Candidates vying to be Perth-Wellington MPP after the dust settles from the June 7 election offered differing opinions on the biggest issues facing the riding today at a candidates meeting here on May 29.
The three candidates that showed up, that is.
Of the eight registered candidates in the riding only Conservative incumbent Randy Pettapiece, Liberal candidate Brendan Knight and Libertarian Scott Marshall attended the afternoon meeting organized by the Minto Retirees Association.
Absent were NDP candidate Michael O’Brien (party leader Andrea Horwath was visiting his Stratford office), Green Party candidate Lisa Olsen, Paul McKendrick of the Consensus Ontario party, Rob Smeenk of the Freedom Party of Ontario and Andrew Stanton of the Alliance party.
Asked to identify and comment on the biggest issue facing the riding, Marshall referred to one that affects him directly.
“We don’t have public transportation,” said the candidate, who explained he doesn’t drive due to health issues. “We have a real lack of public transportation … we also have a lot of people in this community on middle economic scale. They don’t have a lot of money, and they still need to get to the hospital, they still need to get to appointments, they still need to get here, there and everywhere and unless you have a friend who’s willing to drive you, it’s very difficult.”
Marshall said local residents need “transit in some form” and blamed the lack of it on “higher levels of government that, pardon the expression, steal all the money in the first place.
“They take all the money and then we have to go begging for it back to get something like transportation,” said Marshall, who added he believes government regulation requirements prevent the private sector from providing transportation services in rural areas.
“The list of interferences by too many regulations and big government go on and on and on,” he stated
Knight said he believes health care, particularly funding for hiring nurses and long-term care has a big impact locally.
“Definitely health care is one of those main issues that we need to particularly focus on within the riding,” Knight stated. He added that, more broadly, there is a need for economic development in the riding to combat a widening pay gap between city dwellers and rural residents.
“That dynamic will continue to widen without more investments,” similar to the establishment of a University of Waterloo campus in Stratford, which was spearheaded by former Liberal MPP John Wilkinson, said Knight.
He also cited Liberal investments in “green technology and other technology to help smaller and mid-size businesses grow,” as part of the solution.
Pettapeice said local residents are at a disadvantage when it comes to skilled trades due to government restrictions on apprenticeships.
“I think one of the most important resources that we have in Perth-Wellington and in rural areas is our people that we have in the areas and children that are born here that don’t stay here,” said Pettapiece.
“They have a difficult time finding work, especially if they want to go into trades. We have been advocating for schools, and they are doing it now, to not just push students to go to university because not everybody wants to go to university. Some people want to work with their hands. Some people want to be a carpenter, electrician, plumber.”
The MPP said required ratios of licensed tradespeople to apprentices on job sites make it hard for local companies to compete for workers.
“You have to have so many licensed electricians to work with one person … there’s too many small companies around here that can’t do that,” Pettapiece said.
He added, “Young people leaving the riding is a real concern. It affects our schools, it affects our tax base and I think it’s something we have to address.”
Candidates were asked to outline their strategy for reducing poverty and helping those on the Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP).
Knight stated “Affordability is a big part of our platform,” and noted ODSP is “a big priority for us in government.”
“We have put money toward enhancing that program,” he stated. Knight said Liberals are also looking forward to the results of a basic income pilot project “that we have initiated with basically multiple party support.
“We’ve also helped with raising minimum wage so people don’t have to work multiple jobs to get closer to a living wage and we’ve also helped with child care, affordable child care, tuition … and with overall investments into infrastructure and jobs in order to create more opportunity for people to have a better future,” said Knight.
Marshall said, “Every caring society cares about the most vulnerable in it. We like to think that’s a given. And in years gone by … neighbors were more inclined to help neighbors, churches were more inclined to be able to band together congregations to help other members of the congregation. There were fraternal societies. People just cared about each other more.”
Today, he stated, people look to government for solutions to all problems.
“The government doesn’t have a money tree any more than you do,” he said.
Marshall added governments need to be “far more efficient, far less wasteful, so they have the resources … we have the money, let’s just start spending the money on the things that matter and quit wasting it.”
Pettapiece noted all the major parties have pledged additional funds for mental health, with the PCs promising an additional $1.9 billion per year.
In regard to the basic income pilot project Pettapiece said, “jury’s out on that one … I think we need to let it go farther and see how that one works.”
He noted the Conservatives have stated they will eliminate provincial income tax for anyone earning under $30,000 annually, “which will address some of those people.”
As for people drawing ODSP benefits, Pettapiece said, “One of biggest frustrations they have is just getting their money. The paperwork is unbelievable.” Pettapiece added, “Something we need to address is speed of the way government works … and try to get services to the people who need it a little faster.”
Candidates also addressed issues ranging from electricity rates to native rights at the meeting, which was attended by about 30 people.
