BRIGHTON – Candidates in the Northumberland-Peterborough South riding debate at the King Edward Park Community Centre Thursday. The debate was hosted by CARP, a senior advocacy group. Photo by Nikolai Karpinski
By Nikolai Karpinski [1]
BRIGHTON – Conservative candidate Adam Moulton’s absence didn’t go unnoticed at an all-candidates debate in Brighton Thursday.
“It’s an insult to the voters,”said Russ Christianson, the New Democratic Party candidate for the Northumberland-Peterborough South riding.
“If you can’t stand in a debate, how will you stand in Ottawa?” said Liberal candidate Kim Rudd.
According to his Twitter page [2], Moulton was attending a meeting with the federal Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz in Peterborough County, Douro at the time.
The debate was organized by the Quinte chapter of the Canadian Association of Retired Persons [3] at the King Edward Park Community Centre in Brighton. CARP [4] is an advocacy group for seniors, working on issues such as seniors’ rights and improving the health care system.
Health Care Budget
“(There) is a need to shift health care dollars to illness prevention and health promotion,” said Green party candidate Patricia Sinnott.
Christianson said the NDP “would budget for surpluses. We’re talking about a $3 to $4 billion surplus each year over the next three or four years.” If an NDP government reached those surpluses, he said, “we would invest more in health care, seniors, youth education and employment.”
Rudd said: “Within 90 days of forming a government, (Liberal leader) Justin Trudeau will call a first ministers meeting, which hasn’t happened in eight years. The only way to negotiate a new health accord is if these provinces and territories are at the table.”
End-of-life care
All three candidates say they support Canadians’ right to choose physician-assisted death. They also discussed concerns behind this issue.
“One of the reasons people are so concerned about physician-assisted dying is that palliative care in this day and age is still not high quality care,” said Sinnott.
Christianson said: “Over the last few years this issue has been put on the back burner and not dealt with properly.”
Rudd said: “Justin Trudeau has committed to bringing forward a council of clergy, of physicians, of social workers…of what I will call learned people on this subject. We will formulate the best policy for legislation that recognizes the pain and suffering we should be able to alleviate.”
Retirement Eligibility and Senior Poverty Reduction
All three candidates said they would not increase age of eligibility for the guaranteed income supplement and old age security to 67. OAS is a monthly payment to people 65 or older who meet the requirements. The guaranteed income provides a monthly non-taxable benefit to seniors collecting OAS. The Conservative government plans to gradually increase the minimum age of these programs to 67 by 2023.
“One of the first things the NDP would do is pull 200,000 single, older women living in poverty out of it by more than doubling the Guaranteed Income Supplement,” said Christianson. He also said the NDP would double funding for the Canada pension plan, old age security and reintroduce the “idea of affordable and co-operative housing.”
Sinnott said that the Green party “will give $6.1 billion per year to municipalities for infrastructure. Part of that is for the building of affordable housing.”
Rudd said: “We will increase guaranteed income supplement by 10 per cent and we’ve also been asked for $20 billion for affordable housing and facilities for seniors.” She said that “affordable housing for seniors is great, but there may be a time where you need the next step. We don’t have enough of these facilities.”
Home Care
The three candidates agreed that while home care is the most popular and effective way of looking after seniors, lack of government funding and oversight is a problem, as is the privatization of home-care services.
“Contracts for personal support workers who provide care in this region are awarded to whomever bids the lowest price,” said Sinnott. “This means precarious employment for people with personal support training and discontinuous care for those at home.”
Christianson said: “Home care is the most efficient and effective way to take care of seniors – and it’s what they want. It’s one of those things that’s a no brainer.”
Rudd said that Prime Minister Stephen Harper “has made unilateral cuts, and we need to go in and repair the damage.”
National Pharmacare
Christianson said that the NDP “would work with provinces and territories to produce a universal pharmacare program as an extension of our public health system.”
Sinnott said: “Seniors living in poverty can benefit from a number of Green party programs, including a national pharmacare program.” This program “will provide better prescription drug coverage because it will be the same across Canada, not just Ontario,” she said. “This increases the buying power of the government, and projected savings are $11 billion a year.”
Rudd said: “We all know that if we collectively negotiate we get better deals. We need to make negotiations as a country for drug costs.”