The final all-candidate debate was held this past Wednesday at the Keystone Complex in Shedden, with all four candidates participating, fielding pre-selected, ag-related questions.

The Elgin Federation of Agriculture hosted the event, and moderated by President Greg Fentie in front of a gathering of approximately 100 attendees.

The four candidates are Stephen R. Campbell, People’s Party of Canada; David Goodwin, Liberal Party of Canada; Andrew Lawton, Conservative Party of Canada; and Paul Pighin, New Democratic Party.

The only occasion where all four were together was the meet and greet hosted by the St. Thomas and District Chamber of Commerce at the CASO station in St. Thomas.

In his two-minute opening statement, the first-time candidate focused on his family’s roots in the St. Thomas area.

“And I’ll tell you why agriculture is important to me. I grew up here. This is where I live, where I was born. I grew up in Union. And at that time in Union, we all had gardens because we grew our own food. It was in the early 70s.

“Times were tough, so we grew our own vegetables. My mom did the canning. We bought fruit from local farmers. And our vegetables or fruit. We made jams. We made our own bread. And I’ve learned the value of the farming community.

On the question of housing, Goodwin stressed that the real issue is development charges.

“It’s easy to say we’re going to cut development charges and pass that along. But for mayors and councils, when you cut those development charges, that has to be made up by homeowners, by your taxes.

“And so it is a very difficult struggle for councils because it’s not as easy as saying we’re just going to cut development charges and we’re going to build homes.”

Goodwin added, Liberal Party Leader Mark Carney has a “fundamentally different plan” for Canadians.

“There are two programs, and one is a commitment to build 500,000 houses a year. But going back to the days of my youth with my twin brother, we would drive around St. Thomas, and my mom would point out and say, ‘Those are war homes.’ We built those for veterans when they came back after the war. We stopped building those.

“And Mark Carney is committed to a program where the government builds houses with contractors for modular homes that are affordable for Canadians. Two-bedroom homes, three-bedroom homes that are safe, that are warm, energy efficient, and that people can buy homes again.

“There’s another program for apartment buildings, because we stopped building those as well, and affordable housing.”

Much talked about in this campaign is the elimination of interprovincial trade barriers within Canada.

To that point, Goodwin advised, “One of the things Mark Carney has talked about is building one economy and not 12 with the provinces and the territories. And we do have interprovincial barriers. And so he’s committed by July 1st to make this one economy and break down our trade barrier between provinces by eliminating the federal regulations on trade within provinces.”

Lawton, who ran in the 2018 provincial election in London West, stressed in his opening remarks the need for change in Canada.

“One of the things that’s become so apparent as we’ve been talking to people, and we have knocked on thousands of doors over this campaign, is that we need a change in Canada. There are a lot of people who have been struggling with the way things have been going under the Liberal government, but I think farmers have been, in particular, hurt by everything that’s happened with the economy over the last several years.

“Not just the carbon tax, but the carbon tax has been one of the most incredibly destructive policies for our agricultural sector, which is incredibly significant, not just nationally, but to 1,408 farms we have right here in Elgin county as well.”

Lawton added, “We need to also put ourselves on the best possible footing to deal with whatever the United States is throwing our way, because the uncertainty that all Canadians have felt over the last few months as this threat has been imposed to us has been, especially for farmers, not just with what they’re able to import and export for their farming operations, but in general, the economic climate that we have.”

On the question of protecting farmland, Lawton noted that the Conservative Party will actually have a farmland protection act.

“When we talk about protecting farmland, in our platform, we actually have a farmland protection act. One of the things we want to look at is the ownership by foreign corporations and foreign governments of Canadian farmland. One of the big challenges is that there’s actually no tracking of that.

“So we want to first have an audit of this to find out what we’re dealing with and make sure that we’re not giving up prized farmland that we’re never going to get back from foreign buyers, especially at a time when we need to be putting Canada first and putting Canadian farmers first, which is the core of our plan.”

Addressing the housing question, Lawton advised, “When we talk about housing specifically, there is a density component to it. We want to make sure that homes are being built when there is transit, when there are transit hubs, when there is infrastructure, and where people are living.

