As in the 2022 provincial vote, there is a crowded field of candidates in Elgin-Middlesex-London.
With the deadline for filing nomination papers closed on Thursday of this past week, seven hopefuls are looking to represent the riding at Queen’s Park.
Rob Flack of the Progressive Conservative Party is looking to win a second term.
He will be challenged by Doug Mactavish, Liberal Party; Amanda Zavitz, NDP; Amanda Stark, Green Party; Brian Figueiredo, New Blue Ontario Party; Stephen R. Campbell, None of the Above Party; and Cooper Labrie, Ontario Party.
Four candidates appeared at a forum on Tuesday of this week, hosted by the St. Thomas & District Chamber of Commerce.
Zavitz and Stark were unable to attend while Labrie had yet to file his papers.
Let’s summarize the remarks made by each of the four participants, who were given five minutes for their opening statements.
Rob Flack opened by thanking the other candidates in the race which culminates in the Feb. 27 provincial vote.
“Thanks to all the candidates for making it as well, putting your name on the ballot, it’s not for the faint of heart, put it that way.”
He continued, “The greatest honour I’ve ever had is to serve this riding as your MPP. It doesn’t matter what job the Premier gives me, whatever actions or whatever job he wants me to fulfill, my first priority has been, will always be, to serve you and serve you well.”
After touching on the challenges this country has faced in the past Flack pivoted to, “. . . frankly, nothing has challenged us, in my opinion, more than President Trump’s tariff war.
“And I use the word war because it is economic warfare that he has aimed at crippling our economy, our province, and crippling our country.
“And make no mistake, these tariffs potentially, potentially can cost this province hundreds of thousands of jobs, jobs we’ve been building and creating in the last seven years.”
Flack cited this as the reason for an early election call.
“That is why Premier Ford and our government are asking for a stable four-year mandate so we can mirror image President Trump’s presidency, and his administration, so we can continue to be on guard for this province and this country.
“It’s easy to sail a ship in a calm sea and under Premier Ford we will protect our jobs, protect our communities, protect this province. We will get it done for you.”
“The only thing predictable about Donald J. Trump is his unpredictability. That is why, under our leader, Premier Doug Ford, we will protect our workers, we’ll protect our farmers, we’re going to protect our economy and our families, we’re going to protect this province, and we’re going to protect this country.”
Switching gears Flack pointed out, “We are a growing province, 16 million people today. When I was in high school, it was half that, half that.
“So when you take a look at this region and the great economic success we’ve seen, experienced, and going to continue to grow, infrastructure is paramount, and I’m going to talk about that in a minute.
“Whether it’s healthcare, education, first responders, housing, transportation, or agri-food, our economy has been growing.
“Think back in 2018, the Treasury, all the money that flows into the provincial government was $150 billion. This year, in another month, it’s going to hit $212 billion. So a growth of $62 billion. So how did that happen?
“We didn’t raise a tax, we didn’t raise a fee. What we did was create the environment for people like you to succeed, right? That is the role of government, not to be involved every day in your life, to create the environment for you to succeed.”
Flack continued, “And you did, 850,000 new jobs in the last seven years, 850,000 new jobs, and everybody pays their fair share of taxes, probably too much, frankly.
“Businesses have succeeded, employed more people, paid their fair share of taxes, and that is how we grew the economy. Not only did we grow, we’ve reinvested back into our economy.”
He concluded, “So when I look at health care, education, the billions of work we brought in, including Volkswagen and PowerCo, we are going to be a powerhouse for years to come.
“It’s easy to sail a ship in a calm sea and under Premier Ford we will protect our jobs, protect our communities, protect this province. We will get it done for you. Thank you very much.”
Doug Mactavish also opened up with a focus on Donald Trump.
“We have made a commitment in the past that we will work with and support and do whatever is necessary to combat what comes from Donald Trump. As Ontario, we have to start developing programs such as how to add value to the products we have here in Ontario.”
Mactavish continued, “The first thing that I’m concerned about that I want to talk about is health care. Across Ontario, we have 2.1 million people who do not have a family doctor.
“We have 2,400 doctors who are scheduled to retire in the next five years. That is a crisis. We need to train at least 3,600 new doctors.
“We need to incentivize current doctors to stay in the system while we train the new doctors. We’re going to need two new medical colleges created so we have students in seats. That’s our Number 1 priority.
“Our Number 2 priority is putting money back into, not the building, but the classroom. Class sizes, the goal many years back was 31. It is way beyond that.
