For the third time in a row, only three of the five federal candidates running in the Wellington-Halton Hills riding bothered to show up at an election debate.
At the April 21 meeting in Puslinch, Green Party candidate Brent Bouteiller, Conservative incumbent Michael Chong and Liberal candidate Barry Peters continued their trend as the only three candidates to attend.
The Christian Heritage Party’s Jeffrey Streutker was a no-show again, as was the NDP’s Anastasia Zavarella.
Unemployment
One audience member at the meeting relayed his own difficulty in collecting employment insurance and wondered what each party would do to prevent such a situation in the future.
Peters said the Liberal party would increase payments and also extend the time during which Canadians can qualify for the plan.
Bouteiller said one of his party’s plans to deal with employment issues is to create local jobs through the development of a carbon tax. He also pledged to work to improve employment insurance payments.
Chong said the jobs lost during 2009 are now replaced, albeit in different sectors. He noted the government two years ago announced the establishment of an arms-length fund to aid with employment insurance payments.
Contempt
Another audience member asked Chong how he could condone the behaviour of Prime Minister Stephen Harper and other Conservative MPs, which ultimately resulted in the government being found in contempt of parliament for failing to disclose certain financial details.
Chong said while he agrees with parliament’s speaker’s decision on the issue, Canadians did not want the election that has been forced on them by the opposition parties. He said he believes in his party and would not leave it because of a few differences.
Bouteiller said when the Conservative government delayed in sharing financial details with parliament it was essentially hiding that information. Peters agreed and criticized Harper, saying the prime minister “doesn’t like to answer to anyone.”
Rising costs
When asked how they would help the average person deal with increasing costs for items like food and gasoline, which are made worse by the implementation of the harmonized sales tax (HST), the three candidates offered different solutions.
Peters said the billions of dollars in stimulus funding provided by the Conservatives in the past few years could have been better spent, as it provided temporary jobs only, which are now all gone.
He said gasoline prices are beyond the control of the federal government, as are food prices, but he would be willing to look at capping the HST on gasoline.
Chong said he recognizes high prices are “squeezing” households, but agreed there is little the government can do to about high gas prices. Instead the government should ensure it does not increase the tax burden and should focus on economic growth to help mitigate the rising cost of fuel and food.
Bouteiller said the Green Party’s introduction of a carbon tax would create stability in the market. And moving towards alternative forms of transportation will lower the demand for gasoline and could help decrease the cost.
Unhappy with those responses, another resident asked specifically what candidates would do to help keep Canadian oil in the country and to reduce the HST on home heating.
Peters said there is merit in reducing the HST on home heating, and added he doesn’t know why more Canadian oil is not sold domestically, instead of being exported, and that would be something he would look at.
Chong said when it comes to the HST, the federal government offered to Ontario the same deal the previous government made with the Maritimes. He stressed the federal government cannot divert a provincially-owned resource like oil to central provinces.
“We almost lost the country over that issue,” Chong said, alluding to the National Energy Program created in 1980 under Pierre Trudeau’s Liberal government, which was met with great opposition by the western provinces, particularly Alberta.
Health care
One point of agreement between the three candidates, was the importance of a universal health care system.
All three reaffirmed their party’s commitment to the Canada Health Act and continued funding to preserve and improve the current system.
Bouteiller stressed the importance of looking at both sides of the issue; treatment and prevention.
Chong said his party’s plans are sustainable and noted the provinces need to come up with “innovative” ways of delivering services and increasing efficiencies.
Peters said he wants to hire more nurses and nurse practitioners, among other things, but the system itself should always remain fully-funded.
“That’s not negotiable,” he said.
Coalition
One resident in attendance wondered if each candidate is in favour of forming a coalition government.
Bouteiller quipped that first he hopes Canadians elect a Green Party candidate. Then those candidates would work to find common grounds with other parties, he said.
Chong acknowledged coalitions are constitutionally valid, but said the test is whether or not they have the confidence of the people. For example, if the NDP and the Liberals form a coalition, separatists (the Bloc Quebecois) would be given a veto vote.
Peters responded simply that the Liberals “will not” form a coalition government.
Mega-jails?
One person in the audience asked why the Conservatives would invest so heavily in jails when statistics show violent crime has decreased over the last two decades.
Chong said when his party took office the justice system was “unbalanced,” with criminals getting off too easily. The Conservatives are proposing tougher sentences for those convicted of violent crimes and that requires more space.
Bouteiller said he sees no reason for building new jails, considering homicide rates, for example, have declined since 1975.
“It’s the wrong way to be thinking,” he said, adding he would prefer exploring restorative justice for non-violent offenders.
Peters said his party believes money is better spent on crime prevention, rather than building more cells.
“Jails are not a priority of the Liberal party,” he said.
