Six of the seven federal candidates in Saint John-Rothesay take part in a forum on Oct. 9, 2019. From left to right: Conservative candidate Rodney Weston, NDP candidate Armand Cormier, Liberal candidate Wayne Long, Green Party candidate Ann McAllister, independent candidate Neville Barnett, and independent Stuart Jamieson. (Photo: Brad Perry)
Voters in Saint John-Rothesay had the chance to hear from candidates during a Wednesday afternoon forum.
The event, organized by the Saint John Human Development Council, was held at the Kent Theatre in the city’s uptown.
Six of the seven candidates took part: the NDP’s Armand Cormier, Wayne Long of the Liberals, the Green Party’s Ann McAllister, Rodney Weston of the Conservatives, and independent candidates Neville Barnett and Stuart Jamieson. People’s Party of Canada candidate Adam Salesse was also invited but was not in attendance.
They were each asked five questions on different topics — child poverty, homelessness, newcomer retention, youth unemployment, and the state of the non-profit sector — and were given a minute to respond to each.
Randy Hatfield, executive director of the council, said they want to encourage civic engagement, especially in Saint John-Rothesay.
“It had the lowest voter turnout rate in the last election,” said Hatfield. “In fact, it has had the lowest voter turnout rate of any of the 10 provincial ridings for the federal house in the last three elections.”
Many people from the community are here for this forum to see what the candidates have to say. pic.twitter.com/cm9NEaeOeI
— Brad Perry (@BradMPerry) October 9, 2019
About 40 people attended the hour-long forum Wednesday to see what their local candidates had to say.
Penni Eisenhauer said some of her questions were answered, but she wanted to hear more about barriers facing people with a criminal record.
“There’s policy pieces around that that could be addressed that would probably change some people’s ability to actually access employment and other opportunities,” said Eisenhauer.
The forum did not allow for back and forth between the candidates or questions from the audience.
Hatfield said they will look to revisit the format going forward.
“It’s rather worn these days to put candidates on a stage and to have them asked the same questions. At the same time, the last federal debate, the national one, had people talking over one another,” he said. “Maybe there isn’t a perfect answer.”
Voters in Saint John-Rothesay — and across Canada — will head to the polls on Oct. 21.
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