THUNDER BAY – At-large candidate Rajni Agarwal says her experience as a realtor has given her first-hand insight into the challenges local residents are facing.
Agarwal has worked as a realtor for 31 years in Thunder Bay, after moving in 1976 from the Nipigon-Red Rock area, where she was born.
“I’ve been in people’s homes for the last 31 years… I’ve sat with the biggest of homes, the smallest of homes,” she said.
It’s her recent experience seeing lower-income homeowners – particularly seniors – struggling to afford their housing, she said, that helped inspire her council run.
“I had to move three women out of their homes because they couldn’t afford to live there any longer – they weren’t able to afford the heat, the hydro, and the taxes,” she said. “They make $1,300 a month, they’re on a fixed income.”
“It was hard. Noone should have to move out of their home when we have some of the most affordable housing in Canada.”
Agarwal blames the phenomenon in part on the growing share of the tax burden put on residential tax payers, rather than industry and business.
“Today it’s a 70/30 split – 70 per cent of the burden is on the citizens,” she said. “We need to now increase the income a little bit by bringing that tax part up to the commerce and industry, so that we can lower the burden on our citizens. [And] we can use that extra money towards the social services that we have a rampant [need for].”
Local leaders need to be more proactive in attracting industry to the area to make that happen, she said.
Without that boost in revenues, she believes the city will struggle to afford major new infrastructure projects such as the proposed indoor turf facility, which in its latest iteration was estimated to cost roughly $46 million.
“We have big projects we want, such as the indoor turf facility,” she said. “It’s a much needed service, because there are over 5,000 users. It’s not just soccer, it’s also cricket, it’s lacrosse, it’s football, indoor walking.”
“We need to have that, but can we afford it under the model that we have? So either we bring more income in, or we… bring a business model in… That solution has to be cost-effective.”
