As the federal general election draws nearer, Yorkton-Melville candidates are busy preparing for the Yorkton Chamber of Commerce All Candidates Forum October 8 at the Gallagher Centre.
Juanita Polegi, executive director of the Chamber confirmed last week that all four of the candidates have committed to the event.
They are: Cathay Wagantall for the Conservative Party, Doug Ottenbreit for the NDP, Brooke Malinoski for the Liberals and Elaine Hughes for the Green Party.
The forum will consist of four parts. First, the candidates will each get an opportunity to make opening remarks.
In the second part, the candidates will each answer four questions prepared by the Chamber of Commerce membership and provided to the election hopefuls in advance. See sidebar to this article for the questions.
The third part will feature questions from the public. Voters may either write their questions down or step up to floor microphones that will be provided. The moderator, former Yorkton radio personality Randy Atkinson, will alternate between randomly-drawn written questions and spoken questions.
Polegi assures the spoken questions will be timed and tightly controlled because some people have a penchant to pontificate rather than ask a question.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a really important election and people have a lot of good questions, we don鈥檛 want anyone grandstanding or posturing,鈥� she said.
Finally, the candidates will be allowed brief closing remarks.
The forum is scheduled to run from 7 until 9 p.m.
Polegi said she is very pleased the Chamber is able to host the event in conjunction with Gallagher Centre. She said that as a non-partisan organization, it is a good role for the Chamber.
She is also pleased to have Atkinson back.
鈥淗e鈥檚 moderated a number of these and he鈥檚 done a very good job,鈥� she said.
Cathay Wagantall is the owner of a printing business in Esterhazy.
Doug Ottenbreit is a lawyer from Melville.
Brooke Malinoski, also from Melville, is a university student in political science and indigenous studies at the University of Saskatchewan.
Elaine Hughes is a full-time environmental and social activist who resides on a family farm near Archerwill.
