Dr. Rose Zacharias wants to be much closer to the action after the next Ontario election.
As Liberal candidate for the Barrie-Springwater-Oro-Medonte riding, the 52-year-old family doctor, and former president of the Ontario Medical Association (OMA), wants to draw on that experience to make health care better in this province.
“It was a medical, political job where I was representing all 44,000 doctors in Ontario,” the Oro-Medonte Township resident said of her OMA post. “It was incredible work. I saw, close up, what it meant to make recommendations to government, and after that time I had a much better understanding of the levers of power at the seat of government.
“I want to get closer to the decision-making table when it comes to our health-care system,” she added.
After 15 years as an emergency-room doctor at Orillia Soldiers’ Memorial Hospital, Zacharias is now a family doctor, or hospitalist, at Waypoint Centre for Mental Health Care in Penetanguishene, and looking after inpatients there.
“As a doctor, I want to come to government in a new and different way as a politician, and speak up for my patients and speak up for my colleagues and do better, really do right by the people in Ontario when it comes to the health-care system,” she said. “That’s my main motivation.”
There need not be an Ontario election until 2026, but Progressive Conservative Premier Doug Ford has hinted one might come earlier — a vote Zacharias said is necessary.
“I think there needs to be a change in leadership at Queen's Park,” she said. “That being said … do we need an election right now? I would say having an election right now is not a good idea, because our Ontario government needs to be focused on some very serious stresses that we know are coming.”
An example is United States President Donald Trump’s threat of a 25 per cent tariff on all Canadian goods entering the U.S., and what it means for the Canadian economy and jobs.
“That needs to be front and centre in the focus, and Doug Ford has a super majority, and he can make decisions,” Zacharias said. “When I see the current leader throw some more chaos into the mix and say we’ll quickly have an election …
“Right now, to throw an election at Ontarians, it means that the conservative government won’t actually be doing the work of the government,” she added. “They will be very distracted and very preoccupied with getting out their vote.
“You would hope that your government would position themselves to weather the storms. This is a storm, and I don’t see how an election has Doug Ford and the conservatives focusing on the storm.”
Zacharias says she and the Liberals are ready to hit the campaign trail if an election is called, and says she will enjoy working her constituency.
“I am a relational person and so to know me even for a minute is to understand that I love shaking a hand, asking who are you, as a person, what’s important to you, building those relationships,” she said, noting she’s lived in the community her entire adult life and raised a family here.
“This is my community and I would love to be someone who has a bit of permission to come into people’s lives and ask them how are they really doing, how are their tax dollars being spent, their opinion and what’s important to them.
“It’s a relationship job and that’s what I’m cut out for,” Zacharias said.
Her nomination as the Liberal candidate for Barrie-Springwater-Oro-Medonte is uncontested, said campaign manager MacKenzie Collings.
More information can be found here.
