Provincial Vote 2007
Liberals committed to rural Ontario

Ontario Liberals unveiled their platform for Rural Ontario, which outlines the party's plan to build more opportunity for rural Ontario families, said local candidate Betsy Hall.

"We've come a long way in four short years. Where the Conservatives ignored rural Ontario's economy, infrastructure and potential, we've strengthened schools and hospitals in rural areas and worked to ensure our families have the tools they need to grow. We need to continue to move forward," said Hall.

The platform unveils the next steps in the party's plan to strengthen rural communities, including:

* Introducing a special distance grant for students from remote areas that travel long distances between their hometown and school.

* Delivering 50 more family health teams over the next four years, targeting areas like rural and northern Ontario.

* Helping businesses and entrepreneurs in small towns to create jobs and support their local economy by increasing our annual investment in the Rural Economic Development (RED) Fund by 50%.

* Continuing to invest in broadband services for rural communities.

* Strengthening the risk management program to help our grain and oilseed farmers cope with international subsidies.

* Further developing clean, green and renewable energy sources. Wind farms, solar farms, and other new sources of green electricity generation represent exciting new opportunities and new investments for rural Ontario.

* Supporting Ontario seniors who want to stay in their own homes with an easy-to-access basket of services, improving the level of care in long-term care homes with 2,000 new nurses, building 35,000 long-term care beds over 10 years and providing financial support for those caring for elderly family members.