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“It’s frustrating because I don’t know where else to go, especially concerning potential cuts to OSAP. She’s my first point of contact to the government as a whole and she’s supposed to represent Oakville North-Burlington and her constituents.”

— Aiman Akmal, Burlington resident

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Akmal said she also wanted to know if the MPP had plans to open a local constituency office.

“It’s frustrating because I don’t know where else to go, especially concerning potential cuts to OSAP. She’s my first point of contact to the government as a whole and she’s supposed to represent Oakville North-Burlington and her constituents,” she added.

“It’s one thing not to have a constituency office open, it’s another to not tell constituents when we can expect an office and not follow back on emails.”

The Post learned the Oakville North-Burlington MPP has had a temporary office open for the past “week and a half to two weeks” at 2525 Old Bronte Rd., unit 215, in Oakville. Its hours of operation are Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. — Triantafilopoulos noted she was also willing to meet with some residents outside of those hours.

When asked if she or her office have let her constituents know of the opening of the temp space, Triantafilopoulos responded, “We have been reachable since Day 1 by email on our website, which is also on my Twitter and Facebook pages. Folks have been able to actively reach us. And I’ve been meeting with constituents since Day 1.”

Even though she hadn’t had a physical space for residents to visit, Triantafilopoulos said she’s been meeting with constituents in her riding at coffee shops and even visiting some with mobility issues in their homes.

“My staff and I have been on the phones or responding to emails whenever someone has a concern or request,” she explained.

“I’d certainly never encourage anyone to come from Burlington and Oakville to head to our ministry office in downtown Toronto to meet with me. I’ll continue to meet with people in coffee shops or in their homes.”

To compare, Burlington MPP Jane McKenna, Milton MPP Parm Gill and Oakville MPP Stephen Crawford have had constituency offices open since June 22 — Gill and Crawford moved to new locations in Milton and Oakville on Oct. 1 and 27, respectively.

When asked why there was a delay in opening her constituency office, Triantafilopoulos said it was due to the unusual situation of being a new riding.

Typically, when an election takes place in a riding where there was an incumbent that wasn’t re-elected, the new MPP assumes the lease and the office of the out-going MPP, according to Triantafilopoulos.

“This was the first time Oakville North-Burlington as a riding, provincially, came into existence,” she said, noting she and her team had been actively looking for a new space before acquiring the one at 2525 Old Bronte Rd. — coincidentally also the site of her temporary office.

The permanent space, which is currently under construction she said, will be located on the fifth floor of the building and is expected to be open early in 2019.

“We will have a formal announcement (for that),” she said, adding it had been a challenge with the current state of the real estate market in her riding to find an office.

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“... And I feel like they’re ignoring us and it made me feel like they really don’t care about minimum wage workers.”

— Alex Medley, Oakville resident & Fight for $15 and Fairness Oakville chapter

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After not seeing a local office address listed on her Legislative Assembly of Ontario page online, some residents said they tried reaching out to Triantafilopoulos on Facebook after their email and phone attempts went unanswered.

Alex Medley, a 30-year-old Oakville resident, is a member of the Oakville chapter of the Fight for $15 and Fairness community group and wanted to speak to local MPPs Crawford and Triantafilopoulos about the group’s objections to province’s proposed rollback of Bill 148 and keeping the minimum wage at $14.

He said he had no problems setting up a meeting with Crawford, but hasn’t heard back from Triantafilopoulos since emailing her executive assistant Mason Saunders on Oct. 16 and posting to her Facebook page on Oct. 18.

“I felt like this is in line with the sort of secrecy that (has) become characteristic of conservative governments and I feel like they’re ignoring us and it made me feel like they really don’t care about minimum wage workers,” he said.

On Sept. 12, Deborah Longo LaPlante posted on Triantafilopoulos’ Facebook page she had sent the MPP two emails that have gone unanswered.

On a post dated Aug. 25, Joseph Tam wrote he was “extremely disappointed from the lack of response from your office to my email (sent Aug. 3, 2018) regarding the matter of graphic anti-abortion flyers being distributed in Oakville North.”

Tam told the Post he received a response from Triantafilopoulos’ office on Oct. 25 (the same day the newspaper interviewed the MPP by phone) stating they were preparing a response to the issue he raised and would get back to him as soon as possible.

“The fact that it took three months… for Effie to even bother replying with such an unsatisfying response indicates to me that Effie has no interest in listening, much less represent, the people of her constituency,” he said.

When asked why her office hasn’t responded to posts on Facebook, Triantafilopoulos admitted the page may not have been monitored immediately at first as her office was going through “a period of flux” post-election.

“But since then we also have a notification on there advising people who contact us on Facebook to direct their inquiry to us by email or phone,” she said, with the same on her Twitter page.

Triantafilopoulos explained if a resident has a constituency issue to discuss, doing so being email or phone or in person was the way to go and not on social media where everyone could see it, citing privacy concerns.

“I think the importance of connecting to our constituents is our No. 1 role as parliamentarians,” she said. “I will continue to be in touch and accessible and available, and welcome any individuals who felt we weren’t available when they needed us to get in touch with us.

“The last thing I want is, for whatever reason, someone to feel that we’re not reachable,” she added.

To reach the Oakville North-Burlington MPP, call 905-825-2455 or email effie.triantafilopoulos@pc.ola.org.

Editor's Note: This story was updated on Tuesday, Oct. 30, 2018 at 8:49 a.m., to accurately reflect Milton MPP Parm Gill and Oakville MPP Stephen Crawford have had constituency offices open to the public since June 22 and moved to new offices on Oct. 1 and Oct. 27, respectively. This story was further updated Monday, Feb. 25, 2019 to include the Oakville North-Burlington MPP's new constituency office number.