Kitchener South-Hespeler candidates talk environment, cost of living
Voters will head to the polls on Oct. 21 and in Kitchener South-Hespeler, people will have a choice between seven candidates.
The candidates in Kitchener South-Hespeler are:
- Liberal (incumbent): Marwan Tabbara.
- Conservative: Alan Keeso.
- NDP: Wasai Rahimi.
- Green Party:s David Weber.
- People's Party of Canada:Joseph Todd.
- Marxist-Leninist Party of Canada: Elaine Baetz.
- Veterans Coalition of Canada: Matthew Correia.
CBC Kitchener-Waterloo has asked the candidates to answer a survey. All were presented with the same questions. Clicking the candidate's name above will take you to their survey responses. The candidates were told they had a 200-word limit for answers.
Candidates who did not provide surveys by the deadline are invited to still do so and their responses will be added to this story when they are received.
Marwan Tabbara, Liberal Party of Canada
1. What is the top issue facing your riding right now and how would you address it?
Affordability is particularly important to my riding as it involves housing, seniors care, and post-secondary education.
Specifically, to help seniors we have pledged to increase OAS for those who are 75 and older to provide greater financial security.
For families looking to purchase a place of their own we introduced Canada's first National Housing Strategy to create new housing and repair and retrofit existing housing. Our First-Time Home Buyer Incentive, has the effect of a 10% purchase price reduction for first time home buyers.
We will continue to increase the number of grants, and provide up to $1,200 more to make post-secondary education more affordable. Students won't have to start repaying their loans until they're earning at least $35,000 per year. This gives students more freedom to pursue and focus on their field of studies, without having to immediately take any job available post-graduation, whether or not in their field, simply to make payments.
There are a number of initiatives aimed at making life affordable for regular Canadians, and I look forward to being part of another Liberal government that brings that kind of positive change to the people of Kitchener South-Hespeler.
2. People are concerned about the cost of living and the future of the economy. What will you do personally to address this if you become an MP?
I will continue to advocate for policies like the Canada Child Benefit (CCB) and the National Housing Strategy that are making a real difference for people in Waterloo region I know the issues that face residents of Kitchener South-Hespeler, such as housing wait times and cost of living.
I have spoken to many families who are, for the first time, feeling the financial relief of the CCB and I want to ensure that those families, and many more can continue to rely on our support, because I know the difference it makes. This is why I'm also proud to support the strengthening of the CCB for parents with children under one-year-old, which is a very effective targeted increase.
3. The environment and climate change are top concerns for many. What do you want to see the government do to address those concerns?
Liberals understand that the environment and climate change are an extremely high priority and as a result have implemented a multi-faceted environmental plan that tackles a number of different types of pollution in a concerted effort to limit our negative impact on nature and our climate.
The first of these is the carbon tax. It is no longer free to pollute in Canada. The higher price causes people to reduce their carbon emissions, while the rebate leaves most people with more than the tax costs them.
Furthermore we moved to ban all single use plastics by 2021, which will not only reduce pollution from plastic bags and straws, but micro-plastics which are harmful to the environment due to the ease with which they can persist in ecosystems and even our food systems.
A new Liberal government will also provide incentives for Canadians such as the, up to $40,000 interest free loan for the purposes of home retrofit to help existing homes reduce emissions.
We are committed to a thorough approach to combatting climate change and know that this is only possible with a complete and comprehensive strategy like ours.
4. What do people need to know about you as an individual?
I want the people of Kitchener South-Hespeler to know that my greatest driving force is ensuring that they are getting the services that they need and that I am part of a government that gives help to the families who need it most.
As someone who was raised by a single mother here in our riding, and who saw the difference that compassionate government programs can make, I want the opportunity to continue giving back to both this community and the country that afforded my family a chance to succeed.
While growing up I witnessed the hollowing out of the middle class and I hope I will be able to continue my work for the people of Kitchener South-Hespeler and help to not just strengthen the middle class but open more opportunities for those working hard to join it.
Alan Keeso, Conservative Party of Canada
1. What is the top issue facing your riding right now and how would you address it?
By far, the top issue I am hearing about at the doors is how unaffordable life has become in our communities. Two thirds of Canadians feel that they either can't pay their bills — or feel that they have nothing left over at the end of the month after they do, and that is something being felt right here in Kitchener South-Hespeler.
