7 Halifax mayoral candidates debate homelessness, food insecurity, accessibility

Almost half of the candidates vying to be the next mayor of Halifax Regional Municipality participated in a debate in Dartmouth on Saturday.

Andy Fillmore, Nolan Greenough, Darryl Johnson, Pam Lovelace, Waye Mason, Riley Murphy and Ross Rankin were involved in the event organized by Grace United Church and the Downtown Dartmouth Business Association.

Moderators asked each candidate the same three questions about homelessness, food insecurity and accessibility in the region.

Homelessness

The candidates were asked how they would increase community engagement and collaboration between all levels of government and private organizations to address homelessness?

Johnson said he would create a task force with politicians from each level of government.

"I would hand-pick these individuals so that they have passion for resolving issues in community, so that they have closely related experiences, and if we can find politicians that look and reflect community that's even better," Johnson said.

Murphy had a similar idea to address what he called the "fragmentation of services" in the Halifax area.

"Halifax could create a centralized system or task force to co-ordinate efforts between these different non-profits and government agencies. This would allow for a streamlined approach where all organizations work together under a unified strategy sharing data and resources," Murphy said.

Food insecurity

Candidates were asked how they would support groups that serve people struggling to pay for groceries.

Mason said the regional municipality should create bigger tax breaks for groups addressing food insecurity "who are struggling to keep the lights on during these inflationary times."

"Right now they only get 75 or 25 per cent off. We should give them 100 per cent off if they're doing things like feeding our community," he said.

Halifax can change its bylaws to create competition that would lead to lower grocery prices, according to Fillmore.

"We need to remove the policy barriers that exist in HRM that are helping to perpetuate the problem of food deserts," he said.

Greenough and Lovelace both talked about their respective struggles with food security and housing growing up.

"If there's nothing else I care about, it's food security," Greenough said. "You cannot raise children without food."

He said Halifax can invest in more resources to create more spaces for community gardening and transportation to get food to those who need it.

Accessibility

Lovelace said approximately 30 per cent of the populationlives with physical disabilities but the resources the municipality dedicates to accessibility isn't enough.

"When you consider the amount of budget that municipalities, or even provincial and federal governments, put towards supporting people to live in a barrier free society, it's too small," Lovelace said.

Rankin called Halifax a pedestrian-friendly city and said the municipal government can do more to make sure everyone can move around the city safely.

"I will ensure that these needs are met by ensuring accessibility audits are being done on a semi-annual basis to not only monitor these ongoing projects but also to make sure we're maintaining the integrity of these spaces already equipped with these accessibility aids," he said.

Chamber of Commerce debate

Five mayoral candidates will participatein another debate organized by the Halifax Chamber of Commerce on Thursday.

Jim Hoskins will join Fillmore, Greenough, Lovelace and Mason at the event to discuss topics like the housing crisis, economic development and the city's rapid population growth.