“Find a teacher’s aide in a classroom nowadays. The teachers are tired. They’re underpaid. They work long hours. In some cases, they’re facing violence from kids who have emotional problems. We don’t even have the staff to identify which kids have learning disabilities. This all has to change.
“And thirdly, I mentioned the builders association. We need houses. I commend what was done with the tiny homes (Project Tiny Hope in St. Thomas).
“That was creative thinking, and that’s what we need moving forward. We need to develop homes where seniors can downsize, and put up their homes for a new generation.
“We’ve got to be creative, come up with ways of doing things here in Canada. Start thinking east-west, not north-south. That was a flawed thing that was brought in back in the 80s, and we had to create a country where our trading partners are provinces on each side of us.”
“We need to build homes that are under 3,000 square feet for the average family. The mansions out there are going to continue to go up. The help needs to go to young families that don’t have that first home.”
Mactavish stressed, “We’re going to remove the land transfer tax for first-time homes under 3,000 square feet, and if you’re a senior and downsizing to a smaller home, we’re going to remove that land transfer tax.
“The province will take over the development tax on new subdivisions so that the construction company doesn’t have to add it to the price of that new home and pass it on to that future homebuyer.”
He noted, “We’ve got to be creative, come up with ways of doing things here in Canada. Start thinking east-west, not north-south. That was a flawed thing that was brought in back in the 80s, and we had to create a country where our trading partners are provinces on each side of us.”
He turned his focus to taxes.
“For small business people in the room, the current tax rate you pay is 3.2 per cent. We will lower that to 1.6 per cent.
“For a family, if your taxes are below $41,466, your current rate is 9.1 per cent. If you’re between that and $75,000, we will lower that to 7.15 per cent.
“In summary, I’m saying we care about families. I didn’t have time to mention seniors. That’s something you will catch me about later on. I’m very passionate about senior issues as well. My time is up. Thank you.”
Brian Figueiredo opened his presentation by stating as the New Blue Party of Ontario candidate, he is the only Conservative option on the ballot.
Over the past two decades, the father of two has “built a successful career in the logistics industry where everything needs to be delivered yesterday and I have to get it done for the price of five years ago.
“It’s high pressure, high stress and cutthroat, but I find calm in the fire.
“I’m also a musician where I played and toured in a band for the last 25 years.
“I’m also a fighter. I still train in mixed martial arts and I’m still an active competitor in grappling. But my days of competition are coming to its tail end and now I’m working to a transition in the political realm.”
So why the deep dive into politics?
“I’m tired of engaging in dialogue amongst my peers about the current political landscape only in serving the establishment and leading to no change in this dialogue.
“People are tired of the same old rhetoric. We’re losing faith in our systems and institutions. Whether it’s gaslighting and slandering parents who’ve been concerned over the school curriculum or silencing them, whether it’s climate hysteria that is only leading to a higher cost of living through carbon pricing but nothing ever gets cleaner in our environment, or farmers being bullied or concerned about land expropriation or watching vulnerable communities being used as weapons for political identity politics that create division amongst the middle and working class.
“Our children are the biggest investments we have in society. We need a generation of strong, literate, skilled children, not indoctrinating self-loathing and radical activism.”
“It has gone too far. The thought of leaving mine and your family’s future with self-serving politicians does not sit well with me and this is the reason why I’m running in this election.”
Figueiredo continued, “The establishment parties have constantly campaigned on promises that they don’t really enact. They only serve themselves, the lobbyists and special interest groups.
“Even now, instead of working for the best interests of the people and negotiating and stepping to the table in a trade deal, we’re here preparing for an election, for political opportunity, instead of doing what needs to be done.
“To publicly overstate on national television that our economy will be devastated when putting our vulnerabilities in the spotlight is absolutely irresponsible.
“It’s time to have a government with accountability, do what’s in the best interest of our constituents and not for a political agenda.”
Turning his focus to education he pointed out, “Our children are the biggest investments we have in society. We need a generation of strong, literate, skilled children, not indoctrinating self-loathing and radical activism.
“These policies have done nothing more than create a societal division and it needs to stop.”
Looking at housing he stressed, “Housing still isn’t affordable. We’re repeatedly told it’s a supply issue for two elections in a row now and that we just need more shovels in the ground.
“It’s not happening quick enough. We’ll always be chasing the supply at a high rate of demand, so it’s time to lower demand. We need to bring in policy to decrease immigration into Ontario until our infrastructure and institutions have caught up.
“There are too many bids on homes, bids on rent, and now wages are being driven down by too much competition while unemployment is rising.
