Midwestern Newspapers asked the Huron-Bruce provincial election candidates to answer seven questions. Below are the responses of Matthew Van Ankum, Green Party of Ontario.
Tell us a bit about yourself and why you want to be Huron-Bruce’s MPP.
I am a farmer in Northern Huron County. I love trees, fresh air, sunshine and a good barbecue. I live with my wife of 18 years, Danielle, our two boys and a house full of Great Danes. My 100-acre farm has cattle, sheep, pigs and chickens making up the mix. Farm products are ‘direct’ marketed or sold through restaurants and deli’s supporting regenerative agriculture. I enjoy carpentry and DIY stuff around the house. I built my first timber frame cabin and look forward to another slightly bigger project.
I attended the University of Guelph, class of OAC 97, majoring in Environmental Biology. The war in the Ukraine and the DGR proposed for storing nuclear waste by Teeswater, have encouraged me to become more involved in politics. I value knowledge of both local and global conflict, how they are interrelated and how important it is for the community to be aware of conflicts, working together towards resolution and a better world for children.
I can identify with the issue of the nuclear waste site proposed for South Bruce, I have a farm that myself and my wife and family have spent 15 years working and making it something that we enjoy and are proud of. I can’t imagine if my neighbours sold out to the NWMO and I was the last 100 acres to be gobbled up. It would decimate me. I feel for the people in the town of Teeswater. The issue has divided the community.
The NWMO has ingratiated itself to South Bruce Council, and believes it’s “Community Willingness” is defined by this relationship. It is not fair or just to burden this decision on the shoulders of South Bruce Council. It is not fair, in part, because their decision causes risk outside of their community. I am six concessions south of the Bruce County border and if there was a local referendum, I would not have a vote.
What will your party do to address affordable housing?
There were 100,000 housing starts and 13,000 rental starts in Ontario in 2021. That is more than ever before. The costs of lumber , wiring, roofing steel, windows , kitchens , doors have all gone up by 35 per cent or more.
A labour shortage exists, therefore wages go up, land in the country is harder to find, building lots in town are more expensive
Because of this we are now looking at a situation where a 1,700 square foot detached is running around $500,000. Let’s say for simplicity it costs $500 per month to borrow every $100,000. Therefore, to afford this house you need atleast $5,000 a month of disposable income. Since the government somehow manages to take about 1/3 of your paycheque each week you must gross around $90,000 per year.
Not everyone is in this situation. In my opinion, we need to build smaller more affordable starter homes so that families can enter the real estate market earlier and not get stuck in a situation where they are paying rent. Look on MLS today and see what is available for $200,000 – not much but that is what we need, an entry level home to be at.
How do we get there? Building it yourself is one option, starting off with a garage with a one-bedroom apartment in it and then building your house when you can afford it is another. Entry level housing is key to get families out of a rental situation and into home ownership.
You must identify what affordability is, in my estimation it’s a $200,000-$350,000 house, and a $1,500 per month rental. It’s how we get back to those numbers that is the griping point. Does the government really want to supplement $800 off qualifying tenants monthly rent? Instead, they want to increase the supply and use market forces to lower the rent.
Unfortunately this doesn’t take into account that the construction industry is already going at full speed, and all costs associated with building are up 30 to 40 per cent, so does the government subsidize the builders instead? Not likely.
Huron-Bruce is a rapidly growing region, and in order to grow, land is needed. Much of the newly developed land was once agricultural land. According to the Ontario Federation of Agriculture, Ontario is losing 175 acres of agricultural land to urban development every day. What will your party do to help protect agricultural land?
Protecting productive farmland and building new homes are on opposing sides. Small towns get a little bit bigger each year. Lots are cut out of existing fields and on the sides of roads 1/4 acre at a time and it all adds up. So you need more houses on a smaller footprint, implementing maximum lot sizes likely won’t make you a lot of friends. If you have the money what is stopping you from building as much as you want where ever you can? The government’s respite to greed is taxation, so if you want to go over the maximum lot size then your property tax goes up.
I guess it depends how much of a value you put on a productive agricultural land. The problem is that we will eventually have gobbled up all the land from Pickering to Barrie to KW and Hamilton, all one big sprawl. Which if anyone argues is healthy is beyond foolish. So, you have to firm up the boundary between rural and urban and hold that line.
With the COVID-19 pandemic in the rear-view mirror (hopefully), economic recovery is an issue front of mind for many, including small business owners. What is your party’s plan for the province’s economy coming out of the pandemic?
In my opinion the economy is recovering at a quicker pace than expected. Small business owners involved in agriculture, construction and energy are doing very well. The impact of the pandemic on businesses that were not able to open and compete against the Walmart or Canadian Tire, which I like to refer to as the “buy everything from China store” That’s the tough bit, a lifetime of dedication to your craft and to no fault of your own you end up in a hole with no way out.
Small businesses need to be convenient in order to make sales, convenience is also accessibility, accessibility is parking and bike lanes and sidewalks. Green is bike lanes and walking to the store, or at least walking around downtown. This does mesh with higher density housing if storefronts are available.
Why should a voter in Huron-Bruce vote for you and your party in this election?
Change in government seems to happen with growing dissatisfaction in the current situation. They are frustrated with their leaders and decide to switch teams. The movement is usually from team blue to team red and occasionally team orange.
Team Green’s time will come when most people decide that clean air and fresh water in a peaceful country are the most important things in their lives. The tipping point for me is backing a party who is solidly against the proposed DGR in South Bruce.
If there is one thing that I have learned from growing up as a Dutch farmer, it is how to do things well and still be affordable. The spirit and importance of family-owned farming on a local level runs very near and dear to my heart and pertinent in all decisions made around the dinner table. This should also be the case at the provincial political table. I was raised left leaning and still am, I love farming and I love being in Canada.
