The Estevan Chamber of Commerce All-Candidates Forum was a final rhetorical showdown on many key issues, between three of the four candidates running in the Souris-Moose Mountain riding.
Conservative Party candidate Robert Kitchen, Green Party candidate Bob Deptuck and NDP candidate Vicky O’Dell took to the stage at the Estevan Royal Canadian Legion on Wednesday night, to advocate for a change in government in the case of the latter two, and to stay the course, in the case of the former.
Deptuck urged spectators in his opening statements to get informed about the imminent election. He noted he was concerned for the future.
“Whether you’re a right voter or a left voter, or somewhere in the middle, the things that have been happening should be of the utmost concern to you,” said Deptuck. “The Green Party platform is always the first platform out to the people, fully costed, and covers many varied aspects of government, economy, communities, and environment. It’s not a one-issue platform. It looks out for the future of our people and communities.”
“I love a challenge. I’m not easily intimidated, and have a fresh and optimistic approach. It’s time we had a new approach to government,” said O’Dell in her opening statement. “Our Canadian farms have been hit hard by Conservative cuts and selloffs.
“The environment has been ignored, scientists have been ignored, First Nations have been ignored. Even our veterans have been abandoned. This campaign is about change, and the people of Souris-Moose Mountain are ready for change.”
Kitchen premised much of what he said on a track record of conservative successes while in government over the last decade, noting that the federal Conservatives have lowered taxes and created jobs, while weathering a worldwide recession.
He criticized the strategies of the NDP and Green Party as entailing “unclear promises that we can’t afford,” noting that a low tax environment is one in which the resource-heavy economy of Souris-Moose Mountain can best flourish.
Candidates were then posed a series of questions they had in advance. They discussed their qualifications, and their thoughts on diversifying the economy of Souris-Moose Mountain.
Deptuck used the environmental discussion as an opportunity to criticize the federal government’s policies on it, noting Canada’s departure from the Kyoto accord, protection laws he considered insufficient, and inadequate scientific consultation on the environment.
The spectators were by no means passive at the debate. Many approached the stage with a gauntlet of hard-hitting questions for the candidates that struck chords across the political spectrum.
Questions ranged from the more general and open-ended, with guests asking candidates what they’d do if elected, to questions on more controversial subjects, including the candidates’ stances on abortion and the necessity of reconciliation and better relations with First Nations.
Kitchen said he doesn’t support abortion, while O’Dell and Deptuck stated they support abortion, with O’Dell saying there are many circumstances in which people face a need for it, while Deptuck noted he bases his political approach to the subject on the values of the people in the area. Kitchen stated the Truth and Reconciliation Comission should guide work with the First Nations going forward, while O’Dell and Deptuck criticized the federal government’s funding, and treatment of First Nations.
One person asked what the local implications would be of the Conservative’s plan to eliminate coal-fired power generation.
Kitchen explained that the plan was to phase out traditional coal-fired plants 2030, unless they conform to regulations, changes and parameters for such plants that have been set up. He noted the Boundary Dam Carbon Capture Project is an example of a type of coal-fired power generation that complies with the federal government’s plans for coal power, and was supported by the federal government to the tune of $240 million, because entails an enhancement that will help the riding and its coal-heavy economy adapt.
“Are we going to be getting carbon capture under the Conservative government in Coronach, or are those people going to be laid off?” O’Dell said, after Kitchen’s response. “What should we be telling people in Coronach? Obviously there is a life-expectancy now, and Stephen Harper did target Saskatchewan in what he said about coal. We don’t really know what the end result will be.”
Liberal candidate Steven Bebbington did not participate in the forum.
The federal election is Oct. 19.