Over the past four years, costs have gone up, purchasing power is declining and families are finding it harder and harder to get ahead. Our middle class is shrinking at a faster rate than the average OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) country.
The Conservatives have a plan to put more money back in the pockets of families, including a universal tax cut to all hard working taxpayers, returning the children's fitness tax credit, removing the GST off of home heating bills, increasing the government contribution for RESPs (registered education savings plan), and increasing the age credit for seniors. We will also cancel $1.5 billion in corporate welfare and return that money to Canadians.
2. People are concerned about the cost of living and the future of the economy. What will you do personally to address this if you become an MP?
We have a plan to lower taxes and get the dollar going further for young folks, working families, and seniors. We also have a plan to spark our economy into action, as we now see it has stalled, limiting opportunity and prosperity.
We know that when our small businesses do well and grow in Canada, the result is shared prosperity for many. Having 10 years of experience in advising small businesses, I understand that they are the engine of our economy. I will champion our plan to cut taxes for small businesses, as well as to remove 25 per cent of regulations that hold them back.
Additionally, the people of our riding tell me they need better access to their MP. Many are going to other MPs for help with their concerns and opportunities. This is just wrong. I will get started on this problem by relocating the constituency office from the far end of Kitchener South to a more central location that better serves everyone in the riding. I'll also regularly host local businesses and community groups in Ottawa to help advocate for action that supports economic growth and improves affordability.
3. The environment and climate change are top concerns for many. What do you want to see the government do to address those concerns?
Having earned a master's degree in the environmental sciences and having a passion for climate action, I am especially frustrated by Canada's abysmal ranking amongst the worst of G7 countries on climate action. Our policies are evaluated to have the same effectiveness as Donald Trump's, resulting from a carbon tax that Justin Trudeau has largely discounted for Canada's heaviest emitters.
Our Conservative plan forces Canada's heaviest industrial emitters to pay sooner, tightening their emissions cap from 50kt currently to 40kt and requiring that they invest in the technology that brings them back in line with these tougher emissions standards.
We will focus on technology, not taxes, to become an energy independent country by 2030 while also taking our climate fight global. As a stronger exporter, we can displace heavier emitters in other countries. Additionally, our Carbon Capture and Storage technology can help other countries to reduce their emissions substantially.
We will also implement the Green Homes Tax Credit and Green Public Transit Tax Credit to help Canadians with their daily environmental efforts. Canada's Conservatives are committed to protecting our environment and give our country — and the world — the best chance at meeting our Paris targets.
4. What do people need to know about you as an individual?
I was raised as a sixth-generation, hard-working Listowel sawmiller, which taught me from an early age about the importance of hard work, supporting local community, and environmental stewardship.
I was a lieutenant in the Canadian Armed Forces infantry reserves, serving both in Canada and in the UK, and possess a commitment to our veterans and men and women serving today.
I'm a business owner and a strong advocate for small businesses – the backbone of our economy – having spent my career helping small and medium-sized businesses to grow and create jobs as an operations and strategy consultant.
I'm passionate about climate action. I've earned an MSc in the environmental sciences from the University of Oxford, where I also completed my MBA. These studies inspired me to launch a service offering through a large consulting firm focused on helping small businesses to lower their carbon footprint.
I am thankful every day to share my life with my wife Jacqueline. We're fortunate to live in Doon South in our riding of Kitchener South-Hespeler, where I will work tirelessly to help folks get ahead.
Wasai Rahimi, New Democratic Party
1. What is the top issue facing your riding right now and how would you address it?
The top issue facing the Kitchener-South Hespeler (KS-H) riding is the housing affordability crisis. The rising cost of housing continues to make the dream of purchasing a home an unattainable goal for so many, including families in KS-H.
The NDP is committed to making owning a home possible again and to maintain affordable, accessible rental options. I would support legislation to offer financial assistance to those looking to purchase their first home.
Additionally, the NDP plans to create and maintain affordable rental spaces. This is an initiative that will benefit many and I would encourage a development in the KS-H riding.
2. People are concerned about the cost of living and the future of the economy. What will you do personally to address this if you become an MP?
The future of our economy depending on progress and innovation. I support the implementation of green initiatives that would create stable, long-term jobs in the region, in addition to tackling our dependence on fossil fuels and looming climate crisis. Innovation also occurs in the booming tech sector in Waterloo region.
