Rarely is the elephant in the room the elephant not in the room, but such was the case Wednesday night (February 12) at All Saints’ Anglican Church in Peterborough.
At a debate focused on housing and homelessness issues that the five Peterborough-Kawartha provincial election candidates were invited to participate in, four of them — Jen Deck of the Ontario NDP, Adam Hopkins of the Ontario Liberal Party, Lucas Graham of the Green Party of Ontario, and Andrew Roudly of the New Blue Party — did just that.
There was a chair for incumbent PC Party of Ontario candidate Dave Smith but he was a no-show, denying the some 90 people that braved bad weather the opportunity to hear his views on both issues, and any defence of his government’s policies. Smith did, however, take part in a YourTV debate taped earlier in the day.
Still, the debate — presented by the United Way of Peterborough and District, One City Peterborough, Trent University’s Research for Social Change Lab and All Saints’ Anglican Church — went ahead as it should.
With former United Way board chair Jim Hendry and Joëlle Favreau of Basic Income Peterborough serving as debate co-moderators, each candidate responded to six questions before fielding seven audience questions, half of those coming from the close to 200 people who took in the debate virtually.
Noting that 330 people were experiencing homelessness in Peterborough as of last October, and that rent controls apply only to units created and occupied prior to November 15, 2018, Favreau provided some context before questions were put to the candidates.
Hendry, meanwhile, said those questioning the candidates “can be challenging, but be polite.”
Kristal Jones-Craighead, who has worked on the front lines of homelessness with the Elizabeth Fry Society and One City Peterborough, was both when she asked each candidate when he or she last spoke to someone who is experiencing homelessness.
Admitting it has been “months” since he has done so, Hopkins said, having grown up on a reserve, “Many of those around me, and my loved ones, have experienced homelessness, and some of them have not moved past that.”
Graham, meanwhile, said “It’s not something that I’ve done often enough,” the most recent interaction occurring within the last week when he was canvassing.
“The short answer is I don’t know,” said Roudly, adding “I’d have to assume within the last year because of just how many people I talk to when I’m going about my business.”
Noting she has two friends who live in the Wolfe Street encampment, Deck says she connected with them two years ago and has remained in touch.
“One of them came to my nomination meeting,” she said, adding “They are a very important part of how I have conceptualized the challenges that the unhoused community faces.”
Afterwards, Jones-Craighead said her question cut to the crux of the issue: stigmatization.
“I was really hoping to hear that they (the candidates) had worked in consultation with community members who are experiencing homelessness to prepare for this evening (but) I didn’t hear that,” she said.
“I gave the candidates the opportunity to tell on themselves. They could have been bragging, or at least proud of the example they’re providing on this issue, or they could have let us peek behind the curtain of where their values fall, and how they form their opinions and carry out the policy of their party.”
“One of the other questions asked was around stigma. Maybe we need to examine the way that we are stigmatizing folks. No one up there wanted to openly admit that they are but if they weren’t, consulting with people experiencing homelessness would have been more front of mind.”
While Jones-Craighead’s question was the one that caught each candidate the most off guard, others probed their positions on the homelessness epidemic that, as present, sees some 80,000 living on the streets across the province.
“The fact that homelessness has increased by 25 per cent in just three years is a failure of government policy,” said Graham, listing the primary causes being “skyrocketing housing costs, a severe shortage of affordable homes and a lack of wrap-around supports for mental health and addiction.”
“Instead of treating homelessness as a policing issue, we need to treat it as a housing and health care issue. The Green Party’s plan directly tackles the root causes. We’re going to implement a ‘housing first’ approach, which means housing is the first priority when helping people experiencing homelessness. We’ll support those living in encampments rather than displace them, providing them with temporary or modular housing on provincial lands.
“Our plan also includes building 250,000 affordable non-profit and co-op homes, and 60,000 permanent supportive housing units, ensuring that those experiencing homelessness have access to stable long-term housing with mental health and addiction services attached.”
Deck, meanwhile, said Liberal and Conservative governments have “dismantled and neglected our social safety net,” adding “The Ford government cut funding for community housing by 70 per cent (while Ontario Disability Support Program and Ontario Works) rates have largely remained the same since they were established in the late 1990s.”
“We’ve always had the money to adequately fund supports for housing, but we haven’t had leaders willing to make it a priority. If Doug Ford can find $1.4 billion to expand beer sales, $3 billion for election bribe cheques, and $50 billion for a tunnel under the 401, he can find money to house everyone in our communities. We need to treat housing as a human right, not a commodity.”
As for the Liberal position, Hopkins echoed Deck, noting safe and affordable housing “is a right for all of us.” He added the main culprit in the current crisis was the removal of rent controls.
“This has to be changed. We have a phased-in plan to bring rent controls back, but that’s just one element of a massive problem that has to be addressed. We also know that those experiencing homelessness are facing intersectional problems. Our health care system is in crisis. We have a plan to fix some of those gaps in that system.”
Roudly, who just joined the race earlier this week, noted “government is never going to fix this problem.”
“What we need to do is realize that everybody in this province is so burdened by taxes (in) what was once an industrial superpower. People are living in tents and going to food banks. That is unacceptable, but we can’t keep looking to government and saying ‘Fix this for us.’ They will never do it.”
“What we need to do is make everything in Ontario much more affordable,” he added. “That needs to change or this is going to continue. That’s a hard thing to hear. There’s not an easy solution but I believe it’s the only real one for (addressing) this issue.”
While none of the candidates addressed Smith’s absence during the course of the debate, Deck afterwards told kawarthaNOW “If the Conservatives felt it (homelessness and housing) was an issue, they would have been here tonight.”
“Dave’s a good talker,” assessed Deck, adding “I wish he had felt a responsibility to be here.”
Noting that Smith indicated earlier the same day that he won’t participate in single issue debates, Deck countered that homelessness and affordable housing provision isn’t remotely a single issue.
“Food insecurity, health care, child care … what is it not?” she said.
Hopkins, too, lamented Smith’s non-participation.
“All the parties (represented) here have clear plans to build more homes and improve the health care system, because we know this is an intersectional problem that’s going to take many, many years to fix,” he said.
“This (the debate) is a very important part of the democratic process. This is an issue most people are talking about. Our elected official needs to be here. He needs to be accountable. I too would like to know where he (Smith) stands on this issue.”
The next scheduled all-candidates debate is Tuesday (February 18) at the Market Hall in downtown Peterborough.
Starting at 7 p.m. and hosted by the Peterborough and the Kawarthas Chamber of Commerce, the Peterborough and the Kawarthas Home Builders’ Association, the Central Lakes Association of Realtors, the Peterborough Downtown Business Improvement Area, the Peterborough and District Construction Association, and YourTV, the focus will be on the economy.
Questions can be submitted in advance by emailing Joel Wiebe at the chamber at joel@pkchamber.ca. Written question submissions will also be available at the event, which will be recorded and aired on YourTV.
Election day is Thursday, February 27th. Elections Ontario will release voting location information after Friday (February 14).
