Council candidates answer two questions

I’ve asked two questions of candidates:

1. Will you support a living wage ordinance?

(background here and here)

2. If elected, what single thing would you want to accomplish as councillor (or mayor)?

The candidates’ unedited responses follow. I’ll update this page as I receive more responses Use these links to jump ahead to specific districts:

1 (Waverley – Fall River – Musquodoboit Valley)
2 (Preston – Chezzetcook – Eastern Shore)
3 (Dartmouth South – Eastern Passage)
4 (Cole Harbour – Westphal)
5 (Dartmouth Centre)
6 (Harbourview – Burnside – Dartmouth East)
7 (Halifax South Downtown)
8 (Halifax Peninsula North)
9 (Halifax West Armdale)
10 (Halifax – Bedford Basin West)
11 (Spryfield – Sambro Loop – Prospect Road)
12 (Timberlea – Beechville – Clayton Park – Wedgewood)
13 (Hammonds Plains – St. Margarets)
14 (Middle/Upper Sackville – Beaver Bank – Lucasville)
15 (Lower Sackville)
16 (Bedford – Wentworth)
Mayor

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District 1 (Waverley – Fall River – Musquodoboit Valley)

Candidates:
Colin Castle
Cathy Deagle-Gammon
Trevor Lawson
Steve Sinnott
Steve Streatch

Colin Castle

1. Will you support a living wage ordinance?

In a word, no. I think there are some very deep societal issues at play and I don’t believe a living wage is the solution to these problems. It’s trying to fit a round socialist peg into a square capitalist hole. From my point of view, the problem stems from the 1950’s with the introduction of the credit card. All of our problems in terms of the finances of our households, communities, municipalities, province and country come from the prevalence of easy to obtain credit. There was a time in our society where it was shameful to borrow money. Now, it is almost a necessity to live. It is so bad now that the average Canadian has a consumer debt of $1.67 owed to every $1 earned. So we are outspending our earnings by two thirds. I can see where people are drowning in debt and the obvious solution is to increase their wages but what happens after wages are increased? Without the proper education on how to manage money, people will use the increased earning power to more than likely borrow more money because banks want us indebted to them. This is how they make money. I would support initiatives which help people reduce the cost of living, educate them on how to properly budget and to manage money efficiently. Things like creating rental zones and capping rents within certain areas to create more affordable living in HRM, working with the Province and Minister of Education to introduce financial planning including when and how to borrow money / properly manage debt / importance of investing into the Grade XII curriculum, creating a program within HRM which partners urbanites with rural residents to educate on how to be self-sufficient and grow your own food, partner with Efficiency NS to aggressively promote ways to reduce household energy consumption, and the list goes on and on but you get the idea. We need to address the underlying issues rather than quite literally throw money at the situation. What happens in 10 years or 20 years down the road when the living wage doesn’t change and inflation catches up to it? We will be right back to the same problem as we have today which is people crying poor because everything is going up around them but income isn’t. Now I understand the question being asked is supposed to apply to Halifax and what I would do if I’m elected, but this is a problem that goes beyond the municipality. This is an issues facing governments of all levels right across Canada. What one level of government does becomes precedent setting to the other levels. I would much rather lead the way in creating solutions for residents now and educating the next generation coming than take the easy way out and give people more money recklessly. 

2.  If elected, what single thing would you want to accomplish as councillor (or mayor)?

While there is a laundry list of things I want to accomplish, I would be satisfied if I could walk away when it’s all said and done knowing I brought a truly rural perspective to City Hall. I think we have been massively under-served for the better part of 20 years now. We haven’t had a voice in council to stick up for us. If we did then we would have programs supporting agriculture by bringing urban and suburban residents out to our areas and teaching them the importance of buying local and local producers. We would have programs which offer tax rebates to land owners who lease space to people who want to grow their own food but don’t have the space. We would have an eco-tourism program in place to bring people to our rural reaches showing them our way of life. But no! Instead, we have had representation which has been trying to urbanize us by bringing in street lights which weren’t necessary, re-brand our communities with the overly simplistic Halifax logo, put sidewalks in places which may or may not have actually needed sidewalks, have all these rules and regulations imposed on us which don’t fit with how we do things, stifle our development under the guise of stopping urban sprawl, and the worst of all increasing our taxes to match that of the suburban rate without having the benefit of being near urban amenities. If elected, I think that is what I would want to accomplish and if I have to, I will work myself out of a job if we can show de-amalgamating the former Halifax County is plausible. We are better off without Halifax.