Tax incentives and grants to develop industry in the area will similarly create job opportunities and keep KW competitive with the world. It does seem that the cost of living is climbing ever higher, and with the climate crisis affecting supply chains and the need for preventative infrastructure, costs will continue to climb.
However, the NDP has plans to implement a pharmacare plan to reduce the cost of medications, a plan to lower the cost of internet and cell phone service, as well as the recent announcement of funding to create 500,000 new, affordable childcare spaces will be change that can directly impact Canadians that they will see in their day-to-day life.
3. The environment and climate change are top concerns for many. What do you want to see the government do to address those concerns?
The climate crisis is an emergency and it is time that the federal government act like it. So much burden is placed on individual citizens, although we all play a role in protecting our future, it is large corporations who are the biggest polluters and should bear the biggest responsibility.
The NDP will hold these polluters and other corporations who profit from environmental harm to a higher standard and redirect corporate subsidies towards green initiatives. These initiatives like investing in transit options, creating green energy programs, retrofitting older buildings to be energy efficient, and improving recycling facilities will both reduce our footprint and create stable work to areas across the country.
However, Canada cannot do this alone. We need to build strong relationships and commitments with other countries around the world to effect real change and create a better future for everyone.
4. What do people need to know about you as an individual?
I have a Bachelor of Arts degree, a diploma in engineering, and education in management and politics. I have 25 years of management experience and I have served on the board of directors of many non-profit organizations in Waterloo region and beyond.
Through my volunteer efforts, and as a member of the Alliance Against Poverty, I have advocated for low cost transportation and housing affordability. As president of the Afghan Association of Waterloo Region, I have been campaigning for inclusion, belonging, and elimination of hatred. As a board member of Bridges-to-Belonging Waterloo Region, I have been advocating for people with autism and developmental disabilities.
As a member of the City of Kitchener's Safe and Healthy Community Advisory Committee for the past eight years, I have been seeking to eliminate the safety issues affecting residents of Kitchener. As a member of the Public Liaison Committee of Safety-Kleen Inc., I have been campaigning to make sure the company is not polluting the environment.
David Weber, Green Party of Canada
1. What is the top issue facing your riding right now and how would you address it?
The top issue that I have seen in the community is the lack of readily available mental health care, which often leads to self-medicating drug addictions with related drug crime and overdose deaths. Half the people in jail are mentally ill and this is due to insufficient mental health care putting people on the pathways to the worst outcomes.
We need a proper mental health strategy, with funding and supports to help people be the healthiest versions of themselves as possible, thereby improving their lives and the social fabric of our community. This alleviates the exorbitant costs related to our inaction.
Police repeatedly arrest the same people in chronic mental health distress, whom are taken to hospital and then released without admission to psychiatric care due to not being considered an immediate threat to themselves or anyone else. These sufferers are then often left without proper diagnosis or medical follow up supports sufficient to improve their mental health conditions, which leads to further encounters in which police are asked to intervene and take them back to the hospital in further revolving door contacts. Helping people in early stages of need eliminates costly hardships straining our community.
2. People are concerned about the cost of living and the future of the economy. What will you do personally to address this if you become an MP?
We need a royal commission to investigate and give recommendations for renewal of our taxation system. Far too complex and unfair rules allow the wealthiest to escape their fair share, while the burden of funding services has been put too heavily on personal taxpayers.
Revenue Canada collects $154 billion per year from individuals plus another $37 billion in GST. Corporations only contribute $47 billion per year, which is a quarter that of the monies collected from individuals. Fifty years ago, Canada had essentially no debt when corporations share of taxes was more than personal income taxes. They need to pay their fair share and we must stop their escaping taxation through offshore havens.
Personal credit card rates need to be capped at 10 points above the the Bank of Canada prime lending rate.
We need a GLI, guaranteed liveable income, to replace our employment insurance, disability and pension safety nets so that a more efficient and effective means of eliminating poverty is put into action.
We need to catch up to the vast number of countries that value the education of their citizens with tuition free university, college and trades training.
These things will help living affordability.
3. The environment and climate change are top concerns for many. What do you want to see the government do to address those concerns?
