Climate change was once again the focus of a heated debate between Kelowna-Lake Country MP hopefuls at an all-candidates forum on Oct. 3.
Five of seven candidates were present for the debate at UBC Okanagan, which was one of over 100 similar debates focusing on the environment held across the country. Notably absent was the Conservative Party乌鸦传媒檚 Tracy Gray, despite being invited.
Four of the five candidates that were present made it clear fighting climate change would be high on their to-do lists if they are elected on Oct. 21, while one candidate said he was less sure about the validity of the science surrounding climate change.
乌鸦传媒淭here is no scientific consensus on the theory that CO2 produced by human activity is causing dangerous global warming, today or in the future,乌鸦传媒� said People乌鸦传媒檚 Party of Canada candidate John Barr, eliciting a chorus of 乌鸦传媒渂oos乌鸦传媒� from the crowd.
This prompted an interjection from moderator Rick Webber, who said: 乌鸦传媒渋f you乌鸦传媒檙e going to boo somebody, maybe boo the people who aren乌鸦传媒檛 here.乌鸦传媒�
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The other four candidates took similar stances on the threat that a changing climate poses. Liberal candidate Stephen Fuhr said that his party shares similar views with the NDP and the Green Party on what must be done, they just all have different ways of 乌鸦传媒済etting there.乌鸦传媒� He also said that a minority government is one of the biggest threats to moving forward on climate change.
乌鸦传媒淚t乌鸦传媒檚 the most political thing that we乌鸦传媒檙e dealing with and it乌鸦传媒檚 very important to get it right,乌鸦传媒� said Fuhr.
乌鸦传媒淲e乌鸦传媒檙e looking at three options: one doesn乌鸦传媒檛 want to do anything about climate, one does want to do something about climate, and one has no ability to do anything about climate change. Minority governments can work when both sides agree on something but they maybe don乌鸦传媒檛 agree on the magnitude. When you have big divisive issues, and climate is a big, divisive issue, it shouldn乌鸦传媒檛 be but it is. A minority government just isn乌鸦传媒檛 going to move the yardstick on that issue.乌鸦传媒�
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The NDP乌鸦传媒檚 Justin Kulik retorted Fuhr乌鸦传媒檚 view, bringing up that a minority government gave us universal healthcare under Lester B. Pearson.
Less than convinced about the rhetoric of his peers, Barr invited his fellow candidates to have an open debate on the topic of climate change, which prompted one of the more turbulent moments of the night.
Kulik made it clear that he would decline the offer, adding that the other candidates likely would as well. This sparked a question from an audience member in which he told Kulik, 乌鸦传媒測ou should be ashamed of yourself,乌鸦传媒� for not stepping up to defend his beliefs.
乌鸦传媒淩egardless of your beliefs, climate change is going to affect us all,乌鸦传媒� Kulik replied.
乌鸦传媒淚t doesn乌鸦传媒檛 matter if you believe it to be real or not. Regardless of your beliefs, climate change is a fact.乌鸦传媒�
The Green Party乌鸦传媒檚 Travis Ashley felt that an open debate might be a useful practice.
乌鸦传媒淚f given the chance, I乌鸦传媒檇 love to persuade you guys to understand that climate change is real,乌鸦传媒� he said. 乌鸦传媒淲e can乌鸦传媒檛 just throw rotten fruit at each other and say you乌鸦传媒檙e wrong and you乌鸦传媒檙e wrong. Let乌鸦传媒檚 put it at the table and talk about it like we乌鸦传媒檙e at a family reunion.乌鸦传媒�
It was pointed out by independent candidate Daniel Joseph that the man who accused Kulik was the president of the Kelowna-Lake Country Peoples Party of Canada riding association, Peter Neville. Joseph formerly held the position before leaving in late March of this year due to what he called 乌鸦传媒渞acist, homophobic and xenophobic views.乌鸦传媒�
乌鸦传媒淥ne of the main reasons why I left the party is because instead of the People乌鸦传媒檚 Party deciding to want to be an official opposition party, they decided to become a rhetoric machine,乌鸦传媒� Joseph said.
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michael.rodriguez@kelownacapnews.com
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