NDP Candidate Dan Gelinas Discusses Sports And Health

While at Chrysler I also volunteered as an instructor with Junior Achievement where we helped young high school student learn about the highs and lows of running a business. We taught them how to design, manufacture and market a product in an effort to understand the full responsibilities of our small business here in Ontario.

Politically I became a social activist and a member of the New Democratic Party. I was elected President of the Essex North Provincial Riding Association and was also a delegate to both the Provincial and Federal Councils. I later moved to Windsor West and became a member of both of the Provincial and Federal Riding associations. I was very fortunate to become involved with many elections across Canada as a political organizer where I helped people such as Howard Pawley become Premier of Manitoba, and Elizabeth Kishon become the first and only woman Mayor of Windsor, just to name a few. I also am proud to be best friends with the Honourable Lorne Nystrom since 1982. We have travelled to China together in an effort to bring much needed investments to our areas. Presently Lorne is involved with a gigantic project called the Dundurn International Exhibition Centre just outside of Saskatoon Saskatchewan. We have also worked together in an effort to bring investors here to Chatham Kent Essex.

As a Candidate for the NDP here in Chatham Kent Essex I am very proud of our platform designed to assist young students to become physically active and to learn how to live a health life by knowing how important it is to eat and exercise properly. When we are the government of Ontario, we will be investing in a Student Nutrition Program spending $15 MILLION for healthy breakfasts and lunches in schools. We will also bring back Physical Education Teachers and keep children healthy and active. For this we will hire up to 1000 new teachers. In an effort to keep children and young adults healthy we will create an Open Schools fund to keep schools open and extend after hours programs for sports and recreational groups, and non-profit groups such as 4 H clubs, Girl Guides and Scouts. We will also expand dental benefits for children from low income families so young children learn the importance of healthy living.

As a political party the NDP knows the children of today are the leaders of tomorrow. These young students need to have the availability of programs so they can participate in them and live a healthy life.

The original focus of this profile was on my community involvement with the youth in organized sports and other events. I believe there is an issue that must be addressed but this involved our elderly family and friends. One important issue that has come up in my first “All Candidates Meeting” held in Highgate Ontario this week was the elimination of the “Meals on Wheels” program in that community. This program was stopped in the Highgate community by the Local Health Integration Network (LHIN) and this has caused a great concern by the local citizens there. Meals on Wheel not only provides a healthy meal to the elderly but more importantly it provides an opportunity to have face to face contact and interaction for elderly people who are alone for most of the day. I feel, regardless if I am elected or not, this must be addressed and I will do all I can to get this program back up and running again in Highgate.