CANDIDATES DEBATE HOUSING, BUSINESS AND ENVIRONMENT

ONLY TWO CANDIDATES TOOK PART IN FORUM

It was an all-candidates meeting without most of the candidates.

By the time the moderator started the Thursday night's forum in downtown Milton, which was organized by the Downtown Milton Business Improvement Area, four out of six seats reserved for candidates remained empty.

The no-show from Conservative candidate and current MPP Parm Gill, in particular, drew criticism from the two attending candidates, Liberal's Sameera Ali and NDP's Katherine Cirlincione. The two engaged in a mostly friendly debate and fielded questions from residents and business owners on a wide range of topics.

These are some of the standout moments from the debate.

CIRLINCIONE ON AFFORDABLE HOUSING

"I am aggravated. I'm 30 years old and I can't get out of my mom's basement. That would be something

I'd like to achieve. And that's the same story for a lot of people here in Milton. A lot of the children that moved here in 2004 with me who are now adults can't afford to live outside of their parents' homes — or rent, for that matter.

"Looking for a home in Milton or looking for a place to rent in Milton, it would take half my income, and I have a pretty good job to be able to rent. That's not OK. The NDP platform ... we will build 250,000 affordable and nonmarket homes over the next decade. We are looking to build 1.5 million homes in total."

ALI ON LABOUR SHORTAGE AND HOW TO BRING EMPLOYEES BACK TO THE SMALL BUSINESS SECTOR

"One of the things we're going to do is raise the minimum wage and make sure that these jobs are rewarding for front-line workers.

"What has happened with Doug Ford is that he has called all these people 'heroes,' 'absolute rock stars,' but he has brought forward Bill 124, which this empty seat supported. Where is Mr. Parm Gill?

Why did he not show up tonight? If he can't show up to a debate to ... speak about his party, will he show up for you at Queen's Park?

"Bill 124 is a slap in the face for our front-line workers. But Doug Ford's government brought it forward. We will repeal Bill 124. We will bring dignity back to front-line workers. We will give them a pay that they deserve."

CIRLINCIONE ON HOW TO ATTRACT BUSINESSES AND INVESTMENT DOWNTOWN WHILE KEEPING VACANCIES LOW

"One of the reasons why people are going to move online is because, quite honestly, being a tenant is not easy. So in regulating and reviewing the Tenancies Act, we're going to be able to make people more confident to take that leap and go into brick-and-mortar options."

ALI ON HOW THE PROVINCIAL GOVERNMENT CAN HELP SMALL BUSINESSES RECOVER AND SUCCEED FOLLOWING THE PANDEMIC

"One of the first things we're going to do is take away unfair taxes from businesses, so we're going

to cap that.

"We're also going to take credit card fees away. And so that small businesses or entrepreneurs or self-employed folks can run their business without paying those unfair taxes.

“And we're going to give support to businesses, small businesses, especially, in a way where they're able to retain their employees."

CIRLINCIONE ON HOW TO ENSURE MILTON'S GROWTH IS LINKED WITH CLIMATE RESILIENCE AND NOT AT ITS EXPENSE

"The NDP has the most comprehensive plan to make all vehicles in Ontario electric. And we also want to make sure that we are not putting our funds ... billion dollars into projects that are harmful to us, like paving over the Greenbelt so that we can put in a highway that's going to save you 30 seconds. Absolutely not. That is not happening under the Ontario NDP.

"I'm going to take it over to Queen's Park and I'm going to say, no, you're not allowed to pave over our Greenbelt. No, you're not allowed to do a Campbellville quarry that's going to hurt our citizens.

"We want to retrofit buildings so that they are green. And that's going to happen not just in Milton, but across the province."

ALI, ALSO, ON HOW TO ENSURE MILTON'S GROWTH IS LINKED WITH CLIMATE RESILIENCE AND NOT AT ITS EXPENSE

"We are planning to cut greenhouse gas emissions. We are promising to do that (by) 50 per cent by 2030.

"We are also bringing all-day GO service to Milton. That is a promise we made in the past. We have a fully, fully invested federal partner now. We will make it happen should we have the honour to represent Ontario. And we are proposing buck-a-ride, which is $1 transit tickets for everybody in Milton going in and out. GO train, GO bus, Milton Transit.

“We are going to give $375 million per municipality to make it easy for municipalities to also take part in buck-a- ride and make their rides cheaper as well. It's going to save you $11.25 per ride in Milton, and it's going to save you $327 per month in Milton."