The discussion was wide-ranging at the first federal all candidates debate in Sarnia-Lambton.
The forum was hosted by the Rotary Club of Sarnia-Lambton on Tuesday afternoon at the Dante Club, and those in attendance got to submit written questions.
Six candidates, vying to be the next Member of Parliament for the new riding of Sarnia-Lambton-Bkejwanong, were on hand.
Part of the debate centred around how the parties would help vulnerable populations like seniors, homeless individuals and those living with addiction.
Libertarian candidate Jacques Boudreau told the crowd the best welfare program is a good job.
"The problem that we're facing, and we see this constantly, is the government gets involved in things and ruins things," said Boudreau. "There are projects that don't come to be, killing jobs and all that. Then, the government has to come from behind and provide these people with welfare having destroyed their opportunity to make a living in the first place. We need to remove the government from the equation so that people can actually get to work and look after themselves. For the most vulnerable, the best solution is private charities. It is not for the government, that doesn't know anything about the circumstances of the people, whereas local charities have been proven to do a far better job."
Liberal candidate and Sarnia City Councillor George Vandenberg said, as seniors, he and his wife benefit from the Canada Pension Plan (CPP).
"For most folks out there that live off the CPP, and old age pension, it's not enough, especially when you look at what an apartment costs you these days," said Vandenberg. "Habitat for Humanity is a big thing. There's a big push for us in this community, I know the city has donated to those projects, and I hope we see much more of that. The other thing is about affordability with GST and HST on new homes. Look at the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, they don't put any tax on anything that you need to live, like groceries and clothing and other things. We should be looking at that as well."
Candidates were asked how they would fund NDP-proposed programs like the removal of GST on essentials, and free pharma and dental care.
The NDP's Lo-Anne Chan wants that money to come from big corporations that are passing on costs to the consumers.
"Instead of doing that, we'll put in something called the windfall tax where the more money they make the more taxes they have to pay," said Chan. "This way it's not on the consumers it's on the corporations so that they don't have price gouging, and they don't have these extra costs that they're trying to pass off and make their profits for the CEOs. We will also make sure that any savings that we have will be invested into making sure the public has access to the essentials that they need."
Christian Heritage Party candidate Mark Lamore responded.
"Believe me, I wish I didn't have to pay the GST tomorrow, I'm sure you guys are in the exact same boat," said Lamore. "I guess the lowest common denominator always is 'we'll just buy votes and we'll make promises that we can't keep'. Listen, to say that the corporations are going to pay for this, I know corporations that just head down to Bermuda and open up a bike shop and just hide their taxes that way. The government has become the biggest employer in this country and that's a huge problem. The government's job is to set up a system where businesses can open. It's not the government's job to do anything more than that. As soon as we get more businesses open, then perhaps then we can lower the HST and make life more livable for everyone."
Protecting Canadian democracy and combatting misinformation was also a key talking point.
While providing his answer, Parti Rhinocéros Party candidate and retired principal Anthony Mitchell used the chance to poke fun at our neighbours south of the border.
"To protect Canadian sovereignty, we need to do something that immediately will impact the Americans, we need something that will disturb them greatly," said Mitchell in a tongue in cheek manner. "The thing that will disturb Republicans the most is drag queens reading children's books. I intend to parachute hundreds of thousands of drag queens into the United States. By doing so, by simply reading, it'll immediately turn all the children gay. While Republicans are busy trying to take their children to church and change them to be straight, that will open the border for Mexicans and penguins. Just the fear of that will make them give up all the tariffs, and they'll give us Alaska as the fourth northern territory just to keep us quiet."
People's Party of Canada candidate Brian Everaert said protecting democracy is actually a serious issue, and one that his party is currently battling.
"We just faced it, we met the criteria for the national debates from the last election," said Everaert. "Almost a million people voted for the People's Party across Canada, three times more than the greens. We didn't get any seats, but we hit the five per cent mark to be in the national debates. The debate commission met, after sending my leader (Maxime Bernier) a letter saying he'd be in it, and they changed the rules to keep him out. We have to not he-he it and laugh about it, we have to look at what's being done as being wrong. We have state run media in this country, whether you believe it or not. Where does the information come from, and who is right? I'll tell you what's wrong, they've had the five per cent rule for years in the debates, and this time around Maxime Bernier has been removed. What are they afraid of? They don't like the information. It's not about false information, it's about information about them that they don't want out there."
Other topics included removing interprovincial trade barriers, improving local transportation, stopping skyrocketing crime, and combatting anti-Palestinian racism.
There was agreement on the need to stop the so-called catch and release justice system, and be tougher on offenders.
Candidates also generally supported making it easier to trade goods within Canada.
A prepared statement submitted by incumbent Conservative MP Marilyn Gladu, read by the club, was met with a smattering of boos.
She said with the expanded riding, she wanted to focus her efforts on getting out into the community and meeting face-to-face with more people.
Meanwhile, the Lambton Federation of Agriculture [LFA] is hosting an all candidates meeting on Wednesday, April 9. Doors open at 595 Main Street in Wyoming for a social gathering at 6:30 p.m. with the meeting starting at 7 p.m.
LFA said attendees will have a chance to ask questions related to agriculture, discuss issues that matter to you and share ideas and suggestions.
Emailing questions in advance to info@lambtonfederation.ca is also recommended.