“This election wasn’t supposed to happen.”
And yet, regardless of what Toronto Centre MP Bob Rae thinks, it’s happening.
The Liberal incumbent in the upcoming federal election joined his seven opponents for an all-candidates debate Monday night on campus, at Isabel Bader Theatre. Most candidates agreed in principle on the questions raised by audience members. With nearly all candidates situated to the left of the governing Conservatives, the slant was often a progressive one.
Post-secondary education dominated much of the discussion, though the talk was well-attended by students and older voters alike. MP hopefuls proposed a grab bag of solutions to mounting student debt and skyrocketing tuition fees.
Conservative candidate David Gentili opposed tuition fee caps but endorsed dedicated federal funding for universities and colleges. NDP speaker Susan Wallace (candidate El-Farouk Khaki was unable to attend) called for a capping of student debt, while Rae promised a reformed student loans program with guaranteed access and lower interest rates.
Green candidate Ellen Michelson tartly summed up her views on the issue. “Starving student used to be said with a smile,” she said. “It isn’t funny anymore.”
The audience also dealt candidates questions on electoral reform, the environment, funding for cities, factory farms, Darfur, and Sino-Canadian relations. Economic and cultural issues were conspicuously absent.
With each speaker limited to a one-minute statement, the topics were addressed quickly, resulting in little conflict between candidates.
Most of the evening’s few hits were levied against the Harper government, with many contenders suggesting that progress could begin only after the Conservatives were defeated. On several occasions, Rae drew attention to recent charges of plagiarism levied against the Prime Minister, specifically that a major speech on Iraq had been lifted from then-Australian PM John Howard. “Don’t be too hard on the Conservatives for not having a platform,” Rae ribbed. “They’re busy getting it translated from the original Australian.”
Fourth-year student Kevin Philipupillai thought the lesser-known candidates were more impressive. “[There was] definitely more passion from the fringe candidates,” he said. “More willingness to think about the questions.”
