Health care, youth employment topics at Markham-Unionville debate

Yorkregion.com
Oct. 5, 2015
By Amanda Persico

Residents were left with no clear winner and no clear answers from Monday night’s all candidates debate for the new Markham-Unionville riding.

Only about 50 people turned out at the new Markham Pan Am Centre for one of the few all candidate events scheduled.

The Unionville Ratepayers Association in conjunction with the South Unionville Resident Forum hosted the event.

Liberal candidate Bang-Gu Jiang, Conservative candidate Bob Saroya along with Green Party candidate Elvin Kao debated Canada’s high youth unemployment rate, the crumbling healthcare system and the Canadian economy.

Markham-Unionville NDP candidate, Colleen Zimmerman, did not attend.

When it comes to youth unemployment, Conservative candidate Saroya pushed for a more business-like model, where investing in local businesses and offering tax cuts will allow those businesses to hire more young people.

“The government cannot support these kids,” Saroya said. “Private enterprise creates jobs. Governments don’t produce jobs.”

Meanwhile, the Liberal camp argued it’s government’s responsibility to create opportunity for young people.

“Stephen Harper failed young people,” Jiang said. “How can young people pay so much tuition to get through school but not get a job?”

The Liberal Party, if elected, plans to create some 40,000 jobs for youth each year, she said.

Green Party candidate, Kao, on the other hand, argued in favour of a more European or Scandanavian model where free tuition is offered. If elected, the Green Party would phase in a free tuition model over four years, Kao said.

As for healthcare, which is under the provincial domain, Kao argued for a more holistic approach.

“We need to protect the air we breathe and the water we drink,” he said. “We need to look at ways to stay healthy and improve health to take the stress off our healthcare systems.”

The Green Party also wants to establish a pharmacare program, giving all Canadians regardless of benefit coverage, access to pharmaceuticals, Kao said.

Saroya said what the federal government does in terms of healthcare is allocate funding to the provinces, which has almost doubled in the past decade.

“We can’t ask questions. Hopefully they spend it on health care,” Saroya said. “Our healthcare system is one of the best in the world. The United States always brags how successful the Canadian system is.”

The new Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) will see a price increase for pharmaceuticals for Canadians, Kao said.

“The TPP deal means more expensive drug deals,” he said.

But the new deal that includes 12 nations and covers about 40 per cent of the world’s economy is good news for Canadian exports, Saroya said.

“Before there were 30 million people to sell to,” he said. “Now there are 800 million people to supply drugs, food, beef and auto parts to.”

Jiang argued the way to improve Canada’s healthcare system is for the federal government to improve relationships with the provinces.

“Stephen Harper doesn’t even want to sit down with the premiers,” she said. “We have to have a conversation with these leaders. We need to work together to develop a better system.”

When it comes to the economy, Jiang argued now is not the time to cut taxes.

“Cut, cut, cut is not the answer,” she said. “Creating a deficit is not throwing money away if it means giving people what they want.”

But Saroya argued carrying a deficit will impact future taxpayers.

“Once you blow $30 billion, that money isn’t coming back,” he said. “It’s easy to borrow but hard to pay back especially with compounded interest.”