Joel Harden MPP / Député, Ottawa Centre

I met with a group of parents recently, and they told me more youth are in mental health crisis, or nearing a state of crisis. Youth mental health was in a challenging state before the COVID-19 pan... More

Last week, after Sgt. Eric Mueller was killed in nearby Bourget, I asked for your thoughts about how we keep each other safe. This is the tenth police officer killed on duty since September 2022 in... More

As I wrote this column, I received news of a tragedy in Bourget, Ontario.  Bourget is a 40 minute drive east from downtown Ottawa. It’s not far from where I grew up in Vankleek Hill. Like my hometo... More

Ottawa is a city where many work hard for human rights. We saw it this week. First, let’s salute the over 155,000 members of the Public Service Alliance of Canada – at Treasury Board and Revenue Ca... More

Politics can be a cynical and vicious business, but it still offers hope for change. Why? Because I’ve seen how politics can help people. I saw it firsthand as a graduate student in the 1990s as To... More

Tomorrow is Earth Day. It’s a time when we reflect on environmental advocacy, and commit to protecting the planet we love, of which human beings are only one part. Indigenous leaders urge us to bui... More

As I reflect on the last two weeks, my mind turns to issues of community safety. Transit workers and riders feeling unsafe with escalating levels of violence. Seniors and others stranded on trains ... More

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Earlier this week, I told CTV News that Ontario should leave no one behind. The interview was about the Ford government’s decision to cancel a pandemic-inspired decision to extend OHIP coverage to ... More

Yesterday was budget day at the Legislature, with all the fanfare it brings. As I sat in Ottawa Centre’s chair, leafing quickly through briefings and the budget documents themselves, I drew one maj... More