We have a tremendous opportunity to create an estimated four million jobs in the clean economy, which will bring prosperity to Canadians and bring environmental and energy sustainability to our country.
Ending fossil fuel exports of our raw bitumen and natural gas, and ending imports of fossil fuels too, will eliminate the potential fuel spills in our oceans and shorelines. Using our domestic oil on a declining basis as we build up renewable energy infrastructure and as doing so, transition oil and gas workers into renewable energy fields will protect their ability to have gainful employment while also taking action to protect our environment.
There will be jobs in building up and renewing our electrical energy grid along with infrastructure for charging electric cars and to power all our transportation. There will be jobs in retrofitting homes, businesses and institutions to make them more energy efficient and thereby be less carbon emitting and be less costly to operate. New homes and businesses built at net-zero carbon footprint standards can eliminate the need of external energy sources to power them. Solar with batteries can have an efficient home off the grid. We can act to make this a reality.
4. What do people need to know about you as an individual?
I appreciate and enjoy diversity. Whether it be food, culture, music, choice of reading material or with whom I have friendships. Having exposure to different personalities, their thinking and views has me feel the energy that infuses dynamic life and makes it worth experiencing, learning from and growing with it.
I have enjoyed training in karate to blue belt and riding my motorcycle on country roads. I also enjoy oil painting, writing poetry and sitting quietly in a park or woodland.
I believe nurturing your inner self, your higher self, is as important as taking care of your body. The best way to love yourself and have peace is to love others without judgment or condemnation and care for their needs in service. I believe that communication and empathetic understanding between people are fundamental for respectful relationships, which is also true for international relations.
Greater diplomacy and collaboration for the common good of all people in the world will bring more peace than the military industrial complex. I believe in a strong defence; but, more so in a strong alliance building for our global good, especially in us all together taking climate action and in protecting our mother earth's biodiversity.
Joseph Todd, People's Party of Canada
1. What is the top issue facing your riding right now and how would you address it?
I believe that the biggest issue facing us right now is the opioid crisis and the mental illness that goes hand in hand with it.
I was lucky enough to recently accompany city officials and a hazmat team while they cleaned out a homeless encampment on Marsland Drive right next to a public park. At the bottom of a small hill, they cleaned out two dumpsters of garbage and around 500 dirty needles. The workers themselves say the disposal kits given to drug users are rarely utilized. This is the 50th camp they've cleaned out this year and they're on track to hit 75 by the end of the year. They will more than double last year's number of 28. It's an epidemic.
We give these poor people plenty of assistance to slowly kill themselves but no help to get off the drugs. This needs to change, rehab needs to be more of a priority along with other mental health supports.
2. People are concerned about the cost of living and the future of the economy. What will you do personally to address this if you become an MP?
Cost of living is a huge concern for the People's Party and myself personally. As a working class family man, I feel prices getting higher, too.
We will save you hundreds of dollars a year on your groceries by abolishing supply management. Our income tax plan will let you keep more of your money. We will tax 15 per cent for anyone making less than $100,000 a year and 25 per cent for those making over $100,000 a year.
One of our candidates in Erin Mills also drafted a private member's bill that would make CPP benefits tax free. This would greatly help seniors and have my full support if elected.
3. The environment and climate change are top concerns for many. What do you want to see the government do to address those concerns?
The narrative that man-made CO2 is the cause for all climate change is untrue. Over 30,000 scientists have signed petitions speaking out against the consensus myth. I agree that the climate is changing but there is no consensus on any one cause.
There are so many factors that aren't considered. I would rather focus our efforts on concrete changes that are attainable. 1) We should clean our oceans first. They're the biggest ecosystem on the planet and we treat them like garbage dumps. Taking full advantage of clean incineration technology, we can clean our oceans and solve an energy issue at the same time. 2) With oil and pipelines on everyone's minds, I'm surprised that few know about line 5, a pipeline running through the Straits of Mackinac, which connect Lake Michigan to Lake Huron.
This pipeline was designed to last 50 years. It's currently 65 years old and threatening the Great Lakes system. I would fight to have this pipeline rehabbed or replaced in conjunction with the PPC pipeline plan.
4. What do people need to know about you as an individual?
I'm not your average politician. I hate politicians. They promise the world but live up to nothing. I can't promise you that I can fix everything but I can promise I will fight for us to be heard not ignored like we have been in previous governments.
