KENSINGTON, P.E.I. — Throw together a handful of talking points, a little bit of speaking over each other, a few impassioned speeches and some heartfelt commentary and you have the recipe for the Malpeque candidate’s forum.
The forum hosted by the Kensington and Area Chamber of Commerce had all four party candidates running in riding attended and a strong turnout of more than 100 people at Kensington’s Murray Christian Centre Wednesday night.
Some of the liveliest topics of discussion included the Confederation Bridge tolls, the carbon tax, climate change in general and the minimum wage/support for small business.
In general though, the discussion was wide-ranging and each candidate outlined a number of their party’s initiatives and goals.
Liberal candidate Wayne Easter and Conservative candidate Stephen Stewart focused most of their attention on each other, trading barbs throughout.
Easter routinely warned of massive service spending cuts he insisted a Conservative government would implement and referencing Ontario’s Progressive Conservative Premier Doug Ford on a few occasions as a warning example.
“Doug Ford is a prime example of crazy, dumb, conservative policy,” warned Easter.
He stressed that the Liberals are the logical choice for anyone who wants to keep a progressive government in Ottawa.
Stewart insisted a Conservative government would focus on putting more money into the hands of Canadians.
“After 21 weeks of me knocking on doors I do know that people are not happy with the current Liberal government because they’re just barely getting by. Nobody has got any money,” stressed Stewart.
He framed his party as the solution to a spend-happy and scandal-plagued Liberal administration.
Meanwhile, Green Candidate Anna Keenan and NDP candidate Craig Nash spent a lot of their time reminding the audience that both their parties are viable options and that they don’t have to keep choosing between the Liberals and Conservative. Keenan also spoke about the increasing possibility of a minority government situation and how that could be a good thing for important issues like the environment.
Nash spoke passionately about his own experience trying to make ends meet on minimum wage and his desire to use the tools in government’s toolbox to make life easier for Islanders.
“If you want something different you have to be bold. Vote for something. On the 21st of October vote for something. Don’t vote against something – vote for something. Vote for hope,” said Nash.
Keenan outright framed the race in Malpeque as being between herself and Easter and positioned herself as an ambitious vote for change.
“If you’re concerned about strategic voting – don’t be. If you want to change your representation you have an opportunity now like never before. What’s happened on P.E.I. in the last four years is that there has been an earthquake provincially. To have a green official opposition was unimaginable four years ago but we did the work and we’ve proven to P.E.I. we’re a credible party,” said Keenan.
Some areas where all four candidates agreed in principle was the need to make P.E.I. one Employment Insurance zone again, the need to do more to fight climate change and supporting and growing small businesses.
Canadians will go to the polls on Oct. 21.
Candidates' thoughts, in brief:
On eliminating the Confederation Bridge tolls:
Liberal candidate Wayne Easter:
“If we’re going to break the contract (that governs ownership of the bridge) we’d have to buy it out. It would be between $1.5 billion to $2.5 billion to buy it out. Where do you want to take the money from? ...What services do we want to lose to break that contract and buy it out.“
On what keeps them up at night:
Green Party candidate Anna Keenan
“I worry about climate change the looming ecological collapse. I think young people who’ve been reading the science and who see the news every day – it’s this overwhelming anxiety about where we’re going in our futures."
On believing in climate change and how they would address it:
NDP candidate Craig Nash
“We only have this one planet to live on. If there’s an environmental crisis in Grassy Narrows, Ont., it’s the same as if it was happening here in Kensington. You have to think about that. We have to take steps to clean up what we’re doing to the planet, hold the polluters accountable and make the changes that we need to make so that we ensure for generations we actually have a planet that is livable and breathable for our children’s children’s children.”
On what strategy their party would use to help the working class find affordable housing?
Conservative candidate Stephen Stewart
“We’re going to introduce a four-point plan for housing. We want to make owning a home more affordable. You want to invest in your future, you want to save money, government should be helping you do that, not standing in your way."
