Chatham-Kent’s mayor is keeping close tabs on the provincial election campaign.
Mayor Darrin Canniff says there are a number of issues that are of both provincial and local importance, including housing, homelessness, and the cost of living.
He says municipal funding and the downloading of costs remains a sore point for local governments.
“The property tax system overall is broken,” Canniff says. “There’s a lot more things being put on the property tax bill that were never anticipated.”
Canniff says groups like the Ontario Big City Mayors and the Western Ontario Wardens’ Caucus are asking for an overhaul of funding for municipalities.
With thousands of local residents lacking a family doctor, physician recruitment is another one of Canniff’s top priorities.
“Doctors, the issue with that as far as the number of people that don’t have doctors, the province needs to invest in a lot of doctors and get them in there. Health care will improve so much if people actually have a doctor they can go to versus hoping to get in to a (walk-in) clinic, or a lot of people just don’t go to the doctor.”
Canniff says he will be paying close attention to candidates from all parties ahead of the February 27 vote to see where their priorities lie in terms of supporting municipal governments and local residents.