Green Party candidate for Windsor West a vocal critic of mega-hospital location

The Green Party of Ontario is taking a strong stance on Windsor's mega-hospital plan in the lead up to the provincial election.

Mike Schreiner, the party's provincial leader,stopped in Windsor Thursday as part of his 20-city "Green Vision" tourto promote his plan thatfocuses on jobs, people and the planet.

• Ontario's Green Party leader Mike Schreiner talks about priorities for provincial election

He was joined by the Green Party's Windsor West candidateKrysta GlovaskyRidsdale, a vocal critic of the plan to build the mega-hospital on County Road 42 instead of in the city centre.

"It makes no sense where they want to put it. It encourages sprawl and it leaves a large portion of our population where it's going to be underserved," she said, adding her objections to the site will bepart of her platform.

"I don'tunderstand why we're spending so much money on a plan that's not good in a location that doesn'tmake any sense,"GlovaskyRidsdale added.

Clean-tech will bring back the middle class

Schreinersaid the party supports its candidate's activism and agrees with her that there are issues with the hospital location.

"If we're going to create liveable communities we need to have essential public services, accessible in our neighbourhoods and our communities," he said.

Theleader also touted his party's strategy to bring jobs back to the provincethrough the clean-tech industry.

"Those are good, solid middle-class jobs and it's investing in advanced manufacturing, clean-tech, 3D printing that's how we're going to rebuild the middle class and the manufacturing sector."

Greens ready to take on other parties

GlovaskyRidsdalewill be taking on a strong field of candidates, including Adam Ibrahim for the Progressive Conservatives and current NDP MPP Lisa Gretzky.

Windsor city councillorRino Bortolinis also looking to throw his hat into the ring and has announced he's seeking the nomination as the riding's Liberal candidate.

GlovaskyRidsdalesaid she knows the downtown councillor well and actually agrees with him on many thingsbut did not expect him to side with the Liberals.

"I can't lie, I'm quite disappointed actually. I was kind of hoping more people would see that they campaign one thing, but you actually enact something that's different and that's what's happening with the Liberal party."

She added she's also not worried by the factall of Windsor-Essex is currently NDP-orange.

"The NDP are coming up with some ideas they're touting as their own, but truthfully the Green Party has been talking about them for ages."

The Green Party does not yet have candidates in Windsor-Tecumseh or Essex.