BARRHEAD- Barrhead area residents will get a chance to hear from the candidates vying for their vote in the Peace River-Westlock constituency during a virtual all-candidates forum.
The forum, which is sponsored by the Barrhead Public Library, the Barrhead and District Chamber of Commerce and the Barrhead Leader, will take place Sept. 7 via Zoom from 7 to 9 p.m.
The candidates who have officially filed their papers with Elections Canada to run for the Peace River – Westlock are Darryl Boisson, Peoples Party of Canada (PPC); Colin Krieger, Maverick Party; Jordan Francis MacDougall, Green Party; Leslie Penny, Liberal; Gail Ungstad, NDP; and incumbent Arnold Viersen, Conservative Party of Canada (CPC).
Library manager Elaine Dickie said because of the uncertainty of potential changes in public health restrictions they decided the best course of action was to hold a virtual event.
"Although the forum will be virtual, we will do our best to ensure that it follows the same format as in previous years," she said.
The forum will be moderated by chamber president Megan Perry.
In the initial stages, the candidates will have a chance to make a short introductory statement.
The candidates will then have be called on to answer a series of questions they have been given ahead of time prepared by the chamber and the Barrhead Leader.
"We want to allow them the chance to really think about their answers, do some research if necessary, so they can give good responses," Dickie said.
However, constituents will be able to throw candidates a curveball by writing their questions and inserting them into a question box.
Unfortunately, due to time constraints of the event, it is unlikely that they will be able to pose all the questions they receive to the candidates.
"But we will do our best," she said.
As for how people can access the forum, people will have to register before hand through eventbrite.ca. Once at the site, type Peace River-Westlock into the search feature at the top of the page, select the forum link and follow the instructions.
Once registered, would-be attendees will be sent a digital ticket through e-mail.
"It will be theatre style, which means [through Zoom] people can see and hear it, but their face will not be visible to the other participants nor will they heard," Dickie said. "But people will still be able to take part or comment by putting things in the chat."
The forum will also be streamed live through the Barrhead Public Library's Facebook page.
The federal election is on Monday, Sept. 20.
