Climate change was once again the focus of a heated debate between Kelowna-Lake Country MP hopefuls at an all-candidates forum on Oct. 3.

Five of seven candidates were present for the debate at UBC Okanagan, which was one of over 100 similar debates focusing on the environment held across the country. Notably absent was the Conservative Partysa国际传媒檚 Tracy Gray, despite being invited.

Four of the five candidates that were present made it clear fighting climate change would be high on their to-do lists if they are elected on Oct. 21, while one candidate said he was less sure about the validity of the science surrounding climate change.

sa国际传媒淭here is no scientific consensus on the theory that CO2 produced by human activity is causing dangerous global warming, today or in the future,sa国际传媒� said Peoplesa国际传媒檚 Party of Canada candidate John Barr, eliciting a chorus of sa国际传媒渂oossa国际传媒� from the crowd.

This prompted an interjection from moderator Rick Webber, who said: sa国际传媒渋f yousa国际传媒檙e going to boo somebody, maybe boo the people who arensa国际传媒檛 here.sa国际传媒�

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The other four candidates took similar stances on the threat that a changing climate poses. Liberal candidate Stephen Fuhr said that his party shares similar views with the NDP and the Green Party on what must be done, they just all have different ways of sa国际传媒済etting there.sa国际传媒� He also said that a minority government is one of the biggest threats to moving forward on climate change.

sa国际传媒淚tsa国际传媒檚 the most political thing that wesa国际传媒檙e dealing with and itsa国际传媒檚 very important to get it right,sa国际传媒� said Fuhr.

sa国际传媒淲esa国际传媒檙e looking at three options: one doesnsa国际传媒檛 want to do anything about climate, one does want to do something about climate, and one has no ability to do anything about climate change. Minority governments can work when both sides agree on something but they maybe donsa国际传媒檛 agree on the magnitude. When you have big divisive issues, and climate is a big, divisive issue, it shouldnsa国际传媒檛 be but it is. A minority government just isnsa国际传媒檛 going to move the yardstick on that issue.sa国际传媒�

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The NDPsa国际传媒檚 Justin Kulik retorted Fuhrsa国际传媒檚 view, bringing up that a minority government gave us universal healthcare under Lester B. Pearson.

Less than convinced about the rhetoric of his peers, Barr invited his fellow candidates to have an open debate on the topic of climate change, which prompted one of the more turbulent moments of the night.

Kulik made it clear that he would decline the offer, adding that the other candidates likely would as well. This sparked a question from an audience member in which he told Kulik, sa国际传媒測ou should be ashamed of yourself,sa国际传媒� for not stepping up to defend his beliefs.

sa国际传媒淩egardless of your beliefs, climate change is going to affect us all,sa国际传媒� Kulik replied.

sa国际传媒淚t doesnsa国际传媒檛 matter if you believe it to be real or not. Regardless of your beliefs, climate change is a fact.sa国际传媒�

The Green Partysa国际传媒檚 Travis Ashley felt that an open debate might be a useful practice.

sa国际传媒淚f given the chance, Isa国际传媒檇 love to persuade you guys to understand that climate change is real,sa国际传媒� he said. sa国际传媒淲e cansa国际传媒檛 just throw rotten fruit at each other and say yousa国际传媒檙e wrong and yousa国际传媒檙e wrong. Letsa国际传媒檚 put it at the table and talk about it like wesa国际传媒檙e at a family reunion.sa国际传媒�

It was pointed out by independent candidate Daniel Joseph that the man who accused Kulik was the president of the Kelowna-Lake Country Peoples Party of Canada riding association, Peter Neville. Joseph formerly held the position before leaving in late March of this year due to what he called sa国际传媒渞acist, homophobic and xenophobic views.sa国际传媒�

sa国际传媒淥ne of the main reasons why I left the party is because instead of the Peoplesa国际传媒檚 Party deciding to want to be an official opposition party, they decided to become a rhetoric machine,sa国际传媒� Joseph said.

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michael.rodriguez@kelownacapnews.com
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