Kitchener Centre candidates talk housing, health care, and how to make life more affordable
Voters go to the polls Feb. 27
Housing, health care and affordability were among the top issues addressed by Kitchener Centre candidates as part of a panel discussion on CBC Kitchener-Waterloo's The Morning Edition on Wednesday.
There are seven candidates in Kitchener-Centre:
- Sebastian Buntar-Stoica, Ontario Party.
- Aislinn Clancy, Green Party of Ontario (incumbent).
- Rob Elliot, Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario.
- Colleen James, Ontario Liberal Party.
- Christopher Nuhn, Independent.
- Paul Simoes, New Blue Party of Ontario.
- Brooklin Wallis, New Democratic Party.
CBC K-W invited the candidates from the four parties with MPPs currently sitting at Queen's Park. Three candidates — Clancy, James, and Wallis — attended the panel. Elliot declined the invitation to participate.
More information about candidates from non-major parties can be found below.
LISTEN | Provincial election candidates from Kitchener Centre address some of your top issues:
Housing and homelessness
Housing emerged as a dominant issue for Kitchener Centre voters who responded to CBC K-W's voter survey. Candidates were asked what they think needs to happen to address the homelessness crisis in the city.
James said it comes down to affordability, highlighting her government's plan to eliminate the land transfer tax for first-time homebuyers, seniors downsizing and non-profit housing builders.
"But how do we make them deeply affordable? That comes down to ensuring that we're investing in things like education, investing in things like health care so that people can actually be able to afford homes," said James.
She stressed that Kitchener needs missing middle housing.
"I look at wartime homes and I'm like, we need more of that," she said. "We need to invest in things like modular homes and redefine how we think about homes."
Wallis emphasized that her government would introduce "real" rent control. To her, that means rent control "not only within a tenancy, but between tenancies so that there is no incentive for landlords to renovict or evict good paying tenants."
Renovictions are when a landlord evict a tenant by saying their unit must be vacant to do renovations or repairs.
Wallis said an NDP government would also legalize the building of fourplexes throughout the province in an effort to build their way out of the housing crisis.
Clancy pointed to the loss of affordable housing in Waterloo region, saying the ratio of newly built affordable homes to the ones lost is the highest in the province.
"That means we need to build more affordable housing and also maintain and protect the housing that we have," said Clancy.
She explained her party's plan is to build 250 non-profit and co-op houses and 61,000 supportive homes across the province.
Clancy also plans to back stronger tenant protections, referencing her proposed Keeping People Housed Act aimed at curbing renovictions and excessive rent increases. She said the Greens would address the backlog at Ontario's Landlord and Tenant Board, too.
Health care
Kitchener Centre voters also identified health care as a top concern they'd like candidates to address. The panel was asked what they think is the biggest problem with health care in the city and how they would tackle it.
Wallis said the NDPs plan to connect everyone in Ontario starts with hiring 3,500 more doctors immediately. She said her government would increase residency spots in hospitals.
Wallis also said she would work to ensure continuity in family practices to prevent patients from being left without care when doctors retire.
"We're seeing right now lots of doctors retire and then their entire team, everyone is lost in the system," she said. "This has happened to a couple of my friends recently who just don't know who their doctor is anymore. They don't know how to get care."
Clancy said that Waterloo region has the lowest funding per capita for hospitals and health-care system.
"While some might frame that as very efficient, I don't see anyone coming to my office telling me that our healthcare system is working efficiently," she said.
She says that's led to an increase in private health care, which the Greens are "deeply against."
Clancy said that when she visited the McMaster University family health school in Kitchener, she learned that half the students aren't going into family medicine when they graduate because of the paperwork.
"We need to support those doctors, make sure we remove that administrative burden, pay for that administrative burden," she said.
James said there are about 20,000 Kitchener residents and 150,000 people in the region who don't have doctors right now.
She said the Liberals are committed to ensuring everyone is connected to a family doctor within the first four years if elected. James said the party would do so by increasing spots in medical schools and investing in recruitment efforts for international and returning Canadian doctors.
"We have a lot of internal Canadian doctors that are working abroad right now," she said. "We're incentivizing them to come back."
Affordability and cost of living
Outside of health care and housing costs, the cost of living and affordability was a large issue Kitchener Centre voters pointed toward. Candidates were asked how their governments would address the issue.
Clancy argued corporate profits are driving up costs. She said that government subsidies for big housing developers, airlines, and gas companies need to cease.
"We need to start getting some of that money out of government and stop subsidizing some of the billionaires in our province," she said.
She said that finding more affordable transit options and connecting municipalities will also help with the cost of living.
James said her experience as a Waterloo regional councillor tells her that too many services are being funded by property taxes instead of by the province, and she said the Liberals would aim to offload municipalities of some services
She also said the Liberals promise to lower personal taxes for middle class families by 22 per cent.
"We are also going to eliminate the eight per cent HST on your hydro and home heating bills because we know that that cuts into the pockets of people. You shouldn't be choosing between food or paying your bills," said James.
Wallis said she herself is hurting because of the cost of living, adding that one in four children in Kitchener are currently relying on food banks.
She presented her government's monthly grocery rebate of up to $120.
"We need to be addressing the price gouging in grocery stores," said Wallis. "That money is being pulled away from Ontarians."
Candidates from non-major parties
While only candidates running for parties with seats at the Ontario Legislature were invited to participate in the candidate panel, Kitchener Centre also has three other candidates: Buntar-Stoica of the Ontario Party, Simoes of the New Blue Party and one independent, Nuhn.
CBC News reached out to the Ontario Party and New Blue Party to try to make contact with their Kitchener Centre candidates, but did not receive a response.
In an email to CBC News, independent candidate Christopher Nuhn said his top priority for his riding is to put the community first. For him, that means working on more access to better health care, affordable housing, job creation and fighting for a living wage.
"I would champion resident-led food gardens, urban forestry programs and collaborative initiatives that prioritize action over taxation," he wrote.
Nuhn said if he were elected, he would scrutinize every bill that may unfairly burden the community, increase taxes, or provides any politician with a pay raise.
"With an independent vote, we can reunite our community and put the interests of our citizens above those of big parties," he said.
Voting
Advance polls run Thursday to Saturday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.
There are three advance polling locations in the riding of Kitchener Centre:
- St. Stephen Lutheran Church, 248 Highland Rd. E., Kitchener.
- Stanley Park Zehrs, 1005 Ottawa St. N., Kitchener.
- Victoria Hills Community Centre, 10 Chopin Dr., Kitchener.
Until 6 p.m. on Feb. 26, people can also vote Monday to Saturday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Sundays from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. at the Kitchener Centre election office located at Riverbend Drive Centre, 575 Riverbend Dr., Kitchener.
Election day is Feb. 27.
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