Around 50 people attended the election forum at the Rec Centre on Wednesday night where three candidates came to woo voters and defend party platforms and records.
While the Conservative, Liberal, and Green Party candidates debated a wide range of topics, NDP candidate Lyndsey Henderson did not respond to an invitation to participate in the forum, said organizer and Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Rhea Labrie.
The Chamber, St. Paul Journal, and 1310 CHLW sponsored the forum.
Last election only 53 per cent of Albertans voted, said Green Party candidate Lisa Grant in her opening remarks. “I don’t think we have to look too far to figure out why … People are tired of the infighting, the partisan bickering, the lack of co-operation.”
She called for a “fair electoral system that reflects the true will of voters,” environmental sustainability, and for “Canada to step up and once again play the leadership role it has forsaken in recent years.”
The Green Party’s proposed budget would eliminate the deficit in three years, she said.
“Ladies and gentlemen, it is not my job tonight to explain why we are in an election,” said incumbent MP Brian Storseth in his opening remarks. “But it is my job to tell you how we are going to move forward, and one of the first things I think we need is a strong vision for our economy so we can continue out of this fragile economic recovery.”
The Conservatives would eliminate the deficit by 2015, he said, adding that the country needs a plan for low taxes, jobs, and growth. “We don’t have to tax Canadians to death to get out of this recession. We need to invest in Canadians so they can continue to grow our economy.”
Storseth called for a strong, stable Conservative majority government.
The Liberals would reduce the deficit to one per cent in two years, said candidate Rob Fox.
“For the last five years people in the institutions that keep our government in check have been under attack,” Fox said in his closing remarks. “Canada is not a small or selfish country. It’s a bilingual country, a multicultural country and with creative people proud of their heritage, proud of their beliefs, proud of their provinces and cities, and their cultures.
“Canadians cherish equality, equality of individuals and of women and men, aboriginals and non-aboriginal people, north and south, rural and urban,” Fox said. As Canada approaches its 150 birthday, Fox asked what kind of Canada people want for their children.
The first question read by moderator Marvin Bjornstad asked what the candidates would do to make St. Paul a more welcoming place.
Storseth answered by noting it already is a welcoming community, adding that the 2011 federal budget addressed rural doctor and nurse shortages with loan forgiveness. As MP, Storseth helped get money for the Clancy Richard Arena, Lakeshore Drive, and seniors centres in the area, he said.
“It’s important that your local member of Parliament knows and understands your area, knows how to go to Ottawa and make sure we get our fair share of money back, because we didn’t get that through 12 years of Liberal government.”
“I don’t believe in somebody coming here with a big cheque and camera to fund projects,” Fox fired back. Fox said he supports a sustainable fund similar to the gas tax where money would go directly to the municipalities.
“It’s long-term. It’s sustainable, just like the gas tax was when it was brought in, in 2005,” he said. “That way most of your services are provided by your municipal government. The problem is they have no way to get revenue other than property taxes.”
Grant said it was her first time in St. Paul. “Like Rob said, we need to support all the municipalities in ensuring their infrastructure is stable and they have stable funding to maintain their communities.”
In another written question, the moderator asked for the candidates’ positions on the gun registry and if they are in favour of abolishing it.
Grant said her view differs from the Green Party’s position. The party policy would continue the registry. The Greens would eventually ban all weapons other than long guns, but she is not 100 per cent sure she agrees with the party policy as some people use handguns in sport shooting or are just gun collectors, she said.
“Yes I agree it was a complete waste of money to begin with, but the money’s been spent, we’re not going to get it back.”
Fox said he is a gun owner and that one benefit of the registry is that if a gun were stolen, with the registry he would have a chance of getting it back. “In the beginning, I wasn’t a fan of this registry. Does it need changes? Yes, it does.”
He said the registry is now free can be filed online in 10 minutes, “so it’s not a big inconvenience.” The largest cost of the registry was setting up the database, he said, adding that the program overspent. The cost to run the registry is now $1.4 million a year, he said. He claimed that the registry had reduced the number of suicides and the number of women killed in spousal disputes.
The Conservatives will get rid of the long gun registry, said Storseth. “I believe that we need to stop criminalizing duck hunters and farmers and start targeting actual criminals.”
He also criticized the Liberals for whipping the vote on the third reading of a bill that would have ended the long gun registry last year, when 20 opposition MPs said they would vote to abolish it previously.
Another question delivered by the moderator asked for the candidates’ views on transgender people, which members of the audience responded to with laughter.
The issue had been a hot topic in Parliament, replied Storseth. “The opposition parties brought forward a bill to ensure that transgender people, people that weren’t sure if they were male or female, have a right to go in either bathroom that they wanted to go in.” Storseth said he voted against the bill because “I couldn’t get my head around it,” which passed with the support of opposition parties and is now before the senate.
The Green Party supports the right of people to express themselves as they see fit and live lives without being discriminated against, said Grant. “We do need to protect the rights of people, whether they’re male, female, or somewhere in between, gay, straight, or somewhere in between,” she said.
“I, like Lisa, agree that the rights of the person, whether I agree with them or not, are more important than the actual person who those rights are protecting,” said Fox. He said if discrimination were permitted for the transgender or gay portion of society, what would stop discrimination against religion or colour.
Candidates were also asked why Canada is in Afghanistan.
Fox said if elected he would question the mission before sending troops into combat but that he supports Canada being there.
Canada needs to be engaged in the world, and that’s why Canadians have taken on the responsibility in Afghanistan, said Storseth, adding that troops have told him that Canada is making a big difference in the country.
Grant, who said her military husband will help close down operations in Kandahar, said it is questionable whether Canada should have gone to Afghanistan to begin with, but that now that we are there, “it would be a really bad idea for NATO to pull out. The Taliban would come right back in and everything we’ve accomplished in the last 10 years would be completely demolished.”
Grant’s view earned applause.
Pierre Ndikuryayo, a teacher at École du Sommet, asked the candidates why temporary foreign workers are brought in when there are many unemployed people in Canada.
Grant said as long as jobs are not being taken away from Canadians, then she supports foreign workers.
Storseth said he supports expanding the temporary foreign worker program to have the ability to staff the expansion of the economy. The employment also helps people in their home countries, he said.
The biggest hindrance to foreign workers is education, said Fox. The Liberals would commit $100 million to remove the language barrier of people coming in, he said.
After the forum, Ndikuryayo said he felt the candidates had not answered his question.
