The Bay of Quinte candidates for the upcoming federal election had another chance to pitch their platforms to their constituents Wednesday.
The United Way Hastings Prince Edwards hosted an all candidates debate with just days until Canadians head to the polls to cast their vote.
Five candidates were in attendance including incumbent Liberal MP Neil Ellis, Conservative Party candidate Ryan Williams, NDP candidate Stephanie Bell, PPC candidate Janine LeClerc and Green Party candidate Erica Charlton.
The candidates fielded questions on a variety of topics.
How will you foster a dialogue with, and address the concerns of, the youth?
Charlton:
Erica Charlton pointed to the Green Party’s grassroots efforts to invite youth to be a part of the team. She said that they invite as many people as possible to meetings to help solve issues and that there are numerous opportunities for students to step up and get involved. In order to reach youth, she said they need to talk to students and engage with them on social media.
LeClerc:
Janine LeClerc said that the PPC is dedicated to youth. She pointed to the numerous mental health struggles facing Canada’s youth due to the COVID-19 pandemic and their subsequent need for adequate mental health services, including in-person counselling. She said her party will work with already existing youth organizations to reach out to and support youth.
Ellis:
Neil Ellis said that youth have played a big role in his life and political career. As a Belleville councillor he started a youth council. He said when he signed up for the Liberal Party, he realized they valued the youth as well. He worked with a youth council as MP and has spoken with many ministers about ideas that came from youths in this community. He pointed to the Liberal Party’s Canada Summer Jobs program which was given $1 million in funding to develop students and youths for employers and another $9 million for community support for black Canadian youths.
Williams:
Ryan Williams said that youth are going through myriad problems from mental health to an inability to buy a house. He said that, if elected, he will continue to be engaged and to communicate with youth and youth organizations in the community. He said they will listen to them and work hard to build the region for the youth.
Bell:
Stephanie Bell said that inclusion is one of the core values of the NDP. She pointed to the party’s youth delegation that attends federal and provincial councils, as well as the many youth helping out with NDP campaigns. She said they want to relieve student debt, make housing more affordable and make going to school easier and more affordable.
What does your party’s COVID-19 recovery plan do to address the numerous issues raised by the pandemic?
LeClerc:
LeClerc said that their main focus is protecting seniors. She said that there has been a lot of misinformation, false claims and false evidence throughout the pandemic. According to LeClerc, the PPC will protect the most vulnerable, end lockdowns, get small businesses back on track and get students back to school permanently without masks.
Ellis:
Ellis pointed to the help the Liberal Party enacted during the pandemic including the Emergency Community Response Fund. He said they got money out fast and helped people. Moving forward, he said, big banks and corporations will need to pay up and they will enact $10 per day child care to help out parents.
Williams:
Williams said the Conservative Party is committed to tackling affordability and inflation which is at its highest since 2003. He said they will look at maximum fines for price fixing, increasing the food supply, creation of jobs in Canada and getting people off of the Community Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) and back to work. He also said they will balance the budget and reduce debt within 10 years.
Bell:
Bell said they will find new income sources through taxation of large corporations and highly wealthy people. She said that during the pandemic many large corporations made profits and did not pay taxes. She said higher taxation on luxury items like private jets and yachts are a place to start and that the money the government would make from these taxes would pay for things like healthcare, housing and mental health services.
Charlton:
Charlton said that misinformation that is harming the healthcare system needs to stop and that the disproportionate distribution of wealth in Canada needs to be acknowledged. She said Canadians need a Guaranteed Liveable Income, that the wealth earned by major corporations during the pandemic needs to be addressed and that the eCommerce market needs regulation.
What will you and your party do to help Truth and Reconciliation efforts with Indigenous communities?
Williams:
Williams said that his party is committed to looking after all Canadians and to equal rights for all. He said the pain left by the residential school system needs to be acknowledged and that healing needs to happen. According to Williams they’ve asked for swift action on calls to action numbers 71 through 76 and that they will work with Indigenous peoples to move out of the pandemic.
