During the evening there were jabs that candidates took at one another. And not surprisingly many of those jabs were at the expense of the NDP candidate, given that his party is governing the province. Deveau noted that many of the problems and issues that the NDP has to deal with have been inherited by other parties, to which Churchill said, “John, I think it’s time we stop blaming each other and start working together.”
Deveau maintained repeatedly during the evening that it is important for Yarmouth to elect an MLA who will be on at the government table where the decisions are made and will continue to be made for the next three years. Yes, he said, the government is willing to entertain any and all good ideas and are willing to work with others, but when the decisions are made they’re made at the government table he said.
Dean took issue with that saying he thought the decisions were made on the floor of the Nova Scotia Legislature based on input from everyone. And Ann Jones, one of the people who asked a question to the candidates, also found fault with the you-must-be-at-the-government-table stance.
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“If you’re not elected what happens to Yarmouth?” she asked Deveau. “When a government is elected they’re elected for me because I’m a Nova Scotian and they care about me.”
What new political models were all of the candidates willing to bring to the table, she asked?
Deveau reiterated that they are willing to work with everyone, but he also maintained that at the end of the day when decisions are made that will impact the community, because this is a majority government they will be made at the government table.
“I want to be that voice,” he said.
To the question of a new political model, Churchill said it was time to end the age of political blackmail and Hatfield asked the question, does anybody in the room really think the political system is running efficiently and effectively to serve people’s needs? Many people shouted out no.
Meanwhile, if a congeniality award had been given out at the end of the debate, it likely would have gone to John Percy. Aside from giving kudos to one of the other candidates – he said after his number one choice, himself, his number two pick would be Belle Hatfield – the leader of the Green Party, who does not live in Yarmouth, had some of the funniest lines of the evening, including when he said that people should vote for him, but they probably won’t. Still, he thinks he has a good shot at being the MLA for Yarmouth and could do the job well.
Percy did raise an important issue, also, when he encouraged people to go out on June 22 and exercise their right to vote. Talking about his son who was serving in Afghanistan where they had 78 per cent turnout for an election, he said people were being shot at and they still went out to vote, “All you have to do is go across the street.”
I could not make it to the debate but my mind was made up a while ago - I will be voting for Mr. Dean & OUR Atlantica Party. I can't help but laugh at people who say we need a change & then promote one of the 3 establishment party candidates. That's not change - just more of the same!