Flamborough-Glanbrook candidates focus on frozen urban boundary
New Democrat and Liberal candidates in Flamborough-Glanbrook say their parties will respect Hamilton's decision to freeze its urban boundary.
But the rural riding's Progressive Conservative incumbent offers no such pledge in the run-up to the June 2 election.
The three hopefuls made their positions known during a televised debate that devoted air time to council's long-term growth strategy.
Last November's decision to hold the boundary firm and not sprawl into farmland where developers want to build homes has come to a boil during the spring provincial campaign.
We know that residents do not want the urban-boundary expansion ... They do not want highways through their farmland. They want it protected," NDP candidate Allison Cillis said during the debate.
Likewise, Grit hopeful Melisse Willems said her party would respect the decision" to freeze the boundary. You can build enough houses and maintain your green space."
In late March, Progressive Conservative Donna Skelly, alongside Municipal Affairs and Housing Minister Steve Clark, told the legislature that council's firm-boundary approach was guided by an anti-housing and anti-growth" ideology that would choke supply and increase prices.
During the debate, Skelly said she didn't want to do anything" with the city's approach and argued the municipality has yet to put forward a plan" to accommodate a projected 236,000 people by 2051.
I know that they are looking at what they can do," she said, noting the province has given municipalities the tools" to concentrate density along major transit lines.
Planning staff had recommended a 3,240-acre expansion into Glanbrook farmland, including Elfrida, but council rejected that option after 90 per cent of 18,387 responses to a survey supported a frozen urban area. The city has drafted a revised official plan to reflect the firm boundary to submit to the province for review in July.
Developers, their agents and industry groups have urged council to pursue the expansion, warning that not enough ground-oriented" homes would be built, sending house hunters elsewhere.
Skelly, in response to the boundary question, pivoted to her party's focus on building highways along with transit initiatives to ease costly gridlock.
People need to drive, but the Liberals and NDP have waged a war on drivers."
Willems, a lawyer by training who has worked with health-care providers, dismissed Skelly's remark as rhetoric" and pointed to the Liberals' plan to cancel the Tories' Highway 413 project and instead invest $10 billion in schools.
Cillis, who is a teacher, also fired back, saying the NDP has tangible plans" to support drivers, including incentives to buy electric vehicles and exempting truckers from Highway 407 tolls.
Willems, challenging Skelly's assertion that her party would protect the Liberal-created Greenbelt, pointed out the PCs' highway-building plans would cut right through the protected natural area.
The Liberal and NDP candidates alike assailed the PC government's response to the COVID-19 pandemic, pointing to a surgical backlog, public-sector wage-capping legislation and burnt out" nurses.
They feel let down. They don't like to be called heroes when there's no backing up of this," Cillis said.
On the offensive, Skelly pointed to the previous Liberal government's dismal record on health care" and said the Grits would spend billions to get rid of private long-term care homes, a sector that they neglected for over 15 years."
In response, Willems said when you mix profit with care, you diminish the care ... and that is what we want to combat."
Skelly's participation in the Cable 14 event was a point of contention in and of itself with PC candidates across Ontario not showing up for debates.
Neil Lumsden, the Tory candidate for Hamilton East-Stoney Creek, told The Spectator the party had instructed him to skip that riding's debate. So that's the way it is."
But Skelly - who, unlike other local PC candidates, is an incumbent - said it was her choice to take part.
I'm here to talk to the people in Flamborough-Glanbrook, to tell them about our plan."
Willems credited Skelly for showing up, but called the lack of PC participation in debates a symptom of this government's lack of interest in being accountable" over its term.
It's very important" for candidates to attend debates and notable when people are missing," Cillis added.
Teviah Moro is a reporter at The Spectator. tmoro@thespec.com
Who was there
Liberal Melisse Willems, New Democrat Allison Cillis and PC Donna Skelly duked it out at the televised debate. Mario Portak of the Green Party was invited but didn't attend. Paul Simoes of the New Blue Party, Walt Juchniewicz of the Ontario Party and Nikita Mahood of the Populist Party Ontario weren't invited. Mahood provided a pre-recorded video statement.