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in si de ha lto n. co m O ak vi lle B ea ve r | T hu rs da y, M ay 24 ,2 01 8 | 12 Voted Oakville's #1 Montessori School 5 years in a row Trafalgar Ridge Montessori School DIAMONDDIDIDIDIDIAMONDDIDIAMONDDIDIAMAMAMAMAMONONONDIAMONDONDIAMONDONONONONONDDDIAMONDDDIAMONDDD 2379 TRAFALGAR ROAD, OAKVILLE • 905.257.5955 www.trms.ca admin@trms.ca Voted Oakville's #1 Montessori School 5 years in a rows #1 Montessori School 5 years in a row July 9th to August 10th, 2018 REGISTER TODAY! SUMMER CAMP Childcare, mental health, attack ads, trans- portation and the cost of energy were among the topics discussed during an all-candidates debate for the Oakville riding, which was held at Glen Abbey United Church on Thurs- day, May 17. The event, which was hosted by the Oakville Chamber of Commerce, at- tracted more than 300 peo- ple. Participants included Liberal incumbent Kevin Flynn, Progressive Con- servative candidate Ste- phen Crawford and NDP candidate Lesley Sprague. Chamber staff said Green party candidate Emily De Sousa and Liber- tarian candidate Spencer Oklobdzija were not invit- ed to participate as neither party have representatives at Queen's Park. On the subject of energy costs, Crawford noted the high cost of hydro in Onta- rio has placed some fami- lies in the position where they have to choose be- tween paying their energy bills and buying groceries. "Businesses have been affected. There are 75,000 jobs that have been lost as a direct result of high hy- dro," he said. "We have the highest hy- dro in Canada among the highest in North America. It is making our businesses not competitive. They are leaving. They are going to Quebec where hydro is sig-Quebec where hydro is sig-Q nificantly lower." Crawford said the PCs plan to reduce hydro rates by 12 per cent by placing a moratorium on new ener- gy contracts and scraping the Green Energy Act, which he claims exists on- ly to reward Liberal do- nors and build unneces- sary energy infrastruc- ture. Sprague called for the ending of costly energy sector public-private part- nerships (P3s), which she accused of doing little more than transferring public funds to wealthy corporations. She said the NDP would cut hydro bills by 30 per cent by bringing Hydro One back into public own- ership. Flynn said when the Liberals came to power in 2003 they inherited a prov- ince where childhood asth- ma was on the rise and reg- ular smog day warnings were issued in the Greater Toronto Area. He said the Liberal gov- ernment shut down coal burning resulting in a drop in childhood asthma and an entire generation of children who have never known a smog day. Flynn also pointed to the rebuilds of the Darling- ton and Bruce nuclear power facilities, which he said are not only creating jobs, but giving Ontario an energy source that is 96 per cent emissions free. Crawford reiterated en- ergy infrastructure was built that didn't need to be and noted the most recent Liberal government priva- tized half of Hydro One. Flynn said the infra- structure was needed, not- ing the province was expe- riencing brownouts when the Liberals took over. He also said the state- ment that Ontario has the highest hydro rates in Can- ada is a myth noting places like Halifax, Regina and Moncton all pay signifi- cantly more. On the subject of trans- portation, Flynn noted the Liberals have a plan to spend $230 billion on pub- lic infrastructure over 14 years. "That's supporting about 125,000 jobs in con- struction each year. We have a transit infrastruc- ture fund. We take a por- tion of the gas tax that Mr. (Doug) Ford wants to cut and we reinvest it in places like Oakville so they can buy more buses, build more parking structures and do all the things to make sure people can move around this commu- nity," said Flynn. "We need increased in- vestment in transit, not less." Flynn noted residents would soon see 15-minute GO service and pointed out the trains were running ev- ery hour when the Liberals took over. Sprague said the NDP would restore the Prov- ince's traditional 50 per cent funding for municipal transit, which she said would result in immediate improvements and more affordable fares. She said faster, reliable and affordable transit would result in greater ri- dership and fewer vehicles on the highways and roads. Other projects Sprague said the NDP would cham- pion included two-way all day GO service between Kitchener and Toronto, year-round GO train ser- vice between Niagara and Toronto and the invest- ment of $180 billion over 10 years into infrastructure. Crawford said the PCs support the improvements in GO train service as well as the continued develop- ment of subways in Toron- to. He said when infra- structure is built there needs to be accountability, noting a bridge in the Pick- ering area was built half upside down before the government stepped in. Flynn called the upside down bridge story an "ur- ban myth" and said there was no bridge in Ontario ever built upside down. He argued the PCs have no business preaching about infrastructure plan- ning since it was their par- ty that sold Highway 407 and neglected the prov- NEWS More than 300 people attend Oakville all candidates meeting Lots of applause, but no clear audience favourite DAVID LEA dlea@metroland.com l See NDP, page 37