Three of the candidates running in the riding of Lunenburg West met up Tuesday evening to square off in a debate.
The field consisted of three women representing the three major parties in the province, Mereydie Ross of the NDP, Becky Druhan of the PC, and Liberal candidate Jennifer Naugler.
The event put on by the Bridgewater and Area Chamber of Commerce was more like a public forum than a debate as a result of its format. With five questions being sent to the candidates ahead of time, most answers were prepared and there was very little clashing between any of the candidates.
The format did however allow candidates to respond to questions and provide detailed answers about how their parties’ platforms would address them.
The five questions asked were;
- Good communities provide a mix of housing types and costs for people of all life stages. In order to build whole communities municipalities must have the ability to put incentives in place to encourage development for units that fit a variety of income levels. Will your government commit to giving more control to municipalities in order to implement inclusionary zoning and other proven municipal housing incentives? Why or why not?
- To support working-class Nova Scotians, their families, and those struggling to support their housing needs, is your party prepared to support permanent rent control as part of an effort to alleviate the housing crisis?
- What actions will your party take to improve access to health care for Nova Scotians and address the Doctor shortage in our region? How will those actions translate into better and more timely care?
- Before the COVID-19 Pandemic, Nova Scotia’s Gross Domestic Product grew yearly between 2013 and 2019 at an average rate of $510 Million per year. How do you (and your party) plan to continue Nova Scotia’s economic growth in a post-pandemic global economy?
- What is your parties plan to continue to support all business owners, big, medium, and small, in Nova Scotia as the reopening continues?
You can still watch the debate online to hear the candidates’ full answers.
Overall the three candidates were very respectful of one another and they all recognized the significance of having three women representing the three major parties at the debate.
The United Church was a full house for the event or a full house under the current COVID-19 regulations and after the five prepared questions, some audience members were able to ask questions as well.
One resident who identified as a member of the LGBTQ+ community said there were recent incidents of abuse on online platforms and then they asked what each candidate planned to do in response. The three candidates all committed to following up with the person who asked the question and said their parties were committed to equality and inclusion.
Another attendee asked if candidates would continue to support renaming efforts of places and communities that have names with troubled histories. Ross and Naugler were both forthright saying they have supported the recent push to rename places and will continue to do so. Druhan followed in a similar vein but did say that each name should be analyzed individually and they may have a historical context that is removed from the perceived inappropriate name.
There are no further debates scheduled for the Lunenburg West riding and the three candidates were all set to resume campaigning on Wednesday.
