SENS disappointed with lack of engagement from local candidates

SENS also sent out a list of pre-forum questions for the candidates to fill in, which Sandhu, Warwick Sears and Kraft all filled out and returned ahead of the event.

However, the other five candidates did not participate at all in the forum.

SENS said Libertarian Robert Johnson (Vernon-Lumby) and Conservative Tara Armstrong (Kelowna-Lake Country-Coldstream) did not respond to the requests.

Meanwhile, unaffiliated candidate Kevin Acton (Vernon-Lumby), Conservative Dennis Giesbrecht (Vernon-Lumby) and Green Andrew Rose (Kelowna-Lake Country-Coldstream) all declined the invitation and did not answer the pre-forum questions.

SENS stated the candidates who responded but did not attend provided reasons for their lack of participation, with Giesbrecht saying he was out door knocking; Acton stating the topics could not be discussed or debated in isolation and would address them in other forums; and Rose stating he could not attend as he was based in Victoria.

“This lack of response on the part of the majority of our candidates in unprecedented for our riding and very disappointing,” SENS, which has organized all-candidate environmental forums for all levels of government since 2015, stated in a release.

“It is concerning to SENS for a number of reasons.

“We are committed to the democratic process, supporting above all else the importance of informed voting, where the public is empowered to know where each candidate stands on the issues that matter most at the provincial level.

“Data from our most recent previous SENS All-Candidates Forum (for the municipal and federal elections, respectively) indicates that 2,000 to 2,9000 people will watch the forum recording to inform themselves before voting. This time, however , because not all candidates have agreed to participate, voters will not be able to compare the candidates’ responses to environment questions.

“Environmental issues matter to us all, as much as do economic and social issues . Because of past experience, we worry that they will not be covered in the other forums available to our ridings. For example, the environmental forum asks questions about forestry, agriculture and the food system, climate change, water quality and quantity, a just transition for workers, and biodiversity and ecosystem health.”

The organization added that everyone’s lives have been impacted in some way by fires, flood and heat domes, and the purpose of the forum was to inform voters on the position of the candidates and how they would address these issues.

SENS did receive about a dozen questions from the public, which were asked alongside those from the organization at the all-candidates forum Thursday.

A video of the forum can be seen at the SENS Facebook page.

by Liam Verster

SENS disappointed with lack of engagement from local candidates

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