Windsor-West MPP Lisa Gretzky kicked off her re-election effort by officially opening her campaign office.
Dozens of constituents filled the NDP candidate's new digs in the Dorwin Plaza on Dougall Ave. on Friday.
Gretzky will be coming into the June 7 election as the incumbent for the first time - having been the challenger previously - but she says it's just as exciting.
With the Caesars Windsor strike in full swing and a fight to reform the Fair Workplace Better Jobs Act.
Currently the act states workers are entitled to 10 days of personal emergency leave with two paid days for injury, injury, bereavement or other emergencies - but it exempts auto workers who are entitled to seven days for personal or family illness or emergencies and three days for bereavement, with none of the leave being paid
"Especially in a city like Windsor, we're a big labour town, it's very important to work with our labour partners and make sure that any legislation that's coming forward is fair to everybody in this province," she says.
She says health and dental benefits for everyone in Ontario will be a key issue coming into the election.
"To make sure that everybody in this province has access to the prescription medication that they need to take and the dental care that they need," says Gretzky. "That's a big part of our platform, making sure that everybody regardless of age or work status has access."
Ontario PC Leader Doug Ford is campaigning to cut taxes for big business, saying he wants to put an "open of business" sign up to attract more industry to the province. He also wants to halt the next bump in the minimum wage in 2019 in favour of tax credits.
Gretzky tells AM800 News that thinking is backwards - Ontario already has the lowest corporate tax rate in the country and the math doesn't support a tax break will benefit minimum wage earners.
"What we need to do is to make the wealthiest among us and the most profitable corporations pay a little more to ensure everybody in this province has access to health care and to an education system where we're not finding a $15-billion repair backlog in our schools and to make sure we have enough frontline staff," she added.
Gretzky says converting student loans into grants and refunding interest paid, affordable childcare, and stopping the privatization of Ontario's hydro will also be a priority for the NDP coming into June's election.