Social justice centre of Charlottetown mayoral debate

The candidates running for the office of mayor in Charlottetown had their first debate Sunday.

Clifford Lee, Philip Brown and Keith Kennedy discussed social justice issues of poverty, the environment and community engagement at St. Paul's church, with more than 100 people in the audience.

Former city councillor Philip Brown has already made poverty in the city a focus of his campaign.

"Low income is a large problem, a huge problem in the city, and it's based a lack of jobs," said Brown.

"Why do you have a lack of jobs? Because we have an economy that's growing in other parts of the country but not down here."

Keith Kennedy has made environmental issues the core of his campaign, and turned a spotlight on sewage overflows that have been dumping untreated waste into Charlottetown Harbour.

"The people who live in the city want clean water," said Kennedy.

"People need lots of water to be healthy. Charlottetown needs a plan to clean up this mess."

Clifford Lee noted the city is upgrading its sewage system, and made the point that a lot of municipal plans require cooperation from other levels of government.

"Spending money on these types of things without support from the other levels of government, your tax rate is not going to be sustainable. You wouldn't be living in this city because you couldn't afford the taxes," said Lee.

Other issues that came up during the debate were food insecurity, cosmetic pesticides and youth engagement.

A debate on business issues is scheduled for next week.