As was the case last week with the Chamber of Commerce candidates meeting at the CASO station, only four of the seven individuals seeking to represent Elgin-Middlesex-London at Queen’s Park were on hand this past Wednesday for a similar forum hosted by the Elgin Federation of Agriculture.
A near-capacity crowd filed into the Old Town Hall Theatre in Aylmer for the event.
Rob Flack of the Progressive Conservative Party is looking to win a second term and is being challenged by Doug Mactavish, Liberal Party; Amanda Stark, Green Party; Brian Figueiredo, New Blue Ontario Party; Stephen R. Campbell, None of the Above Party; and Cooper Labrie, Ontario Party.
Amanda Zavitz, the NDP candidate, was not present and announced the following day that she was dropping out of the race. More on that situation is in the item below.

Stark (again) and Labrie did not appear in Aylmer.
The four candidates in attendance fielded 13 agriculture-related questions over the 75-minute event.
The specific nature of the questions was an advantage for Flack and Campbell with their agricultural backgrounds.
Of interest was the two minutes allocated for closing remarks from the four candidates and those comments are summarized here.
Stephen R. Campbell was the first up and as he did in St. Thomas, he applauded the efforts of the lesser-known parties in the local campaign.
“We need to look at smaller parties, putting other parties in office,” suggested Campbell. “We do have voices.”
He continued, “Matt Millar of the Blue Party did very well last time in this district. Brian (Figueiredo) may not know all of the issues on farming here, but he will go out and listen to you if you were to vote New Blue.
“And even if you don’t put us in power today, Rob (Flack) is listening to what we say here today and hopefully he takes our information that we’re providing to him or any other one that may get elected from this riding.
Campbell used the opportunity to take a side turn and promote an alternative to battery-powered vehicles.
“So, if you look up the leader of my party, it is Greg Vezina. In 1984, he invented a product that can convert any car engine over to ammonia.
“Ammonia is CO2 free and when you’re picking winners and losers of technology, we already have the infrastructure in place because farmers everywhere have storage capacity in every small town for ammonia.
“So, when we’re going forward and you’re picking governments that aren’t in your best interest, you need to look at other small parties who have a voice and stop putting your eggs in one basket.
“They are not listening to you and your voice and what you want.”
Campbell stressed, “I do not want a trade war and in this room today, most of you do not want a trade war.
“But putting back in that government, that’s what they’re trying to get you to do is to start a war with America.
Up next was Brian Figueiredo, who admitted, “I’m 100 per cent outside my comfort zone. So, thank you for having me.
He continued, “Look, I am very happy and honoured to be a candidate in this election, but I still feel this is highly unnecessary.
“We’ve been wasting weeks and overstating and playing on fears of what may or may not loom with a giant trade war. The incumbent government already had a four-year mandate.
“Instead of calling an election, they should have just gotten to work, secure our jobs instead of their own, and they could have looked like roses come June 2026 and then asked for another four-year mandate.
“Look, the New Blue Party and I are offering a truly conservative alternative option for this riding. We believe in:

– Fiscal responsibility, not overspending.
– Bottom-up policies, not top-down.
– Putting parents and educators first in education, not think tanks and lobbyists.
– Listening to healthcare workers on the floor and not out-of-touch administrators.
– Working directly with you, farmers, protecting you against any non-consensual expropriation and keeping unelected NGOs like the WEF (World Economic Forum) the WHO (World Health Organization) and the UN’s 2030 Agenda out of our lives.

