Tempers flared as questions about illegal immigration and the former Bob Rae NDP government were addressed during the final local candidates debate, held Thursday at Village by the Arboretum.
While Ontario PC candidate Ray Ferraro was absent from the debate, the remaining three main party candidates found some common ground on a lot of the questions.
Aggie Mlynarz of the Ontario NDP, Green Party leader and candidate Mike Schreiner and Sly Castaldi of the Liberal Party debated a number of questions in front of about 250 residents of the seniors' community.
All questions were penned by residents and delivered either by moderator Sya VanGeest or directly from the resident via microphones set up within the Recreation Centre at Village by the Arboretum.
Facing a question from the floor focused on illegal immigrants crossing into Canada, Mlynarz took exception to it, forcefully expressing her lived experience of being born a refugee.
When her parents reached a sanctuary city in Germany, said Mlynarz, it was the best thing that could have happened to them.
“When we arrived at the border with Germany and claimed asylum, we were immediately taken, we were housed, we were given food, we were looked after and my mom was made sure, while she was pregnant with me, that she was okay too,” said Mlynarz.
“By giving us these resources and making us feel safe and protected, we were able to use the resources to transition and arrive in Canada safely and legally,” continued Mlynarz.
“This is why it is so important to provide these resources and make sure they are there, because as soon as you create a feeling of stigma on the border, of anger, hatred and distrust, that is when you will see more cells happen, that’s when you will see more underground criminal activity, that’s when you see more human trafficking, because people who are terrified will do anything to look for safety will not find it because they will not go to the number one resource that should provide it, which is the government, and they will look to underground resources to do it, which is far more dangerous.”
Both Castaldi and Schreiner lauded Mlynarz for her answer.
Schreiner said the way the Guelph community has embraced Syrian refugees is an international success story and Castaldi noted she is pro-immigration and is an immigrant herself.
The man who asked the question greived that it wasn’t being answered, because he was asking about illegal immigration.
Mlynarz responded to the man once again, “they come to the border and claim asylum, so they are refugees. They are allowed into this country by international law we have to process their claim to asylum.”
She added, “I guarantee the option of being a closed and hostile government is far more dangerous in terms of human trafficking and illegal activity.”
Village by the Arboretum residents Sya VanGeest and Lloyd Hicks have been organizing debates for municipal, provincial and federal elections at the adult-lifestyle community, currently home to over 900 people.
Thursday’s debate was open only to 900-plus residents of the seniors' community.
“It wasn’t that we want to be a closed society, we simply don’t have the space,” said VanGeest.
Questions were either directed to specific candidates or the entire dais and collectively covered a wide range of topics, from climate change and carbon taxes to library funding and affordable housing.
Some questions were probably longer that the ones seen at most other debates, as many were supplemented with background info and other commentary.
VanGeest said the residents of Village by the Arboretum are incredibly well-informed, drawing on lifetimes of experience, while still looking to the future of their community.
“We are all people looking at our grandchildren and our great grandchildren and the planet — so I think that is why you get such a diversity of questions,” said VanGeest.
“Imagine three or four people asking about sex education — and they are for it, by the way,” she added.
Some questions were directed at Ferraro and the Ontario PC party. Although Ferraro was not in attendance, the other candidates were allowed to address the questions.
VanGeest said she was impressed by the respectful way in which the candidates addressed those questions, resisting the urge to take easy pot shots at the absent Ferraro.
In a later exchange, Mlynarz was asked by a second man in the audience about party leader Andrea Horwath’s plan to buy back Hydro One and to account for the actions of the NDP government in the early 1990s, which was headed by then-leader Bob Rae.
“I remember what happened the last time you got into power, it nearly destroyed this whole province and nearly put it into bankruptcy,” charged the man.
Mlynarz said she found the line of questioning to be shocking.
“Bob Rae inherited the disaster himself," she snapped back. "The fact that you refuse to acknowledge that boggles my mind.”
She continued, “I am also shocked that we are not talking about Mike Harris’ cuts, which destroyed — still the Liberal government is still dealing with. That’s something Sly has been very vocal about, that even after 15 years of what he did, they still haven’t been able to pull themselves completely out of it.”
“If you want to yell at (inaudible) than please call Andrea Horwath’s office, and please talk to the people that made the numbers in the platform, because I am not going to get into a debate of this amount or this amount,” she said.
With no self-identified right-of-centre candidates in attendance, there was a lot of common ground in answers from the NDP, Green and Liberal candidates.
All three candidates agreed it was important to continue funding libraries and TVO, as well as agreeing to a woman’s right to choose to have an abortion and that the loss of pensions and benefits by Sears Canada employees after the company went out of business was not right.
The three candidates also agreed that schools should continue teaching the current sexual education curriculum, though Schriener did deviate slightly by saying he believed parents should be given the choice to take their children out of it.
Castaldi suggested parents shouldn’t opt out.
“Leave your kids in those classrooms, because if they are not getting that information there, I can guarantee you they are not getting it at home and it’s critical they get it somewhere,” She said.
Castaldi noted that Guelph MPP Liz Sandals was in attendance, who worked on the province’s new curriculum, which was introduced in fall of 2015.
The previous sex ed curriculum was out of date, said Castaldi.
“Before Facebook, before Snapchat, before Instagram. Kids are living in an entirely new world,” she said.
“I run a sexual assault centre and a shelter and I can tell you how vulnerable young girls are to sexual predators online (and) human trafficking,” said Castaldi.
“If we don’t give the kids the skills and the tools to protect themselves, you will keep my agency in business for many, many more years.”
Since 2002, VanGeest and fellow Village resident Lloyd Hicks have been organizing debates for municipal, provincial and federal elections at the seniors' community.
Historically, those debates have served to inform the residents and spark many conversations, and this election is no different, said VanGeest.
“You hear it at aquafit, you hear it at book club. They are really concerned about Ontario right now and where it’s going to go,” said VanGeest.
