EloraFergusToday asked candidates in the upcoming municipal election to tell us a little bit about themselves and their platform.
Name: Erik Begg
Occupation: Farmer and owner of Sorry Sauce Canadian Hot Sauce
How long have you lived in Mapleton? My wife Nina and I moved here with our youngest daughter Tessa in October 2017.
Why are you running in this election? This community has been great to me and my family since we moved here, and I'd like to give back.
What qualifies you to represent Mapleton? Prior to becoming a small business owner, I spent 15 years in the banking sector and about a decade in supply chain. In both careers, I had management positions where I specialized in planning, forecasting and process design. I believe this gives me a well rounded skill set that will help me develop practical and tangible plans for Mapleton's future.
Why should people vote for you? I'm diligent, ethical and pragmatic but above all else, I try to approach the world around me with kindness and understanding.
What do you see as the main issues facing residents of Mapleton on a broader scale? Mapleton has remained an agricultural stronghold as many of our neighbours have become bedroom communities for car part factories, and I'd like to see the agricultural focus continue. Our federal government is pushing climate initiatives with carbon pricing and restricting fertilizer use, and although that makes sense for the overall picture, it hits rural communities harder than the cities we feed. I don't think it's fair to pull the rug out from under us, and I believe we need grants and support to help us as we transition back to how our grandparents used to farm.
What is the most important thing you want to see changed in Mapleton? Mapleton is a great place, so we don't need to change much. I'd just like to see some efficiencies improved, and for new projects to be given a full cost analysis where we weigh the benefits against the cost of what we trade for it. If we aren't factoring in the effects on our environment and the financial burden of maintenance and carbon damage, then we aren't being fair to the taxpayers.
What services need to be improved in Mapleton? Mapleton has a great, small town feel but some services are definitely lagging behind our peers in the surrounding municipalities. Most specifically, I'd like to modernize by bringing in more self serve and web-based options like those I've used in Minto and elsewhere. With that in mind, I'd also like to bring us more modern infrastructure to provide better internet service to our community.
Is Mapleton growing too fast, just the right amount, or not fast enough? I see Mapleton as being the right size already. Growth is not always a good or ethical option. We have a finite planet with limited resources, and the endless pursuit of growth has led us to scarcity and conflict. To me, it makes more sense to appreciate what we have through efficiency and better usage than it does to keep looking for more and more. Ontario is losing 300 acres of farmland a day, and to me, it makes more sense to keep our food security rather than build more sprawl.
What can be done at the local level about the rising cost of housing? The housing crisis is widespread beyond Mapleton's borders, so we are limited with what we can do within our community. That said, if 1/3 of Ontario homes are owned by REITs and investor landlords, then we need provincial and national solutions to limit this hoarding of supply. I will work with the other levels of government to create solutions that are fair to everyone, ideally a progressive tax on corporate landlords to reduce hoarding and to fund a grant system to help aspiring home owners.
How would you support the effort to bring licensed child care to Mapleton? On the local scale, I'd like to see more home based childcare so I'll work to streamline that process. On a national scale, childcare is part of a larger issue where people have to work too much for too little and with too much time away from their families. A large part of our economy exists only to allow people to work long hours outside of their homes, and we need to look at the full financial cost of the carbon footprint created to see if we're actually helping the economy or hurting it.
How do we make Mapleton an even better place to live? Mapleton is a great place already, so I don't see anything major that needs to change. That said, I'd like to see more community events where we can bring ourselves together to connect with our neighbours.
Any link to an election website or social media account: https://www.facebook.com/