Trevor Lawson

1. Will you support a living wage ordinance?

Yes, any leadership that HRM can provide when it comes to protecting the vulnerable in our society is well worth the effort involved in implementing it. We have an obligation to ourselves and our communities to ensure that we are doing our utmost to address inequality and systemic advantages.

2. If elected, what single thing would you want to accomplish as councillor (or mayor)?

As a veterinarian, I would like to ensure that I can bring my experience to bear to ensure that the pets/pet owners of HRM are protected from situations similar to the breed specific by-law recently passed in Montréal. I am uniquely qualified to speak on these issues, among others, and would consider it a great opportunity to bring that voice to City Hall.

Alison McNair

1. Will you support a living wage ordinance?

Working in the retail fuel industry I see many people working for us at minimum wage or just above and wonder how they make ends meet. The reality is they don’t. Should our minimum wage be higher? Absolutely. To adopt a living wage is a tough one though. If we were to force companies to all of a sudden start paying their staff $7, $8 or $9 more an hour yes they would make more money, but what happens to those employees who get laid off because now more than 40% of the payroll budget has been eaten up. Our unemployment rates would skyrocket and the lucky individuals who get to keep their jobs are now doing the jobs of 2 or 3 people.I know research shows that what I just mentioned above does not necessarily happen in the few companies that have adopted a living wage policy but there are so few out there that are running their businesses this way I do not see how there is enough information to say this would not happen. In addition a living wage ordinance could seriously hinder our ability to draw new employers to the area. It would be great to say we were one of the first municipalities to institute this but what a risk to run.

With that said could there be potential positive spin offs to come of this. YES. I hear all the time it is hard to find good committed workers when paying minimum wage. If the employee was making more money than they would down the road I am sure the commitment would increase. Employee turnover would probably be reduced significantly. I believe there would be a real benefit to the municipality coming up with a program which strongly promotes a living wage and perhaps offers some sort of benefit to employers who adopt a living wage program.

So to bottom line it I would love to say I would support a living wage ordinance but there are many steps that need to be taken before the municipality could adopt this. Would I support those steps – YES.

2.  If elected, what single thing would you want to accomplish as councillor (or mayor)?

There are so many items that I see needing attention. One area that I would seriously dive into and one that appalled me as a citizen when I heard about it in the news was the way the municipal councillors annual raises are determined. I don’t know of many industries that essentially poll like sized municipalities to see what the median income is for the role they are reviewing and then make that the new standard. I believe councillors should receive a pay increase that would be comparable to what the citizens of the municipality get every year. Which would most likely be between 1 and 2%. I am sure this answer is not going to score any brownie points with those I hope to be my co-workers but it really bothered me when I learned this was the process followed. 

Steve Streatch

1. Will you support a living wage ordinance?

I do not believe anybody, especially someone trying to support a family, can live on a minimum wage. After the last election, I returned to the private sector. Within our group of companies, we are able to keep good employees by paying them well. With nobody making less than $15/hr, and many making much more. If elected, I would expect HRM contractors to do no less.

2.  If elected, what single thing would you want to accomplish as councillor (or mayor)?

If elected I want to promote greater unity within the municipality. Twenty years after amalgamation, many residents still feel a sense of marginalization, and are frustrated by decisions of Council and staff actions that are contrary to their ideals. There is still much work to do, and I want to pick up where I left off four years ago.

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District 2  (Preston – Chezzetcook – Eastern Shore)

Candidates:
Shelley Fashan
David Hendsbee
Sydnee L. McKay
Gail McQuarrie

Shelley Fashan

Yes I would support a living wage ordinance and my big issue is adequate rural transit.

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District 3 (Dartmouth South – Eastern Passage)

Candidates:
Bill Karsten – ACCLAIMED

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District 4 (Cole Harbour – Westphal)

Candidates:
Lorelei Nicoll – ACCLAIMED

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District 5 (Dartmouth Centre)

Candidates:
Sam Austin
Adam Bowes
Gabriel Enxuga
Ned Milburn
Tim Rissesco
Derek Vallis
Kate Watson
Warren Wesson

Sam Austin

1. Will you support a living wage ordinance?

I support a Living Wage for all employees who are directly employed by the municipality. Enacting a bylaw would impact only a small number of workers as union contracts mean that most municipal employees already earn a living wage. This makes sense.

I’m not in favour of the municipality trying to compel the private sector to pay their employees more. The level of government that can (and should) do this is the Province. If HRM were to pass a living wage ordinance that included contractors, it could get quite complicated to enforce and it could reduce competition. What I would prefer instead is to change the emphasis on the scoring side when it comes to tendering. To use the parking enforcement contract as an example, the wage category that the Commissionaires were strong in should be worth more points. If the wage category was worth more in tendering, businesses that pay their people well to produce quality work wouldn’t be so easily undercut on the financial side by those that don’t without HRM trying to control the labour market.

As a personal aside, my ideal policy outcome would be to have a guaranteed income from the federal or provincial government to top up the minimums for everyone while minimizing inflation.

2. If elected, what single thing would you want to accomplish as councillor (or mayor)?

Government is the art of doing many things at once. As much as I hate to be narrowed down, daylighting Sawmill River stands out as a significant opportunity in Dartmouth. Daylighting is happening because it’s the lowest-cost option for Halifax Water, but Halifax Water doesn稚 have a mandate for pretty. For daylighting to be more than a concrete ditch with a chain link fence, we need to have HRM come to the table in a meaningful way. The municipality’s planning and parks departments are the only ones with a broader interest and they need to be more actively involved. This is a once in a generation opportunity to add some some incredible greenspace to Downtown Dartmouth. We need to get it right.

Gabriel Enxuga

1. Will you support a living wage ordinance?

Yes. I wholeheartedly believe that Council should establish a minimum wage of $20.10 per hour for all municipal employees and for all persons working on municipal contracts. It is reasonable for people who work for the city to be paid a wage that ensures they can live in the city.

Right now, seasonal employees who maintain our parks and keep our city clean are paid less than full-time workers who do the same job. A living wage ordinance would address this fundamental unfairness.

I also believe that services including snow removal and parking enforcement should be brought back in-house for our municipality. All those who work for the city deserve a living wage, proper benefits, and job security.

2. If elected, what single thing would you want to accomplish as councillor (or mayor)?

More equitable Representation on City Council.

Council should establish dedicated seats for representatives of the African-Nova Scotian and urban Mi’kmaq communities. Only one African Nova Scotian councillor, Graham Downey, has ever sat on Council. We can no longer ignore that Halifax’s development has been shaped by both the attempted genocide of the Mi’kmaq and the institution of a Jim Crow style of segregation. Council has too often made decisions that impact the African-Nova Scotian and Mi’kmaq communities without appropriate community input or outreach. The Halifax Regional School Board has recognized the need for diverse voices at the table. There is no reason why Council could not take up a similar approach.

Any representation must be established through extensive consultation and under the leadership of African-Nova Scotian and Mi’kmaq communities. This could be a concrete step to reconciliation with these communities that have experienced systemic racism in our city and by our municipal government.

Tim Rissesco

1. Will you support a living wage ordinance?

Yes 

2. If elected, what single thing would you want to accomplish as councillor (or mayor)?

Start construction of the heritage museum this term.

Kate Watson

1. Will you support a living wage ordinance?

I support a living wage ordinance and will speak out loudly on the need for municipal employees and contractors to be paid a minimum wage of $20.10 per hour.

Our municipal government should lead by example. A living wage is a great start!

2. If elected, what single thing would you want to accomplish as councillor (or mayor)?

There are too many citizens who are uniformed on or disconnected from the important work that is done at the municipal government level.

The big picture, single thing that I would hope to accomplish is to show people that their voices matter and can have an effect on what happens at city hall.

Warren Wesson

1. Will you support a living wage ordinance?

Yes. It’s pretty common in Manitoba where i was born

2. If elected, what single thing would you want to accomplish as councillor (or mayor)?

Housing is consider by the UN a basic human right. Create bylaws that mandate increasing our affordable housing stock. Like Moncton is already doing.

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District 6 (Harbourview – Burnside – Dartmouth East)

Candidates:
Carlos Beals
Tony Mancini

Carlos Beals

1. Will you support a living wage ordinance?

I would definitely support a living wage ordinance. With the main theme of my campaign being “No One Left Behind” I believe that no resident should be working full time and still living in poverty.