Bell:
Bell prefaced her comments by saying that she felt uncomfortable speaking about solutions to the issues facing Indigenous peoples without an Indigenous person present to provide input. She said that listening to Indigenous peoples and taking action on the 94 calls to action are important and that a community-by-community approach needs to be taken instead of one all-encompassing approach across the country.
Charlton:
Charlton echoed Bell in saying that there should be an Indigenous person present. She went on to say that acknowledgement of the pain and efforts of Indigenous people needs to happen. She also said that housing issues and mental health issues shouldn’t be taking years to fix knowing that Indigenous youth are even more at risk and that they are also disproportionately affected by climate change and that until parties acknowledge that that is the top priority, truth and reconciliation can’t happen.
LeClerc:
LeClerc called the residential school system an abomination and said that, as a mother, she could not imagine the pain the parents of Indigenous children who were victims of the residential school system must have gone through. She said the way forward is to understand who is responsible and to talk to Indigenous peoples so they can recover.
Ellis:
Ellis said that, of the 94 calls to action for truth and reconciliation, the Liberal Party has completed 14, 23 are at the table and funded, 37 are at the table and 20 have had no action as of yet. He said they’re providing $321 million for searches and support services for victims of residential schools. Also, he added, they have lifted 109 long term boil water advisories in Indigenous communities and that they have provided $4 billion so far to combat issues with drinking water, and that National Day for Truth and Reconciliation is coming up on September 30.
What is your plan for equitable access to mental health supports for everyone?
Charlton:
Charlton said the way to a better future is investing in people now. She said in order to combat the struggles with mental health facing millions of Canadians, they need to combat what’s causing the mental health issues. She listed access to food, housing and health services as some of the main problems. She said Canadians need to be listened to and their thoughts need to be used to create action.
LeClerc:
LeClerc said that Canada is among the worst when it comes to wait times for health services and that it will only worsen with the country’s aging population. She said she believes a large contributor to youth mental illness began with the legalization of marijuana in 2019, saying that children are using marijuana and damaging their brains that are not yet developed. She said that instead of safe injection sites for opioids, the government needs to instead develop care for people suffering from addiction. She said moving opioids from criminal activity to safe injection sites is placating addiction.
Ellis:
Ellis said that a reelected Liberal government will establish a federal transfer to the provinces and territories for mental health. He said that in the 2021 budget they committed $40 million and $10 million ongoing each year to support 25 additional drug treatment courts. He said they committed $7 million to 13 projects to combat drug abuse and invested more than $600 million to fight the opioid crisis. Lastly, he said that during the pandemic his party provided $500 million to the provinces and territories for Canadians experiencing mental health struggles.
Williams:
Williams said that, of all the pillars under the Conservative Party’s platform, their mental health plan is the one he is most proud of. He said that everyone knows someone who is struggling with mental health and cited the spike in children experiencing depression due to the pandemic. He said the Conservative Party has committed $60 billion in health transfer taxes to the provinces to tackle mental health and addictions. Firstly, he said they’re creating 10,000 treatment beds and 50 treatment centres for people suffering from addiction and adding supports to 911 for suicide prevention. He said that many people need counselling to treat their mental health, citing his own experience seeking counselling after he and his wife lost a child. He said he couldn’t imagine not having a counsellor during that time.
Bell:
Bell said that mental health services should be available to everyone at no cost at any time. She said that she attends therapy and has to pay out of pocket and that it is difficult for her, just as it is for many Canadians. She added that people need access to medication, health services and that non-police interventions need to be increased so mental health and addiction issues aren’t being criminalized. She said that people struggling with addiction should not be afraid of getting arrested when dealing with their struggles. She also said that the NDP wants financial compensation from companies that may have played a part in the opioid crisis.
You can find information on the federal parties’ campaign platforms here:
Liberal: https://liberal.ca/our-platform/
Conservative: https://www.conservative.ca/plan/
NDP: https://www.ndp.ca/commitments
