PARRY SOUND-MUSKOKA — Whether it’s weeks or years away, the local Liberals are making sure they have all the pieces in place for the next federal election.
On Friday, Cindy Waters was acclaimed as the official federal candidate for Parry Sound-Muskoka during a party nomination meeting in Utterson.
“This is something I’ve wanted to do for a long time,” said Waters.
Born in Orangeville, Waters grew up in Bracebridge where she attended school and was eventually married. She moved to Fort McMurray, Alberta before returning home in 1990.
“I had forgotten how much I missed it. It really is where my heart is,” she said.
Waters has lived across the riding since her return, including several years in Parry Sound and over 10 years in Baysville, where she operated a gas station and convenience store.
During that time she also worked for the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario, checking electronic hardware and software at casinos and racetracks as the first female electronic gaming enforcement officer in Ontario.
Waters has two sons and a daughter and is married to Dan Waters. A former NDP member of provincial parliament (MPP) for Muskoka-Georgian Bay, Dan Waters also unsuccessfully ran as a Liberal against current MPP Norm Miller in 2003.
Cindy Waters now operates her own business, helping people with accounting software and general bookkeeping. Working with local small business has helped Waters understand the issues they are facing, she said.
“Small business is carrying the load in this area … there is no more manufacturing,” she said. “We’re hurting in this economy. From golf courses to the downtown stores, they’re all affected.”
Waters said the government needs to focus more on protecting services like Employment Insurance and health care, and less on “wrong headed” corporate tax cuts.
“I was talking to a woman here who works at one of the large corporate stores and I asked her, ‘how do you think (corporate cuts) will affect you? Do you think you’ll get a raise?’ She said ‘no,’ and I don’t think so either,” said Waters.
Waters knows she’s facing an uphill battle against current MP Tony Clement who won the last election handily, and has since poured millions of dollars into the region through G8 funding.
“Let’s remember that money isn’t his money, that’s our money,” she said.
The current health accord between the provinces and the federal government expires in 2014, and Waters doesn’t feel the Tories are the right party to ensure the future of health care.
“I don’t want Tony Clement there, and I don’t want a majority Conservative government there,” she said. “People expect that their government will put measures in place to protect them. We’re going to get sick and get old and we need those programs in place.”
Despite what pundits are saying, Waters said she feels the Liberals can win a majority government in the next election.
“A lot of the time people simply trust who’s already there … and it’s going to take a lot of work to let people know what’s at risk,” she said.