elow are the responses we have received from provincial election candidates from the four major parties at Queen's Park running in Scarborough North. We will update this page as more answers come in.
Tara McMahon - Green Party Candidate
The Hoser: The federal government divested from a responsibility to build public housing in the early 1990s, downloading the responsibility to provinces and municipalities. If your party forms government, how many units of public housing can you commit to building in your first term?
Tara McMahon: We intend to build 182,000 in the next decade with plans to renew existing units as well as making the pathway to home ownership easier and community planning a reality - so people are more connected to the communities where they live and can realistically live in the communities they are in, shop, school and work in them; have access to green spaces, all of these things are important to a functional city and environment.
The Hoser: Bill 124 has frozen public sector wage increases at 1 percent since 2019. Inflation has climbed upwards of six percent in 2022. Will your government keep Bill 124 as provincial law? If not, will you legislate any limitations to public sector workers’ collective bargaining rights?
Tara McMahon: We would repeal Bill 124. Nurses deserve our respect, but they also deserve equity and fairness which has been repressed under this Bill. Nurses are leaving the profession in high numbers. We should not be limiting the ability of any groups' collective bargaining rights.
The Hoser: Communities and advocates concerned with police violence have for years been demanding a defunding of police services, rerouting that money to public social services. Is this a policy your government would pursue? If so, how much money would you reallocate from current provincial policing budgets?
Tara McMahon: This is a difficult topic, because the Province controls the OPP specifically and not Municipalities or incorporated areas. I do support the idea of offering more services to these areas, but also understand that these are largely rural areas. Not dense urban areas with their own police services. The different municipalities should be making their own decisions for their own constituents with those services, unless there is a request and reason to intervene. While the Province has 'oversight' on the TPS - I'm not sure that the Province should be interfering unless there's a particular reason to do so. I don't agree with the Provincial adjustment of Toronto's City Council - as an example. We, the constituents of Toronto, should have decided if we wanted a different city council, not the Province. I would be supportive of a Municipal move to do so as it is within their purview. The amount to be determined by them.
The Hoser: Considering that COVID is airborne and cases are once again quite high, will your government make any investments in retrofits or building new hospitals, schools, public transit vehicles, or any other large-scale investments related to public health, indoor crowding and ventilation?
Tara McMahon: We absolutely want to invest in retrofits to public transit, schools, health, senior care - to name a few . These are all issues that are of the utmost concern for myself and the party where we want to invest in the infrastructure to not only make the buildings safer and up to date, but more efficient as well.
The Hoser: As of 2021, the living wage in Toronto was over $22 an hour. In all major cities and towns in the province, the $15/hr minimum wage is below a living wage. Inflation is now upwards of six percent, and scheduled wage increases and cost of living adjustments are not keeping up. Is your government committed to getting minimum wage levels to a living wage? If not, why?
Tara McMahon: I personally support a Universal Basic Income, but also a living wage. Everyone deserves to live with dignity and not in fear of losing their home or the ability to feed their family or get basic healthcare items because of income levels. The Green Party of Ontario wants to immediately raise the minimum wage to $16 and top up in areas where the cost of living is higher.
