TCYL BLOGS!

I don’t know about you, but I am way too excited for tonight’s debate!!!  So, if you’re on the go like I am today, you can set yourself a reminder and watch it from your smartphone by going to:

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ontariovotes2011/story/2011/09/23/ontario-leaders-debate548.html

It runs from 6:30pm to 8:00pm and it’ll be broadcast live by CBC Television (Channel 26 for most of you).

It’s a round-robin style debate tonight, with a total of 6 rounds.

Round 1 starts off with McGuinty vs. Hudak.

Round 2 will be Horwath vs. Hudak.

Round 3 features McGuinty vs. Horwath.

Then we’ll see a repeat of the first three rounds and each leader will have a chance to give a closing statement.

If you’d like to join other Young Liberals tonight to watch the debate, let me know! I’ll send you the details, just send a quick email to community@tcyl.ca

Youth from all over Ontario squeezed themselves into a downtown pub this past Sunday afternoon. Laughter, loud chatter, and smiles filled the room with excitement. The crowd roared as Liberal Leader Premier Dalton McGuinty and his spouse, Terri, made their way into the room – but the applause wouldn’t stop there.

Premier McGuinty began by thanking the youth in attendance for their inspiration, but it was McGuinty who continued to inspire the youth in this pub. He reminded them the importance of making sure that all young people, from all families, all have the opportunity they need – to get the jobs they want to help Ontario build the economy it needs so that we can support great public services like healthcare and education.

McGuinty’s Liberals have already created 200,000 more spaces in post-secondary schools and they’ve increased funding for both universities and colleges. They’ve brought back grants and have put a cap on student debt at $7,300 dollars per year on OSAP loans. McGuinty has the support of youth and this event just proved it even further. He showed his light side and poured beer for some of those who attended, it was a great event!

Check out a video from Sunday afternoon:

Youth Rally in Toronto

From left to right: Michelle, Michael, Paulina and Chris

From left to right: Rona, Chris and Michael

The Ontario provincial candidates have rolled out their education platforms!

NDP Leader Andrea Horwath released the party’s platform at Ryerson University. They’ve not only promised to freeze tuition fees for universities and colleges, but also said they’ll scrap the interest on the provincial portion of student loans. In other words, a program that comes with a hefty price tag of a total of $365 million dollars in its fourth year will only save students a mere $60 dollars per year.

On the other hand, Liberal Leader Premier Dalton McGuinty, has clearly made education a core focus on the campaign trail. Instead of opting for a tuition freeze, the Liberals have promised a 30 per cent reduction in university tuition fees for families earning less than $160,000, and by the way, that would account for more than 80% of students in Ontario. The Liberals would offer a new scholarship grant that would amount to $1,600 per university student and $730 per college student.

Let’s do the math…an average B.A. program is a total of 4 years. Horwath’s plan would include savings  of $240. McGuinty’s plan would save each university student over $6000 and over $2900 for college students.

Let’s give the education the recognition it deserves. It is after all, key for development.

Forward. Together.

The Ontario Liberal platform can be found: here

Like @Dalton_McGuinty’s Facebook page and be the first to get a sneak peek of our platform on Monday! http://www.facebook.com/PremierMcGuinty

It’s an exciting time for TCYL! Our policy passed at OYL Summer Fling 2011 AND we were awarded Best Riding Club for the fifth consecutive year!

The “Banning Asbestos Exports to Developing Countries” policy that was passed can be viewed here: click here

For a quick update on this topic, make sure to check out this interesting video recently posted by Ontario News Watch: click here (Thanks for sharing Chris!)

The Globe and Mail also has a great article: click here