The Milton riding provincial by-election is set to take place in less than a week.

It’s an extremely close race between the Liberal candidate Glen Naidoo Harris and Progressive Conservative candidate Zee Hamid. 

“I think the things that I’m hearing most are issues where the Ford government has failed Milton,” said Liberal candidate Naidoo Harris.

All candidates in the election are looking to replace former PC Milton MPP Parm Gill.

Liberal candidate Naidoo Harris says his platform is focused on fixing issues Gill left behind. 

“Our classrooms are too large, we have longer wait times in our ERs, the cost of living is going up, we don’t have enough public transit service,” said Naidoo Harris.

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Naidoo Harris said his major focuses are on public safety following a rise in break-ins and carjackings as well as affordability.

“I’m seeing and hearing about renovictions and prices going way up, people that can’t afford to live here because they have been priced out of the market, so first and foremost, bringing back rent control, and then on the supply side, cutting through red tape, allowing for the building of fourplexes and four units as of right province-wide,” said Naidoo Harris.

In the fight against the reopening of a quarry in Campbellville, Naidoo Harris says he is on the resident’s side in stopping it.

“They were promised by Doug Ford, four years ago, this quarry wasn’t going to happen. If I got in, day one, I would be looking to holding Doug Ford accountable to keeping that promise he has made that he hasn’t taken a step towards,” said Naidoo Harris. 

A new liason poll on Friday shows that the race is still down to the wire at the moment. The Liberals are in the lead, with the Progressive Conservatives in a close second.

The survey of 433 voters shows Naidoo Harris leads with 41 per cent, while PC candidate Zee Hamid is at 39 per cent.

Hamid says his 12 years as a Milton councillor allows him to understand residents’ needs, including the issues of housing and affordability.

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“You hear a lot about Liberal carbon tax, which just went up by 23 percent this month and the downside impact of that, everything is getting expensive, and we’re fighting to bring affordability back to Ontario,” said Hamid.

Hamid says the Ford government has been actively working to address education and transit in Milton.

In the issue of the Campbellville Quarry Hamid says the province is going through a process that he says will lead to the project being stopped. 

“Right now it’s going through an environmental assessment that the residents asked for, in fact, the province of Ontario and Premier Ford ordered several studies that are not required legally, and that’s so we can unearth all the issues so we can use those to stop this once and for all,” said Hamid. 

The Milton by-election is set for May 2.