All-Candidates Forum: Round Two

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L-R: Jeremy Cote (Pirate Party), Lois Boone (NDP), Hilary Crowley (Green), Bob Zimmer (Conservative), Bob Levine (Liberals)

Prince George, B.C. - The crowd had thinned, somewhat, for the second all-candidates forum at the College of New Caledonia, which featured the five candidates in the race to represent the Prince George-Peace River riding - the seat has been vacant since the retirement of long-serving MP Jay Hill last fall.

It was Green Party candidate, Hilary Crowley, who received the most applause during the session.  In her opening two minute introduction, Crowley said she believed the mosting burning issue for the riding is the Enbridge pipeline proposal, which she's opposed to because it will increase production in the oilsands and increase tanker traffic along B.C.'s coastline.  Through the questions poised, she was able to outline the Green Party platform of creating six super-funds to address issues like community housing for low income citizens; a retrofit program for schools, hospitals and other public buildings; and a healthcare policy that encompasses home care, death with dignity, living wills, and more long-term care beds.

There was laughter, and then the most rousing round of applause when NDP candidate, Lois Boone, drew the question, "What is your party's opinion of the HST?".  Boone is the longest-campaigning candidate, having announced her intention to run five-months ago, in part, due to her opposition to the HST and what she says was the federal government's $1.6-billion dollar 'carrot' to lure B.C. into harmonizing the sales tax.  In her introduction tonight, she highlighted the quarter of a million seniors in Canada living in poverty.  Boone said they've been largely overlooked in this election and pointed to the New Democrat plan to increase GIS and CPP payments so they can live above the poverty line.

Conservative candidate, Bob Zimmer, was the only member of the forum to be briefly heckled by a member of the public when he made reference to the Conservative's plan for a tax credit for family caregivers.  Zimmer said, "We had this in our budget that the Liberals and the NDP decided to defeat before they allowed it to get through."  The person in the crowd held Zimmer to account on that one, saying, "They didn't defeat your budget."  When asked about the proposed Site C dam, Zimmer said it was a provincial issue and would not offer further comment.  He said former MP Jay Hill was great at understanding the line between federal and provincial jurisdications, and "that's how you get a lot of stuff done, if we start stepping on each's other toes, then it becomes problematic."

It was Liberal candidate, Ben Levine, who issued the most direct barbs at the Conservatives over the course of the forum, touching on the $56-billion dollar Canadian deficit and the government's $6-billion dollars in corporate tax cuts.  When discussing the Liberals' plan to expand benefits to people providing home-care for an ailing family member, Levine pointed out, "When Mr. Harper shut down your Parliament, we took that opportunity to go out and speak to people - engage in the democratic process - that's something we were told and our policy reflects that."

A bit of an oddity at the forum was the name card announcing a candidate for the Pirate Party.  Officially recognized last year, this is the first election for the party and candidate Jeremy Cote says the Pirates' national platform is narrow and refers specifically to items relating to the internet - privacy, net neutrality - as well as copyright and patent reform.  He says members are also concerned with having an open and transparent government, which has become a "very big issue in the latter days of this campaign".  Cote says the party's other plank is its "un-platform", which he sees as everything else.  He says on any issue, he would gauge the temperature of his constituents and go from there.  A case in point, when he was asked how he felt about the proposed Site C dam, Cote asked for a show of hands from those in attendance and said if the rest of the riding felt similarly, it would appear the majority was opposed to its construction.

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