On Tuesday, February 18, TVC22 hosted a provincial political debate in the riding of Glengarry-Prescott-Russell at the J.R. Brisson Complex in Casselman. Ontario Liberal Party candidate Trevor Stewart and Ontario Green Party candidate Thaila Riden were the only participants. All candidates in the riding were extended an invitation to the debate.
The debate allowed members of the public, both in person and online, to understand and clarify how each candidate would work to better the lives of those in Glengarry-Prescott-Russell.
Each candidate had the opportunity to respond to pre-selected questions from the public and make their case on how their provincial party would address regional issues, including rent and housing, Francophone relations, and healthcare.
Rent and Housing
Stewart said that “rents in rural communities are almost higher than in the cities. We need to have a strategy that is tailor-made for us here in Eastern Ontario.”
To begin combatting high rent in the region, Stewart suggested that “we need to eliminate the land transfer tax for first-time homebuyers, seniors, and not-for-profit home builders.”
“We have to make rent more affordable for Ontarians by introducing fair, phased-in rent control. I’ve heard some horror stories from folks out in Hawkesbury who were renovicted. This needs to stop, full stop,” he continued.
Stewart also highlighted the backlog of the Landlord and Tenant Board of Ontario, with individuals not being seen for up to a year after filing their claim; “They’re facing renoviction.”
Riden explained that “if you’re on a fixed income, it’s even harder to afford rent. You have to choose between your meds, your housing, and your food. Putting people in this sort of situation is not equitable.”
In addition to removing the land transfer tax, Riden said that the Greens would remove a significant portion of the regulatory barriers for the construction of different types of housing.
“Right now, it’s the popular single-family home, but the cheapest would be infilling urban centres,” he said. “Short-term rentals also need to be controlled; you can’t just be buying up multiple homes for listings on Airbnb.”
“The next provincial government needs to do what needs to be done. If they like our ideas, take ours, just do it because it has to be done. We want to have 60,000 deeply affordable, permanent, and supportive homes that have wraparound supportive healthcare services like addiction services and mental health resources.”
Francophone Relations
Candidates were informed by moderators that Canada has been losing 35 per cent of its French-speaking immigrants, with Ontario experiencing a higher rate than other provinces. They were each asked how the provincial government could stem the outflow of new French-speaking residents.
Stewart stated that municipalities in Ontario needed a new deal with the province: “We cannot keep downloading services, we cannot keep raising taxes. Folks have it to the neck here in Eastern Ontario. When we asked for a new deal, what did we hear? Crickets.”
He then explained that investments in social services and reliable public transportation were essential to retaining newer immigrants in the region.
Riden urged bringing back the independent Francophone Commissioner for the French Language and ensuring all government services are available and accessible in both official languages without the need to dig and search for French documents.
“We also need to look at additional ways to reinforce the culture and the language. We need to put the funding in. The money is there, especially when taking into consideration the projects being funded like the 413 and the potential underground 401 tunnel,” he said.
Healthcare
“Something as basic as getting a family doctor should not be so hard. You shouldn’t have to ask around to find a practitioner who might be accepting new patients,” Stewart stated.
He continued, “We have a plan and a commitment to get everybody in Ontario a family doctor within four years. It’s ambitious, but it needs to be taken with the gravitas that it deserves. People are dying on waitlists.”
Another point made by Stewart was that family physicians are spending too much time on the bureaucratic aspects of the job, reducing the time available to see patients. He said that these individuals went to medical school to treat people in their community.
“We need to let them treat their patients. We’ll do that by eliminating fax machines and bringing a fully integrated and centralized patient portal.”
Riden replied, “The core thing that Ford has been doing is gutting the healthcare system, systematically, and we have to stop the privatization of healthcare and reverse some of what he’s done.”
“We also want to provide startup funding for family health teams that would give them extra flexibility to offer other things like social work, addictions care, physio, overall offering more,” Riden explained.
Photos by Philip Oddi:
