Paul Russell didn’t have much time to get used to being a councillor.
After winning a special election in District 15 last October, Russell is up for the ultimate annual performance review as voters head back to the polls.
Russell is facing four candidates this time around, down from a field of nine others in 2019.
The Halifax Examiner posed the same five questions to every candidate in this fall’s election:
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What should Halifax be doing to create more affordable and accessible housing?
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Would you support a reduction of the Halifax Regional Police budget for fiscal 2021-2022? Why or why not?
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Should Halifax require contractors to pay workers a living wage? Why or why not?
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In response to the climate crisis, Halifax regional council passed an action plan, HalifACT 2050, in June. How will you support accomplishing the plan’s goals?
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How often do you use Halifax Transit?
We’re printing the candidates’ responses unedited, in full.
Election day is Saturday, Oct. 17, but you can vote online or by telephone between Oct. 6 and 14 or in advanced polls on Oct. 10 and 13. You can check to see if you’re on the voters’ list here. Not sure which district you’re in? Type your address into the map below to find out.
Click the candidate’s name to jump to their answers, or keep scrolling to see them all:
Mary Lou LeRoy
What should Halifax be doing to create more affordable and accessible housing?
HRM must work with all levels of government to reach a solution to our housing crisis. Also, we must encourage residential developers to assist in the effort.
Would you support a reduction of the Halifax Regional Police budget for fiscal 2020-2021? Why or why not?
I would have to see the budget first to determine if there are redundancies with other community services, and if the HRP has its needs met.
Should Halifax require contractors to pay workers a living wage? Why or why not?
Everyone should pay workers a living wage. Period.
In response to the climate crisis, Halifax regional council passed an action plan, HalifACT 2050, in June. How will you support accomplishing the plan’s goals?
I support being a good steward for our environment. It is one thing to develop a plan, it is another to implement it. Everyone has to work together and have the political will to accomplish the goals.I am motivated to accomplish the goals.
How often do you use Halifax Transit?
I seldom use Halifax Transit.
Anthony Mrkonjic
What should Halifax be doing to create more affordable and accessible housing?
The housing issue in Halifax is of particular concern to me because the cost of rent has increased to a point where many residents, including those making a “livable wage”, are struggling to afford safe and adequate housing. Also, the growing housing crisis in HRM has been compounded by the Covid-19 pandemic and the subsequent lockdown. I think that Halifax needs to start by investing more money in affordable and accessible housing. Halifax should work with developers and community partners to incentivize the construction of affordable housing units. I think that it would also be worthwhile to explore the feasibility of implementing an Affordable Home Ownership Program.
Would you support a reduction of the Halifax Regional Police budget for fiscal 2020-2021? Why or why not?
I would not support a reduction in the Halifax Regional Police budget for 2021-2022. Unfortunately, the defund the police narrative is not grounded in facts or statistics related to crime and policing. From a factual point of view, defunding the police would put public safety at risk and lead to an increase in crime by limiting law enforcement resources. Defunding the Halifax Regional Police would jeopardize their ability to provide adequate law enforcement and emergency response services to our community. What I would propose is that we maintain current police funding and invest more in crime prevention measures such as mental health and addictions services, education, jobs, and skills training. Also, I think we could look at moving some non-essential police functions, such as mental health and victim services, over to the civilian sphere.
Should Halifax require contractors to pay workers a living wage? Why or why not?
I believe that Halifax should require contractors to pay workers a livable wage. First, I think that this is the moral thing to do. Everybody deserves to earn a livable wage for their labour, to be able to provide for their families and afford basic necessities. Also, paying a livable wage is good for the economy and the community. When people are payed a livable wage, they can contribute more to the economy through the purchase of goods and services. Paying a livable wage will help to reduce poverty, crime, homelessness, and other socioeconomic issues.
In response to the climate crisis, Halifax regional council passed an action plan, HalifACT 2050, in June. How will you support accomplishing the plan’s goals?
I will support accomplishing the goals of HalifACT 2050 by working toward greater investments in renewable energy throughout Halifax Regional Municipality. This would also include improving the energy efficiency of existing infrastructure through retrofitting and upgrades. I would also like to work toward cutting emissions by working to improve public transportation and exploring ways to make Halifax more pedestrian and cyclist friendly.
How often do you use Halifax Transit?
I use Halifax Transit every day.
Jay Aaron Roy
What should Halifax be doing to create more affordable and accessible housing?
We should be working closely with other levels of government to come up with creative and sustainable solutions for the housing stock we currently have. Affordable housing strategies also look different in every community so there should be strong connections between the City of Halifax, the provincial government and local housing organizations to ensure that community needs are prioritized.
Would you support a reduction of the Halifax Regional Police budget for fiscal 2020-2021? Why or why not?
Yes I would support a reduction, I think those funds could be better used as community investments. As a complex institution the HRP has to address some deeply-rooted systemic challenges. A budget reduction would allow for more time and money to be directed towards healing and transitioning the communities impacted by these systemic issues.
Should Halifax require contractors to pay workers a living wage? Why or why not?
Yes I think it’s important to pay a living wage. We know living wage policies can support families and help reduce poverty. Anyone putting in the time to do a job should be properly compensated for that work.
In response to the climate crisis, Halifax regional council passed an action plan, HalifACT 2050, in June. How will you support accomplishing the plan’s goals?
I will be working closely with my community to determine what decarbonization will look like and how that will meet our needs specifically. I’ll be supporting ideas and initiatives to make my community more resilient and better able to respond to an increase in extreme climate events. I also understand that climate impacts are expected to be greater for vulnerable populations so I will be looking for more ways to connect to community groups around climate action.
How often do you use Halifax Transit?
I have used transit at least twice per day everyday for the last six years. Since COVID-19 hit I’ve been doing more walking and using other methods.
Paul Russell
What should Halifax be doing to create more affordable and accessible housing?
The housing issue is complex (as are so many issues). One commonly quoted statistic is that we have a 0% to 0.5% vacancy rate in Sackville, and about 1% in Halifax. 3-4% is comfortable. Some aspects are under HRM control, and others are under provincial control.
Under HRM’s control we can:
a) Implement regulations around short term rentals (STR). This will help us understand how big an issue STRs are and how much of an impact they have on the current housing stock. I believe that the impact is significant, but without quantifiable information that is simply a guess. Now that COVID has affected travel and tourism, so much, we will see STRs used far less than before. We still see travel within the Atlantic Provinces, but beyond that will have dropped off entirely and so they will not be profitable for the near term. I suspect that many STR vendors will let the leases on their apartments lapse. Once these leases have lapsed, many STRs will become available units to rent, and our available housing stock will increase.
b) Streamline our development processes. With COVID we have had to stand up a planning process in very short order that doesn’t involve meeting at a planning office. This has introduced a number of delays in the process. We need to improve this process, or replace it with a more automated and streamlined process, or revert to the previous process that we had. Our planning department is aware of the challenges and the concerns of the developers, and they are working to improve the process. We need this streamlined development process so that more multi-unit buildings can be built, which will also increase the housing stock.
As City Council, we need to lobby the Province about:
a) Changing the definition of “affordable”. At this point the determination of an “affordable” unit is that the rent of the unit is 70% of the rent of a comparable unit. If one unit in a building is $2,000 per month then an “affordable” unit is $1,400 per month. That calculation is more predictable, but if someone is at some type of risk then it is not at all affordable. We need to change the definition of “affordable” so that it is based on the income of the tenant.
b) Opening more long term care beds. We have many people who want to (and many who should) be in long term care. Unfortunately we don’t have spaces for them. This means that they have to stay in their own homes or they have to stay with a loved one. If we had more long term care beds available then these people could get the care that they need, and they could free up their homes or apartments to add to the housing stock.
c) Opening more shelters, and providing the supports so that people won’t need them. A short term fix is to provide more shelter space for individuals. This simply puts a roof over their heads through the night. We also need to have the right supports at those shelters so that we can identify the challenges that people face, and then guide them to overcome those challenges.
Would you support a reduction of the Halifax Regional Police budget for fiscal 2020-2021? Why or why not?
Policing is another complex issue, and budget is only part of it. We have to look at the service models and functions, and determine if they suit our population, before we can determine what changes are required for the budget. Do we have enough of an ability to respond to critical incidents? Are the police doing things that are non-police issues? Is there too much overtime that would be better financed by having additional staff, and thus paying straight time instead of overtime pay? Do we have enough proactive and community involvement measures in place so that we are reducing crime before it starts? Only once we determine how we can measure what the effective police force is can we determine if we should increase or decrease the budget for it. We also have to recognize that this measure is constantly changing. so we have to keep updating our evaluation of it.
Should Halifax require contractors to pay workers a living wage? Why or why not?
HRM should not require contractors to pay a living wage. Our first responsibility is to all taxpayers, not just those who we hire on contract. We should be awarding contracts based on who can accomplish the work, meet certain qualifications and service standards and, if all other criteria is equal, should then be based on the lowest cost. Awarding a contract should not be based on anything else.
In response to the climate crisis, Halifax regional council passed an action plan, HalifACT 2050, in June. How will you support accomplishing the plan’s goals?
We have made significant strides in making Halifax more environmentally friendly. Two of those are a) evaluating the HRM owned buildings for energy efficiency and making them more efficient and b) moving towards the electrification of our bus fleet. Other ways that we can become more environmentally friendly are a) do a better job of tracking vehicle usage; b) use more environmentally friendly designs for our walkways and streets, and incorporate more green spaces, so that we can reclaim water, produce more O2, and (hopefully) reduce the wastewater processing costs as well as the deterioration because of excessive heat on our paved surfaces; c) lobby CN and the federal government to improve rail service, since moving goods by rail much more efficient than moving goods by long haul trucks. To more directly respond to the question, though, I will continuously consider the environmental aspects of what we are working towards, and will use that as a criteria in as many decisions as possible.
How often do you use Halifax Transit?
I use transit infrequently. My work schedule sees me travel to too many places on a tight schedule, and driving allows me to keep to that schedule. When I worked a 9-5 job in Halifax, I relied entirely on transit. Once that changed to Dartmouth, or Larry Uteck, or Bedford, or had too many trips to too many other places, or had hours that were outside of the transit schedule, then transit stopped being an option. My experience has made me acutely aware of the challenges that we face in working towards a transit system that works for the vast majority. I do still use transit, but only when the timing fits and I don’t have to travel hither and yon for meetings.
David Schofield
(facebook.com/DavidSchofieldDistrict15Candidate)
What should Halifax be doing to create more affordable and accessible housing?
An example of steps we can take include, creating incentive programs for builders and developers, changing zones ( on a case by case basis) to accommodate the redevelopment of older properties into multi units and permit residential home owners to have one rental unit in their home or on their property; without penalty or increased taxes.
Would you support a reduction of the Halifax Regional Police budget for fiscal 2020-2021? Why or why not?
This would depend on where the funds are going to be cut from and where they are going. If we are talking defunding, then yes, as long as the defunding is going to the right programs that will benefit the residents of Halifax; e.g. youth programs and community programs.
Should Halifax require contractors to pay workers a living wage? Why or why not?
Yes. I believe it is governments job to create jobs, protect workers, ensure diversity and help create financial independence. All government levels, including municipal, should not be doing business with any company/contractor who does not pay their employees a living wage.
In response to the climate crisis, Halifax regional council passed an action plan, HalifACT 2050, in June. How will you support accomplishing the plan’s goals?
Everyone can do a little to help a lot. As a councillor, i will do my part by ensuring my districts residents understand the plan, it’s goals, ambitions and how they can help the plan reach it’s goals.The HalifACT 2050 plan is very ambitious, but if we are all well informed and work together, I believe we can all make it happen.
How often do you use Halifax Transit?
I currently work in downtown Halifax and use Halifax Transit daily.
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