Kitchener-Conestoga candidates on how they'd advocate for farmers, more affordable housing in rural areas

Kitchener-Conestoga is a mostly rural riding that includes three of the region's townships: Wellesley, Woolwich and Wilmot, Ont.

Its rural mix offers challenges that are different from those experienced by the other cities in Waterloo region: a lack of stable internet, farmers who find the cost of running their operations is on the rise and infrastructure repairs that need an infusion of provincial cash to make them happen. 

But the riding is also affected by a lack of affordable housing as well as concerns about what to do in the face of climate change.

Seven people are running in the riding of Kitchener-Conestoga in this Ontario election. They are, alphabetically:

• Nasir Abdulle, Green Party of Ontario.
• Jason Adair, Populist Party.
• Mike Harris, Ontario Progressive Conservative Party.
• Jim Karahalios, New Blue Party.
• Karen Meissner, New Democratic Party.
• Elizabeth Perrin Snyder, Ontario Party.
• Melanie Van Alphen, Ontario Liberal Party.

CBC Kitchener-Waterloo invited the candidates from the four major parties to take part in a panel discussion. The panel was held Monday at Catalyst 137 in Kitchener. Meissner was the only candidate to attend. Van Alphen, who had been in close contact with someone with COVID-19, was unable to attend but agreed to a phone interview.

Harris declined to take part in the panel and also declined CBC's offer of a one-on-one phone interview. CBC emailed him the questions asked to the other major party candidates and Harris provided a written response. His answers have been included below.  

Abdulle did not respond to the invitation to the panel or an interview.

The full audio of the interviews is available below.

Advocating for farmers

Meissner said she knows the farmland in Waterloo region is very profitable and so the land needs to be protected.

"First of all, prevent sprawl and that kind of paving over farmland. All of that has to be part of the strategy to preserving the farm spaces and our food system," she said.

But she's also heard the impact the climate crisis is having on local farmers — they're facing extreme weather, various pests and the changing climate can also impact their supply chains.

"The NDP have a philosophy of nothing for us without us. And so we continue to advocate for, but also listen to, farmers and what they're telling us is that they need to help fix some of those systems," she said.

Van Alphen said she would listen to local farmers and take their concerns to Queen's Park.

She said when she became a candidate for the Liberals, there were issues she didn't know as much about, such as the aggregate industry and gravel pits in the region. 

"I took the time to meet with folks, walk the land and really understand the concerns and advocated for it and continued to work with those people on those issues. So I will conduct myself in the same manner when it comes to farmers to really understand their needs," she said.

In an email, Harris said the Progressive Conservatives have committed more than $4 billion to connect every home and business in the province to reliable and affordable broadband internet. As well, the party wants to expand access to natural gas to underserved areas, including communities in Waterloo region.

Those issues are "of particular importance to farmers across the region" because local agricultural businesses are competing on a global level, his statement said.

"Being able to heat their barns and dry grains using natural gas is less expensive and more efficient," Harris wrote. 

"Getting their commodities to market can only be done with access to stable internet combined with the other major investments we are making in roads, bridges and other important infrastructure."

Cost of housing on rise

Housing affordability, and the need for more affordable housing is also felt in the Kitchener-Conestoga riding.

Meissner said she's heard from parents who still have grown children living at home because they can't afford rent, or they can't find a rental unit that fits their needs and the housing market is too expensive.

"I've had conversations with people in Kitchener and the rural parts of the riding that are renters and are facing eviction or renovictions," she said. "The way that I'm seeing it is: it's a missing middle problem. It's a social housing problem. It's a zoning problem."

She said the NDP would want to end exclusionary zoning — which prevents building housing or adding residential units to a property in particular areas — which would help allow more housing options like townhomes, duplexes and laneway houses.

Van Alphen said she is also hearing from people anxious about the market.

"I spoke with a young family who was very stressed and very anxious because they're renters in a house and the homeowner was going to sell and they didn't know what they were going to do because they can't afford a mortgage," she said. 

"They were worried that the new homeowner would be increasing the rent double, which they couldn't afford, and that left them in a very scary situation."

She said the housing crisis has multiple, complete levels. She said supply is an issue, so more homes are needed. The Liberals would build 1.5 million homes over 10 years.

The Liberals would create an Ontario home building corporation to finance and build housing of all types throughout the region, she said, which will address those people who are on the waitlist for social and supportive housing, she said. 

She said the party is focused on ending chronic homelessness. That's something she feels strongly about as a volunteer at the Tiny Home Takeout in downtown Kitchener, which provides free meals to anyone who wants one.

"We'll provide municipalities with housing support and housing support providers with $100 million per year actually to really promote a housing first approach," she said. "It's really important to work with the municipalities, the townships, to really collaborate together on how that looks."

Harris said the Progressive Conservatives have set the groundwork to build more homes, including 100,000 new home starts last year.

"We will continue to work with our municipal partners so more home choices are available whether that be purpose-built rentals, townhomes or single-family homes," Harris wrote.

Voting day is June 2.

LISTEN | The candidates who were interviewed were also asked how they would address climate change, the rise in the cost of living and what they want voters to know about them before going to the polls. Those answers can be heard in the full audio of the panel below: