Staff
Candidates aiming to win the Thunder Bay-Rainy River riding on May 2 will be facing off against each other in locals debate next Tuesday and Wednesday.
All four candidates—incumbent John Rafferty (NDP), Ken Boshcoff (Liberal), Maureen Comuzzi-Stehmann (Conservative), and Ed Shields (Green)—have been confirmed for both debates.
The first debate, which is being organized by the Rainy River Federation of Agriculture, is slated to take place at Tuesday, April 19 starting at 7 p.m. at Our Lady of the Way School in Stratton.
The second debate, organized by the Fort Frances Chamber of Commerce, will take place the following day (April 20) at 7 p.m. at the Civic Centre.
The RRFA debate will be an open floor one, with people from the public having the opportunity to ask their own questions to the candidates, explained Linda Armstrong.
“So no question is a silly question,” she remarked, noting they usually see a good number of voters come out for this debate.
Armstrong added the format forces candidates to respond to issues off the cuff, without having time to prepare their answers.
Transportation and agriculture probably will be the issues at the forefront of the RRFA debate, Armstrong predicted.
While the debate will start at 7 p.m., organizers are hoping to have candidates there as early as 6:30 so they can talk one-on-one with constituents.
Then the first half of the debate will last 45 minutes, followed by coffee and a chance to mix-and-mingle, and then another half an hour of debate.
“It’s actually a personal avenue to talk to [the candidates] and hear them, and then weigh [your] options,” Armstrong explained.
Meanwhile, the debate in Fort Frances next Wednesday will be similar to past ones organized by the Chamber, with candidates having the chance to respond to five questions posed to candidates—three from local media (Fort Frances Times, B93, and Westend Weekly), one from the Chamber, and one from the Northern Ontario Tourism Outfitters Association (NOTO).
There will be no opportunity for members of the public to ask candidates questions during the debate.
Local resident Tannis Drysdale will be acting as moderator.
At this point, the Chamber is working to have the debate televised through Shaw Cable, although nothing has been confirmed yet.
A reminder that advanced polls will be open April 22, 23, and 25 at the local Elections Canada office, which is located at 130 Second St. E., Suite 2, in Fort Frances (i.e., the Senic River mall).
