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Bruziewicz to represent Trillium Party in provincial election

Troy Shantz A veteran city politician is taking a new party line is a bid to represent Sarnia-Lambton after this year’s provincial election. Andy Bruziewicz is a candidate for the Trillium Party of Ontario.
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City councillor Andy Bruziewicz. Troy Shantz

Troy Shantz

A veteran city politician is taking a new party line is a bid to represent Sarnia-Lambton after this year’s provincial election.

Andy Bruziewicz is a candidate for the Trillium Party of Ontario.

Bruziewicz, who joined city council in 1994, says one of the party’s core beliefs is direct democracy in which MPPs serve their constituents and values.

“Right now I don’t see any disagreement with anything in the party platform,” he said. “It’s a work in progress — they’re the new kids on the block.”

Bruziewicz ran for the NDP federally in 2008 and independently in the 2011 provincial election. He’s also been involved in Liberal and Reform party campaigns.

He said if elected he plans to tackle lofty hydro rates, which he traces to bad decisions by the Conservatives nearly 20 years ago.

“In 1998, that’s when the Ontario (Energy) Competition Act came. That’s when the concept of public power at cost (was) destroyed,” said Bruziewicz, a former member of the Sarnia Hydro-Electric Commission, Sarnia Hydro Transition committee and board member of the Sarnia Power Corporation.

“The only way to fix it is basically return to what was working so well for the province and the people of Ontario,” he said. “People actually become homeless because of their hydro bills.”

Bruziewicz also sees problems in Ontario health care. He recently lost a close friend who died of complications from a tooth infection she couldn’t afford to have treated, he said.

“When I was an NDP candidate I always had this obsession with universal health care. Guess what? We don’t have it.”

The Trillium Party is a right-leaning party founded in 2014 and led by Bob Yaciuk.

Last May, Jack MacLaren became the first Trillium MPP after he was expelled from the Progressive Conservative caucus by party leader Patrick Brown and switched parties.

Two Trillium candidates contested the 2014 election but the party has more than 20 candidates listed already for this year’s vote. It does not have official status. In Ontario, a party needs eight seats to be recognized.

Trillium’s policy principles include more accountability in health care, strengthening family involvement in education and more support for policing.

Bruziewicz shares some of his many interests on his Facebook page, including politics, chess (he is an excellent player) and democracy.

He has also shared numerous posts concerned the Islamization of European countries.

Asked his stance, he said he supports Canada’s immigration and refugee policies.

“All I’m saying is we’ve got to be careful who we allow here,” he said. “There’s problems, and you cannot ignore the problems. And then you have to be rational in solving it,” he said.

“In search of the truth, I look on the left, I look on the right.”

The Ontario general election is June 7.


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