NANAIMO — The five candidates running to be the next Member of Parliament for the Nanaimo-Ladysmith riding will have the opportunity to make their case this week.
Vancouver Island University is hosting a Candidates’ Town Hall on Tuesday, April 22 beginning at 7 p.m. at the Malaspina Theatre where candidates will be taking questions from the audience in attendance.
The following night, both the Nanaimo and Ladysmith Chambers of Commerce, along with the Vancouver Island branch of the Canadian Home Builders’ Association are hosting an all candidates meeting on Wednesday, April 23 at the Coast Bastion Hotel starting at 6 p.m.
Executive Director of the Ladysmith Chamber, Roberta Bowman, told NanaimoNewsNOW all five candidates have confirmed their attendance and will answer a mix of pre-submitted, and audience questions.
“There won’t be any questions directed to any one specific candidate. All candidates will be encouraged to answer the same question, for fairness.”
Running in the riding are incumbent NDP Lisa Marie Barron, Liberal Michelle Corfield, Conservative Tamara Kronis, Green Paul Manly and PPC’s Stephen Welton.
Questions for the first half of the evening were sent to candidates last week, Bowman said, and will cover topics ranging from business supports, economic growth, the non-profit and social sectors, as well as housing affordability.
Audience questions will be vetted to ensure no duplicates prior to being asked.
Bowman said each candidate will be able to use rebuttal cards up to three times throughout the evening.
“The rebuttal cards are more if a candidate misstates something…and [another] candidate feels that they need to correct them, it gives them an opportunity to speak in a friendly forum. It happened back in the fall, one candidate stated something that was incorrect, so another candidate used a rebuttal card to give the correct information.”
Both candidates and the audience, will be held to a strict code of conduct, according to Bowman.
“No candidate can be disrespectful to any candidate and no disrespect from anybody in attendance watching the forum take place as well, they will be removed.”
Doors open at 5:30 p.m., with the event being captured by Rogers for broadcast on their TV channel and YouTube account.
Bowman said the video however will be deleted early Sunday morning.
“It will be removed from the internet 24 hours prior to the start of voting, so Sunday morning it will be removed. We’ve had a request from some of the candidates that this not be made public 24 hours prior, so we’re respecting their wishes.”
More information on the local election race in Nanaimo-Ladysmith is available here.
NanaimoNewsNOW will have complete coverage of the election on Monday, April 28, starting on air and online at 7 p.m.
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