Cornwall Election Debate: Candidates Face Off on Key Issues

With the provincial election just over a week away on Thursday, February 27th, the Provincial Election Debate took place on Wednesday, February 19th, at the Cornwall Civic Complex in Salon B.

The event was hosted by the Cornwall & Area Chamber of Commerce in partnership with the Cornwall SDG Social Development Council and was attended by about 150 people who came to hear from the candidates about key economic and social issues affecting the community.

The debate was televised by YourTV Cogeco and sponsored by the Cornwall and District Area REALTORS® and the Ontario Real Estate Association.

Candidates who participated in the debate were: Nolan Quinn MPP (Progressive Conservative – Incumbent MPP), Jeremy Rose (New Democratic Party – NDP) and Devon Monkhouse (Liberal Party).

Nicholas Lapierre (Ontario Green Party) was unable to attend but had a team present during the Meet & Greet from 5:00 to 6:00 p.m.

Both the Meet & Greet and the debate at 7:00 p.m. were well attended.

Nick Seebruch moderated the discussion, while Ross Butterworth from the Chamber of Commerce acted as the timekeeper. Candidates were not allowed to bring binders, notes, or electronic materials on stage, which was a fair rule to keep the debate balanced.

Each candidate gave an opening statement in the following order: First was Jeremy Rose (NDP) second Devon Monkhouse (Liberal Party) and third, Nolan Quinn (Progressive Conservative).

They answered questions on a range of issues, including:

Housing and homelessness, Economic growth and job creation, Education and poverty, Addiction and mental health, Infrastructure and taxation, Healthcare and workforce challenges and Democracy and electoral reform

Each candidate had up to two minutes to respond, followed by an open debate to encourage discussion while keeping things fair.

During the public Q&A session, about 20 audience members asked questions on topics such as: Education, Food insecurity, Support for adults with developmental disabilities and Healthcare and community services.

Over 20 members of the audience lined up to ask questions, but due to time limits, not all audience members got a chance to ask their questions.

Each candidate then gave a two-minute closing statement. Jeremy Rose (NDP) stood out with his personal story about why he decided to run, reinforcing his campaign message: “Choose Change.” while the Liberal candidate was critical of Doug Ford’s government and MPP Nolan Quinn (PC) remained professional in his responses.

To wrap things up, all candidates reminded people to vote, with Nolan Quinn quoting something his father had told him when he became the age to vote: “If you don’t vote, don’t complain.”

I was very happy to see that there were many young people in attendance as in the past we saw a very low voter turnout, I believe because the younger generation believed that there was no point in voting because their vote didn’t count! Younger people definitely need to make their voices heard as they are helping to create their own future!

No matter which party you support, it takes courage and commitment to run for office. All candidates stood up for their beliefs and engaged in a interactive discussion about the future of our community, which hopefully helped the audience get to understand their views and their platforms.

Please make sure that you get out to vote and if you want more information please be sure to attend the Labour Council All Candidates Debate taking place (Thursday, February 20th) 7pm at the Benson Centre in Cornwall.