Voters in Skeena-Bulkley Valley will have another opportunity to hear from five of the six candidates ahead of the Sept. 20 federal election.
An All Candidates debate was held at the R.E.M. Lee Theatre in Terrace on the evening of Sept. 7, from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m., which was streamed live on Black Press Facebook pages including the Smithers Interior News.
For those who missed the live stream, CityWest will broadcast the recorded event on Sept. 10 at 7 p.m on Channel 10 and Channel 310 CityWest Community TV.
The NDP’s Taylor Bachrach, Conservative Claire Rattée, Christian Heritage Party’s Rod Taylor, People’s Party candidate Jody Craven and Green Party’s Adeana Young participate in the two-hour forum.
READ MORE: VIDEO: Skeena-Bulkley Valley candidates spar over northwest issues during debate
Green candidate Adeana Young from Haida Gwaii was not present at the theatre, but appeared via ZOOM. She is not travelling during the campaign due to COVID-19 and environmental concerns, but said she would attend the forum virtually to answer questions.
Liberal candidate, Lakhwinder Jhaj, who lives in Abbotsford did not attend.
The meeting was not be open to the public this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, however the public were invited to submit their questions for the candidates in advance to media partners Black Press, Bell Media, CFNR and CBC.
Followed by opening statements from the participating candidates, the debate saw them answer questions about relevant issues in the Skeena – Bulkley Valley riding under themed sections including: Industry, Indigenous Issues, Climate Change, Social Issues and COVID-19.
The Industry section was moderated by Interior News editor Thom Barker. CFNR’s Jeff Blagdon was the panelist for Indigenous Issues. John Crawford of Bell Media posed the questions for the candidates on Climate Change. The CBC’s Matt Allen moderated Social Issues. And Binny Paul from the Terrace Standard took on the topic of COVID-19.
The debate was hosted by the Terrace Standard with venue partner R.E.M. Lee Theatre, was be moderated by a media panel from Black Press Media, Bell Media, CBC and CFNR.
