(The federal candidates who took part in the Stittsville Business Association/Stittsville Village Association co-hosted meeting held on September 7, 2021 were l-r: Kevin Hua of the NDP Party, Gustave Roy of the Liberal Party and Pierre Poilievre of the Conservative Party. Photo: Barry Gray)
On Tuesday, September 7, the Stittsville Business Association (SBA) and Stittsville Village Association (SVA) co-hosted a meeting for the Carleton riding federal political candidates. By the end of the evening, there were approximately 180 residents in attendance, with 88 inside the socially-distanced seating area and others lining the sides of the area.
Parties who currently hold seats in the House of Commons were invited to participate in the debate (Conservative, Green, NDP and Liberal), with other candidates invited to set-up a display of their promotional materials with the opportunity to speak with Stittsville residents.
Representing their parties and participating in the debate were: Gustave Roy, Liberal Party; Kevin Hua, New Democratic Party; and Pierre Poilievre, Conservative Party. Candidates for the Green Party (Nira Dookeran) and the People’s Party of Canada (Peter Crawley) did not put in an appearance.
Those who attended and wanted to ask a question were presented with a numbered ticket, with a duplicate placed in a container and provided to the Moderator, Allan Ryan, from which he could draw the tickets. Questions were also accepted virtually through Facebook and Zoom, then provided to the Moderator to be asked of each candidate. Hélène Rivest was the official timer for the meeting.
Questions were posed on issues important to residents in the Carleton riding and to Canadians. With the first question asked by Tanya Hein, President of the Stittsville Village Association, several questions followed up on these issues: mandatory vaccinations for employment, carbon tax, monetary policy, housing rising prices and tax on homes, Keystone/XL pipeline and the Alberta situation, Indigenous and Reconciliation, wireless sector competition, privatized healthcare and medically assisted dying, the two Michaels in China and the Afghans still stranded, new Conservative carbon tax, Bill C-10 free speech online, improving priorities within Carleton riding, military – treatment of our soldiers and the low morale, commitment to affordable housing in Carleton riding, and Trudeau’s ethics commissioner investigations and violations. Following the public question session, each candidate presented their wrap-up remarks.
To hear each question posed and the responses from the candidates, the debate can be viewed on the Stittsville Central YouTube channel or watched below.