Circle October 13th on your calendar.
That’s when the Campbell River & District Chamber of Commerce will host an All-Candidates Debate for the North Island seat.
While the 7:00pm start date is a go at the Tidemark Theatre, the rest of the details are still being ironed out because of COVID-19 restrictions.
Chamber executive director, Mary Ruth Snyder, says the pandemic is making organizing the debate all the more challenging: “We’re still working out the details of, if we can have people in the theatre and how many that would be allowed by the health authority. But regardless of that, the debate will be streamed live, it will be recorded, and the recording will be available directly following the debate, as well, in two different locations.”
She added that more details should be worked out by the end of the week.
Snyder says all-candidates debates are a way to help democracy be, just that, “A place where candidates can be asked questions and they have to answer, and it’s a way for the general population to be engaged in the unfolding of the election.”
Snyder pointed out that the new MLA will be the voice of the North Island for the next four years.
“And there are so many monumental challenges that face us in the coming months and years, and I would just encourage everybody to get to know who the candidates are,” she said.
You can send in your questions ahead of the debate by emailing Snyder at [email protected].
Campbell River City Councillor, Michele Babchuk, is the NDP candidate.
Norm Facey will be vying for the seat for the BC Liberals.
The Green Party has yet to declare a candidate for the North Island.
Four-term MLA and BC transportation minister, Claire Trevena, announced last week that she will not be running for re-election.
Trevena has held the seat since 2005.
