Burnaby's first all-candidates meeting for council hopefuls took place Nov. 3 in the Heights neighbourhood.
Incumbents Colleen Jordan, Paul McDonell and mayor Derek Corrigan were there representing the Burnaby Citizens Association. From TEAM Burnaby, there was Ray Power, former councillor Garth Evans and mayoral candidate Tom Tao.
Independent candidate Nick Akvenich was present, along with Green candidates Adrianne Merlo and Carrie McLaren. Sylvia Gung, an independent mayoral candidate, made her debut on the local politicial scene.
Audience members raised a host of issues, from the city's choices around property aquisition, to finances and homelessness. At one point, Power criticized Corrigan while the candidates were responding to an audience question on how they would spend the city's surplus of more than $500 million.
"I would put it to use on homelessness," Power said. "I would listen to what people have to say when they come to council. I wouldn't laugh at them."
Corrigan said the issue of reserves is always an interesting one.
"First of all, it's not surplus," he said, adding that the annual "surplus" goes into lowering taxes for the next year. "I'm sure that some of us who have more familiarity with budgets would understand that."
One audience member asked if the candidates would support the Living Wage campaign, a union-backed initiative to secure workers at least $18 an hour in order to live. Jordan, responding for the BCA, said the city has had a fair-wage policy for years (which applies to city construction projects only), but that they would not support the campaign because it would mean having to pay some unionized city workers more.
"But you've committed to giving yourself a raise," Merlo snapped, to the audience's applause.
The subject of homelessness and the lack of a local shelter came up at various points throughout the evening. TEAM Burnaby wants a homeless shelter, as do the Greens.
One audience member asked what to do with homeless people who may refuse shelter, due to either mental illness or addiction.
McDonell suggested re-opening more of Riverview, the province's mental health hospital that's been downsized over the years.
"That type of person has to be put in a situation where they can be helped," he said.
Merlo, from the Greens, suggested having more people placed in treatment.
"Anybody who talks about this, putting people into treatment against their will, your civil libertarian groups will say you can't do that," Merlo said. "I think we need to take people who are mentally ill and addicted, who cannot look after themselves, just like we would with children, and put them in treatment facilities."
At times, Tao, TEAM's mayoral candidate, would avoid the question altogether, only to return to the subject later, when a different question was posed. For Corrigan, it was the first time he's debated his competition in public. The Burnaby Citizens Association currently dominates all of the council and school board seats, and TEAM brought up the lack of opposition during the debate.
"I don't think you want to elect people simply to be in opposition," Corrigan said. "I think it's kind of ironic that many of them aren't arguing: 'I will make a better councillor.' They are saying, 'You just need an opposition.'"
Independent mayoral candidate Allen Hutton was absent for the Nov. 3 meeting because of family matters.
