How Kitchener-Conestoga candidates plan to address affordable housing and the Wilmot Township land assembly

CBC

21-02-2025

Land expropriation in Wilmot is a top issue for Kitchener-Conestoga voters. Here's where candidates say they stand on the issue
9 hours ago
Duration 4:43
After participating in a panel discussion on CBC K-W's The Morning Edition, Kitchener-Conestoga candidates were asked where they stand on plans by the Region of Waterloo, supported by the province, to buy farmland in Wilmot Township for future industrial use. The four candidates who took part in the panel were Brayden Wagenaar of the Green Party, Conservative incumbent Mike Harris Jr., NDP's Jodi Szimanski and Liberal Joe Gowing. There are six candidates in total in this riding. The other candidates are: Patrick Doucette of the Ontario Party and Jim Karahalios of the New Blue Party.
Affordable housing and the Wilmot Township land assembly were among the top issues addressed by Kitchener-Conestoga candidates as part of a panel discussion on CBC Kitchener-Waterloo's The Morning Edition on Thursday.
Four candidates from major parties joined host Craig Norris for the panel discussion. CBC K-W invited the candidates from the parties with MPPs currently sitting at Queen's Park.
There are seven candidates in Kitchener-Centre:
Patrick Doucette, Ontario Party.
Joe Gowing, Ontario Liberal Party.
Mike Harris Jr., Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario (incumbent).
Jim Karahalios, New Blue Party of Ontario.
Jodi Szimanski, Ontario New Democratic Party.
Brayden Wagenaar, Green Party of Ontario.
The four candidates who attended the panel were Gowing, Harris, Szimanski, and Wagenaar. More information about candidates from non-major parties can be found below.
Affordable housing
Kitchener–Conestoga voters who responded to CBC K-W's voter survey said affordable housing was one of their top priorities in this election. Candidates were asked what they think needs to happen to ensure affordable housing is built in their riding.
Harris said that the main thing he's focused on is housing for all. He stressed the need to "have housing for the younger generation, older generation seniors that are looking to move out of their larger homes so that family can move in."
He said that while he believes his government has done a lot already, the biggest barrier to more homes is infrastructure.
"Pipes in the ground, water, sewer. How do we get that out to these areas so that we're able to build these homes," said Harris.
Szimanski said she wants to see more density in residential areas. Her government would work with municipalities to rezone some areas, allowing the construction of fourplexes with affordable units in place of the single-detached homes that would normally go there.
"There are a lot of homes going up and construction. I see it in Baden, Wellesley…but they're not affordable homes," she said, adding that Kitchener–Conestoga needs cooperative and non-profit housing.
Wagenaar took a different approach, criticizing past governments and industry leaders for failing to address affordability.
"If the people that had the power to fix this could have, they would have, but they haven't," he said.
He said the Greens want to build more housing, but it needs to be affordable. He called for the de-commodification of the housing industry, "at least to a good enough percentage" so that people who live here have the opportunity to enter the housing market.
Gowing, drawing on his finance background, echoed concerns about the types of homes being built.
"The current government says they're building homes, but they're not building the right type of homes," he said.
Having visited building sites recently, he found out the base model for a single detached home costs $950,000 and a town home costs $750,000.
"Building these monstrous homes is, yeah, we're ticking a box that we're meeting these targets. But unless we build the right type of homes for people to afford…they're not going to be able to purchase a home."
Wilmot Land Assembly
Voters identified the controversial plan to purchase large swaths of farmland for industrial use in Wilmot Township as an issue they want addressed by candidates in the upcoming election. The plan is currently supported by the Ontario government.
Candidates were asked what side of the debate they find themselves on.
Gowing said he sides with the farmers, adding that his family has a farming background.
"If we remove [prime farmland], it is going to have a huge impact on our agricultural food side of things," said Gowing.
He said he wants to expand the Greenbelt and introduce a "Bluebelt" which would protect wetlands.
Gowing criticized the secrecy surrounding the land assembly, saying that if he were elected, he would push to release councillors of their non-disclosure agreements.
"There's a reason for all the secrecy. I want to know why and I know the citizens want to know why."
Wagenaar said he sides with protecting the farmland, too.
"The idea of spending more time destroying the current resources that exist and the current access to land that exists, to do things like grow food, feels criminal," he said.
There's never been a time where Canadians need to become more self-reliant, he said, and the land assembly efforts in Wilmot go against that.
He said the Green Party's housing plan doesn't involve expanding into farmland.
Szimanski said she would like to see the farmland protected.
"The fact that we're going to people on prime farm lands and saying basically 'get off your land or else' shocks me," she said.
She said the entire process is undemocratic, without public accountability.
"The way that it's been done with all the secrecy, the non-disclosure agreements," said Szimanski. "If there's nothing going on that we shouldn't be sharing with everyone, why do we have non-disclosure agreements?"
She said she would consider extending the Greenbelt to protect the farmland from expropriation.
"Losing 319 acres of farmland…we can't come back from that to grow our own food."
Harris said he sides with farmers, but is in favour of the land assembly.
However, he said the process of approaching farmers to acquire their farmland has been mishandled until recently.
"Coming in and saying that we're just going to expropriate your land is not the way to do business," said Harris.
"It's, quite frankly, bad-faith negotiation."
He said that the initial contact issue has been resolved and farmers are starting to receive competitive offers.
"It's my goal to make sure that their farms aren't expropriated and that they're going to be able to reach a fair and equitable deal," he said.
Harris said the land assembly is crucial to having large scale industrial sites available in case a company comes looking for it. He referenced investments the region had missed out on, as well as the departure of Kitchener's Schneiders plant, which he said was a result of the lack of shovel-ready land.
"We've lost out on some really, really key economic opportunities here in the region," said Harris.
Candidates from non-major parties
While only candidates running for parties with seats at the Ontario Legislature were invited to participate in the candidate panel, Kitchener–Conestoga also has two other candidates: Doucette of the Ontario Party and the New Blue Party of Ontario Leader, Karahalios
CBC News reached out to the Ontario Party to try to make contact with their Kitchener–Conestoga candidate, but did not receive a response.
In an emailed statement to CBC News, Jim Karahalios said his top priority for Kitchener–Conestoga is to clean up Queen's Park by removing lobbyists who he says control the process.
He said electing him would give constituents an MPP who can speak their mind in ways he says major-party candidates cannot.
Karahalios said he is more of a true conservative option compared to the PCs.
To protect farmers and other residents in Kitchener-Conestoga, he said if elected he would introduce a private member's bill strengthening property rights in Ontario.
Karahalios wrote that this bill would make it so "landowners are no longer forced into losing their land against their will at below market rates through government expropriation."
"The residents of Kitchener-Conestoga deserve someone who will be their representative at Queen's Park and someone who is wiling to stand up for them with courage and conviction."
Voting
Advance polls run Thursday to Saturday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.
There are four advance polling locations in the riding of Kitchener–Conestoga:
People can also vote at the Kitchener–Conestoga election office located at 95 Peel St., New Hamburg. In addition to the above hours, that office is open Sunday from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m., Monday and Tuesday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Wednesday 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Election day is Feb. 27.