Wynne gets an earful in Ottawa town hall

It was no leisurely skate on the Rideau Canal for Premier Kathleen Wynne as she took her town hall road show to Ottawa.

As at previous forums in Toronto and Brampton last fall, Wynne faced some tough questions from the public Thursday evening on a slew of policy matters.

“The violence in our schools is beyond control,” fumed a retired teacher named Pat, who said her former colleagues are frightened for their safety and that of their students.

“We’re losing our jobs all across the province,” said one man, noting his girlfriend lost hers as a result of a store closure triggered by the recent increase of the hourly minimum wage increase to $14 from $11.60 and likening Ontario to “Soviet Russia.”

“What about elder abuse?” said a 76-year-old senior named Shirley, referring to problems in Ontario nursing homes.

An Algonquin College student named Brett worried about the “disturbing trend of anti-Semitism” on campuses.

Another man, who had been aggressively heckling, delivered a rambling screed about how the province’s investment in child-care spaces was tantamount to the government wanting to supplant parents in raising kids.

Looking slightly incredulous, Wynne wondered if he were asking her about “the evil of child care.”

“Women can’t get into the workforce if there’s no child care in their community,” she told him, before touting the 100,000 new child-care spaces her government plans to deliver.

Several others in the capacity crowd of 360 people at Ben Franklin place in suburban Nepean expressed alarm about the looming legalization of marijuana.

“What’s your plan to control all these things,” asked one man worried that children will have even more access to weed.

“I appreciate the concerns,” said Wynne, explaining that the LCBO will control all recreational marijuana in 40 standalone stores and online when federal legalization takes effect in July.

“The education that is going to happen is going to be critical. We need to make sure that our streets are actually safer,” she added.

It was the first town hall Wynne has hosted since the Jan. 1 launch of the higher minimum wage and the new free pharmacare program for everyone under 25, and the premier frequently circled back to those two issues.

“Having a living wage creates a stronger society,” she said, defending the hike.

Wynne also said she was hopeful the “OHIP+” prescription drug plan would serve as a model for other provinces to expand health services.

Moderated by Algonquin College president and CEO Cheryl Jensen, and with costs covered by taxpayers, it was a government event instead of a partisan Liberal rally.

Indeed, Wynne never once mentioned her party, her political rivals, Progressive Conservative Leader Patrick Brown and NDP Leader Andrea Horwath, or the June 7 election.

The premier said she would do her next town hall in Thunder Bay on Jan. 31.