2. If elected, what single thing would you want to accomplish as councillor (or mayor)?

One thing that I would want to accomplish as councillor would be to ensure that I give those who have been under-represented at council a voice at the table. I promise to be accessible, accountable and action-oriented. I want to make sure that residents who feel left behind by the municipalities growth feel represented by electing me.

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District 7 (Halifax South Downtown)

Candidates:
Dominick Desjardins
Waye Mason
Sue Uteck

Dominick Desjardins

1. Will you support a living wage ordinance?

Yes and I believe we need to work with the province to further this cause.

2. If elected, what single thing would you want to accomplish as councillor (or mayor)?

We need a finalized center plan NOW. Developers are pushing through projects that the city is approving at alarming rates. With this center plan, we would have avoided the condos on Wellington street not to mention save young ave from destruction. We could have also fought the impending towers on Inglis street.

Waye Mason

1. Will you support a living wage ordinance?

Yes, recognizing that some summer student jobs and whatnot may not pay that wage, and that there is still some debate about what a living wage is.  It sure is more than minimum wage!  

2. If elected, what single thing would you want to accomplish as councillor (or mayor)?

Hard to pick one thing.  The biggest change is affordable housing.  You will recall me, Richard Butts, C. Walker and some others arguing live on TV in my first or second meeting whether HRM had a mandate to do affordable housing or not.  Here we are 4 years later and we have a needs assessment, we have targets for building inventory, we are talking about density bonus, inclusive zoning, tax breaks and permit fee breaks to help produce more affordable housing.   This is a 180 degree shift from where we were 4 years ago.  I think HRM should take total control of the housing file, funded by the province, like every other major and medium size city.  The scope of the problem is huge, but if we work hard we can make life hugely better for so many people.  Success on affordable housing will be a game changer for Halifax.

Sue Uteck

1. Will you support a living wage ordinance?

Yes but a number of factors need to happen to ensure it’s success. The coordination  and education piece that integrates social and public policy directly into the calculation  needs to be vetted and workable. The more generous the fiscal supports provided through areas such as subsidized transit, fiscal support for families etc. the more workable the living wage is for the employer.

2. If elected, what single thing would you want to accomplish as councillor (or mayor)?

I want to close the gap between Council, staff and the public. I have seen a major disconnect between these groups and Council in general. In working together we can accomplish so much more!

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District 8 (Halifax Peninsula North)

Candidates:
Irvine Carvery
Martin Farrell
Anthony Kawalski
Patrick Murphy
Chris Poole
Lindell Smith
Brenden Sommerhalder

Irvine Carvery

1. Will you support a living wage ordinance?

I have read your article on the subject and you raise excellent points in support of it. In principle I support a living wage, but i do not have enough information at this time to fully commit, I would need to know what the tax implications would be if any,  what would the organizational challenges be? 

2.  If elected, what single thing would you want to accomplish as councillor (or mayor)?

If elected to council I will work very hard to reconnect HRM back to the ordinary citizens, we need to stop defaulting to “well that is the province’s responsibility” ie affordable housing, I believe if it impacts on the lives of our citizens, then HRM needs to be involved.

Anthony Kawalski

1. Will you support a living wage ordinance?

I wholeheartedly support the idea of a Living Wage, as we are seeing unfold in other jurisdictions in Canada. It is about time the wages structure in the Maritimes move forward on so many levels in both the public and private sector.

I have done enough research to see this as a no brainer in social justice thinking, it is not simply a fashionable bandwagon to jump on.

Costs will occur, but then provision of services should be drawn into house and effective efficiency be the aim.

Such a move would raise the bar and send a positive signal to other areas of the economy.

If a not for profit, such as Adsum, does, then absolutely HRM must!

2.  If elected, what single thing would you want to accomplish as councillor (or mayor)?

As a Councillor I word work to build a true consensus between the rural and urban councillors, along with them the citizens of HRM. This would remove the years of mistrust, horse trading, fear of change and the Future. In order to truly evolve us to where we should be and take us to where we can be in this 21st Century.

I believe this consensus would be transformative for Council, Staff, the Citizens, the tax base and put us in great stead for the next Century!

Legacy building begins in the here and now.

Brenden Sommerhalder

1. Will you support a living wage ordinance?

I support a living wage ordinance among HRM employees and contractors. ACORN NS has advocated for a $20.10/hr minimum wage for municipal employees and contractors in HRM, and I support this request. In general it would help those working for the municipality who are most in need (often front line workers or junior-level contract employees), would not be a trauma to HRM’s budget, and would demonstrate important leadership on the part of the municipality.