“I do not have a party whip to adhere to, just this riding to be accountable to. Make no mistake, the Premier is going to remain the same on February 27th.
“You can vote for someone to serve as him in this election, or you can vote for someone for you.
“I’m Brian Figueredo. I’m here ready, willing, and able to listen to you, fight for you, and on February 27th, vote New Blue. I’ll fight for you.”
Next up was Rob Flack who, as Minister of Farming, Agriculture and Agribusiness for much of the last term at Queen’s Park, had a distinct advantage this evening.
He began, “Folks, on February 27th, I think there’s a pretty clear choice. The choice is about leadership. It really is. Leadership.
“Who do you trust most to protect our economy, protect our province? Who do you trust most to represent us locally?
“Our agri-food workers, our farmers. I humbly suggest I think Premier Ford, provincially and locally, can do that job.
“We didn’t start the war. We didn’t start it. But we will fight back. We will stand on guard for this province, for this country. We will fight for you, day in and day out.
“President Trump is here. Four years, eight years. I don’t care what it is, but we’re going to be here to fight for you every day.
“Please know that:

– $51 billion (in provincial gross domestic product from Ontario’s agri-food sector) has grown by $3 billion over the last six years.
– Our agri-food workforce has grown by 30,000 over the last 6 years.
– Our trade has grown 65% in the last 6 years.

“You have done this, you, not us, we created the environment, and you succeeded. You have done a great job with agriculture and agri-food in Ontario.
“So I commend you, and our job is to continue to create that environment. That will be what I do, that is what our government will do, we will fight for you, and we will build a better Ontario. Thank you.”
Closing out the evening was Doug Mactavish who admitted, “I don’t think this crowd tonight was one that I would know, but I certainly intend to read a few thoughts from your mind.
“I hope Rob, if he goes back to Queen’s Park, he takes these with him.
“Healthcare, if we’re not careful, you’re going to need to have a credit card if you’re sick. We have to fight to save it.
“There are audiences I can go to with my message and do very well.
“I’m concerned about country schools.
“In Toronto, the Ontario Science Centre, year after year, money wasn’t getting spent on the mechanicals. And then guess what? It can’t be saved.”
Turning to education, Mactavish noted that $71 million was cut from the Thames Valley District School Board and “a lot of that was on country schools.
“Country schools are where kids get to make the friends that they have their entire life. I am concerned about the future of the country schools.
“If you don’t invest and you put the money in big schools in the city, what’s the long-term going to be?
“Finally, I’m going to do it really quick. I am absolutely opposed to Bill 7 (More Beds, Better Care Act 2022).
“We have seniors, and we don’t know how many, going to nursing homes.
“There are the good homes, which are municipally operated.
“The bad, which are newer buildings with lack of stock.
“And there’s the darn right ugly, which is where the empty beds were because of COVID.
“We’ve got to find out how those people are. We’ve got to get them out of there and Rob, for God’s sake, cancel Bill 7. Thank you.”
There are no other candidate forums planned in the riding and, no doubt, the door-knocking will continue in earnest.
Make sure your voice is heard on Feb. 27.

TURNING THE HEAT UP JUST A LITTLE

Was Doug Ford nursing a case of election jitters this past week?
Media releases began arriving taking direct aim at NDP candidates running in the Feb. 27 provincial election.
And two of those attack pieces had local connections.
On Thursday, Amanda Zavitz, the NDP candidate for Elgin-Middlesex-London announced she was walking away from the campaign.
In a Facebook announcement, she advised, “It has become clear that my past comments are distracting from the critical task of defeating Doug Ford and electing an Ontario NDP government.”
The previous day, a PC Party advisory noted the secret desire of Zavitz to become a black woman to gain lived experience “of poverty, and living in addiction and alcoholism.”
Zavitz made the comments last March while speaking at the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women conference in New York City.
She said she wanted to be a sociologist and a women’s studies professor and added, “I want to be an expert in inequality with lived experiences of poverty and living in addiction and alcoholism.
“I want to be able to share my ideas without the barrier of white skin, blonde hair and blue eyes.”
Zavitz is a sociology professor at Western and is the owner of a St. Thomas restaurant.
The PC Party media release noted Zavitz is another example of the NDP’s “motley crew of radical candidates.”
A similar release on Wednesday targeted the NDP candidate in Oakville North-Burlington as “a radical activist who organized protests that tried to shut down a local meat processing plant that employs hundreds of workers.
“He is on record saying that ‘supporting the animal agriculture industry is quite possibly the stupidest thing humans do.’”
In that release, Elgin-Middlesex-London PC candidate Rob Flack observed, “By recruiting candidates who want to destroy and boycott the agri-food industry, (NDP Leader) Marit Stiles has made it clear that the NDP has abandoned rural Ontario.”
Well, those two releases raised the temperature a tad as we enter the final few days of the provincial campaign with a bit of the political spotlight directed our way.

