The Prince George Public Library is hosting a joint all-candidates forum for the two Prince George area ridings - Prince George-Peace River and Cariboo-Prince George - on Tuesday, April 26 from 7 to 8:30 p.m. in the Keith Gordon Room at the Bob Harkins branch.
"Most of the candidates have confirmed their attendance," said library communications co-ordinator Neil Godbout. "The library is a neutral location for residents to learn more about the candidates and the various political parties."
The library also has a display on the second floor of Bob Harkins that sets out the boundaries of each riding, who the candidates are in the two ridings and how to contact the Elections Canada returning officer for people who are unsure if they are eligible to vote.
"The two Prince George area ridings had the lowest voter turnout in B.C. during the last federal election so we are encouraging people to get out and vote," Godbout said. "We promote civic literacy at the library and that means providing information to residents so that they know more about the democratic process and hopefully take part."
The forum will start with a three-minute introduction by each candidate to explain who they are, why they should be elected MP and the platform of their party. After the introductions, the moderator will ask questions chosen from submissions sent in by residents and library users to [email protected].
Each candidate will have two minutes to answer the question. There will be no debate between candidates and there will be no questions from the live audience.
The candidates for the Prince George-Peace River riding are:
Conservative Bob Zimmer
Liberal Ben Levine
NDP Lois Boone
Green Party Hilary Crowley
The candidates for the Cariboo-Prince George riding are:
Conservative incumbent MP Dick Harris
Liberal Sangeeta Lalli
NDP Jon Van Barneveld
Green Party Heidi Redl
The library will also be streaming the forum online so residents unable to attend, as well as voters across the two ridings, will be able to follow the proceedings and hear from the candidates directly. More details on watching the forum online will be provided at the library's website (www.lib.pg.bc.ca) in the days leading up to the forum.