2.  If elected, what single thing would you want to accomplish as councillor (or mayor)?

It’s hard to choose one, but if I am to be successful in addressing a single issue, it would be housing affordability.

I believe that implementing a version of inclusionary zoning will be a start in creating a downward influence on rental costs. In my mind, inclusionary zoning policies in HRM would preferably be set at a proportion of units within a development being offered at a level that is affordable for people living at a percentage of the median income by census tract, not to exceed a level affordable for people living at 80% of the median income within a census tract. Some municipalities, such as New York, have set levels as aggressive as affordable for people living at just 40% of the median income in some zones.

Inclusionary zoning is not a solution for people living with the lowest incomes in our communities. I see inclusionary zoning as a tool for creating housing that is affordable for a greater number of people, but I don’t see it as a social housing solution. I think these are distinct aims; the former is within municipal jurisdiction, the latter within provincial.

People living with the lowest incomes, or no income, need publicly-funded solutions such as mixed-income social housing. While the municipality does not currently have the authority or funding to administer social housing, I believe we need to do our part in pushing the province to fulfill its duty in providing quality, affordable social housing for people living at all income levels (including those living on income assistance) within HRM. Ultimately I would support a reallocation of responsibility such that HRM would regain authority and funding for social housing as I believe the municipal bureaucracy is better suited to administer this program, and it would prevent the province from allocating affordable housing attention based on the provincial electoral map as opposed to need.

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District 9 (Halifax West Armdale)

Candidates:
Shawn Cleary
Linda Mosher
Kyle Woodbury

Shawn Cleary

1. Will you support a living wage ordinance?

I would support a living wage ordinance. I believe it’s important that those who work for our municipality, directly or on contract,  earn a living wage. Looking at the recent example of the HRM parking enforcement contract, I was firmly of the view that the Commissionaires should have received the contract. Not only did they have the highest technical score on their bid, they pay a fair wage to their employees – mostly former military and police officers. As my grandfather used to day, you get what you pay for.

2.  If elected, what single thing would you want to accomplish as councillor (or mayor)?

When I’m elected, the first thing I would like to accomplish is to make our streets better and safer for people. We need to design our roads to reduce speeding and to have greater enforcement of the rules. We need to make our streets more conducive to active transportation – with a connected network of bikes lanes, and more and better crosswalks.  We need to get traffic moving and reduce congestion by having great transit, which means adding bus or HOV lanes, commuter rail, and rapid bus transit routes.

Linda Mosher

1. Will you support a living wage ordinance?  

I am open to supporting a living wage ordinance, provided there has been a sufficient analysis conducted by staff on the financial implications for the municipality.  

As a municipality, we should always strive for fair compensation, both for employees of the municipality (union and non-union) and the employees of our contractors.  Compensation, however, extends beyond the payment of a wage.  Some private sector organizations, for example, choose to invest in supplementary employees benefits (e.g.: health and pension), beyond what is required by law, that help people, instead of higher hourly wages.  Other organizations track overtime costs and provide employees with earned days off in addition to required vacation or sick time that help promote a better quality of life.  These are all issues that need to be considered in researching the effectiveness and practicality of a living wage ordinance.  Perhaps “a fair employee compensation” ordinance would be a more appropriate social policy solution?

2.  If elected, what single thing would you want to accomplish as councillor (or mayor)?  

As councillor, I want to ensure that over the next four years, we see further improvements to our public transit system – above and beyond the Moving Forward Together plan – to increase ridership and reduce traffic congestion.  In practical terms, this means: 
–       action coming out of the traffic calming study my colleagues and I championed and increased funding to meet the demand of streets that now qualify under the new, fairer criteria;
–       budgetary approval from the three levels of government to replace the Mumford Road Terminal, building on the $100,000 analysis that will be underway soon; and
–       additional investments in smart transportation options, not widening Bayers Road, which I have strongly opposed for many years. We need a more global focus on public transportation that will reduce the downstream effects of traffic in our communities, especially District 9. Solutions must attract many passengers such as high speed ferries, dedicated bus lanes and express transit. Bus routes much reflect residents’ input.

Kyle Woodbury

1. Will you support a living wage ordinance?

Yes I completely support a Living Wage Ordnance.

