Niagara Falls Review e-edition

St. Catharines candidates discuss health care, housing, climate

New Blue Party candidate participates at chamber of commerce debate

ALLAN BENNER ALLAN BENNER IS A ST. CATHARINESBASED REPORTER WITH THE STANDARD. REACH HIM VIA EMAIL: ALLAN. BENNER@NIAGARADAILIES.COM

Greater Niagara Chamber of Commerce hosted its debate for candidates in the St Catharines riding Monday.

Here are five things we learned from the event:

Blue time

The New Blue Party of Ontario candidate called for rehiring hospital staff who lost their jobs during the pandemic, in one of few opportunities voters have had to hear from the recently established political party.

Keith McDonald — whose party was formed by Cambridge MPP Belinda Karahalios and her husband after she was ousted from the Progressive Conservatives for opposing COVID-19-related emergency orders in 2020 — joined incumbent NDP candidate Jennie Stevens and Liberal candidate Ryan Madill at Club Roma.

Progressive Conservative candidate Sal Sorrento declined to participate.

Candidates responded to roughly 20 questions on topics that included health care, affordable housing, reducing inflation, pay equity and climate change.

A video recording of the full debate is available to view on the GNCC.ca website.

Health care

Hundreds of hospital workers were fired across Ontario after they refused to be vaccinated against COVID-19, including 61 at Niagara Health and 13 at Hotel Dieu Shaver Health and Rehabilitation Centre.

But McDonald said all health-care workers who lost their jobs during the pandemic “should be hired back,” as a few people among the audience of about 120 people applauded.

He said he also supports multiple private delivery options for tests and procedures, adding the private service providers are totally comfortable working alongside the hospital system offering publicly funded services.

“It does reduce wait times when you need an MRI and it’s not available locally,” he said.

McDonald said early treatment is an important part of easing the burden on health care.

“I think it has been underestimated and underemphasized. We haven’t seen enough effort in that area to emphasize early treatment options that will keep people out of the ICUs,” he said.

Stevens said Ontario’s health-care system is “desperately on its knees,” and changes are needed now.

“We have to make sure we fix the system,” she said.

Madill said the Progressive Conservatives “abandoned our healthcare system when people needed it most,” referring to unspent federal funding while introducing legislation that “punished our health-care heroes.”

Affordable housing

Stevens said her party would help young families provide a down payment on a new home, while re-establishing rent controls to ensure new tenants pay the same rent as previous tenants and overhauling landlord and tenant boards.

“No resident in St. Catharines should find themselves in a position where they cannot afford a home,” she said.

McDonald acknowledged the issues related to affordable housing, but did not provide details of how his party would resolve them.

“These issues are top of mind, and we will do everything possible to improve them,” he said.

Madill said a Liberal government would focus on doubling the supply of new housing, with plans to support construction of 1.5 million homes, including at least 138,000 affordable homes.

Reducing inflation

McDonald said his party would reduce taxes, with plans to cut the HST by three per cent, and cutting the carbon tax from fuel prices.

“It’s going to be difficult to get our cost of living where it should be, but we are committed to do everything possible that we can,” he said.

Madill called affordability one of the biggest issues we have in the province right now, and said the Liberals have a “comprehensive plan” to address it. It includes increasing the minimum wage to $16 an hour, and introducing a benefit package for young people so they can get dental and drug plans.

Stevens emphasized the impact rising costs are having throughout the community.

“People cannot afford to live, to pay their bills, to pay for child care or even save for retirement,” she said, referring to the need for programs such as universal pharmacare and dental care, as well as increasing the minimum wage to make sure people can earn “a decent living.”

She later added the NDP would also increase minimum wage to $16 an hour this year, and increase it to $20 by 2026.

Climate change

McDonald said governments are continuously trying to find solutions to the climate change issue, but “often their solutions backfired.”

“This challenge of the economy and the challenge of climate change requires some careful management,” he said. “As much as we have some money to spend in that direction, we need to be sure it’s applied wisely and carefully and not just totally wasted.”

Madill said the province had been a leader in addressing climate change until the Progressive Conservatives took office and spent tens of millions of dollars to cancel green energy projects.

“We are committed to addressing our environment and deal with it the best we can,” he said, referring to promoting green energy, significantly cutting carbon emissions and planting 100 million trees per year for eight years.

Stevens said actions, not promises, are needed to resolve the crisis, such as a new cap-and-trade program, electrifying all municipal transit, and restoring the powers of the province’s environment commissioner.

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2022-05-21T07:00:00.0000000Z

2022-05-21T07:00:00.0000000Z

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