‘If you want the job, show up for the interview': Green slams absent rivals in Hamilton Centre debate
Record-breaking building permits and condo developments are all well and good for a city in a housing crisis — but only if people can afford what's being built.
'This is the problem when people make the argument that housing is simply about supply,' Hamilton Centre NDP candidate Matthew Green, running for a third term, said at an election debate Friday night.
'Housing is not simply about supply — it's about affordability. And no matter how many condos are built in downtown Hamilton, as long as they're out of reach for everyday Hamiltonians, we're going to continue to see record numbers of homelessness.'
What did the Conservative and Liberal candidates have to say?
Viewers of the Cable 14 debate wouldn't know.
The riding forum was a two-person show, with only the Green party's Sandy Crawley and incumbent Green taking part.
Conservative Hayden Lawrence declined an invitation to attend — as did other Tory candidates in all but one of Hamilton's five ridings, according to Cable 14. The rookie Tory candidate cited a preference to be campaigning in person.
Liberal candidate Aslam Rana — who critics have dubbed a 'parachute' candidate because he lives in Mississauga — initially agreed to take part in the debate before pulling out on the day of event. In an email, he said he was focusing on door-knocking given the riding is 'one of the tightest' in Canada.
Although Hamilton Centre has been an NDP stronghold since the riding's creation,
poll-based forecasting websites recently suggested
the riding could be a toss-up between the party and the resurgent Liberals.
National polls suggested a tight national race for popular support between the Liberals and Conservatives with just days to go before the April 28 vote.
At the hour-long debate Friday night, Green didn't look the part of an incumbent feeling the heat.
'I believe that if you want the job, you have to show up for the interview,' he said in his opening remarks, later adding, 'the Conservative candidate and Liberal candidate are missing in action.'
'There is no threat of a Conservative win in Hamilton Centre.'
Green later suggested the Liberals and Tories are pushing to 'turn our democracy into an Americanized' two-party political system.
'People here know better,' he said. 'They see the value in having a strong, experienced and principled MP rooted in the conscience of the country, of the NDP.'
Crawley agreed with Green in that he doesn't think there's 'any threat' of a possible blue Hamilton Centre.
Once a member the NDP's local executive branch, Crawley didn't pull punches against his old party, saying the Greens have the country's most courageous, forward-looking and sensible policies.
'I'm sorry to say, I think the NDP has become distracted by the brass ring and the grab for power,' Crawley said.
The Hamilton Centre race also includes the People's Party of Canada's David Speicher, Rhinoceros Party's Cody Chenier and two independents, Carla Green and Michael Loomans.
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