2 weeks Ago By Steven Sandor
Article content Ronald S. Billingsley, who showed up in a white cowboy hat, dark sunglasses and carrying a bottle of Bombay Sapphire gin, was there. The independent candidate called for a trilingual super-country created through the union of Canada, the United States and Mexico.
He also called for all school teachers to be armed. And he read his closing statement with Eminem blasting out of his phone as accompaniment, The Revolution Party of Canada was there. So was the Communist Party and the Marxist-Leninist Party.
David Bohonos of the Christian Heritage Party was in attendance, calling not for the reduction of CO2 emissions, but the creation of more carbon in the atmosphere, because it’s “plant food.” And, of course, New Democrat Trisha Estabrooks and Liberal Eleanor Olszewski were there, the star attractions of Wednesday night’s Edmonton Centre candidates forum held at The Matrix hotel. But Conservative candidate Sayid Ahmed stayed true to his word ; he didn’t appear in the ballroom, which was filled with about 250 attendees.
He had told organizers last week that he’d be too busy door-knocking to make time for the forum. So, while all the candidates were given equal time, the forum’s key battle was between Olszewski and Estabrooks. Olszewski positioned herself as a true believer in Prime Minister Mark Carney, and invoked his name each time she took a turn to speak.
Estabrooks, who got the loudest applause from the attendees, painted herself as the only option who could beat the absentee Tory candidate, and couldn’t resist taking a shot at Olszewski’s Carney-first strategy. “We have to unite to beat the Conservatives, and I am the best candidate to do that,” said Estabrooks. “Mark Carney’s name is not on the ballot.
” “Mark Carney wants to build an economy that’s strong for Canada,” said Olszewski, who said Canada needs to decrease our reliance on American trade. And she said the Liberals would invest in both traditional energy projects to help protect Canada from the American foreign-policy rollercoaster ride, and in renewable projects as well. And she made it clear the national interest trumps provincial territorialism.
“We want to invest quickly projects that make Canada stronger, with one economy and not 13,” she said. But what issues speak most to Edmonton Centre? Puneeta McBryan, the executive director of the Downtown Business Association, said her organization has become more involved in lobbying the federal government over the past couple of years. And she said Downtown Edmonton’s struggles with homelessness, crime and safety aren’t unique.
She’s worked with other downtown activists from across Canada to try and spread the message that issues affecting the cores of cities across the country have to be flagged by the feds. “Federal attention, policy change and investment are needed in mental health, addictions and public safety,” said McBryan. “Edmontonians think these are problems that are really unique to us, but they’re not.
” Affordable housing a priority Estabrooks and Olszewski both offered their takes on inner-city issues. “When you don’t feel safe where you live, nothing else matters,” said Estabrooks. “Housing is absolutely a human right.
We’re not living up to that human right.” She said more police aren’t the answer, that it’s about providing treatment and more housing to those in need. She reiterated an NDP platform that any federal funding for affordable housing should be tied to rent control.
And when an audience member asked if affordable housing calculations should be tied to income and not percentages of market value, she agreed. Meanwhile, Olszewski pledged she’d take the idea of tying affordable housing rates to income rather than market value to Ottawa. She highlighted the Liberal pledge to spend $35 million this year on helping clean up encampments and address the homelessness crisis in Alberta.
“Housing is the responsibility of all orders of government, and it needs to be addressed.” said Olszewski. “The Liberal government has solved the housing crisis before, and we’ll do it again.
” After the debate, Olszewski said she recognized that a lot of people in the audience “have their minds made up already” about who they’ll be supporting on Apr. 28. “But this was a different way of engaging with the community,” she said.
“It is what it is. What impact it will have on the way people vote, I’m not entirely certain.” After the forum, Estabrooks reiterated her biggest talking point of the night, that Carney isn’t an Edmonton Centre candidate.
“I did hear Mark Carney mentioned a few times tonight, and what he was planning to do,” she said. “I think it’s reflective of what I’ve heard not only tonight, but when I am knocking on doors; a lot of people are talking about Mark Carney. But the other thing they’re saying is they want to vote for the candidate who can take out the Conservatives, who can make sure we don’t add to Pierre Poilievre’s count.
And I’m increasingly hearing that the NDP are the real choice in this election to do that.” And the last word goes to Naomi Rankin, the Communist candidate, who noted the widespread support for increased social spending and more housing from all of the candidates sounded, well, awfully familiar. “During an election campaign, everyone is a communist,” she said.
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