Friday, April 29, 2011
All four local contenders in Monday’s federal election answer burning questions.
Page A3
ary Annivers 1985-2010
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Home show prep It was all hands on deck Thursday, as organizers and volunteers with the Ridge Meadows Home Show, as well hundreds of exhibitors, and participants, prepared for the three-day show that begins at Planet Ice and the Albion Fairground today (Friday). The show starts today at 4 p.m., then runs Saturday and Sunday starting at 10 a.m. each day. Daniel Lemoine (left), the ride foreman for the Spider, assembled the popular carnival ride on site at the fairgrounds, while Matt Distasio, a home show handyman, cut down some panels for exhibit space inside of Planet Ice. See related story on page A16. Roxanne Hoper/TIMES
Federal election 2011
Candidates spar for last-minute votes
Topics at the all-candidates meeting on Wednesday evening ranged from Canada Post to poverty. by Maria Rantanen
mrantanen@mrtimes.com
With boos, applause, and a standing ovation, a 100-plus crowd at Whonnock Lake Centre Wednesday heard from the four candidates vying to represent them in Ottawa. Whonnock Community Association, which traditionally holds an all-candidates meeting for every election, partnered with the local chamber of commerce to organize the event. Much of the sparring during the meeting was between the incumbent member of Parliament Randy Kamp and NDP’s hope-
ful Craig Speirs, who is currently a Maple Ridge councillor. Speirs said the Conservatives are waging a campaign of fear, and he said his party offered a platform of hope. “[The Conservatives are] trying to make you fear democracy,” Speirs said, adding that fear is a “bully’s best friend” and the best way to combat a bully is to “stand in front of them and say enough is enough.” Kamp countered Speirs’ criticism of negative campaigning, saying that his opponent complains of the negativity but resorts to name-calling. Green candidate Peter Tam pointed out that although the Greens got a million votes in the last election, they still didn’t elect a member of Parliament. Tam offered voters in the Pitt MeadowsMaple Ridge-Mission riding the chance to make history by electing the first Green member of Parliament in Canada.
At the beginning of the meeting, the candidates were allowed to speak directly to the audience and provide a rebuttal to their rivals’ speeches. After a brief intermission, candidates fielded questions from the audience. Questions ranged from Canada’s sovereignty and the military to the future of Canada Post, the Cohen Commission investigating the collapse of the salmon run, and food banks and poverty. Speirs’ comment that Canadians have always been peacekeepers drew long applause from the audience. But Kamp pointed out that Canada sometimes has to engage in military force in United Nations-sanctioned action. “We think our military has to be properly equipped and resourced to do so,”
Kamp said. Kamp also noted that the Conservative government has been working on sovereignty issues in northern Canada. Liberal candidate Mandeep Bhuller said Canada needs to strengthen international courts and to take its “rightful place” on the world stage. But he criticized the Conservative government’s plan to purchase fighter jets while the costs keep “escalating.” All the candidates agreed that poverty should be addressed in response to a question about food banks, but how they would eliminate it differed. “We definitely need to eliminate hunger,” Tam said. But he pointed out it’s been difficult for the local food banks to get food during the recession.
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