A Living Wage should be a basic human dignity for Worker’s, especially those in Government employ. Having been a worker who at one point worked for minimum wage I can attest that when your pay is that low you tend to have lower morale and less enthusiasm in your job. When your paid that little bit extra you have more pride in yourself and your job as you feel as if you appreciated by your employer, which can go a long way to improving employee morale and getting an overall better work ethic out of your employees.

A Living Wage would Grant both dignity and pride in Municipal Employees and ensure those that are performing important works for the City have pride in their jobs.

2.  If elected, what single thing would you want to accomplish as councillor (or mayor)?

If elected I’d like to see a reformed and efficient Transit Model be created and implemented in the city.

I believe that our Transit and Transportation Hub are the key connections that bring our Municipality together as a whole. I believe a renewed Transit Network would help bring the city together in ways we hadn’t before and connect people from the further corners of the Municipality together.

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District 10 (Halifax – Bedford Basin West)

Candidates:
Andrew Curran
Mohammad Ehsan
Russell Walker

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District 11 (Spryfield – Sambro Loop – Prospect Road)

Candidates:
Steve Adams
Dawn E. Penney

Dawn E. Penney

1. Will you support a living wage ordinance?

Yes, I support a living wage ordinance for – not just city and city contract workers but for everyone because in my opinion everyone should make a wage that affords them the necessities of life like food, water, medical expenses, clothing, utilities and shelter.

2. If elected, what single thing would you want to accomplish as councillor (or mayor)?

If elected I will ensure that everyone in HRM has access to safe drinking water because this is a basic human right and it is unacceptable and deplorable that someone living in Canada would have this struggle. I will achieve this, firstly, for Harrietsfield and Willimswood by putting forth a motion to the provincial Environment Minster to FINALLY declare this 30 year long situational struggle in the communities as a State of Emergency.

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District 12 (Timberlea – Beechville – Clayton Park – Wedgewood)

Candidates:
John Bignell
Scott Guthrie
Bruce Holland
Bruce Smith
Iona Stoddard
Richard Zurawski

John Bignell

1. Will you support a living wage ordinance?

Yes, we should support a living wage ordinance.

2. If elected, what single thing would you want to accomplish as councillor (or mayor)?

The right for citizens to produce their own food on their own property.

Bruce Smith

1. Will you support a living wage ordinance?

Based on the cost of housing, food and the other essentials of life, I don’t know how anyone could survive on a minimum wage. Therefore, I do support the living wage ordinance. However, this does not go without saying that anybody making such a wage must provide a service of equal value.

2. If elected, what single thing would you want to accomplish as councillor (or mayor)?

There are two things I would like to accomplish during my first term.

Firstly, I would like to see the completion of all the land purchases required to complete the Blue Mountain Birch Cove Lakes Regional Park.

For several years, the developers concerned with this issue have terrorized members of City Council with threats that they are entitled to the value of these lands as if they were developed. This is simply not true, as declared by the Supreme Court of Canada.

In Mariner Real Estate Ltd. v. Nova Scotia (Attorney General, 177 DLR 4th 696; 178 NSR 2d 294, the Developer’s argument was refuted as follows by Justice Thomas Cromwell:

The Supreme Court of Canada … accepted the general proposition that, under our law, owners caught up in the zoning or planning process, but not expropriated, must simply accept the loss … Development freezes have consistently been held not to give rise to rights of compensation …

There are 15 landowners to be considered. Many of these tracks of land are likely zoned as ‘resource’. The assessment for this category is considerably less than residential. The HRM charter states, that land purchases cannot exceed 15% of fair market value. Therefore, many of these lands can be purchased at a reasonable cost to the taxpayer.

Secondly, as we know the provincial government will soon be decommissioning to Victoria General Hospital. In its replacement, the government is considering a community-based hospital structure. I have an unreasonably good authority that District 12 is being considered for one of these hospitals. I would like to see a commitment, and groundbreaking, by our provincial government to locate a new Community Hospital in the Bayers Lake Business Park where the land is now available.

