Candidates vie for open seats Brampton Boundary Changes

NRU
Sept. 23, 2015
Leah Wong

As a result of Brampton’s growing population the city’s federal riding boundaries have shifted since the last election. With five federal ridings in Brampton, two are open races—Brampton East and Brampton West.

Following the October 19 election the city will have five MPs, at least two of which will be new faces. The new riding of Brampton East—comprising portions of the old Bramalea- Gore-Malton and Brampton-Springdale—does not have an incumbent as the respective MPs, Conservatives Bal Gosal and Parm Gill, are running in other ridings. Through the rejig Brampton West’s boundaries have also changed and the riding’s MP Kyle Seeback (Conservative) has chosen to run in the new riding Brampton South.

Running in the open race in Brampton East are former Indo Canada Chamber of Commerce president Naval Bajaj (Conservative), lawyer Raj Grewal (Liberal), service associate Kyle Lacroix (Green) and business analyst Harbaljit Kahlon (NDP). Over in Brampton West the candidates are policy advisor Karthika Gobinath (Green), registered nurse Kamal Khera (Liberal), Peel Region business performance management supervisor Adaoma Patterson (NDP) and Conservative MP Parm Gill’s former chief of staff
Ninder Th ind (Conservative).

Residents in Brampton are feeling financially strained as the cost of living continues to rise while unemployment rates are high and precarious work is more prevalent.

“Brampton is a victim of losing a lot of well-paying jobs,” Kahlon told NRU. In particular he said the city has lost a lot of manufacturing jobs as plants have closed down in recent years. “I think the NDP plan to diversify the economy and invest in the manufacturing sector could help bring back some of those jobs.”

Lacroix said to ensure there are secure and reliable jobs the Green Party would invest in renewable energy, which will provide more sustainable jobs long-term. He said other global governments are investing in clean technology and Canada should reposition itself as a leader in this sector.

Brampton residents are concerned, in particular, about the job opportunities for young people when they finish their post-secondary education.

Grewal said the Liberals’ youth employment strategy is committing up to $40-million to ensure there are more fulltime employment opportunities for young Canadians. Under this plan every federal department will hire co-op students and offer paid internships so young people can start getting work experience.

“We’re also willing to pay up to $5,000 for the cost of a new co-op hire,” said Grewal. “That’s going to start to alleviate the high youth unemployment.”

Several candidates also talked about the need to reduce the level of student debt in Canada.

“The federal government needs to play a bigger role in postsecondary education and ensuring that all Canadians have an opportunity to go to post-secondary institutions without the burden of debt,” said Grewal. He said the federal government should have better national scholarships in addition to offering more co-op and internship positions.

Gobinath said reducing student debt it the best way to ensure young people have opportunities when they finish school. The Green Party has a plan to phase-out tuition fees by 2020 and to introduce a debt forgiveness program to eliminate debt over $10,000.

Many residents are also concerned about high property taxes in relation to the level of municipal services they receive. With municipalities such as Brampton feeling budget pressures, several candidates said there is a need to rethink how the federal government supports municipalities.

“The way our taxation system is set up is not fair,” said Gobinath. She said municipalities are in the best position to deliver a lot of services to residents, but only receive 8 cents for every dollar in tax.

“There’s a feeling that the government keeps taking more and [residents say] ‘we’re not seeing the benefits,’” said Patterson.

She said the NDP’s plan to provide, sustainable annual funding for cities would allow local governments to plan long-term and incorporate federal funding into their budgets.

Grewal said investments in infrastructure will have the added benefit of boosting the economy in a time of technical recession. These investments will lead to better transit, more childcare spaces and more affordable housing.

“The [federal] government needs to increase spending. The only way the federal government can kick-start the economy is with infrastructure spending,” said Grewal. “The time to invest is now.”

Lacroix said the Green Party will ensure municipalities have the money to fund transit projects that would best meet the needs of their residents. By investing in public transportation it could reduce the number of cars per household in Brampton.

Brampton also has a large newcomer population— according to the 2011 census more than 50 per cent of Brampton residents were born outside of Canada. With many new residents choosing to settle in Brampton, residents are concerned with the availability of settlement programs.

“We need a total revamp of Canada’s immigration policies. The Harper government has gutted new settlement programs and they have a huge mistrust of new Canadians,” said Grewal. He added that reinstating investments into these programs is the first step to better supporting newcomers.

Additionally a lot of well-educated and highly-skilled immigrants have credentials that are not easily transferable when they come to Canada.

Kahlon said there needs to be more investment in training and resources for foreign credential recognition so newcomers can continue the work they were doing prior to coming to Canada.

As she’s been out campaigning Patterson has heard many residents talk about a disconnect from local leaders and the feeling that politics doesn’t matter. With a large immigrant population in Brampton, she said the passing of Bill C-51 has added to this feeling as many consider this policy to be divisive.

To address this growing cynicism Patterson said the key thing is to remain visible and connected with the community. If elected she would host regular town hall meetings to get feedback from residents.