Gates, Waters debate affordability, education

Bob Gale’s decision to decline participation in YourTV’s Niagara Falls riding candidates debate last Friday left him a target for incumbent Wayne Gates and Liberal candidate Ashley Waters. Gates took aim at Gale right off the top, expressing  frustration at his Conservative counterpart’s absence. 

YourTV heard from Gale’s office via email on May 9, when he told producer Jack Custers that he was declining participation in the live-to-tape proceedings. As the Green Party’s Tommy Ward had also declined on May 2, Gale’s absence prompted Custers to pare down the usual 90-minute broadcast to one hour with only two candidates in the studio. 

“Niagara needs an MPP who doesn’t just sit at Queen’s Park and do whatever the Premier tells him what to do,” said Gates in his opening statement to viewers. “And we certainly don’t need an MPP who can’t be bothered to show up and defend his government’s record.”

Waters, a political neophyte and non-profit manager with Scouts Canada, took fewer, if any direct shots at Gale and his party, instead putting the focus on the Liberal platform and her standing as one of their many female candidates in the upcoming election.

Affordability, health care and education took the spotlight during the proceedings. It was clear throughout the debate that there were many similarities between Gates’ New Democrats and Waters’ Liberals. 

On the education front, Waters  promised a Liberal government would cap class sizes at 20 students and provide more mental health support in schools. Gates then outlined a long list of grievances and accusations against Doug Ford’s education policies the last four years, before also promising lower class sizes and hiring more support for children with special needs. 

But on this topic as well as others, Gates also attacked Liberal leader Steven Del Duca, who was elected as MPP of Vaughan in a 2012 by-election and served under Premiers Dalton McGuinty and then Kathleen Wynne until he lost his seat in 2018 to Conservative Michael Tibollo.

“The reality is that Del Duca’s Liberals had 15 years to fix education,” Gates said. “They brought in Bill 115 and the unions had to take them to court. And the unions won in court.”

Most of the questions for the debate were collected from viewers prior to the taping date, but some came from community stakeholders. Project Share’s Pam Sharp asked the candidates if they would promise to raise the amount of the Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP) payments to reduce the number of Niagara residents relying on food banks to meet their basic needs. 

Gates promised that an NDP government would raise the ODSP rates by 20 per cent. The Liberals, said Waters, had costed out their plan to include an immediate 10 per cent increase and then another 10 per cent in their second year in office. 

“That’s really important to make sure people have economic dignity,” Waters said. “And we’ll make sure we get rid of the HST on any food costs that are under $20 so a busy mom like me can pick up a rotisserie chicken at the supermarket, and won’t have to pay that extra cost.”

Affordability also arose in discussions about the price of housing and gasoline in particular. 

Waters promised an end to blind bidding and the reinstitution of stiffer rent control standards as part of the LIberal platform on housing affordability. Gates also mentioned rent controls, more directly attacking Ford’s government for dismantling them. He also focused on increasing the supply of homes and promised to “stop the greedy speculators who are buying up all the homes and then getting into blind bidding, which should be taken out of the home-buying process altogether.”

Gates said gouging at the gas pumps has to stop, describing having seen people lined up to buy gasoline at $1.81 per litre on his way to the McLeod Road studio. 

“It happens from the refineries, all the way to the pumps,” he said. “And nobody can deny that. The gas industry makes billions of dollars, and they made 40 per cent more profit during COVID. That’s wrong. We brought in a bill that would regulate gas prices, but the Conservative government voted against the bill.”

“Part of our platform is a-buck-a-ride (on public transit),” Waters said. “It gives affordability to families and will save a lot of families a lot of money. We have a lot of incentives for electrical vehicles coming in, too.”

The loss of thousands of residents in the province’s long-term care (LTC) homes informed the discussion on how to adequately provide effective care for seniors.

Here, both Gates and Waters promised to remove private ownership of LTC homes. 

“During COVID, right here in Niagara, we had outbreaks at Oakwood and Lundy Manor,” Gates said. “Oakwood was the worst, 100 per cent of the residents and staff got COVID, and 40 per cent of the residents died. The government didn’t protect them. We have to take the privatization out of long-term care and retirement homes.”

“If you’re in a long-term care private hospital, you have a better chance of dying,” Gates continued. “If you’re in a publicly-funded one run by the region you have a better chance of living. Because it’s about care, not profit.” 

“We plan to have seniors be able to stay at home and have home care support,” Waters said. “We don’t want for-profit homes for our seniors, that’s a big part of our platform as well. We’ll top seniors up so they receive $1,000 more a month to pay for home care. And we’ll give incentives to keep nurses here in Ontario and working in long-term care.”

Minerva Ward, president and CEO of the NOTL Chamber of Commerce, submitted a video question, asking what each candidate promised to do to ensure local businesses have access to a workforce with the skills and talents necessary for the expected future growth in Niagara. 

Waters promised the Liberals would work with colleges to ensure they have the right programs in place to develop skilled workers and keep them in the region. Gates pointed out Niagara College’s brewing and winemaking programs as examples that develop skilled workers for Niagara’s economy. 

Gates shifted then, going on to talk about protecting NOTL, through regulations that safeguard farmers, wineries, green space and heritage. 

“If we do all of that,” he said, “young families will come to Niagara-on-the-Lake. It’s one of the best places to live in Ontario, one of the prettiest places in Ontario. We have to work together with the Chamber and the councils to protect that heritage.”

Waters and Gates didn’t differ markedly on climate change, the importance and drawbacks of lockdowns or the need for improved infrastructure as those issues arose through the discussion. 

What was different between the two was their approach. Gates continuously pointed out examples of what he called “years of Conservative and Liberal neglect” in his closing statement, while in contrast, Waters spoke of the importance of the June 2 election. 

“I need you to go and vote,” she said in her closing. “Make sure your voice is heard. The only thing that would be more disappointing is if we see those polling results and we see certain demographics that didn’t show up to the polls. If you are young, if you are old, if you are anywhere in between, cast your vote, because it does matter.”

Three other candidates for Niagara Falls — Christine Lewis-Napolitano of the New Blue Party, The Ontario Party’s Wesley Kavanagh, and Devon St. Denis-Richard of the None of the Above Party — were invited to send a two-minute video in lieu of attendance at the debate. None of them followed through on the invitation. 

The Niagara Falls riding debate, listed in the directory as “Your Vote” on YourTV, can be seen on the channel Saturday, May 21 at 2 p.m., Tuesday, May 24 at 7 p.m. and Saturday, May 28 at 12:30 p.m. It is also available to be seen any time online at yourtv.tv/niagara.