Former FSU president running for MPP Liberal seat

Header image for Interrobang article CREDIT: PHOTO PROVIDED BY CARLIE FORSYTHE
Former president of the Fanshawe Student Union (FSU) and graduate of five programs from Fanshawe is running for an MPP Liberal seat in the upcoming provincial election on June 7.

Carlie Forsythe, former Fanshawe Student Union (FSU) president, is running for the Elgin-Middlesex-London MPP Liberal seat in the upcoming provincial election on June 7.

From St. Thomas, Ont., Forsythe spent a significant amount of time developing her skills at Fanshawe. Forsythe is a graduate from five programs at Fanshawe, including photography, business human resources, business administration - human resources, honours bachelor of commerce - human resources management and lastly, project management.

On top of her FSU presidency, she also held the role of the Vice President of Finance during her time at the college.

As a Fanshawe alumni, Forsythe is currently a representative of the community on the Fanshawe Board of Governors (BOG) and will be fulfilling the position until the end of August. She is also involved with a variety of City of London committees including the Cycle Advisory Committee.

Forsythe is an example of Fanshawe's ability to unlock potential.

“When I was a teenager in highschool I was a B student and after coming to Fanshawe as an adult I became an A+ student. I started volunteering more and realizing my potential,” Forsythe said.

Forsythe originally planned on running for the city council on the municipal side. After speaking with the current Premier of Ontario, Kathleen Wynne, as well as her mentors to figure out the ramifications and where she stood, she decided to run for a larger scale spot in government.

“One of the reasons I wanted to run is because a youth representation is important for the future of Ontario. It is really important for growing the economy in the province,” Forsythe said.

Forsythe discussed the major platforms for the party including OHIP (Ontario Health Insurance Plan) Plus Pharmacare plan, free tuition, infrastructure, minimum wage and mental health.

According to Forsythe, if there's a majority Liberal government, the party plans to improve OHIP Plus Pharmacare plan, by providing free drugs for seniors in addition to the pre-existing youth plan. Starting July 1, seniors 65 and older would have access to over 3,500 prescription medications.

In terms of education, the plan is to offer free tuition to low and middle income families. This would make it possible for people to receive higher education that currently do not have the opportunity.

The infrastructure plans would have a lot to do with things like hospitals and schools. Focusing on long term care would include more beds and hiring more personnel within hospitals to allow people to get a higher level of care.

According to Forsythe, another major platform for the liberal party is minimum wage. If the liberals get majority government, the minimum wage would be increased to $15 an hour starting in January 2019.

“It becomes a little bit closer to the livable wage and will lead to more spending in the economy overall which is good for our economy,” Forsythe said. “The livable wage in St. Thomas is around $16 so this would bring minimum wage a lot closer to that.” The last major topic Forsythe discussed was mental health. With an increase in homelessness and drug use in the province, mental health funding is crucial. The funding would be used to help more people who experience mental health and give them more meaningful work in the community.

To connect with Forsythe and learm more about what the Liberals have to offer before the June 7 election, follow her campaign on Facebook @votecarlie, Twitter @voteforsythe and Instagram @votecarlie.