Tuesday’s provincial all-candidates meeting drew a packed house of engaged citizens to Parksville Community and Conference Centre.
Now, we find out if that engagement will translate to the voting booth.
Incumbent Liberal Michelle Stilwell, the B.C. NDP’s Sue Powell and the B.C. Green Party’s Glenn Sollitt answered questions posed by audience members on a variety of topics in Tuesday’s hour-and-a-half meeting.
An informal Twitter poll — OK, that’s probably a redunant term — run by The NEWS for a week leading up to the meeting suggested only nine per cent of respondents intended to take part in the all-candidates forum.
Actual turnout, fortunately, suggested a more vigorous level of participation in the political process.
On occasion, that vigour veered into heckling and jeering, with Stilwell particularly a target with her responses to questions on social services and education. But, to his credit, moderator Matt Breedlove reminded the audience the event did not allow for an open exchange of comment from the floor.
While the response of the audience suggests many members have made up their voting minds, the overall response was mostly receptive and cordial to all the candidates.
The public was invited to provide the candidates questions on written forms, and it responded by beating a path to a table at the front of the room where Kim Burden of the Parksville &District Chamber of Commerce collected and sorted them for Breedlove.
The brisk pace allowed for 25 questions. Some were directed to a single candidate, but most requested responses from all three provincial MLA hopefuls.
There were inevitable questions about the Site C dam, B.C.’s trophy grizzly bear hunt and raw log exports. But most questions circled back to topics with a clear and direct impact on local residents, including education, health care, seniors, taxes and the budget — always! — and housing availability and/or affordability.
In the last provincial election, in 2013, just 52 per cent of eligible B.C. voters bothered to make an impact on these critical issues.
You have a chance to beat that figure and, just maybe, help make a difference. Advance voting begins this weekend and the election is set for May 9. Be there.
— Parksville Qualicum Beach News