Cambridge candidates on jobs, homelessness, addiction and 'elbows up' mentality

Cambridge voters person 5 candidates to take from successful this national election.

The 5 candidates are (in alphabetical bid by past name):

• Lux Burgess, Green Party of Canada.
• Connie Cody, Conservative Party of Canada.
• Manuel Couto, Marxist-Leninist Party of Canada.
• José de Lima, New Democratic Party.
• Bryan May, Liberal Party of Canada (incumbent).

CBC K-W invited the candidates from the 4 large parties. The topics covered including the section economy, homelessness and addiction and Canadian sovereignty.

Burgess of the Greens is simply a manager astatine Comcor Environmental successful Cambridge. He introduced himself by saying helium feels the Green Party is astir much than biology issues.

"We basal for societal justice, affordable housing, Indigenous reconciliation, and a just system that works for everyone, not conscionable the affluent few," helium said.

Cody of the Conservatives did not respond to CBC K-W's invitation to instrumentality portion successful the panel. Cody ran for the Conservatives successful the 2021 predetermination and has besides tally for metropolis council. Her website says she has a vocation successful systems architecture and exertion and she besides volunteers successful the metropolis including astatine schools, Kiwanis Club and sitting connected the city's biology and accessibility advisory committees.

Couto of the Marxist-Leninist Party has tally for this enactment successful erstwhile elections. In past elections, helium has called for the request for governmental renewal, including changing the electoral process. He's besides said the authorities needs to bash a amended occupation of safeguarding the system and protecting workers.

De Lima of the NDP said he's a societal services manager and a assemblage advocate.

He said helium was moving successful this predetermination to "make definite that we person bold and assemblage powered solutions astatine the table."

May, the incumbent, is the Liberal campaigner who has held the spot since 2015. 

"Since 2015, your Liberal authorities has delivered results, existent results for Canadians, not with slogans, but with substance," May said.

LISTEN | Federal predetermination candidates from Cambridge take portion successful sheet treatment astir apical issues:

On jobs

The candidates were asked what they would accidental to Cambridge residents who are disquieted astir the interaction U.S. tariffs could person connected their jobs.

De Lima said he's already heard from radical who person received layoff notices and businesses that are astir to laic radical off.

"We request to recognize that this is not a clip for cuts. This is simply a clip to marque definite that assemblage works for working, mediate people families," helium said.

"We request to marque definite that the authorities is determination to supply radical with the supports that they request to supply radical with [employment insurance] if they get laid off. But besides to marque definite that we person Canadian manufacturing and Canadian innovation arsenic a instrumentality to retrain and rehire and guarantee that our sectors are capable to survive."

May pointed to his acquisition arsenic seat of the car caucus successful Ottawa, which helium said "gave maine penetration into this manufacture that supports 8,000 jobs astatine Toyota, for example, successful Cambridge and Woodstock."

"I wholly recognize the interaction that these tariffs are going to person successful Canada and the Liberal Party volition not basal by arsenic the U.S. imposes these unjustified and amerciable and wholly unnecessary tariffs connected Canadian goods," May said.

He said the Liberals person announced $6 cardinal to support workers and gross from retaliatory tariffs volition enactment radical who suffer their jobs.

Burgess said with the existent governmental climate, "we can't conscionable beryllium backmost and anticipation for the best."

"The Green Party has a program to marque definite that we enactment strong, independent, and protected nary substance what happens next. We program to present a guaranteed livable income," helium said. 

"We'll fortify protections for workers, rise the minimum wage and enactment tiny businesses, the backbone of our economy."

He said the Greens would halt giving subsidies to large corporations and "invest that wealth wherever it belongs, into the lives of mundane Canadians."

On homelessness and addiction

The candidates were besides asked what needs to hap to code homelessness and radical struggling with addictions successful the city.

May said the Liberals admit homelessness is simply a situation and developed the National Housing Strategy, which has been utilized to physique homes crossed Canada.

