Kitchener Centre votes: A closer look at the candidates in Thursday’s election

Kitchener residents will go to the polls on Thursday to elect a new provincial representative.

Global News spoke with three of the four candidates from the parties who hold seats at Queen’s Park in an attempt to provide voters with a small portion of their platform ahead of voting day.

NDP candidate Debbie Chapman, Green candidate Aislinn Clancy and Liberal candidate Kelly Steiss were all asked a handful of questions ahead of election day, while PC candidate Rob Elliott was unavailable for an interview.

What is the biggest issue facing Kitchener Centre?

Chapman said she has been knocking on doors throughout the community and has learned that the cost of rent has been a constant complaint.

“The amount it costs to rent a unit or a home at this stage,” the NDP candidate said. “So affordability is the biggest issue and it transfers into different areas.”

Clancy said she has been hearing a similar story from residents as she has travelled throughout the community.

“They’re feeling squeezed on their property taxes, at the grocery store with the cost of housing and transportation,” the Green candidate said. “Even those that kind of have a roof and food and are in a more stable position recognize that this is happening and want that for their neighbours.”

Steiss has also been out on the campaign trail talking to voters, who have told her that affordability is an issue for both homeowners and renters.

“Really what people are struggling with is housing and whether or not they’ll be able to continue to afford their rent or whether they’re going to be able to continue to afford their mortgage payments,” she said. “I’ve had people say to me at the doors, ‘Kelly, I might not be here when you get back because I just, I don’t know that I can continue to afford it.”

What is the most important issue facing the province?

When it comes to provincial matters, affordability remains at the top of the list for all three candidates, but they also broadened the issue as well.

Clancy spoke of the Ford government’s Greenbelt scandal, noting that it broke promises with voters.

“I know the Ford government has their kind of way to kind of push things through, with the Greenbelt and so on, the process has really been a bulldozer and it’s been a quite greedy approach,” Clancy said. “Not been collaborative. So folks recognize that, that the solutions aren’t working.”

Clancy went on to say that current rates of homelessness in Ontario are at an epidemic level while many others are living paycheck to paycheck.

“I think people are sick of that kind of priority of the wealthy supporters and really want to feel like the solutions that are taking place are going to make a difference with housing in particular,” Clancy said.

While Steiss also pointed to the issue of housing as a main concern, she said that health care was also a major priority.

“We are hearing about hospital emergency room closures across our province,” she said. “We are hearing about just a real challenge to access that primary health care.”

She also noted that many seniors are struggling with affordability issues.

“They’re there on a fixed pension. I was in a building that’s more dedicated to older adults, and they said that with the loss of rent control, they are really, really concerned about being able to stay where they are,” Steiss said.

Chapman said the issue of homelessness is broader than just Kitchener and that the approach to addressing housing issues needs to change.

“I don’t think we’re getting it right, and yeah, we’re building lots of new condos, but we’re not building affordable housing,” Chapman said.

“We’ve never had a homelessness problem like this. Well, certainly in the region.

“So this is unprecedented. And it’s a reflection of, I would say, that all levels of government are not addressing it in a way that is going to help to solve it.”

How should voters differentiate between the four main political parties in Ontario?

“So I think there’s a couple of things. I mean, we certainly have a long track record of governing and the ability to kind of come together,” Steiss said of the Liberal Party in Ontario.

“Have we heard in the last two elections that we have not satisfied the voter in Ontario? Absolutely.”

Steiss said the Liberals have taken a look in the mirror and will be looking for change, as they will also be choosing a new provincial leader this weekend.

“We are strong and we’re able to mobilize and get to what we need to do, which is hold this government to account,” Steiss said.

Chapman also pointed out that the NDP was the official Opposition, and that is one clear difference.

“I would say that the Conservatives are doing absolutely nothing to solve the affordable housing crisis,” she said. “They’re privatizing health care and different aspects of the health-care system.”

