The headline above has two meanings. It's a pun meant to provoke some debate about tonight's federal all-candidates forum at UNBC's Canfor Theatre.
Democracy will be "in action" as the candidates in the ridings of Cariboo-Prince George and Prince George-Peace River-Northern Rockies answer questions and debate the issues, both regional and federal. The format and the questions have been designed to provoke serious, intelligent discussion and to show separation between the various candidates, their policy stance and their personal styles. Respectful debate, whether in the form of mild discussion or heated argument, lies at the very core of democracy.
The sponsors of the debate - The Citizen, CKPG, the Prince George Chamber of Commerce and UNBC - decided to follow similar rules to what we did when we collaborated on last fall's mayoral debate for the municipal election and the provincial all-candidates meeting in the spring of 2013. There will be no questions from the audience, which some might say is anti-democratic, but the decision was made to put the focus strictly on the candidates and to avoid any opportunities for speeches or planted questions from audience members already actively supporting a specific candidate. Furthermore, there have been other all-candidates meetings, in Prince George and elsewhere in the two ridings, that have permitted audience participation, including last night's Stand Up For The North meeting. For those who insist on direct engagement, the B.C. Northern Real Estate Board is sponsoring the 15-minute coffee and snack break, allowing members of the audience to approach the candidates directly.
Tonight's forum, like all-candidates meetings, is a pressure cooker job interview, where all of the candidates shortlisted for the job are in the room together and get to make their case for the job, in this case as the Member of Parliament for the two regional ridings, in front of the shareholders of the company, in this case the voters. They will have ample opportunity to highlight their qualifications for the job, their plans once the job would be theirs, their vision for how they should do their job and how the other job candidates are less qualified for the task.
As always, we should start by giving thanks. These men and women care enough about their region and their country that they would seek to represent local residents in Parliament. They are also courageous enough to undergo the public scrutiny and the inevitable condemnation that comes from taking a stand. There is no democracy without citizens offering to serve in the political arena and giving voters the choice of who is best qualified to conduct that essential work.
But let's not be naive, either.
Tonight, there will also be "democracy inaction." There will be statements made by the political candidates that will be designed to land cheap shots on their opponents, to disguise their lack of knowledge on a given topic, to inflate their qualifications and to even mislead the audience. Candidates do this all the time in job interviews, so the seekers of higher office can hardly be expected to behave differently. It is the job of voters to listen carefully, to ponder what is being said and how it is being communicated.
Style counts, as it does in all other jobs. A candidate that gets flustered by a pointed question from the moderator or loses their temper when being pestered by an opponent begs the question of whether that individual is ready for the bruising confrontations that await in the House of Commons and the back rooms of Parliament. Quick thinking and broad knowledge need to be assessed as thoroughly as skills in public speaking and emotional control.
Tonight's meeting starts at 7 p.m., so there's no excuse for Blue Jays fans not to be there. The opening pitch for the first game in the American League Divisional Series with the Texas Rangers will be at 12:37 this afternoon. The candidates from Prince George-Peace River-Northern Rockies will go first, with the Cariboo-Prince George candidates to follow after the break. There is theatre-style seating for 350, first-come, first-seated, and every candidate will have their own microphone.
It will be democracy in action this evening if eligible voters attend and base their voting decision on the performance of the candidates. It will be democracy inaction if eligible voters stay away because they honestly believe they have something else better to do with their time.
