Candidates discuss social issues
City is ‘not in the redistribution of wealth business,’ mayor says
Mayor Daryl Bennett said at a discussion of social issues in Peterborough on Tuesday that city council can’t use municipal taxes as a means of “wealth redistribution,” collecting from the entire population to help those in greatest need.
When you do that, he said, you risk imposing high taxes on people who can ill afford it — and potentially throwing them into deep poverty, too.
“We are not in the redistribution of wealth business,” he told the crowd.
Bennett was speaking at a roundtable in the lower level of Peterborough Square on Tuesday night for citizens and candidates in the Oct. 22 municipal election .
There were 36 candidates there — mostly from the city, along with some from Peterborough County and others running for school board trustee — as well as dozens of citizens.
The round-table was organized by several local social agencies and groups, including Nourish, Peterborough Community Legal Centre and the YWCA.
Citizens were given a chance to sit at tables with candidates to exchange
ideas on topics such as housing affordability, hunger and public transportation.
One voter, Paul Cleveland, told the candidates at his discussion table — Bennett and Coun. Lesley Parnell, who is running for reelection in Otonabee Ward — that voters are listening closely to their ideas.
“You’re at a job interview tonight, folks,” he said.
At the end of the evening, each candidate in the room had a bit less than a minute to address the entire crowd; that’s when Bennett explained how council’s job is not to redistribute wealth among citizens.
Coun. Diane Therrien, who is running for mayor against Bennett, used her minute to tell the whole crowd that she wants to work with developers to ensure that Peterborough has homes of every size and price.
“I’ve been strong in saying we need a variety of housing types,” she said. “And we need to figure this out: Affordable is not affordable for everyone.”
During the two-hour roundtable, citizens and candidates sat for two half-hour sessions. Each group covered its own social issue, although much of the talk circled back to homelessness.
At one table, Coun. Don Vassiliadis, who is running for re-election in Monaghan Ward, emphasized that homeless people aren’t necessarily jobless people.
He said he heard lately about a homeless person who’s camping in Peterborough — and who also has a job at Walmart.
“Imagine what it’s like, getting ready for work?” he said.
At another table, Town Ward candidate Kemi Akapo spoke on the same topic.
“A lot of people who are homeless are working,” she said. “They just can’t make ends meet.”
She also spoke of “invisible” homeless people: those who couchsurf with friends for lack of a home.
Jenny Lanciault, who is running for Town Ward, said people shouldn’t have to camp in Victoria Park because they have no place else to live.
Lanciault said council has to prioritize and separate the “musthaves” with the “nice-to-haves.”
“We have plenty of money to go around,” she said.
NOTE: See list of candidates who participated at www.thepeterboroughexaminer.com.