Plug pulled on election forum

Morning Star sept 30

Some Okanagan-Shuswap residents won’t be able to hear an all-candidates forum in their own town during the federal election campaign. Although the Salmon Arm Council of Canadians and the Shuswap Environmental Action Society had set up a forum for Sunday, Conservative candidate Colin Mayes says he won’t be available. The organizers initially were going to go ahead with the remaining five candidates, but they have since decided the Salmon Arm event will be cancelled. Chair of the local chapter of the Council of Canadians, David Hagel, said the organizing committee thought “there would not be a meaningful debate without the incumbent MP present.” Asked why he won’t attend, Mayes said, “I made a commitment in June to host a number of ambassadors (from Ottawa) who are touring the Okanagan Valley. I am tied up for three days,” he said. “Our calendar was booked. The last week of the campaign, I have all-candidates almost every night. There literally wasn’t any room. The night they picked was the night I am with the ambassadors. It’s unfortunate. That’s a little bit of the disadvantage – I’m still the member of Parliament.”

The forum was scheduled for the daytime, not at night. Asked if there was no other time that would work for him, he said no. “That’s right, we have a full calendar. Don’t think I wouldn’t like to be in my home town at the all-candidates. Why would I want to miss an all-candidates in my home town? It is just unfortunate but that’s the way it is.” Asked if he couldn’t take time out from the ambassadors’ tour, he said the forum would undoubtedly be several hours and the tour is in Kelowna and Vernon, so he would have to travel as well. “All the schedule for their tour was provided over the summer and I committed to it and I have to live up to my commitments. I’m sure people will read something in that and be critical but they have to remember I am still the Member of Parliament and I believe when you make commitments you live up to them.” In response to the suggestion that an incumbent is important to such a forum, Mayes said Salmon Arm residents can easily contact him. “The good thing is that I live here and they can talk to me anytime.”

Asked if the forum’s sponsors - the Council of Canadians who have been critical of Conservative policies - was a factor in his decision, he said no. He said the same group organized the forum during the last election and he attended that one. Mayes also said the request for the Salmon Arm forum came in later than other requests. Hagel said the request, made Sept. 21, still gave candidates two weeks’ notice. “We believe this is more than adequate in a 30-day campaign. No other candidate had a problem with the notice.” Hagel said organizers were ahead of the chamber of commerce, which had also inquired about rental facilities. Hearing about the Council of Canadians’ interest in the federal forum, the chamber decided to put its efforts into a forum during the municipal election campaign instead. Hagel said when Mayes’ campaign manager Terri Jones told him he couldn’t come to the Sunday event, he asked what dates were available, offering to make it fit Mayes’ schedule. “She said ‘there is only one day available and there are two people ahead of you.’” Hagel said organizers are disappointed the incumbent won’t be there and they think his decision is disrespectful to the other candidates, the community at large, Conservative Party members in the riding and the forum’s organizing committee. “We believe that Mr. Mayes should have given priority to fitting in the only all-candidates’ forum planned for the areas of Salmon Arm and Chase.”