The old adage about asking a stupid question seems especially relevant during election season – if all we ask of our candidates are simple questions, we’re just going to receive simple answers.

We get to the heart of relevant issues by asking questions of value, gathering more information to analyze as a whole and coming to a conclusion on the topic.

Let’s break this down further.

Consider this election season and the city’s long list of candidates vying for positions.

There are 24 councillor candidates, seven school trustee candidates, and six mayoral candidates — the task of asking them the right questions to get firm answers on election topics is no easy feat.

For example, when you want to know a candidate’s position on taxes, don’t simply ask them if they favour higher or lower taxes. Any politician worth his or her salt could easily provide an answer about establishing a happy medium to promote economic growth and stability while giving constituents a leg-up to succeed (see, even we can do this).

Instead, ask specific questions about the current tax rate and how it relates to you or your business. This will show how informed the candidate is about the tax rate and, depending on their viewpoint, they’ll either discuss maintaining the status quo or implementing changes. This process creates an ongoing dialogue that people can follow in order to discern each politician’s knowledge and viewpoint.

This type of discussion can only happen once we get past the irrelevant or easily-dodged questions our candidates are already being asked. Why a candidate lives outside the city, how one candidate thinks the others would tip in a taxi, or the time period it takes to rebuild trust are examples of this (and yes, these are actual questions asked of our candidates).

We implore you, do your research and come to these candidates with specific questions backed by facts. If they still do not give you the answers you need, that in itself is an answer. But give them a challenge to rise to – don’t let this election season be summarized by vague commentary because we didn’t have the courage, or the knowledge, to ask questions of value.

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