With regard to the other two parties, Chapman said she believes her party has a stronger affordable housing plan.

“That is to build a 250,000 affordable non-market housing units over the next 10 years,” Chapman said, before noting that the definition of “affordable” should also be an issue of contention.

“I think affordable is 30 per cent of the full-time minimum wage. And that’s what we should be thinking of when we talk about affordable,” Chapman said.

Clancy said her party takes a different approach than the others as to how it operates.

“What I like about the Greens is we don’t whip our vote, which might not mean a lot to people, but it means that I’m not handed a script,” Clancy said. “It means that I’m not told how to vote so that I can come back to our community with honesty and integrity and say that I did my best to vote for Kitchener Centre first.”

What are your long-term goals for Kitchener Centre?

Politicians are not fortune-tellers who can predict the future but they are expected to have some sort of plan.

When asked about her plans for Kitchener Centre, Chapman reiterated that the focus should be on housing.

“I’ll continue to focus on housing, is that everybody have a house, a home to go home to,” Chapman said.

The Ward 9 councillor said recent moves by the Ford government, including Bill 23, or how it has handled issues like inclusionary zoning need to be reconsidered in order to tackle the housing issue.

Meanwhile, Ward 10 Coun. Clancy also believes there are better ways to address the issue.

Clancy noted that bad actors who are landlords and property flippers needs to be held more accountable for their actions.

She also said better planning needs to be put into the housing situation as there needs to be more attainable, market and supportive units.

“Like death by a thousand cuts of our housing crisis,” Clancy said.

She also noted that: “Kitchener-Waterloo could be a green tech leader. We have so many of the ingredients. We have so many good climate groups. We have innovation leaders, and we know that this is a $1.1-trillion industry that the province is not even considering.”

Steiss also believes that renewed rent provision controls need to be added, and the housing crisis should also be addressed in other ways.

In addition, she thinks health care for Kitchener residents is also a priority.

She wants to “ensure the development of our local health-care infrastructure moves along and in a way that supports a funded public health-care system. This includes supports for older adults to be able to receive supports so that they can stay home as long as they want.”

Why do you think you are the right person for the job?

Clancy pointed to her work on council as one reason voters should consider her for the job.

“I’ve really voted for increased density so that we could have affordable housing,” Clancy said. “So I don’t just talk about affordable housing, I vote for it and I negotiate for sustainability.”

Clancy said she had passion and really cares about her kids and her community.

“I care about folks who are choosing between a roof and shirt,” she said. “We can’t keep putting it together with a Band-Aid and with duct tape. I really believe that we can do better as a government.”

Steiss, who has worked for the City of Kitchener for more than two decades, says that experience will help guide her as MPP.

“When I started at the city, my job was to make sure people with disabilities had access to programs and services and now I oversee three of our 14 centres,” Steiss said.

“All of those jobs and those opportunities were about listening to the community and then putting the right supports and systems and policies in place — sometimes that worked really smoothly, and other times it was about conversations and collaboration.”

She said her history of using data and research alongside community consultation and collaboration to guide decisions would serve her well in the role.

Chapman also pointed to her history and employment as an example of why voters should understand that she is the best person for the ob.

She headed the Cherry Park Neighborhood Association for five years before being elected as Ward 9 councillor in 2018.

“So as a city councillor, it takes time to learn the ropes, right?” she said. “So, I’ve been through five budgets and every which I think is one of the most important aspects of our job.”

She said the first budget was an eye-opener but after five years, it makes whole lot more sense.

When she isn’t performing her duties as a councillor for the city, she is also a political scientist who has taught about different levels of governance at several post-secondary schools and is currently teaching part-time at Wilfrid Laurier University.

“After I got elected, I again had the opportunity to teach them,” she said. “And the focus was very different because the knowledge that I was taking from the being a councillor, you couldn’t put in a textbook, right?”

She said all of those experiences have taken her out into the community and made her a viable candidate for the role.