Incumbent NDP MP Georgina Jolibois and People’s Party of Canada candidate Jerome Perrault chose not to attend. (Derek Cornet/larongeNOW Staff)

By Derek Cornet

election 2019

Three out of five federal candidates attend La Ronge forum

Oct 9, 2019 | 11:57 AM

An all-candidates forum held Tuesday at the Kikinahk Friendship Centre provided the opportunity for residents to learn more about the platforms of certain parties.

The event was hosted by the La Ronge and District Chamber of Commerce and included Liberal candidate Tammy Cook-Searson, Conservative candidate Gary Vidal and Green candidate Sarah Kraynick.

Incumbent NDP MP Georgina Jolibois and People’s Party of Canada candidate Jerome Perrault were also invited but did not attend. The forum began with a three-minute period for candidates to introduce themselves and Cook-Searson spoke first followed by Kraynick.

“This election we have a clear choice,” she said. “While the Scheer Conservatives want to take us back to the Harper years that left too many families falling behind, the Liberal Party will continue to move forward.”

Cook-Searson spoke of the Liberal’s record of creating one million new jobs, a new Canada Child Benefit that is providing more money for nine out of 10 families and a tax cut for the middle class. She also spoke about her passion for northern Saskatchewan and her experience as a chief or councillor for the Lac La Ronge Indian Band for 22 years.

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Kraynick talked about how she was a serial entrepreneur and the need for innovation in the riding. She stated La Ronge and other communities have become stagnant, while residents are faced with many issues like mental health and addictions. Kraynick noted there are no tools in place to foster innovation and how it will require a healthy ecosystem to be sustainable.

“We need to stop looking into the past, but look into the future,” she said. “The Greens are all about small business, I’m all about small business and that’s what I’m here to speak about.”

Vidal also spoke of his experience as the mayor of Meadow Lake for seven years, his 30-plus years as a chartered professional accountant and how he has worked with urban, rural and First Nations leaders in his region. He said a Conservative government will work to make life more affordable with a universal tax cut, scrapping the carbon tax and increasing tax credits for seniors.

“For our businesses, we will repeal the tax increases on Canadian small businesses, we will exempt spouses from the new tax on small business dividend, we will make it much easier to navigate Canada’s tax system, the CRA, and we will reduce federal regulations by 25 per cent,” he said.

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derek.cornet@jpbg.ca

Twitter: @saskjourno