New Democrat Mary Rita Holland would make the most effective Member of Provincial Parliament for Kingston and the Islands.

Though she lacks the years of experience of Liberal incumbent John Gerretsen, Holland’s approachability and knowledge of student issues make her a stand out.

With nine votes of a possible 19, the Journal endorses Holland for the Oct 6. Provincial election. John Gerretsen had eight votes from the editorial board.

This compares to one vote for Green Party candidate Robert Kiley and zero for Rodger James, candidate for the Progressive Conservative Party. There was one abstention.

Holland’s relative inexperience isn’t an insurmountable weakness, and she deserves the chance to prove herself at Queen’s Park. She shows a genuine concern for the riding and would be highly receptive to the concerns of her constituents. One major student issue in this election is how to effectively combat rising tuition rates. The NDP plan for a tuition freeze is the best proposal brought forward.

It’s a plan that would prevent annual increases from crippling students who budget carefully for their education. Accessibility should be the focus of education policy — something that has been recognized by the NDP platform.

Holland spoke to the problems of students graduating with severe debt, and argued that the freeze is superior to the Liberal plan of a tuition reduction. Liberals want to cut tuition by 30 per cent, or an average of $1,600 per university student.

If tuition continues to rise each year, the benefits of the Liberal plan will eventually be swallowed by cost increases. The $1,600 grant only applies to undergraduates, ignoring graduate students. Students who come from families with an income of over $160,000 a year would also be exempt. This is troubling considering the fact that not all families help to subsidize the cost of a university education.

Though Holland’s platform offers the best option for students, one of its flaws is an elimination of privately-funded research. It’s both unrealistic and unnecessary for research to be solely publically funded.

University departments are fully capable of keeping their corporate sponsors at arm’s length while conducting accurate studies.

Platforms are fickle, and it’s not likely for politicians to follow through on everything they promise. For that reason, it’s important to have someone who’s familiar with the riding’s issues and is ready to tackle the challenges that will undoubtedly arise. Gerretsen has proven his ability after serving Kingston and the Islands as MPP for 16 years. He’s aware of the special relationship between Queen’s University and Kingston, and has familial and personal ties to the University.

He said it’s important that Queen’s expand its teaching space and mentioned his role in recent town-gown achievements including the new medical building and the development of the J.K. Tett Centre.

When questioned on the issue of international student funding, Gerretsen avoided any political language and gave a sharp answer on the subject. He said it’s imperative that students be exposed to a diverse array of people and is starkly against the Progressive Conservative plan to reduce funding for international students.

The charismatic Robert Kiley of the Green Party has an intimate knowledge of the problems facing Queen’s students, but policy points failed to stand out in comparison to Holland and Gerretsen.

Kiley said that the Green Party has run of the mill platform points with regards to everything but energy. He was right. He should be commended for his sincerity.

PC candidate Roger James showed a fundamental lack of knowledge in regards to the issues facing Queen’s and Kingston. He spoke of his long and successful career as a businessman, but refused to field questions that covered areas not mentioned in the Conservative platform.

Refusing to deviate from the PC Changebook, he kept quiet on all questions regarding rising tuition costs. James also made international student funding an unduly large issue, and said Conservatives want to cultivate current students rather than draw more to Canada.

Given the PC Party’s neglectful stance on student issues under Tim Hudak, a Conservative government would be the least desirable outcome in the provincial election.

None of the four candidates could name the current AMS President and all but James could name the Queen’s principal. For candidates claiming a desire to engage with Queen’s students, this was disappointing.

While no candidate was without faults, the NDP’s Mary Rita Holland is best suited for the position of Kingston and the Islands MPP.

The Journal’s editorial board interviewed the four candidates running to represent Kingston and the Islands on Oct. 2. Candidates were given 20 minutes each.