An all-candidates meeting for students at Terry Fox high school Wednesday was more respectful, positive and uplifting than one geared to adults just a week earlier.
Compared to an Oct. 3 meeting at Evergreen Cultural Centre — when Port-Coquitlam-Coquitlam candidates sparred and took jabs at one another while a Veterans Party candidate, Dan Iova, who wasn’t invited, tried to disrupt the proceedings — the event for PoCo high school students was as polite as a tea party.
Students who filled the seats at Terry Fox Theatre were told by the assembled candidates — the Conservatives' Nicholas Insley did not attend — that their voice matters, that this election is about their future and that they should get involved in the Oct. 21 vote even if they can't cast a ballot.
But although polite and respectful, Fox Social Studies 9 and 10 students were not shy about asking questions — and squelching any sign of possible double-speak or hypocrisy.
The NDP’s Christina Gower, Liberal candidate and incumbent MP Ron McKinnon, and the Green Party's Brad Nickason were asked about how their parties were dealing with climate change, housing affordability and gun control.
All said their parties were making an effort to dial back greenhouse gases and put money towards green innovation and affordable housing; and while their stances on gun control differed slightly, all the candidates said they would support a gun ban.
Gower said she saw evidence of gang gun violence in her job in the emergency room at Royal Columbian Hospital because the hospital goes into lockdown when a gunshot victim is brought in for fears gang members will show up to finish the job.
“It affects me personally,” Gower said,”It’s scary.”
Students also expressed concern about high gas prices and lowering the voting age, and when told that taxes are needed to pay for infrastructure, with Nickason pointing out that tax cuts are usually accompanied by cuts in services or user fees, students wanted to know more.
Cries of "Oh" and a few hoots accompanied one student’s query about why taxpayers have to shell out for roads when driving cars is supposed to be bad for the environment.
Nickason said, “We need to stop encouraging the growth in cars, we need to start investing in transit.”
McKinnon told students the Liberals have already made gains in reducing emissions and putting money towards the transition to a green economy, and Canada is on target to meet 2030 emissions targets and reach net zero by 2050.
The NDP’s Gower said her party is moving toward a “sustainable” economy and transportation, but roads aren’t going anywhere. She also said she rides an electric bike 15 km to work every day and “it’s super fun.”
One challenging question was removed from the list on the screen: It asked candidates what they thought of the Conservative candidate not showing up to the event.
Adam Bremner-Akins, a Grade 12 student who helped organize the meeting, told The Tri-City News he was disappointed Insley didn’t attend but said overall he was happy with the event because youth are interested in politics and need to see their candidates.
“It’s important we hear from candidates who care about youth involvement,” Bremner-Akins said.
Candidates were also asked whether they would support lowering the voting age. Both the Green Party and NDP candidates said yes, with Gower specifying the age of 16 would be appropriate.
Nickason said young people should vote because the decisions made by government affect their future while McKinnon said he has thought about the issue over the years but concluded the current age limit is a “boundary that makes sense.”
Teacher Ryan Cho said Fox tries to hold all-candidates meetings for each election and research has found that youth who talk about politics with their parents encourage the older family members to vote.
“What the youth think impacts the parents votes,” Cho said.
