Four of the candidates looking to fill the seat left by former MLA Christy Clark appeared on the Early Edition with Phil Johnson on Tuesday morning, just weeks before the upcoming Kelowna-West byelection.
Ben Stewart of the Liberals, Shelley Cook of the NDP, Robert Stupka of the Green Party, and Mark Thompson of the Conservatives took part in a candidate forum, where they debated a number of issues in West Kelowna, as well as BC in general.
Topics such as medical care in the region and pot legalization were discussed, as well as the recently projected financial disaster for ICBC, which is looking to be $1.3 billion by the end of the fiscal year, or $3.5 million a day.
Cook said that "damage done by the BC Liberals" was to blame for a situation that has been described as a "dumpster fire."
Stewart retorted that the $1 billion gap between the NDP's initial projection of $300 million was "not right."
When it came to discussing medical care, particularly the role that the Government should have in providing patients of rare conditions with costly treatments, Stupka suggested that the Government should work closely with pharmaceutical companies to lower overall costs of specific drugs.
Thompson implied that the problem lies with the budget and with management in the medical sector, and adjusting those would lead to better outcomes.
Throughout the forum, candidates were each given time to weigh in on each issue addressed in the discussion, and each gave a closing statement after a nearly hour-and-a-half debate.
Also in the running for the By-Election is Kyle Geronazzo for the Libertarian Party.
The byelection will be on Wednesday, February 14, 2018, and will be open from 8 AM to 8 PM. Anyone from the riding who is over 18, a legal Canadian Citizen, and has lived in British Columbia for at least six months is eligible to vote.