Local federal candidates were put to the test Wednesday afternoon, as high school students asked for their perspective on COVID-19 vaccination plans, home ownership, student debt, Indigenous water issues and more during a virtual debate.
Headed up by faculty and students at Bishop Macdonell Catholic High School, it featured questions from Catholic and public high schools and was broadcast to classrooms throughout the city.
Unlike other local debates, this one included all seven candidates appearing on Guelph riding ballots.
Here are the questions and summaries of candidate responses, as provided in order of names drawn (full video is below):
How would your party encourage vaccine-hesitant people to get the shot?
Ashish Sachan, Conservative Party
The government has to encourage vaccinations for everyone who wants one and make sure they’re available.
“We, as Canadians, also have the right to make our own healthcare choices,” Sachan said. “I trust Canadians will make the right choice for themselves and for the country.”
Michelle Bowman, Green PartyMandatory vaccinations for students is nothing new in Canada. The government should look to past pandemics and safety records to learn from the past.
“I think the bigger question is why people don’t trust scientists and why people don’t trust government,” Bowman said. “Greens would work hard to convince people of science and what governments are trying to do.”
Karen Levenson, Animal Protection Party
The COVID-19 pandemic stems from animal exploitation, whether that be in a laboratory or a wet market.
“Our economy is responsible,” Levenson said, noting human encroachment on habitats brings people in contact with animals. She called for an end to factory farming, wildlife trade and hunting “if we really want to stop pandemics and not need to be vaccinated.”
Lloyd Longfield, Liberal Party
Vaccinations are “critical” to moving past the pandemic.
“People will have their choices, but people are part of society. And when the danger to society is there, we need to protect the people living in our society by making vaccines available to everyone,” he said. “We need to encourage people to look out for the children in the community … who can’t receive vaccines because they’re under 12 years old, to encourage people to be vaccinated to look out for the elders in our community.”
Joshua Leier, People’s Party
Urges people to make the decision whether to be vaccinated in combination with their doctor, with an understanding of how the vaccine may or may not impact them.
“I don’t think the vaccine is the be-all, end-all,” Leier said, pointing to continued infections in the face of vaccinations. He also worries vaccination passports will cause division in society, placing neighbour against neighbour.
“We would want to look at other treatments as well.”
Aisha Jahangir, NDP
Barriers to vaccination must be identified and addressed so anyone who wants to can receive it, pointing to online misinformation and conspiracy theories as the cause of hesitation.
“It is our responsibility … to make sure people have the right information to make an informed decision,” Jahangir said. “The reason why lockdowns were put in place is to make sure that our healthcare system was not overwhelmed. If we want to prevent that from every happening again, we must get the shot if we can.”
Tristan Dineen, Communist Party
“Seriously guys, just get the shot,” Dineen began. “Consider others, please.”
He criticized the government’s response to the pandemic, suggesting mass testing and targeted quarantines would have helped prevent the spread of COVID-19, while lockdowns should not have been lifted until we reached zero cases.
“We really messed that up,” Dineen said. “That was really business interests that were constantly driving for the economy to re-open.
“That should not have been the case. Public health should have come first.”
What plan does your party have to tackle the water crisis in Indigenous communities?
Sachan
The issue must be handled immediately, with funding and infrastructure to ensure every Indigenous community has clean drinking water.
“It’s 2021 and we still don’t have water for our fellow Canadians,” Sachan said.
Bowman
All the calls for action in the Truth and Reconciliation report should be addressed, and this is one of the most important ones.
“We know how to get water to communities,” Bowman said. “We just have to make it a priority.
“Everyone in Canada should have clean drinking water.”
Levenson
Access to clean water is an important right for all Canadians. Climate change is one of the major contributors to the water crisis around the world, combined with pollution.
“This is because of corporate interests that design policy,” said Levenson, “and it’s about policies that are created on colonial principles.”
Clean water supplies shouldn’t be used to support factory farming and feed crops, which limit availability.
Longfield
At the time of the 2015 federal election, there were 103 boil-water advisories in Indigenous communities. Since then, 109 have been eliminated, as others have come along.
“Some of them have been going on for years that still need to be worked on due to some of the issues that each project is facing,” Longfield said. “All projects have an end date to them and we’re working with Indigenous communities to get there together.”
Leier
“This is something that needs to get done,” said Leier. “It’s absolutely sickening that they don’t have it yet.”
He suggested ending corporate bailouts and sending money overseas in order to fund needed infrastructure.
Jahangir
The Liberal government promised an end to boil-water advisories in 2015 but has pushed that goal back to 2016.
“Safe drinking water is a priority,” said Jahangir. “It is a basic human right.”
To have Indigenous communities without access to clean water is “absolutely shameful.”
Dineen
The problem is “criminal neglect” and a colonial narrative that has been allowed to carry on for decades and decades.
“The genocide of these Indigenous nations, these Indigenous communities … is ongoing,” Dineen said, calling for infrastructure to be put in place that is controlled by the communities. “This has to be built on their terms.”