Iona Stoddard

1. Will you support a living wage ordinance?

I do support a living wage as part of the tendering process. The main reason is obvious. Everyone deserves to make a decent salary. Who would want do argue against it. There are also other reasons to support this. Paying someone well is an incentive for doing your best. The opposite is also true. Always choosing the lowest bidder without restrictions is a race to the bottom. You just have to look at the quality of the work that the city has chosen to be done by contractors. Yes, some are doing a good job but for the most part the service standards are lowering. Grass cutting is a good example. Another reason is economics 101. When people are well paid they spend more money in their community. Local businesses benefit and they put more money into the local economy. It has a magnifying effect. There are so many people approaching retirement in Nova Scotia. I have heard that about 40% of people working for the city itself will be able to retire very soon. What this usually means is that these people will be making less money and therefore will be spending less money. One way to off set this trend is to pay a living wage.

2. If elected, what single thing would you want to accomplish as councillor (or mayor)?

The second question is truly a difficult one to pin down an answer. I have thought about it and if I can only list one accomplishment, then this is what I hope to achieve. I want to restore faith in the democratic process and the “politicians” that are elected. I use the quotation because I think politicians are the main problem. I want to be a representative. It is the reason I but my name forward. I think we have so many candidates running in District 12 because of the fact that the seat is being vacated by the retiring Reg Rankin. I truly believe that. The four candidates coming from four different ridings have strong incumbents to defeat. It is much easier to grab an empty seat. I never wanted to be a politician but I do not want to be represented by one either. People are intelligent and for the most part see through people who are not being completely honest with them.
This is what turns people off politics. If I can restore people’s faith in their government – that is the legacy I want to leave.

Richard Zurawski

1. Will you support a living wage ordinance?

Here’s some background on a living wage ordinance written by me:

Firstly, let me apologize for being so long-winded. Answering these two questions, for me, requires a bit of background and explanation.

In short, yes. Here is why. The troika of Neoliberalism, runaway technological innovation (robotics/AI) and an accelerating environmental crisis are assaulting our way of life as never before. Social stability, how we make a living, the circumstances surrounding how we make a living, are changing. What were once considered to be stable jobs and careers are falling by the wayside. Manual labour, manufacturing, construction, depletion of natural resources, consolidation, and vertical integration all mean that traditional jobs are disappearing. Because of consolidation, globalization and international trade deals set up by giant multinational corporations for their own benefit, and rubber stamped by all levels of government, companies are able to shift production to parts of the world where there are no unions, wages are a fraction of what they they would be in Canada, and no environmental laws. Because of this we get to wallow in cheap goods manufactured on the backs workers in near slave conditions.

Neoliberalism is a mode of government where we assign a dollar value to everything, and take from the public and give it to the richest segment of society, hoping that some of the wealth trickles down to the rest of society. In reality nothing of the sort happens, The richest get richer, the middle class gets marginalized and the poorest disenfranchised. Government services like education, medical, communications, power, justice, and a host of other services get sold to the highest bidder, to create private monopolies, which we have as a society, created at great expense to the public purse through our taxes. These services get squeezed to the breaking point, to maximize shareholder profit and evade the very services they were intended to provide.

The massive wealth we as a society in Halifax, Nova Scotia and Canada, have invested in and created is now in the hands of a very few monopolies, while governments scream “fiscal balance” and increase taxes, and reduce and privatize services.

Living wage you ask? Hell Yes!

2. If elected, what single thing would you want to accomplish as councillor (or mayor)?

In terms of accomplishments, again this is a hard question and requires a bit of preamble.I don’t view being councillor as being centred around accomplishments, but rather, it is to me a process that is based on a set of ethics, which I hope to apply to every issue and question during my tenure as councillor.

To that end, my main objective is to improve the quality of life for my constituents in District 12, for Haligonians, and Nova Scotians, through visions I make.

Everyone one of us deserves a basic quality of life, and my decisions to make better, smarter functioning city will be filtered environmental and climate change concerns. Issues involving transportation, social services, housing, development improvements, power etc. will addressed through my mandate of ethical evidence based decision making. I will consider it an accomplishment if I can stay true to that course.

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District 13 (Hammonds Plains – St. Margarets)

Candidates:
Pamela Lovelace
Harry Ward
Matt Whitman

Pamela Lovelace

1. Will you support a living wage ordinance?

Yes. I believe that paying a fair wage improves the quality of work, people are happier to do their jobs, and more motivated to spend their earnings, which results in a vibrant economy. When people make more, they spend more and grow our economy.

My opponent appears not to have the same vision or knowledge to see this economic truth. Governments can, and should, do more to improve the quality of life of the working poor, especially our retired veterans.

