Pandemic recovery, affordability, housing, and jobs were among the issues discussed Wednesday as a handful of candidates from the Chatham-Kent-Leamington and Lambton-Kent-Middlesex ridings got together for a public forum.
Hosted by the Chatham-Kent Chamber of Commerce at the Culture Centre, the forum focused on priorities for the two ridings, along with provincial issues that have an impact on a municipal level.
The forum included Ontario Party Rick Nicholls, NDP candidate Brock McGregor, and New Blue candidate Rhonda Jubenville for the Chatham-Kent-Leamington riding, and NDP candidate Vanessa Benoit for Lambton-Kent-Middlesex. Other candidates were invited but did not show.
The first question was about what each party would do to help businesses recover from the pandemic.
If elected, McGregor said his party would offer additional rounds of recovery grants to help struggling businesses.
"We know how tough the last two years have been," said McGregor. “Supporting businesses is about creating an environment where people are thriving. We’re not going to raise taxes on small or medium businesses.”
Benoit said raising the minimum wage would encourage people to rejoin the workforce. She added that financial support would be provided by an NDP government for businesses.
“We know there can sometimes be difficulty with the transition,” said Benoit. "The NDP has supports in place to help with that.”
Nicholls, who previously represented the Progressive Conservatives, said several small businesses in the riding were “hit pretty hard” during the pandemic.
“Many of them are just barely hanging on,” said Nicholls. “Some of them, unfortunately, are not around anymore. We need to provide opportunities to get business back in the area.”
Jubenville said her party would focus on a few courses of action in order to help the economy bounce back. Her party pledged to remove industrial wind turbines as a way of cost savings, as well as reduce HST from 13 per cent to 10 per cent.
"We intend to not close down small businesses ever again," said Jubenville. "We want to call back all of our workers who have been wrongfully dismissed. Call them back to work so they can be productive people in our economy."
Other questions that were asked during the forum addressed how candidates would address inflation, high fuel and energy costs, healthcare sustainability, and ensuring the needs of residents aren't ignored.
You can watch the full forum by clicking here.