A debate last night (Oct. 2) in Ladner showed that south of the Fraser, issues at the top of voters mind are Deltaport expansion, the South Fraser Perimeter Road and the potential environmental consequences of these projects.

About 50 people trickled in to the Delta Town & Country Inn to take in the hour and a half long debate between Delta-Richmond East candidates, an event which didn't see much debating.

Candidates were allowed one minute each to answer the questions started off by the Delta Chamber of Commerce and put forth by the audience. If the candidates wanted to respond to a comment spoken by an opponent after they'd already taken their minute, too bad.

But the format did mean many questions were served up to those aspiring to take the Delta-Richmond East seat, with plenty of the inquires tied to the environment.

When asked if they thought port expansion is needed, Conservative MP John Cummin's answer received a smattering of applause.

"One of the drivers, if you will, of the provincial government for the expansion of the port is to increase traffic through the United States through this port, and that's simply not going to happen," he said, noting that an increase in traffic would go through Prince Rupert via CN to the states.

"The reality is that there is no need for the expansion of the port at this time."

When asked if they believe the B.C. government's proposed route for the South Fraser Perimeter Road threatens Burns Bog, all four said yes.

Said Green Party candidate Matthew Laine, "By tampering with the bog, we're hitting ourselves on two fronts. Not only are we putting the road and more trucks and contributing to more carbon pollution, but we're also eliminating one of the best natural resources we have to fight against the biggest problem facing human civilization right now."

Liberal candidate Dana Miller noted she has, for the past four years, been working on a policy briefing to protect the bog, while Cummins explained the challenges in addressing cross-jurisdictional issues.

"The question is, is the bog threatened, yes it is. And is the road needed, I don't think so. If it was, is it necessary that the road follow the routing that has been designated—no it isn't. Who's responsible for routing the roads, it's a provincial responsibility. Is there a federal responsibility—perhaps, on an environmental level, but there is difficulty when these issues are cross-jursidictional, there's no question about it. The fixes are not always easy."

NDP candidate Szilvia Barna took the opportunities she could to say the Conservative Party has the power to interfere in development projects like the power line upgrade and the South Fraser Perimeter Road, but has chosen not to.

"Mr. Cummins has been there for 15 years. These mega-projects are destroying our environment, our communities . . . And there are all these horrible things happening and our government does not stand up . . . They have the mandate to come in and choose not to, please don't elect them to represent us."

The environment did not completely dominate the evening.

When asked how their party would restore Canadians' confidence in the nation's economy, Cummins assured the crowd Canada's economy is strong.

"I think the fact that our econonmy is strong right now, that our system is different than the system of our neighbour's across the way . . . There is no crisis in the Canadian banking system, there is no crisis in real estate market in Canada because we handle these issues differently."

Miller countered that Canadian economy is not heading in the right direction.

"Although Stephen Harper managed to balance the budget in 2006 it was with the surplus left by the Liberal party and he ran a deficit per month by month through 2007 . . . We need to start looking at diversifying our portfolio and having greater trade relations with other nations, so we'll have to work on that because again we've had a Conservative minority government that has eliminated some of those diplomatic relations."

On the issue of Canada's role in Afghanistan—and when Canadian troops would be pulled out—Cummins stuck with the Conservative Party's position the Canadian military would leave at the appointed date, in 2011. Miller criticized the Conservative Party for lacking an exit strategy, while Barna stated the NDP would like to see Canada get out of Afghanistan as soon as possible.

Laine did not offer a timeline for pulling out of Afghanistan. However, he said, "I think in many ways Afghanistan can be one of the great triumphs of the 21st century. We're doing good work in Afghanistan. Women and children who never had the previous opportunity to be educated are being educated now."

All candidates pledged to do something about noise pollution caused by overhead aircraft, agreeing with the questioner that there needed to be an appeals process available for when NAV Canada makes route changes.

Thursday evening's debate competed for attention with both the Federal leadership debate and U.S. Vice Presidential debate, as well as a Vancouver Canuck's pre-season hockey game. But voters in the Delta-Richmond East riding have another chance to hear their candidates speak out on Oct. 8 at the McKee Seniors Recreation Centre (5155 47th Ave.) at 7 p.m., hosted by Delta Now.

kthiessen@southdeltaleader.com