Scarborough-Guildwood.

Scarborough holds a special place in my heart. I lived, studied, and worked here.

My family and I immigrated to Canada from Jamaica in 1975, and settled in this region. I attended high school in Scarborough at Winston Churchill CI and went to university at the University of Toronto, Scarborough Campus. During my university years, I worked hard to put myself thorough school and started my own small business here in Scarborough.

In my professional career I have worked for both large corporations and non-profit organizations. I have held executive positions with organizations such as Goodwill and Toronto Community Housing, and most recently I was the CEO at CivicAction. Throughout my life, I have been driven by the desire to establish a sense of community, and make sure that every voice is heard and well-represented. However as a business woman, an MBA, and recently as CEO of a non-profit, I also understand the importance of fiscal responsibility.

I believe that with my professional experiences along with my personal knowledge from having lived in Scarborough makes me the most qualified candidate running to be the MPP for Scarborough-Guildwood.

Since having launched my campaign, I have also been learning a lot from going door to door and listening to people of this community talk about the issues that are important to them. I have heard about employment and job creation, and especially about opportunities for youth. We need to find a way to match those who can work with the number of opportunities, and this is incredibly important for our youth, as they are our future.

Residents have also raised concerns with affordable housing. I learned firsthand from my previous experiences about the impact safe, affordable housing can have on a person’s wellbeing and their ability to thrive and prosper as a member of the community.

A topic that many residents have raised with me is access to transit. People in Scarborough need to be able to move around easily and seamlessly for work and play.

That is why I support a subway extension to Scarborough. We need improved access to transit in order to build a better Scarborough.

In my conversations with seniors, I have also heard about the importance of long-term care for our seniors. They want services and support to lead healthy, independent lives as long as possible.

These are some of the major issues I have been hearing in my conversations at the doors of residents in Scarborough-Guildwood. I want to be their strong voice at Queen’s Park working on addressing these important issues on their behalf. The people of Scarborough-Guildwood deserve an informed, experienced person working with the province to find solutions for their community, and I want to be that person.