Candidates talk municipal priorities: Mississauga debates

NRU
Oct. 14, 2015
By Leah Wong

Mississauga is getting extra representatives after the federal election as the boundary reconfiguration has voters sending six MPs to Ottawa.

While Mayor Bonnie Crombie has not endorsed any of the parties, she has outlined three key issues that she feels the next federal government needs to address. Crombie hosted a debate on her RogersTV show “Crombie Connects” and asked party representatives to discuss how they will address transit and infrastructure, economic development and affordable housing.

Each of the four major parties selected a Mississauga candidate to represent its view in the debate. The Conservative Party sent Mississauga South MP Stella Ambler, who is running in the new riding of Mississauga-Lakeshore. Former Liberal MPP Peter Fonseca, who is running in Mississauga East-Cooksville represented the Liberal Party, Mississauga-Streetsville candidate and management consultant Chris Hill represented the Green Party and Mississauga Centre candidate and community activist Farheen Khan represented the NDP.

During her recent state of the city address to the Mississauga Board of Trade Crombie said the city has changed from a “sleepy bedroom community” to a “dynamic city with limitless potential.” This has not come without challenges as the city prepares to accommodate future growth while addressing congestion and ensuring there are employment opportunities.

Mississauga ridings have a history of flipping between Conservative and Liberal representatives and in the 2011 election all Mississauga federal ridings were won by Conservative candidates. This election has candidates from all four parties out trying to convince voters their party’s platform best addresses the city’s needs.

During the debate Khan said the NDP would create a federal Ministry of Urban Affairs to address the changing needs of Canada’s cities. She said the NDP will partner with the city to address infrastructure needs and provide reliable and stable funding to municipalities.

Ambler said that municipalities are best equipped to decide what their priorities are and they have a stable source of funding through gas taxes.

“The Conservatives believe in working together with municipalities and letting them decide what the transit priorities are,” Ambler said during the debate. “We are making targeted, practical investments in communities while also lowering taxes and balancing the budget.”

The Liberal Party has taken a different approach in its plan for future infrastructure spending. Fonseca said his party would run a minimal deficit that will allow it to invest in major infrastructure projects sooner.

“The real different is that the money will flow now,” said Fonseca. “We have to make sure that these projects [such as the missing link] are not kicked down the road.”

Whether the federal government should run a deficit has been a major point of debate among the parties. The other three parties have proposed plans that they say can be achieved with a balanced budget.

“I don’t think running a deficit is the right option at this point,” said Khan. “We want to invest in infrastructure and support our municipalities, but it’s important not to leave burdens behind for future generations.”

Keeping in mind the need of future generation is important as governments plan for transportation, said Hill. Given the rapid changes to automotive technology - and the emergence of self-driving cars - transportation authorities need to be prepared for travel behaviors to change as they are considering significant investments.

While residents are concerned about their ability to get to and from work, candidates have also heard about the need for more jobs.

“There are not enough good, reliable jobs here in Mississauga,” said Khan. She said her party will invest in small and medium-sized businesses and introduce an innovation tax credit to support manufacturing companies undertake research and development.

Fonseca said the Liberals will invest $750-million in job training to ensure employers have access to a skilled workforce and will encourage apprenticeships and co-op programs for young people.

“We often hear young people who finish school don’t have the experience and find it hard getting into the labour market,” said Fonseca. “We want to help bridge that gap.”

In the nine years that the Conservatives have been in government, Ambler said there have been 39 new trade agreements, which have led to new jobs for Canadians. She said the government has also reduced taxes for both small and large businesses so companies can reinvest in the economy and create jobs.

Hill disagrees that Canadians have benefited from recent trade agreements.

“The types of trade agreements that have been negotiated have not been beneficial to Canada.”

In addition to a need for more employment opportunities, candidates talked about the need to address the growing poverty in Mississauga. At the crux of this issue is the rising cost of housing in the city.

Ambler said her party has made an $800-million agreement with the Ontario government to invest in housing and is working to make housing affordable to all Canadians.

“We believe that the best housing strategy begins with creating jobs and helping families to afford [to buy] their own homes.”

Given rising housing prices in Peel Region, Khan said housing ownership is out of reach for many residents. She said the NDP is committed to developing a national housing strategy and making access to affordable housing a right.

“What we actually need is more affordable housing, and in particular subsidized housing, to make sure everyone has a place to live.”

Fonseca criticized the Conservative government’s failure to renew co-operative housing agreements. He suggested that when co-op housing works well, its funding shouldn’t be cut. He said his party will invest $20-billion in affordable housing and provide incentives for the private sector to build affordable rental units.

Hill said there is also a problem with the maintenance of existing units and suggested more eff orts should be made to retrofit rental units so they are more sustainable.