With all the money the government has invested in dealing with COVID-19, how will this affect social programs like student loans, and what can be done to lessen the debt to make sure students can afford the education they want?Sachan
If spending remains at the current level, the only way to eliminate the national debt is to cut social programs and reduce funding.
“The only way out of this is to control the deficits,” Sachan said, pointing to efforts to assist the economy and create jobs. “We have to be more fiscally responsible.”
BowmanA Green government would advocate for the abolishment of post-secondary education tuition, using money made through investments in a green economy.
“Lots and lots of research has shown that investing in social programs before problems occur is less costly than waiting until after,” she said, listing pharmacare, homelessness and drug use issues as examples. “We need to invest in these programs and it saves money in the long run.”
Levenson
Free life-long learning is “vital” to Canadians, including post-secondary education
“The workforce is transforming. Jobs of today are not going to be here tomorrow,” Levenson said. “We need to prepare our students, without incurring debt, for a new future that we’re facing with climate change, with pandemics.”
Longfield
Canada has one of the lowest debt to gross domestic product ratios in the G7, even after COVID-related spending.
“This is the choice of the election. Do we continue to have Canadians’ backs and invest in Canadians or do we cut services and try and balance a budget during a pandemic,” said Longfield, calling for $10/day childcare to help get women back into the workforce “so that there’s more money available in the economy and looking after our kids in a better way at the same time.”
Leier
Babies born this year have more than $26,000 in federal debt, a number that will rise to about $67,000 by the time the budget is balanced in 50 years.
“We need to stop this reckless spending,” Leier said, urging an end to foreign aid and corporate welfare, along with elimination of the CBC. “There are a bunch of different ways we can cut spending so that we can help Canadians in better ways.”
Lower taxes for those who earn the least would give them more money to support their families.
Jahangir
The wealth of Canadian billionaires has increased by $78 billion since March, 2020, while 5.5 million Canadian workers lost their jobs or saw more than half their hours cut during lockdowns.
To make the tax system more fair, and ensure the wealthiest individuals are paying their “fair share,” an NDP government would increase the capital gains inclusion rate, combined with a boost to tax rates for the rich and implementation of a luxury tax on items such as yachts and private jets.
“We’re going to be eliminating interest on all federal student loans, introducing a debt forgiveness program,” Jahangir said, noting Canada student grants would also be doubled.
Dineen
Put the onus on people who have an ability to pay.
“We want human need to come before profits. This is essential when it comes to organizing the economy,” Dineen said, calling for the creation of a long-term economic vision “with democratic consultation and democratic empowerment and expanding public control of the economy.”
People’s needs should be prioritized moving forward.
What plan does your party have to help young people like ourselves to be able to afford to buy a home in the future?
Sachan
Housing affordability is a common subject while canvassing door-to-door.
“We are creating a generation of renters,” Sachan said, suggesting high prices are the result of supply and demand. In response, a Conservative government would enable the creation of one million new homes in three years.
He further called for the creation of additional mortgage options that would increase access.
Bowman
A guaranteed livable income, as promoted by the Greens, would make life affordable for Canadians.
The party’s plan includes creation of 50,000 supportive housing units and 300,000 affordable housing units in the next decade, along with programs to help disabled youth and Indigenous communities.
Levenson
A guaranteed livable income is important to providing people the quality of life they deserve, along with a steady economy.
“What’s important, too, is that we preserve our land and habitat,” Levenson said, calling for an end to government subsidies for animal agriculture, forestry and mining.
Longfield
The problem is supply, in addition to access to assistance for young people to buy homes. The Liberal government is working with municipalities to speed up the approval process, providing resources to look at vacant properties that could be developed.
He also called for an end to the practice of developers buying properties and then not building until the property value increases.
“The bidding process is unfair. It’s really in the seller’s favour,” said Longfield, noting prospective buyers need more transparency.
Leier
It’s not just a supply issue, but also demand.
In order to lower demand, Leier suggested lowering the number of immigrants to Canada annually from 400,000 to 100,000.
“That’s going to alleviate a lot of the pressure on the housing market, on the healthcare system,” Leier said. “That’s something we have to look at. It can’t be just all about supply because it’s unrealistic to just build an infinite amount of new housing.”
The People’s Party would also eliminate developers buying land and not building, as well as limit the number of foreign, non-resident buyers of homes.
Jahangir
People throughout the country are struggling to keep up with rising costs, with only one-third of Canadians in a position to buy any type of home in the face of a 55 per cent increase in value under the Liberal government.
The NDP plan to create 500,000 units of affordable housing.
“We’ll make sure the houses are homes, not places for the international super-rich to park their cash with a 20 per cent levy on home purchases from investors living outside Canada,” Jahangir said.
Dineen
“First of all, foreigners and immigrants are not to blame for the crazy increase on housing prices,” Dineen said, blaming “the treating of housing not as a human right but as something to be bought and sold on the marketplace” for the situation.
“We need to understand housing is a public utility. No one should be paying more than 20 per cent of their income on shelter each month,” he continued. “If that requires rent control, rent rollbacks, that’s what we need to do.”
The creation of one million affordable housing units would help.