“Publicly bragging that we’re growing faster than Florida and Texas combined without having the healthcare, housing, or inflation in order is not only irresponsible to the citizens of Ontario, but it’s an embarrassment to newcomers coming here in disbelief on what has happened to our great homeland.
“We also believe in provincial sovereignty. We are the only party on the ballot that will fight against initiatives brought on by NGOs like the World Economic Forum, the World Health Organization, and the United Nations 2030 Agenda.
“We do not need out-of-touch elitists that are funded by billionaires to treat us like children and tell us how to live our lives for their own vested interests.
“As your MPP, I will never stand down from this notion, and I will speak up at any corner until this is addressed and taken seriously as a mainstream idea.”
Stephen R. Campbell kicked off his introduction by praising the efforts of the Blue Party and candidate Matt Millar in the last provincial election.
Then asked, “So, why am I advocating for other parties?
“There’s actually 22 other parties in Canada here, in Ontario, and a lot of us are left out of these debates. It’s really nice that the Chamber of Commerce can include us.
“This is what should be happening in our debates across Ontario, but it’s not.”
Campbell made it clear he is not in favour of a trade war.
“This could have been solved with a simple referendum.
“We did not need an election today. We don’t have to put the Doug Ford government back into power.
“These legacy parties have continued to make promises, and then, once they get in, they don’t do what they’re going to say they’re going to do.
“The Liberals, NDP, and Greens are trying to sign off and get rid of our gas plants because it’s green. It’s not green. We need affordable power. We live in the north. We need power that’s affordable.
“I think it was, like, 1996. I don’t know quite the right year, but we didn’t have taxes on our home heating. Now, we have taxes on our home heating when we combine the taxes.
“On top of those taxes, we now have carbon taxes, and they’re going to raise the carbon taxes by 20%. We can’t even afford the carbon taxes that we have now.”
Pointing to the wind turbines in Chatham-Kent, Campbell argued they are destroying the land and he bemoaned the lack of clean water on Oneida Nation of the Thames.
Plus the need for additional hospitals.
Campbell’s time had expired before he had the opportunity to elaborate on issues important to him.
He conceded, “So that’s my time today and, unfortunately, I wasted it.”
A second candidates forum will be held Wednesday, Feb. 19 from 7 until 9 p.m. at the Old Town Hall in Aylmer, sponsored by the Elgin Federation of Agriculture.
A CATALYST FOR NEWCOMERS TO ST. THOMAS
Members of city council this past week chose perhaps the more traditional option when filling the vacancy left by the departure of Coun. Tara McCaulley, appointing the next highest polling candidate in the 2022 municipal election.
Following a closed-door session, Earl Taylor was welcomed to city council to sit for the remainder of this term.
Taylor was the chair of the Downtown Development Board for many years and there is no greater advocate for a healthy and safe core area in St. Thomas.
He finished just five votes behind McCaulley for that final council seat in the 2022 municipal vote.
In announcing his intention to seek office in June of that year, Taylor noted, “Yes, I definitely know what’s happening in our downtown, and I will have hands-on experience with that and be able to, hopefully, solve some of the problems there.
“But, I see the exponential growth that’s happening in our city, the potential for more jobs, the potential for more housing and, of course, along with that comes the need for infrastructure and services.”
This was before the announcement of the PowerCo announcement that it had selected St. Thomas as the home of an EV battery gigafactory.
Taylor has been a realtor since 1993 and has served on the city’s Municipal Heritage and Special Events committees.
“His appointment ensures that we continue to represent our residents effectively and that we remain focused on our shared goals of building a stronger, more resilient St. Thomas.”
As to how to make St. Thomas a better city Taylor’s recipe was as follows.
“Keep our growth there, keep our infrastructure up to date and be a catalyst for people coming here.
“That’s what we need to do, make sure when people come, they’re happy.”
In announcing council’s decision this week, Mayor Joe Preston enthused, “I am excited to welcome Earl Taylor to St. Thomas city council. His expertise and dedication to our city will be an invaluable asset as we move forward with key initiatives.
“His appointment ensures that we continue to represent our residents effectively and that we remain focused on our shared goals of building a stronger, more resilient St. Thomas.
“I look forward to working alongside him to make a lasting impact on our community.”
Taylor will formally be sworn in during the March 3 meeting of city council.
Related post:
Questions and comments may be emailed to City Scope
Visit us on Facebook
And a reminder, I can be heard weekday afternoons as news anchor and reporter on 94.1 myFM in St. Thomas. As always, your comments and input are appreciated.
