GLENGARRY-PRESCOTT-RUSSELL – Thaila Riden is a long-time resident of Glengarry—Prescott—Russell and is the Green Party candidate in this year’s provincial election. He is well-known in the community for his activism and dedication to sustainable and organic growing practices. His actions have contributed directly to strengthening Ontario’s local economy and putting the province on the map for craft beer production.

Riden was an important player in professionalizing one of Ontario’s most successful and beloved craft breweries, Beau’s Brewery. He aided the brewery’s certification as a B-Corp, represented them on the board of directors for Sustain Ontario, and managed their organic certification status. As a board member of the non-profit Eco East, he actively supports the United Counties of Glengarry—Prescott—Russell in developing a regional climate action plan. He also converted a portion of his farmland into a community garden for people to have a safe space to grow local, healthy food.

He believes Ontarians deserve a just democratic process in the form of proportional representation and advocates whole-heartedly for cross-party collaboration. He is committed to integrating equity and sustainability into provincial policies to benefit the community of Glengarry—Prescott Russell for generations to come. He has a B.A. in Law and a B.Sc., he will apply evidence-based decision making to ensure that facts and science inform his actions.

He is dedicated to protecting the region’s natural resources, habitats, and farmlands. If elected, he will continue to amplify the voice of Glengarry—Prescott—Russell at Queen’s Park.

The Green party’s platform includes, freezing urban boundaries, building 1.5M homes. Clamp down on real-estate speculation. Invest $1B/year to build 182,000 affordable community rental homes, including 60,000 supportive homes over the next decade. Increase mental health spending to 10 per cent of the health budget to include mental health care under OHIP.  Increase funding for children’s mental health to reduce wait times to less than 30 days.