KENSINGTON – Development plans for the Kensington area were at the forefront of residents’ minds at a federal candidates debate in that community Wednesday night.
The forum, hosted by the Kensington Chamber of Commerce, included all four Malpeque candidates for the May 2 election – Liberal incumbent Wayne Easter, the Conservative’s Tim Ogilvie, the NDP’s Rita Jackson and Peter Bevan-Baker of the Green Party.
Local questions centered on the town’s proposal for a wellness centre to replace its aging rink.
When pressed by audience member Rowan Caseley, Ogilvie and Easter stopped short of fully committing to the project.
“I certainly cannot make any promises on behalf of a government that doesn’t exist yet,” said Ogilvie. “I would commit to work my tail off…to see to it that this got where it needed to go, but I can’t commit finally to that.”
Easter took the opportunity to criticize the Conservative government for what he described as cuts to the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA).
“ACOA has to be involved in community development and it is being slashed,” he said. “If you’re in a government, you first have to have a program that you can dovetail into to gain the money, and that’s why I am so worried about the cuts I see to ACOA…because ACOA is there for those kind of things. I would work as hard as I could to get (the wellness centre) there.”
Bevan-Baker gave Green Party support for a wellness centre an “unequivocal yes,” while both he and Jackson agreed that many rural communities could benefit from proposals like Kensington’s.
“A wellness centre would be pivotal for a plan to maintain and encourage good health,” said Jackson. “As preventative measures, exercise, good food, clean air, clean water - I commit to that for everyone in Canada, not just here.”
The debate drew a sizable crowd to Kensington Intermediate Senior High, despite a dose of winter weather that briefly knocked out the school’s electricity.
Topics included everything from the economy, support for seniors, student assistance and use of public finances.
Following the debate, some in the audience commented that the 60-second answer format helped the candidates better highlight their platforms.
Jackson and Easter were most vocal in their criticisms of Conservative leader Stephen Harper, to which Ogilvie was quick to respond.
“Think of a group of people who would be lead by (Liberal leader) Michael Ignatieff who has the lowest attendance record on votes in the House of Commons,” said Ogilvie. “Would you let somebody not show up for work like that? I know I wouldn’t.”