“There’s going to be a density component, and I think that’s very key. Because once farmland goes away, it’s never coming back. And we’re very aware of that.”

Pighin, a London native, represented the NDP provincially in the 2007 election. He has a long association with the party, serving as a constituency assistant to London Fanshawe MP Irene Mathyssen and subsequently continuing in the same role for Lindsay Mathyssen.

He was a member of the Canadian National Gymnastics team, competing until his early twenties and retiring after the World Championships in 1991.

Pighin is inspired to promote inclusivity and fairness for all. For the last 20 years, he has been a tireless advocate for people living with HIV/AIDS, and 2slgbtqi+ and disability rights. In his opening remarks, he pointed out we are in “unprecedented times.”

He continued, “And that includes farmers. And these issues are going to come hard and fast at you, I believe. Our southern neighbour is acting like a child, and our politicians here are not acting like politicians; they’re acting like children themselves.

“The NDP aims to bolster farms. We want to talk about sustainable practices, fair pricing and supply management. For most people, the Liberals have been disconnected from the rural community, the concerns of selling off their farms to major players. So we’re losing out on the goodness of our community.”

When asked about housing, he argued that the problem lies with corporate landlords.

“You know, who’s going to take on the corporate landlords and the investors who are there just to make money and forget about the everyday people?

“You know, under the Liberals, housing prices have gone up just crazy. It is absolutely insane. In London, a one-bedroom apartment is $2,100 a month. Think about what that means and how much money you would have to make every month in order to afford an apartment. You will never, ever be able to save for a home.

“I remember growing up in the 80s hearing the Conservative leader at the time say that government is not to be in the business of building homes. You now come back to today, and you go in and you hear the news, and you hear developers and you hear investors saying it’s not our job to build for people at the bottom.

“But guess what? It is. It is our job. Because if we’re not building for people who need those homes, they’re not there to support you. They can’t come to do your work and your jobs because they need to make at least enough money to cover the rent.

“It’s not rocket science. This is all about being predatory. It’s stealing. It’s nothing but stealing.”

Pighin touched on housing again with his remarks on protecting farmland.

“So the idea of building out, I think, is wrong. We have to build out a little. But if we’re not going to build up, we’re in trouble. We cannot afford to build the infrastructure. And then pay the taxpayers to keep that infrastructure up.

“So, building upwards, not outwards, we need to protect our farmland. It’s important.”

As has been the case in this debate and the event a week ago in Aylmer, Campbell has proven to be the disruptive element in the campaign.

His focus in Shedden appeared more on ensuring his live stream of the event was functioning properly.

For most of the evening, he chose not to be on stage with the other candidates but, instead, sat by himself off to one side, and only returned when answering a question.

For the most part, his answers were rambling affairs that, in some cases, had little or nothing to do with the question.

He tested the moderator’s patience by continually asking Fentie to repeat or remind him of the question just asked of the candidates.

Campbell ran in the provincial election earlier this year for the None Of The Above Party, finishing last amongst seven candidates in Elgin-Middlesex-London with 649 votes.

Campbell says he is dedicated to defending the fundamental values of freedom, personal responsibility, respect and fairness.

He was raised in the farming community of North Ekfrid, near Melbourne.

He stresses his party is all about representing the people. Campbell adds he is committed to bringing real change to Parliament and giving the people of Elgin-St. Thomas-London South a true voice in government.

Campbell stresses he is running with the PPC because he believes Canadians deserve a government that is transparent, accountable, and committed to protecting national interests rather than serving foreign agendas.

He supports policies that uphold civil rights, environmental responsibility, and respect for Canada’s cultural and agricultural heritage, including family farms.

Campbell stressed the importance of sitting down with farmers when crafting any policy dealing with supply management.

“So, what I would do to protect farmers is have roundtables. So, like tonight, I would just meet you and chat and have a discussion of what we have to do for Elgin and protect Elgin.

“I’d probably go down to Aylmer one night. We’d talk about how to protect Elgin. And St. Thomas, we’d talk about how we’re going to protect Elgin.

“So, I’m only Elgin PPC. I’m here for you and me. And keeping our farming industries here.”

