OAO Member Webinar: May 22, 2014 OAO Member engagement during the Ontario Election The Ontario Election in Focus: Opportunities at the Ballot Box

A campaign is a great way to raise awareness about eye health and Ontario’s doctors of optometry, as well as the key issues we face We can use the campaign to advocate for our issues, lobbying for the support of candidates and central parties Advocating for our Issues Building Relationships. Raising Awareness. Why Get Involved Key Fact: Every MPP, every Premier, every minister has been a candidate. Engaging candidates means engaging future decision makers and influencers. The campaign provides the opportunity to build relationships and develop allies among future parliamentarians as well as political staff

Campaigns happen on “the ground” and in “the air” Central Campaign (the “air war”) –Each party will run a central campaign that will include policy platform, advertising and media, leader’s tours, and auxiliary tours (e.g. ministers and opposition critics may be sent to various locations around the province) –The leaders will travel around the province, usually by bus (e.g. “the Wynnobago”), helping local candidates, holding rallies, and doing media events Local Campaign (the “ground game”) –Every local candidate will have their own campaign organization focussing on voter outreach and identification and get-out-the-vote activities, as well as local communication activities (media relations, advertising, literature, digital and social media) –Candidates engage voters through door-to-door canvassing, “mainstreeting”, in all- candidates debates, and meetings/phone calls All Politics Is Local Why OAO member advocacy on the ground is key

The OAO has sent local candidates from each of the three parties represented in the Legislature a package with the following: –A letter, introducing the OAO and optometry, and highlighting your role in delivering accessible, quality eye health and vision care to Ontarians in every corner of the province –Briefing note (as well as one-page summary) on OAO’s current priorities –A candidate questionnaire Ongoing election monitoring –Responding to issues if/when they arise –Providing summaries of parties’ health care platforms, as they become available –Notifying OAO members of key events in their communities –Social media monitoring and engagement Attendance at select central campaign events –Targetted fundraising events –Attendance at leaders’ speaking events What is the OAO doing?

Let us know that you want to help (that way we can keep you informed of campaign developments and let you know of any local events we find out in your community) Familiarize yourself with OAO election briefing materials (available on the OAO website) –And check-in regularly for new updates Look to meet the candidates and their team: help them understand what you do and its importance; build a relationship for the longer term –Arrange a meeting or a phone call or a meeting with the candidates –Attend all-candidates meetings; ask the candidates about their commitment to high quality eye health and vision care –Be ready to engage candidates, on the phone, and at the door and in the community when they come looking for you What can you do?

Focus on achieving high-level understanding of the importance of eye health and the role and accessibility of optometrists. Help them understand better the full scope of what you do and what it means for patients; emphasize role in preventing vision loss, treating many eye care diseases (including prescribing drugs), and your role coordinating care across the range of providers and settings. Tell them that Ontario needs to make better use of optometrists to help support the growing eye care needs of an aging population, to support children at risk due to undiagnosed eye and vision problems, and the importance of people with diabetes getting a comprehensive eye exam, preferably by an optometrist. Reference the fact that optometrists are seeing their compensation fall behind the rest of Canada. OHIP pays the lowest amount (most patients don’t even have OHIP coverage) of any province for the procedures it covers and that we haven’t seen an increase in nearly a decade. What should you say?

The OAO, nor anybody acting on its behalf, should refrain from partisan activity. However, as individual optometrists it is your right to get involved however you feel, including working on behalf of a candidate. Support for candidates can come in many forms: attending or helping to organize a fundraiser, helping out in the campaign office, door to door canvassing, telephoning voters, etc. Working to support a candidate of your choice does offer some benefits: it can fast-track the relationship building and put you in a position of trust with the candidate and their team. However, on the other side, your efforts on behalf of one candidate can negatively effect the relationship with other candidates. If you do decide to work on a campaign, keep this in mind and consider the ways in which you might limit your partisan visibility and refrain from publicly linking your partisan support to your profession (e.g. don’t write a letter to the editor that says, “as an optometrist, I believe…that XXX is the best candidate for Ontario eye care. If in doubt, don’t hesitate to ask! Should I choose sides?

Questions?