Student debt tops new Green candidate's priority list

The Green Party of Ontario has named Stephanie-Lynn Russell of Wahnipitae as the candidate slated to run in Nickel Belt in the upcoming provincial election.

Russell said one item she plans to focus on in her platform is student debt. She said students are faced with “heavy debt loads” after completing post-secondary education, and the Green Party has a plan to help, including freezing tuition rates between 2013 to 2015.

“That doesn't remedy the problem that we have right now, but it does give us a little bit of time to open up some ... reviews about how the education system and funding system for education systems is being run,” she said.

“We're also talking about increasing mentorships and internships, particular in the area of our new economy because lets face it, the economy is not going to stay the way it is right now. We have to move into the new green economy.”

Russell has been a Nickel Belt resident since 2007 when she moved to northern Ontario to further her education. She recently completed a post-graduate diploma in science communication from Laurentian University.

Other candidates for the Nickel Belt riding include Liberal Tony Ryma, Progressive Conservative Paula Peroni and incumbent New Democrat France Gélinas.

Russell acknowledged Ryma, Peroni and Gélinas are “very tough candidates.”

She said she plans to “engage” Nickel Belt residents through interactive social media, including Facebook and Twitter.

The provincial election will be held Oct. 6.

-Posted by Heidi Ulrichsen