So, how’s your week going, Matt?

That’s not likely to be the most appropriate – or appreciated – way to open a conversation right now with Matt Janes.

The long-time St. Thomas resident has gained notoriety beyond his wildest dreams.

All because he was filmed giving two middle fingers to an online content creator while at a rally for Liberal Leader Mark Carney last Saturday in Brantford.

myFM spoke with Janes to understand what led up to an action he now deeply regrets.

“So what happened was I was, Joan (his wife), and I decided to attend this rally in Brantford. So we were in line waiting to get in to hear Mark Carney speak.

“And there was a group of these, you know, like F—Trudeau people there at the same time. And they were taunting the people in line, you know, calling us names, vile names.

“And, you know, they had a microphone and they were shouting out conspiracy theories and other things.

“Well, just before I turned the corner to go into the event, a cameraman approached me and I reacted in the moment. You know, I gave this guy the finger because like that’s, you know, I reacted, and I was just trying to get him out of my face.

“Well, you know, I regret that. You know, that’s obvious. I regret it now for sure. I was naive. I didn’t realize that, you know, who these people were and how, you know, they can twist this so much. And, you know, it’s just it’s gone crazy.”

Unfortunately for Janes, the two-finger gesture has gone viral on social media, and he has a new moniker, the Brantford Boomer.

He suggests the time has come to turn the spotlight on “right-wing media activists.

“And, you know, it’s like I said, it shouldn’t be a story about me. It should be a story about the toxic environment that these people are creating that kind of gives them free rein to attack anyone they feel like and essentially get away with it.

“I was hoping this would blow over. It hasn’t. So I’ve decided to speak to the media. And, you know, the message really is this is not a story about me. Shine the light on these right-wing activists, so-called journalists who are doing this to people for their own gain or just because people disagree with them.”

He has been a target of trolls on social media, although the support from those who know him is greatly appreciated.

” I mean, the messages that I’m getting and the support in the community that I’ve been receiving is really quite heartening because I think even in our riding, at least, the conventional Conservatives, the moderate Conservatives in our riding see this for what it is.

“It’s part of this whole right-wing takeover of their party. And I think a lot of Conservatives in our riding, especially, are looking at that and saying, well, that’s not really who I am. And so I believe that they’re going to come out and support Goodwin (Liberal candidate David Goodwin) on election day.

However, Janes stresses he is not the lone target as Railway City Brewing of St. Thomas has been victimized with hundreds of comments on their social media page.

“It’s unfortunate that this isn’t just an attack against me. It’s not just an attack against me and my family. It’s businesses and organizations that I’ve supported that are being attacked for no reason. I mean, it’s just so vitriolic, toxic, and out of the blue and so over the top.”

Janes was a former partner at the brewery, and Chief Executive Dave Clarke confirmed Janes hasn’t been associated with the company since 2022 and that his personal actions and opinions are his alone and not representative of the views or values of the team. You can read the statement here.

He continued, “They’re attacking the Little Red Mitten, the yarn shop that Joan started. And then she hasn’t been involved in that yarn shop for over six years. I mean, she sold it to new owners, and they’re still running it.

“But they’re suffering because of this right-wing media attack, supposedly trying to attack me. Well, the Little Red Mitten is a long way removed from this event, but they’re suffering the same type of thing.”

Janes concluded,  “I have good support in the community. My family, friends, people who know me, I had very good support.

“But it goes beyond that, and there could be some people who, you know, get this opinion about me or the brewery or something else just because of this post.

“So I have to speak up and say, you know, there’s something wrong here.”

Janes has been closely associated with the city’s railway heritage preservation efforts, through his involvement with The Railworks Coalition – representing the Elgin County Railway Museum, the CASO station and the St. Thomas Elevated Park.

To get a sense of what Matt, Joan and others attending the Brantford rally had to endure, here are a couple of links to video footage.

https://www.facebook.com/reel/1349848059473543   

https://photos.app.goo.gl/9cRrVCCQCJrKFtxs9

Responding to last week’s item on strong mayor powers, Clynn Smith posted the following on the City Scope Facebook page.

And, Regis Trudel cut right to the chase.

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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.