The Stratford Chamber of Commerce held the first local MP debate in Perth-Wellington.
All candidates were included in the debate which featured John Nater of the Conservatives, Brenden Knight of the Liberals, Kevin Kruchkywich of the NDP and Wayne Baker from the Peoples Party of Canada. There is no Green Party representative for Perth-Wellington for this election.
Over the 2 hour debate, a large portion of it was spent tackling arguably one of the biggest issues in the region, housing and rentals.
NDP candidate, Kevin Kruchkywich says when it comes to finding workers, it really boils down to finding places to live for them.
“We have jobs here we have a lot in this community. What we don’t have is enough housing for those workers and we can’t get them here if we don’t have a place to live for them.” said Kruchkywich
John Nater added small businesses across Perth-Wellington have become overly desperate for workers.
“I talk to small and medium sized businesses that would literally hire 5-10 people on the spot if they walked in their door and they just don’t have the people to fill those jobs.” said Nater.
For PPC’s Wayne Baker he says its time to think outside the box for affordable home ownership and says they should be looking into mobile homes.
“Mobile homes and parks were a reality in this province. The powers at be have decided that it isn’t an appropriate form of housing anymore and yet in terms of affordability I think its a phenomenal option for young families and young people looking to get into the market.” said Baker.
Brenden Knight says the issue around affording a house needs to include the other things associated with housing.
“Those out of post secondary. You need to factor in student loans, you have children you have to consider, how much child care is going to be. How you can make a down payment, how you can make monthly costs and get by.” said Knight
The full 2 hour debate can be found from the Stratford Chamber of Commerce YouTube channel.