The great thing about the PPC is that they allow their candidates to share their personal opinions, and that is something I am eager to do for Canadians. I grew up facing many adversities that I was able to overcome. Unfortunately, not everyone who faces these adversities thrives.
I'm here to fight for all people: those with families to take care of, those who need support, and those who struggle with daily life in Canada today. It should not be this difficult to get ahead in a country like Canada.
Elaine Baetz, Marxist-Leninist Party of Canada
1. What is the top issue facing your riding right now and how would you address it?
The pressing need facing people in this riding, as across the country, is to have the power to make the decisions which affect our lives. This includes, importantly, how we are governed.
Working people can and should reject the path of dividing themselves behind the different cartel parties and their promises, which represent the narrow concerns of the rich minority to reap the benefits of robbing the state treasury, resources and labour of Canadians.
Speaking out on the conditions of work and life and discussing solutions to the problems people face cuts through the shenanigans of the cartel parties, which are trying to keep working people passive observers of their drama within this obsolete system that brings elites to power to "represent" the people, speak in their name and rule over them.
In this election, working people can embark on a new path to serve our own interests by exercising direct control over the decisions we take and speaking in our own name. This includes, importantly, what to do in the 2019 election itself.
The Marxist-Leninist Party is making our bulletin, Renewal Update, available to workers, women and youth as a forum through which to have their voices heard.
2. People are concerned about the cost of living and the future of the economy. What will you do personally to address this if you become an MP?
The economic, social and political rights of the people, which belong to all by virtue of being human, must be recognized and guaranteed.
Canada is a modern society where people rely on society for their existence, but the rights of many are being violated. More than a few working people in the riding have experienced being laid off, out-sourced or downsized. Their fate has been decided by those who control the means of production. Most often, the shuttering of plants serves narrow private interests, many times they are interests that are outside the community and even outside Canada.
Working people need to have a say in the direction of the economy. It is the working people who must control their means of production and distribution for the good of all, to meet and guarantee their economic, social and political rights and well-being.
As well, a new direction is required for the economy — one that stops paying the rich and increases funding for social programs. Such a society will serve the interests of working people and their families, and it will also defend the interests of all.
3. The environment and climate change are top concerns for many. What do you want to see the government do to address those concerns?
In Canada, as internationally, measures must be taken to overcome the destructive effects of climate change and end the pernicious practices of the monopolies and oligopolies such as fracking, clear cutting, detrimental mining methods, contamination of lakes and oceans, the privatization of water, and fraudulent environmental assessments.
All over the world progress on this is being made on the basis of the peoples' struggles which restrict and successfully deprive the monopolies and oligopolies and governments in their service of their ability to pollute, destroy, super-exploit, trample on the sovereign rights of Indigenous peoples, and wage war for self-serving aims.
The MLPC's call to humanize the natural and social environment requires that the peoples of the world, not the rich, are able to control the decisions which affect their lives and life on planet earth.
It also requires an anti-war government that will end Canada's participation in all military alliances with the U.S., including NATO and NORAD, U.S.-led wars of aggression and occupation, and the U.S. war industry — which is the biggest polluter in the world. The U.S. Department of Defense has the highest fossil fuel use of any government body in the world.
4. What do people need to know about you as an individual?
As a woman and a worker I speak out in my own name in defence of my rights, and the rights of all. I have participated for many years, as a member of the MLPC, in the work for people's empowerment, as well as in many actions of the people against the anti-social offensive, in Ontario and nationally.
Experience tells me that the lack of decision-making power is the problem working people and others always bump up against. We are expected to settle for "influencing" the decision-makers, empowering others to make decisions for us.
The most crucial new arrangement is for people to establish their own political organization that enables them to work out their own stands and speak, independent of the cartel parties and the narrow private interests of the financial oligarchy they serve.
Let us speak out against social irresponsibility, nation-wrecking, environmental degradation and preparations for war. Let us oppose the fast-talk of the ruling elite that seeks to justify making the rich richer in the name of the middle class "getting ahead" or "choosing forward" in order to receive a greater piece of the social product the working people themselves produce and should control. Empower yourself now.
Matthew Correia, Veterans Coalition of Canada
CBC Kitchener-Waterloo has attempted to contact this candidate through the party but has yet to receive any response. A response to this survey has not yet been received.