The Bay of Quinte Riding’s federal candidates met for a second debate, this time hosted by the Quinte West Chamber of Commerce, in a virtual forum.
Candidates from the Liberal, Conservative, NDP, and Green parties all participated in the debate.
Each candidate was given three minutes for opening remarks before moving to questions submitted by the public to the chamber.
Each candidate was given two minutes to answer each question. At the end of the debate, the candidates were each given another two minutes for closing remarks.
Participating for the Liberal party, was candidate Chris Malette, the Conservatives Ryan Williams, Kate Crothers is with the NDP, while Erica Charlton was the Green Party candidate.
Charlton was forced to leave the debate early on, due to illness, leaving just the Liberal, Conservative, and NDP candidates to answer the questions as they were presented.
Spectators watched over a live stream, but were not present in the room with the candidates.
Over the course of the debate, the candidates touched on a wide range of issues, including cost of living, the ongoing trade war, housing, mental health & addictions, environmental regulation, and the economy.
One of the questions that the candidates were asked was what specific plans their party had to address the rising cost of living.
MP Ryan Williams responded to the question first. He said that the Conservatives would combine tax cuts with cutting red tape to enable faster housing development.
“You knock on a door with someone paying 100% of their income to rent, and it’s heartbreaking,” said MP Williams. The first thing we’ve looked at is an income tax cut. It’s a 15% cut across the board. It’s a first step, but that’d be right away.”
Kate Crothers took the next turn to answer the question. She said that the NDP would scrap the GST on essential groceries, diapers, children’s clothing, phone and internet service, and home heating.
“We will fix Liberal failures to the national dental care program so that millions more Canadians can qualify,” said Crothers. “We will make more life-changing drugs free, and we are committing to building more homes for people and working with provinces to implement rent control so no one suddenly finds themselves without a roof over their head.”
She also pledged to put price caps on basic essential groceries.
Chris Malette was given the last opportunity to answer the question. He promised to eliminate GST for first time home buyers, along with investing in prefabricated homes to speed up construction.
“Canada’s government, under Prime Minister Mark Carney, is going to start building homes at a rate unseen since the Second World War,” said Malette. “Up to 500,000 new homes, including prefab homes. It’s a spectacularly successful way of building homes fast.”
The full debate can be viewed on the Chamber of Commerce’s YouTube page here.
