EGANVILLE – Jackie Agnew delayed giving her acceptance speech at the provincial Liberal nomination meeting for the riding of Renfrew-Nipissing-Pembroke at the Eganville Legion on Saturday. Instead, she asked those gathered in the seats before her, to first join with her in a moment silence for the victims of the Humboldt Broncos bus crash that occurred at 5 p.m. on Friday 300 kilometres from Regina, Saskatchewan. After paying her respects to the grieving, Agnew began her speech. “15 years ago, I was a single mom struggling to make ends meet, working two part-time jobs at $8.50 an hour while attending college. Imagine if the minimum wage had been $15 per hour. Imagine if tuition had been free and my children’s prescriptions and dental [costs] had been covered. Life would have been so much easier. “I have chosen to run for the provincial Liberals because I choose a party that invests in mental health, that invests in women, that invests in seniors, that invests in youth, that supports a living wage, that infuses money into healthcare, pharma care and dental, that will open 100,000 new childcare spots and 30,000 new long-term care beds. I choose a party that understands that broadband and cell service are crucial to rural Ontario, a party that is investing in our arenas and our downtowns, that has invested in our sawmills, our hospitals and the four-laning of the 417. I choose a party that is moving us forward, not backward. A party that has made a deliberate choice to invest in care when the economy and the world is changing so quickly,” Agnew said. For more pick up a copy of the April 11, paper.