Coal mining in the eastern slopes, the cost of living and taxes were among the topics discussed during Tuesday night’s federal election all candidates forum put on by the Lethbridge and District Chamber of Commerce.
All six candidates running in the Lethbridge riding for the federal election were in attendance with all touching on the topics they thought were important to them. NDP Candidate Nathan Svoboda says one thing he took away from the forum is that there are topics candidates across the political spectrum have shared values on.
“There is much we agree on as candidates and I would like to see our House of Commons be able to come together across the partisan line in support of those values,” Svoboda says.
One of the topics there was unity on from candidates was coal mining on the eastern slopes and the impact that could have on the water supply for those who live in the Lethbridge region. Liberal candidate Chris Spearman and Green Party Candidate Amber Murray both addressed this concern in their opening remarks, with Murray later expanding in one of her answers on how she would like to see a non-partisan committee put together to create eco-tourism jobs in the region. This idea is something Peoples Party of Canada candidate Clara Piedalue shared she agreed with afterwards.
“My main takeaway [from tonight] is how concerned everyone is about our water supply and rightly so. I believe that protecting our water supply is of utmost importance,” Piedalue says.
During the forum Conservative candidate, Rachel Thomas shared her concern for coal mining and the impact it could have on water but said the issue fell under the provincial government’s jurisdiction. Afterwards, she expanded on that thought, saying she is passionate about protecting the water supply and if elected as the Member of Parliament for Lethbridge again she would be open to working with provincial leaders to find a solution.
“We also have to be honest that this is a provincial matter. It is with the province… So where the federal government and the province can work together let’s do that. But ultimately, let’s put it on the shoulders of who’s responsible and that is the province of Alberta.”
Addressing the affordability crisis was another hot topic of discussion, with Svoboda explaining one of the ways he sees this being accomplished is through specific tax breaks for the working people.
“Eliminating the GST on things like home heating, groceries and essentials… Also completely eliminating the income tax on the $20,000 people make,” he says.
Both Piedalue and the Christian Heritage Party candidate Marc Slingerland shared how their parties would address this by ending what they call government overreach. Slingerland shared how he would like to see the income tax system be changed to a consumer tax system.
Two more candidate forums will be held in Lethbridge in the upcoming weeks, with the first happening at the Coaldale Chamber of Commerce on Monday, April 14th at 7 p.m. and the second happening on Wednesday, April 16th at 6 p.m.
