York West incumbent wins a seventh term as York’s local MP

Judy Sgro is heading back to Ottawa.
The Liberal MP for Humber River-Black Creek has surged with 67 per cent of the vote. Sgro has been re-elected for a seventh term as part of Justin Trudeau’s majority Liberal government elected Monday evening.
Second place in Humber River went to Conservative candidate Kerry Vandenberg who managed 20.2 per cent. Darnel Harris, representing the NDP, eked out 10.6 per cent, with Keith Jarrett of the Green Party sitting at 1.6 per cent. Christine Nugent of the Marxist-Leninist party was last at 0.6 per cent.
Commenting on her victory, Sgro says it is exciting to be part of an agenda aimed at helping people who need a “hand up.”
“They (voters) want to know they’ve got a government that’s going to care about them,” she says.
Sgro also spoke about youth employment, saying the Liberal party hopes to boost youth employment over the next four years. Other than tuition fees and youth employment, the topic of marijuana could not be avoided.
Sgro says models for legalization in the United States can serve as inspiration.
“I suppose that will be a basis for us to start to look at, but it sends a very strong message to the enforcement areas in the city as well that we’re heading toward an area where we’re going to legalize this,” remarks Sgro.
Despite what seems like movement on a infinitely baffling issue, Sgro cautions the drug must be kept out of children’s hands.
“I think we’re going to start to look at how that (legalizing marijuana) might happen,” she adds. “How do you go about legalizing it, and making sure that what we’re trying to do is protect kids from getting access to it.”
York West has been under the Liberals for 53 uninterrupted years. Although the riding has been a shoo-in for the Liberals for decades, Sgro struggled in 2011, putting up 47 per cent, the Liberals’ worst result in decades.
Sgro, who is a former immigration minister, is no stranger to scandals. In 2005, she resigned, following accusations she aided a pizza shop owner avoid deportation in exchange for delivering pizza to her offices.
Although she’s kept a low profile since then, Sgro is looking forward to tackling concerns left behind by the Conservative government.
“We will repeal the problematic elements of Bill C-51 and introduce new legislation that better balances our collective security with our rights and freedoms,” says Sgro.
[su_quote]“Canadians know that in Canada, we can both improve our security while protecting our rights and freedoms.”[/su_quote]
She says that her party will introduce new legislation that will, among other measures, ensure that Canadians are not limited from lawful protests and advocacy.
“We will review all appeals by Canadians on the no-fly list, limit Communications Security Establishment’s powers by requiring a warrant to engage in the surveillance of Canadians, and require a statutory review of the full Anti-Terrorism Act every three years,” says Sgro.

Alex Kvaskov, Assistant News Editor