With less than a week until the federal election, CKDR News continues to ask the important questions you want answers to.
Today, we ask the Kenora riding candidates about housing needs and affordability.
Janine Seymour of the NDP says, “Some of the properties are quite large and are multi-million dollar properties here on the lake. So it’s making sure that the market, ensuring that there is room for people of all (income) ranges to have access to housing. So if you’re here and you’re trying to start your family and you don’t have anything on the market then that’s problematic. Where do you go from there? We really need to start looking to ensure that there’s revenue generated in from those who have the top tier, and I’m talking the multi, multi-million dollar real-estate.”
Seymour continues, “Ensuring that proportionately the top percentage, 10 million annual earners, pay their appropriate portion (of taxes) which would allow for those who need housing, which is a desperate need here in this region, would have the opportunity to do so.”
Liberal Candidate David Bruno explains, “It’s a problem across the country, that is for certain. We have to focus on how to get affordable housing to our population. The government is already committed to low income housing, 30 thousand new units across the country and yes I’m going to be fighting to get some of those here in our riding, we need it. We need someone who is going to be able to talk to the government at the table and make sure we are not forgotten. The last thing I want is for our constituents to be left behind and that’s what I’ll be fighting for.”
Conservative Incumbent for the riding Eric Melillo responds, “In our region whether it’s low income affordable units or seniors housing, across the board there really seems to be a shortage of units available for the demand that we have. So, we want to look at innovative ways to free up more federal land and crown land for residential development.
Melillo adds it will be a collaborative effort to address the housing problem.
“We want to create more incentives for developers and for those who are investing in new units to continue to do so or to get into the market because we need the vast support from both the public and private sectors if we’re going to solve this. Also, we’re pledging to build one million homes across the country if we do form government so that we can have an increased supply and give more options to Canadians.”
Craig Martin of the People’s Party of Canada says his party will try to cool down the housing market with some federal reforms.
Martin says for our riding, “I’m going to personally seek out a way in which low-income families can purchase the properties that they are now renting and for a mortgage that relates to their income as opposed to the housing market.”
He notes, “The government is now spending money on low-income housing in which landlords are profiting off it, and I’m all for rental agreements and landlords existing, but they don’t need to exist for low income when the government is paying the bill.”
Martin adds, “If the government is paying for those properties, they can provide mortgages for the people living on those properties, give them a hand up and let them start building their lives up as well with real property.”
Green candidate Remi Rheault says his party has a comprehensive housing plan.
“I like the idea of supporting non-profits and co-op housing systems. We can actually create a lot of housing that way. I like the fact that they actually are looking at retro-fits and new builds in a more highly efficient manner.”
Rheault says he would bring forward a lot of the recommendations from Efficiency Canada.
“These recommendations from Efficiency Canada bring the building codes at a highest standard possible for this day. We can see housing at efficiency levels that we haven’t seen in a long time. We need to stop cutting corners when we’re building homes.”
Rheault is also focusing on housing needs in the far north.
“We need to treat everybody the same and the same type of housing. I do know that Indigenous peoples have large families and require bigger homes. It’s hard to sleep 14 people in a two-bedroom house.”
Election day is Monday.
(With Files From Mike Ebbeling)
