On February 12, Daily Bread Food Bank and LAMP Community Health Centre co-hosted the Etobicoke-Lakeshore Provincial Candidates Debate ahead of the February 27 Ontario election, in collaboration with other community partners.
Two Etobicoke-Lakeshore candidates, Rozhen Asrani of the Ontario New Democratic Party and Lee Fairclough of the Ontario Liberal Party, debated before an engaged audience of close to 100 people who braved the snow storm to attend the event.
Keddone Dias, Executive Director of LAMP Community Health Centre, opened the debate and Neil Hetherington, CEO of Daily Bread Food Bank, served as the moderator.
The debate focused on five key issues: the cost-of-living crisis, access to healthcare, insufficient social assistance levels, affordable housing, and the potential impact of U.S. tariffs on Ontario’s already fragile social safety net.
The rising cost of living is placing a significant strain on all Ontarians. People are struggling to afford basic necessities like rent, food, and utilities, even if they hold a job and have post-secondary education. Food banks across the province are at a breaking point, with 2024 seeing more than 3.75 million visits to Daily Bread member food banks—an alarming 26% increase from the previous year.
However, food insecurity is merely a symptom of deeper, systemic issues—low wages, a lack of affordable housing, and inadequate access to healthcare. Additionally, the looming threat of U.S. tariffs could further exacerbate the vulnerability of Ontario’s most marginalized communities. As Ontarians head to the polls, it is critical that these issues are front and centre, and that we understand what each candidate has in mind to tackle them.
We would like to thank Second Harvest and other community partners for getting the word out about the debate, and also Elections Ontario for joining us on-site and sharing valuable information with attendees on how to vote.
To hear what the candidates had to say about the issues that matter most to Ontarians, check out the full recording of the debate below:
Don’t forget to vote! Your voice matters. Election Day is Thursday, February 27.
Advance polling with write-in ballots is now open. Vote at any advance voting location in your electoral district from 10:00am to 8:00pm. If you’d like to wait until all candidates have been formalized, you can participate in advanced voting from February 20-22. Click here for more details or read our full voting guide.