WHO IS STEPPING UP TO BUILD AFFORDABLE HOUSING?

The Feb. 10 council meeting featured a lengthy presentation and follow-up discussion dealing with the city’s Housing Needs Assessment and Action Plan.
The presentation was led by Erik Kraven from Watson and Associates and Tim Welch of Tim Welch Consulting.
We wrote about the report two weeks ago and its three strategic priorities over the next 10 years: an increased supply of affordable housing, support for local development, and support for those facing housing insecurity.
So, what specifically is determined to be affordable housing?
One of the charts in the presentation noted, by the provincial definition, that affordable housing in St. Thomas is defined as ownership of a residence with a purchase price of $316,200 or less.
Looking at monthly rent for a bachelor apartment, affordable would be $1,013 or less.
For a one-bedroom unit, $1,097 or less.
An affordable two-bedroom unit would be $1,477 or less and $1,540 or less for a three-bedroom unit.
So, how many housing units in the city can be deemed affordable using these provincial guidelines?
During the Feb. 10 presentation, Coun. Steve Peters raised the issue of which developers in the city are constructing affordable housing.
“What frustrates me,” advised Peters, “is we talk in the report about supporting local directives and we’ve got all these tools in place, but who is the only one building affordable housing?
“It’s us (the city).
“We got lucky with Prespa (who built the small apartment block located adjacent to Arthur Voaden Secondary School; you can read about it here) and we were able to partner with them.
“But even with all these tools, the developers aren’t building what we need.
“I don’t know how we are going to fill this 22 per cent gap of 1,680 units and hoping the private sector is going to do it. We’ve given them the tools but they haven’t utilized them.
“My concern is the only one that is in the affordable housing game is us and I don’t know who else is going to solve it.
“I don’t know what further incentives we can provide to developers to encourage them to do something.
“Even with the infill (projects) going up on Moore Street or down on Scott Street, these are great infills but they are not affordable.
“They are market rent, so I don’t know what magic wand you can offer us, because even with all these tools, we’re not getting what we need.”
Here is the stark reality from the report that Coun. Peters refers to.
As to housing requirements, “St. Thomas needs approximately 7,700 housing units over the next decade (i.e., 2024 to 2034) to meet the requirements of its growing population.
“The city requires approximately 2,700 rental housing units over the 10-year period, accounting for nearly 35% of total housing growth over the forecast period.”
Of that 7,700 unit total, “22 per cent (1,680 units) . . . is expected to require affordable housing.”
And who is going to build them?

THE ECHO CHAMBER

Regarding the above-mentioned Housing Needs Assessment and Action Plan, Clynn Smith sent in the following observation.

“Group homes should also be added as an addendum. There is a very long wait list for group homes here and not all are wheelchair accessible.
“The group homes in town are old and why is our representative not lobbying for funding for disabled adults living as well?
“I Am not talking about the Tiny Hope Project, as not all disabled adults with different needs can live on their own.😔
“It seems as though those with special needs are invisible in all the planning these days. The focus on helping the homeless is a priority, addiction as well as affordable housing, but what about those who may not be able to advocate for themselves or their needs?
“Shouldn’t that be a priority too?
“Something to think about.”

And on our item last week on the candidate’s meeting at the CASO station, Jeff Wedlake has this take on the provincial election outcome.

“As the only viable option, this election is for Rob Flack and the Conservatives to lose. I can’t see any other party realistically having a chance.”

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.