THUNDER BAY – If he’s elected, Andy Wolff says the only people he’ll be beholden to at Queen’s Park are his constituents.
Wolff is one of two candidates running under the Northern Ontario Party banner in this year’s provincial election, seeking to capture the riding of Thunder Bay-Superior North, a Liberal stronghold since 1995.
The long-time city hall watchdog says his been a strong passion of his to be a voice for Northern Ontario, an area of the province he says gets no more than lip service every few years from the governing party, regardless of whom is in power.
“There are no candidates, in my mind, that would be representing the North. They would put their parties first before they would put the people from here,” Wolff said.
It’s speaks to a lack of accountability in the legislature, especially when it comes to the region’s natural resources.
Wolff, who tours in a Creedence Clearwater Revival tribute band, says looking out his back door, there’s plenty of work that needs to be done to ensure Northern Ontario gets its due.
“What makes me stand out is I’m not bound by any party agenda. Since there’s only two of us, we have the freedom to vote any way we will,” he said.
“You will either elect a candidate that’s going to be a part of the government, which will unconditionally support that government, even if it’s bad for Thunder Bay or you will vote for a candidate that is against everything the government does and that could be beneficial to our economy. I’m willing to work with the present government and support what they do, provided they give us benefits up in the North.”
Wolff said he’d also like to see reforms made in the criminal justice system, given the growing guns and gangs problem in Thunder Bay.
“They’ve made Thunder Bay an easy target,” Wolff said. “A big part of that is our justice system which has provincial jurisdiction. We need harsher sentences for people who do break the law and create more deterrents for that, and obviously support our police.”
Wolff, who ran provincially for the NOP in 2018, said his main purpose as an elected MPP would be to help people with personal issues, such as WSIB claims, social services and housing.
“I felt it was important we had some kind of representation on the ballot, so they know we’re still around,” Wolff said.
The party, founded in 1977, was formerly known as the Northern Ontario Heritage Party. It disbanded in 1985, but was revived in 2010. They ran 10 candidates in 2018.