"But we are not unsighted to the information that much, overmuch much is indispensable and we request to ramp up the enactment that's being done," May said, noting an aboriginal level committedness from the Liberals was to treble the fig of homes built each twelvemonth and the instauration of the Build Canada Homes plan.

"We cognize that we request to person an attack akin to station World War II. And erstwhile we built a immense fig of homes, full subdivisions successful communities crossed this country, that's the level of enactment that's indispensable to get successful beforehand of this problem," May said.

Burgess said the Greens admit the opioid situation "is a nationalist exigency that demands urgent action" due to the fact that families are seeing loved ones dice from overdoses.

He said the Green Party "believes successful a compassionate, health-focused attack to this crisis, 1 that treats substance usage arsenic a nationalist wellness issue, not a transgression one."

That includes decriminalizing cause possession for idiosyncratic usage and expanding harm simplification strategies.

For housing, helium said the enactment wants to alteration however affordable lodging is defined "so that it genuinely reflects what radical tin afford. No much than 30 per cent of their income."

Burgess added lodging needs to halt becoming "a playground for investors."

NDP campaigner de Lima said Waterloo portion arsenic a full is struggling due to the fact that the fig of radical who are experiencing homelessness continues to grow, point-in-time counts person shown.

"We person seen, implicit the past fewer years, supports given. But unfortunately, we person besides seen that the affordability situation that radical are facing successful our communities, the lodging crisis, the summation successful rents and the deficiency of rent control, which has accrued homelessness successful the state … has each contributed to an summation successful homelessness," helium said.

"When we look astatine the addiction and overdose crisis, we indispensable recognize that ending the toxic cause situation means treating it similar the exigency that it is."

He said the national authorities needs to "get backmost successful the concern of gathering housing."

On sovereignty 

Since U.S. President Donald Trump has threatened tariffs and said Canada should go the 51st state, galore crossed the state person taken a "elbows up" cognition to champion this country. The candidates were asked what the relation of a section MP is successful the wide treatment astir sovereignty.

"I would decidedly basal up for Canadian sovereignty," Burgess said, noting the Green Party would "not basal idle portion American tariffs endanger our workers, our system and our shared future."

"I would propulsion for just commercialized guarantee, ensuring that each aboriginal commercialized deals see enforceable biology and labour standards. I would enactment Canadian concern done targeted subsidies and a Green modulation fund, helping our industries successful Cambridge modernize and vie successful a debased c world," helium said. 

De Lima said "elbows up is the sentiment that we're bringing to this combat into this election."

"I've spent astir of my beingness I'm lasting up to bullies and you person to bash it from a spot of spot and you can't backmost down. And truthful erstwhile we speech astir elbows up successful our relation arsenic individually arsenic a subordinate of Parliament successful Ottawa, it is astir lasting up to bullies, but besides making definite that the radical that are being threatened and bullied by Donald Trump's actions are being taken attraction of."

He said that means lasting up arsenic a country, but besides for things similar a person's close to water, wellness attraction and jobs.

May said the candidates "are enarthrosis to enarthrosis connected this issue" and everyone understands the U.S. medication is an "existential threat."

He said helium spent clip successful July 2024 talking to authorities legislators to explicate to them the narration betwixt their authorities district, the companies there, and Canada.

The Liberals "managed that narration with the bully to the South for 4 years. I deliberation we did a precise bully occupation doing that, getting a precise bully woody for Canada erstwhile it comes to NAFTA."

"But we cognize that it's not hyperbolic to accidental that the Trump tariff warfare that we're seeing contiguous has made this the astir important predetermination of my lifetime. This menace of annexing Canada is not conscionable unacceptable," May said.

Questions person been sent by email to Cody and Couto. When they respond, those responses volition beryllium added to this story.

Advance voting takes spot 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday and Monday.

Voters spell to the polls connected April 28.