With fewer than two weeks to go before the federal election, the candidates of Timmins-James Bay are making some of their final impressions on voters in the riding.
On Tuesday night at O'Gorman High School, they were on the hot seat once again as the Timmins Chamber of Commerce held a debate.
Lasting 90 minutes as promised, the debate moved quickly and the candidates were forced to keep their comments succinct by moderator Art Pultz of Rogers Radio.
A crowd of approximately 150 people were in the audience.
The candidates were allowed to make an opening statement before the questions began. 16 questions were asked in all, with 4 each being targeted to a specific candidate.
Topics ranged from mining, federal debts, climate change, and the Ring of Fire.
The candidates made their final remarks, which was when they were able to speak with the most conviction.
Max Kennedy asked those in attendance if they were living in the Canda they want to live in.
"We've lost so much in the last decade, it isn't even funny. We've lost the dreams for our children, we've lost the opportunities that they would have had. We've seen Canada become a more callous, uncaring, dollar oriented, profits-before-people enterprise.
That's not the Canada I grew up in. I grew up in a Canada that cared, and that's what I want for our children. We're destroying that with global warming. We're destroying that by shipping jobs overseas. By seeing our wealth go into tax havens elsewhere in the world. By not educating our youth. By not providing opportunities for our aboriginal peoples. These are all issues we need to address" said Kennedy.
NDP incumbent Charlie Angus told the audience why he should be re-elected.
"I'm very proud to serve people in this region. I've never taken the commitment that you've given me for granted since 2004. I take it very seriously. I made that promise that I would work with best of my ability and I continue that.
We can't afford another 4 years of the cynicism and the division and the corruption of the politics of Stephen Harper. Canadians deserve better. We need a government that's willing to work on behalf of all the regions, not just the cronies and the back room insiders" said Angus.
Liberal candidate Todd Lever emphasized his party's focus on growing the middle class.
"We want to get back to a strong, robust middle class. We have policies in place to do that. More importantly, infrastructure is crumbling in our communities. We know that here in Timmins. We desperately need funding and we need it now.
That is a huge difference between the Liberals and the other parties. We are prepared to spend the necessary dollars now, even at the political risk of talking about a deficit. I respect Mr. Angus and all the work he's done for us, but I do believe its time for a change" said Lever.
Conservative candidate John Curley spoke about his extensive time spent speaking directly with voters in the region.
"I have done close to 6,000 doors, knocking on doors myself in this community and outside, and I've been hearing there is movement out there. That its time for a change. They don't see anything happening here. They know the work I've been doing over the years. Really, going forward there's a choice between two parties. One of the parties will lead this country going forward, and I want to be a part of the party that is going forward," said Curley.
The federal election takes place on October 19th.
