THUNDER BAY – Voters still weighing their choice in the riding of Thunder Bay-Superior North have the chance to see the candidates square off on major election issues.
Participants in a forum organized Wednesday by the Thunder Bay Chamber of Commerce included Liberal incumbent Patty Hajdu, NDP candidate Chantelle Bryson, Conservative candidate Joshua Taylor, and Green candidate Amanda Moddejonge. The event, held in partnership with NetNewsLedger, was made available online Thursday.
PPC candidate Rick Daines and Libertarian Alexander Vodden were not invited. Organizers used the same criteria to as the national debate commission to determine eligibility, said chamber president Charla Robinson.
A small group of PPC supporters rallied outside of the venue Wednesday to protest that decision, with some asking how newer parties could gain support without exposure.
The forum brought a heavy focus to Indigenous issues, with candidates questioned on the implementation of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), First Nation consent for development projects, and increased exposure to climate change risks.
Hajdu called her government’s move toward implementing UNDRIP and the passage of Bill C-69 examples of respecting First Nations’ sovereignty.
“Projects aren't going to get built unless it’s in full partnership with Indigenous communities,” she said. “It has to be done together, and it has to be more than offering a few token jobs.”
The review process for resource projects needs to be strengthened, said Bryson, with more funding for First Nations participation.
“The honour of the Crown is meaningless to Liberal and Conservative governments,” she said. “They don’t fund the process itself, they dump it to corporations. The process often falls apart and they end up in court.”
The first step must be to address basic services on reserve, like drinking water and education, Bryson argued.
“Without equitable funding for fundamental services on reserve, such as education, there’s no meaningful ability to participate in mines and forestry,” she said.
Moddejonge agreed First Nations need more funding to engage in resource development reviews, adding her party's plans to expand training for renewable energy and other green industries would benefit First Nations.
Panelist Jason Reysavych, president of the Anishnawbe Business Professional Association, asked how the parties would mitigate the risks of climate change. First Nations are among those most impacted, he said, pointing to shortening winter road seasons and increased forest fire hazard.
Taylor said the government needs to “reasonably mitigate the risk of climate change,” including through firefighting strategies to protect northern communities.
He argued Canada could have more impact internationally, by providing liquefied natural gas to countries transitioning from “subsistence fuels” like coal, for example. Experts have raised doubts over whether the strategy would effectively reduce emissions.
“Canada only roughly contributes about two per cent of the greenhouse gases across the world,” Taylor said. “We need to hold the big polluters accountable, like China, India, and the United States, to ensure overall, we can mitigate global emissions, and not just Canada’s.”
Hajdu said that answer showed an unwillingness to seriously address climate change, pointing out the Liberals’ climate plans had been praised by former NDP leader Tom Mulcair and economist Mark Jaccard.
“Transition takes time, but the plan is aggressive,” she said. “I think you can see the Conservatives’ answer is, we won’t do anything until China will.”
Despite the candidates’ rhetoric, independent assessments have found China is making far better progress on its climate commitments than Canada.
Chamber board chair Riley Burton asked how the parties would support economic recovery from COVID-19 for the sectors most impacted, including women, and Indigenous and racialized people.
Recovery isn't possible until the pandemic is fully under control, said Moddejonge, who accused the Liberals of consistently reacting too slowly on COVID-19. Calling an election heading into a fourth wave of infections was reckless, she added.
“The fact this government called this election when it did demonstrates how out of touch it actually is," she said.
Taylor touted Conservative policies like a wage subsidy for new hires and a promised GST holiday for retail, which he said would boost sales.
“To ensure businesses hire equitably, they’ll absolutely need the funds,” he said.
New Liberal programs like $10-a-day childcare will boost recovery, said Hajdu, while criticizing Taylor’s response.
“We have strategies for Black business owners, for Indigenous business, for women,” she said. “You can’t say you’re just going to provide extra money to businesses to become more diverse, without any kind of strategy behind that.”
Bryson said the NDP would deliver a “fundamental shift in fairness,” with a wealth tax and higher corporate tax rates.
Strong social supports are an essential ingredient for recovery, she said.
“[Businesses] need sustained subsidies until we’re out of this pandemic, and then we need to focus on pharmacare, childcare, and mental health and addictions services to make sure people are healthy and able to return to full productivity.”
Taylor raised issues of rural representation and crime during the forum.
“When I went to Western [University], people knew two things about Thunder Bay – it’s very cold, and it’s the murder capital of Canada most times,” he said. “That shouldn’t be our claim to fame.”
Hajdu argued the Liberal approach is more effective in reducing crime, arguing addictions should be treated as a health matter, not a criminal one.
The Liberals have promised to repeal mandatory minimum sentences for drug possession, while the Conservatives will not, she pointed out.
Her government, however, has rebuffed calls to decriminalize drug possession beyond cannabis. The NDP and Greens have committed to decriminalization, which is widely endorsed by public health experts and the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police.
Bryson aggressively criticized Hajdu, slamming her record on the opioid crisis, and later saying she'd shown "blind loyalty" to the Liberal party.
“It’s very disturbing when we have [an MP] who’s the health minister, and yet our mental health and addictions crisis has spun out of control, not just in Thunder Bay, but in every community in our riding," she said.
Hajdu responded by touting a history of bringing support for both social programs and economic development to the riding.
“Over the past two years, I’ve brought in over $400 million for Thunder Bay-Superior North,” she claimed. “That was for water projects, marinas, mental health programs, programs that serve Indigenous youth like the Choose Life program, things lik airport renewal, business development, and the doubling of FedNor’s funding.”
The forum can be watched in full online. The Thunder Bay-Rainy River candidate forum will be available as of 5 p.m. Friday.
