Wednesday Sept. 23, 2015 www.saobserver.net $1.25 GST Included
Powerful stroke Ryder Mead, in the eight- to nine-year-old category, swims his required lengths of the pool before taking on the biking and running events in the Kids TryA-Tri Triathlon held Sunday, Sept. 20 at the SASCU Recreation Centre. For more on the event, see pages A15 and A16.
Evan BuhlEr/obServer
Candidates share their views
Election: Liberal, NDP, Green call for change, Conservative Mel Arnold defends status quo. By Tracy hughes obServer STAFF
There were some barbs thrown, but none of the candidates walked away wounded from a relatively congenial all-candidates meeting hosted by the Salmon Arm chamber of commerce Thursday evening. It was standing room only for the event, even after a break was called halfway through to add more chairs for the audience, which was dominated by seniors, with only a small group of teen or 20-something voters in attendance. unlike a previous forum in vernon where conservative candidate Mel Arnold got an earful, the crowd was more polite, likely in
part because the format did not allow for open questions from the audience. While the candidates did not see the questions before the forum, questions had to be submitted from the public in advance. liberal candidate cindy derkaz addressed this issue, saying she felt the forum was like a job interview and she wanted people to be able to ask her questions directly. “I’ll stay and answer any question,” she said. “I’ll answer your questions in the parking lot if I have to.” The questions covered a wide range of topics from support for seniors, to alternative energy, to the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement.
This week The Silverbacks maintain a winning momentum. Turn to A16 for details on the games. The Jazz Club presents eclectic pop-jazz performer Andrea Superstein. See A19 for more.
While the Greens’ chris George, ndP candidate Jacqui Gingras and derkaz were able to outline their visions for change, Arnold, with the conservatives as the incumbent party, had to defend his party’s record and point out the benefits of sticking with the status quo. His oft-repeated message was about the conservatives’ record on the economy and “keeping more money in your pocket.” He also warned the crowd about some of the other parties’ platforms on climate change and social programs. “A carbon plan would take money out of your pocket, and put it towards supporting a bureaucracy. How many of those dollars do
you think would actually go to taking carbon out of the air?” He noted canada produces only two per cent of the global emissions; however, this was immediately challenged by Gingras, who called Arnold’s claim that canadians are really not contributing that much to climate change “outrageous.” “We have 0.49 per cent of the population, so per capita, canadians are some of the most flagrant emitters of greenhouse gases,” she said, noting canadians need to hear real scientific evidence, not spin-doctored claims. See Crowd on page A2
Index Opinion ....................... A6 View Point .................. A7 Life & Times ............... A8 Time Out....................A11 Sports................A15-A18 Arts & Events ... A19-A22 Vol. 108, No. 38, 44 pages