2. If elected, what single thing would you want to accomplish as councillor (or mayor)?

Increase public engagement in the growth of our communities by reforming HRM’s Public Consultation Program to include international standards for public involvement in local government. It’s time for residents to get re-engaged with their communities and work towards building a better future that reflects and respects their quality of life, natural landscape, and safe neighborhoods. Public engagement and education are key factors for collaborative community development.We need less public relations and more public service.

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District 14 (Middle/Upper Sackville – Beaver Bank – Lucasville)

Candidates:
Lisa Blackburn
Kevin Copley
Brad Johns

Lisa Blackburn

1. Will you support a living wage ordinance?

Yes. I support a living wage100% The benefits outweigh the drawbacks. It would lead to wage-led growth, reduced poverty, and less reliance on public support programs. Low-wage workers could become economic drivers in our local communities. With a living wage, business owners would see higher sales and lower employee turnover. I think a living wage is good for workers, good for businesses, and good for taxpayers.

2.  If elected, what single thing would you want to accomplish as councillor (or mayor)?

I want to re-establish the eroded confidence residents have in their District representative.

Voters in District 14 are asking for a representative who doesn’t have the worst attendance record on council, who doesn’t win taxpayer federation “awards” for the wasteful spending of their tax-dollars and returns phone calls/emails from constituents. I want to return to a level of service residents deserve. [bold in original]

Kevin Copley

1. Will you support a living wage ordinance?

Many residents who are not HRM staff are struggling with increased costs of living – food, energy, clothing, childcare, housing, taxes – and increasing HRM costs associated with providing services may increase the burden on and lead to more hardship for struggling residents.

While I agree with the position that all HRM residents, and to a greater extent all people, should be paid a wage that allows them to enjoy a healthy and prosperous standard of living, I’m not convinced that simply raising the wages of HRM employees and the employees of contractors utilized by HRM will result in an eventual increase the standard of living for all HRM residents.

To simply state that I would or wouldn’t support this position without any data to identify the implications specific to residents of HRM and to HRM budgeting and services would be irresponsible.

I am open to support a motion by council to consult with staff and other municipalities that have successful programs in place and apply their research, data, and best practices to HRM.

2.  If elected, what single thing would you want to accomplish as councillor (or mayor)?

The single thing I would like to accomplish as Councillor would be to restore the public trust in politicians.

I know – it may seem hopeless.

I believe that our leaders need to lead by example and that begins with setting well-defined rules with respect to spending, compensation, how they raise funds, and how they conduct themselves. 

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District 15 (Lower Sackville)

Candidates:
Steve Craig – ACCLAIMED

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District 16 (Bedford – Wentworth)

Candidates:
Tim Outhit – ACCLAIMED

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Mayor

Candidates:
Lil MacPherson
Mike Savage

Mike Savage

1. Will you support a living wage ordinance?

I think a living wage ordinance is well worth considering, but, before commenting on it, I would want to better understand its implications, including on small-scale vendors and our tax rate, which could have a negative impact on some of our lower income earners, who pay property tax directly or indirectly through their rent.

I do support Halifax as a test pilot site for a Guaranteed Annual Income, which is a different way of supporting the objective of poverty reduction. Both living wage and guaranteed annual income would be part of the consideration for the anti-poverty strategy I have proposed.

2.  If elected, what single thing would you want to accomplish as councillor (or mayor)?

The living wage campaign was led in Halifax by the United Way’s Opportunities Council with the goal of understanding the gap between what people earn and what they need for a good quality of life.

There are two ways to close the gap. One is to increase pay. The other is to decrease costs of necessities. According to United Way, the three biggest cost drivers are food, child care and housing. Transit is also a significant cost driver.

A significant part of my platform is to work with United Way and others to establish a Poverty Reduction Strategy for Halifax with clear goals and measurable outcomes. Halifax can directly manage municipal resources like libraries, recreation facilities, and transit. We will seek out other partners to join us in creating the most robust program possible.

In addition, I’m committed to working with the Halifax Housing Partnership to implement their five-year target to create 3,000 new affordable units and to preserve 2,000 existing affordable units.

Since I’ve been Mayor, we’ve launched a Mobile Food Market to bring affordable, healthy food to underserved communities. We’ve introduced a low income pass pilot program, and we’ve partnered with United Way and others on Housing First, bringing individuals off the street to give them a home.