LETTER: Reader educated, motivated, ambitious but still drowning in debt

SooToday received the following letter to the editor from reader Elysia Peattie, who addresses Sault MPP Ross Romano and the repeal of Bill 47:

Hello Mr. Romano,

I hope this email finds you well (and hopefully sootday.com readers), and with the time it takes to read it. I would imagine, as an MPP - criticism is something you've become accustomed too (likely from both sides of wings). I want to take a moment to thank you for your service to the folks in SSM, recognizing that you are like anyone else... a person who tries to do his best, doing what he believes is in the best interest of the constituents he serves.

With that in mind, I also wanted to share with you some of my life experience – with the hope that it may stay with you while you're advocating for or against issues that affect us all.

Let me begin with my present. I am proud to share that I have completed a graduate degree, at the University of Toronto. I proudly claim the title of Master of Social Work / Registered Social Worker (MSW/RSW). I've been blessed with incredible opportunity, and because I hold more than one job – I am not a Sunshine List member, though otherwise meet the requirements to be listed there.

I am white. I am female. My parents are both staunch PC voters, their beliefs often aligning with the PC values. They are both University educated, combined incomes in the $100+k range (when I was living in their home, 25 years ago).

They also did not believe in giving anyone a free ride. I paid for school myself, with OSAP loans. Which I wasn't able to qualify for until my 20s, when I had a dependent of my own. I was a single parent, going to school full time – and owed a whopping $70k when I graduated (having been forgiven almost $70k). If I payed the amount they originally requested, I would be paying $996 a month (recently reduced to $800/ month). That doesn't include the almost $500 a month I pay on my student line of credit (in order to complete my graduate degree, I had to take a year off work, and bring my teenage daughter with me to the GTA for a year).

I am drowning. I don't own a home. I don't have any savings. I don't have any RRSPs. I am 40. I still have another seven years of debt repayment.

I mentioned I have more than one job. I always have, since graduating school. It was not uncommon for me to work between 70-85 hours a week. I share this with you, not because I want your pity, but because I am an able-bodied and able-minded woman who is educated, motivated, ambitious and willing to work her ass off... and is drowning.

It was only two years ago that I was able to secure full-time employment. Prior to that, sick days meant that I was going to be late with a bill payment. Working in environments that didn't have fair scheduling laws meant that my daughter suffered – she did not get to enjoy the perks most associate with an educated, employed, white parent. A parent who was mostly not present - because I wanted more for her, because being hardworking was something my Conservative parents taught me.

I can't imagine how much more difficult my life would be if I didn't come from a privileged background. I do not suffer from addictions, or mental health - and haven't been largely impacted by a family history of either. I only have one child, because child care for more than one would have made pursuing studies impossible.

I can tell you I've worked at Tim Horton's, call centres, retail stores. I have made minimum wage, which wasn't enough to support my daughter and I, and make school possible. I've had to rely on what was referred to as welfare (now Ontario Works) to survive. 

I suppose by some standards, I'm the success story. I overcame the barriers stacked in front of me because of sheer will, determination and hard work. And yet, I won't be able to begin saving for retirement or saving for a down payment for a house until I am 47. That is terrifying. I pay over $500 a month in interest on my student loans.  Having a minimum wage reflective of the cost of living while I was in school may have significantly impacted the amount owing now.

Providing people with a living wage is not a bad thing. Giving them the breathing room necessary to be sick, or care for a sick child is not welfare. Ensuring fair scheduling rules, is not a kindness or charity. Rather, it provides opportunity for families to do their best, and keep their heads above water. 

Your party espouses family value ideology; being pro-life, even making statements re: challenging abortion legislation (thankfully making statements was as far as that went). I can't help but point out the current incongruence between the current intentions to repeal Bill 47, and family value ideology. This, without even having to address the issues associated with income disparity, mental health and addictions, adverse childhood effects, etc...

I believe that you care about people, and families – if you didn't, you wouldn't have been moved to enter into the political arena. I invite you to hear the stories of your constituents, all of them. I invite you to ask them what they need, rather than parroting the rhetoric of the party and its leaders. You are a good Sault man, and now is an opportunity to prove that.

With kindness and respect,

Elysia Peattie, BA/HBS/MSW/RSW
Broadview Drive 
Sault Ste. Marie