It was a debate marked by consensus as three Milton provincial byelection candidates tackled questions of pressing issues at the Milton Sports Centre Thursday night.
Kyle Hutton of the Green Party, the NDP’s Edie Strachan and Liberal Galen Naidoo Harris shared common ground on many fronts — quarry opposition, enhanced health care and transit funding — while targeting the policies of Doug Ford’s government. Missing was PC candidate Zee Hamid, who had attended previous meetings, as well as New Blue flagbearer John Spina, Ontario Party candidate Frederick Weening, Tony Walton of the Family Rights Party and independents John Turmel and Arabella Vida.
Here are some of the highlights.
LONG-TERM CARE CRISIS
All three candidates raised concerns about funding cuts to health-care services, particularly in long-term care, with Strachan raising the point that “Ontario had the lowest health-care spending per capita” — based on a 2023 report from the Financial Accountability Office of Ontario.
“The Auditor General indicates that one in five ER patients were there because they didn't have a family doctor. We have foreign trained doctors that don't have a clear path to getting recognized,” Strachan said, also criticizing health-care privatization.
Naidoo Harris said he’d work to ensure “that we're getting more health-care workers into the system," while Hutton said that the Greens would get for-profit long-term care out of the province and “put it back into the hands of government and care partners with proper funding.”
CAMPBELLVILLE QUARRY
Naidoo Harris suggested he’d look at two pathways: calling for an MZO (Minister’s Zoning Order) or a “modification to the Environmental Assessment process to change the terms and shut this quarry down.” This was echoed by Hutton, who noted the use of an MZO for the takeover of the Dolime Quarry in Guelph.
NEW HOME AND ENVIRONMENT/ESTABLISHED NEIGHBOURHOODS
Both Hutton and Naidoo Harris advocate for the implementation of gentle density and the allowance of fourplexes as-of-right across Ontario. Hutton called for the expansion of single-family home zoning to accommodate more housing types — while Naidoo Harris emphasized the importance of sustainable growth, stating: “We have to ensure that as we continue to grow, we do it in a sustainable way — in a way that's respectful of the heritage of our communities.”
Strachan also champions mixed housing and higher density, while paying attention to ensure ”proper transportation available for people to be able to get around.”
DEFINING AFFORDABLE HOUSING
Hutton said that many people who have full-time work and living within their means “can’t afford a place to live.”
“And it's caused by the fact that we've not had proper density building,” Hutton said, noting the failure of multiple governments over the years.
Strachan said the commonly cited figure for affordable housing is around 30 per cent of take-home pay, but “not everybody has the same access to education” and good jobs.
“We need more good jobs in Milton, we need to provide these opportunities for our kids and our residents to have those good jobs so that they can afford a decent place to live so that their children can have a safe place to live and grow,” Strachan said.
Meanwhile, Naidoo Harris took a swipe at the Ford government on housing: “They haven't done anything for renters, anything for homeowners, they took away rent control for folks in this province.”
LACK OF HOSPICE FUNDING
Hutton said he wants to redirect funds from building Highway 413 toward hospices, arguing: “That’s billions of dollars being sunk into a highway we don’t need when it could go toward things like hospice care,” Hutton said. “Our population is aging, but they're also living longer. But the support level is not keeping up.”
Naidoo Harris expressed support for public funding initiatives aimed at creating hospices, while Strachan denounced the government’s allocation of $650 million for a spa on the Toronto waterfront as “absolutely shameful” — instead of funding hospice care, health care and education.
HOW TO IMPROVE PUBLIC TRANSIT
Strachan said that there’s a need to boost local and regional transit in order to create walkable communities — and an infrastructure that “works for the people.”
“This takes money and the allocations have to be prioritized,” Strachan said.
Similarly, Naidoo Harris said that he’d look at “building livable communities, also ensuring on the transit side we’re prioritizing all-day, two-way GO in Milton, which was promised six years ago and it’s not been delivered on by the PCs.”
Thursday's debate was hosted by the Canadian Federation of University Women's Milton and District chapter and the Milton Chamber of Commerce.
Election day is May 2.