Sault Ste. Marie NDP candidate says she's disappointed in no-show candidates at debates

The NDP candidate for Sault Ste. Marie says she wishes more candidates would show up for debates in the lead-up to the Feb. 27 provincial election.

Lisa Vezeau-Allen said she's missing interaction with other candidates.

"I want to have someone else I'm debating with," she said.

"I think that's really important. That also helps to show, in terms of candidates, who would be the appropriate choice."

Vezeau-Allen, a Sault Ste. Marie city councilor since 2018, is hoping to steal the district from the Progressive Conservatives as PC MPP Ross Romano retires from politics.

Romano has held the seat since 2017.

Major parties refuse or ignore interview request

The PCs are running political staffer Chris Scott to replace Romano. The other candidates in the district are: 

• Gurwnder Dusanjh - Ontario Liberal Party

• Paul Frolich - Ontario Party

• Arnold Heino - New Blue Party

• Jaycob Jacques - Green Party of Ontario

Debates that Vezeau-Allen has attended have turned into Q&A sessions because of a lack of other participants, she said.

She was also the only major party candidate to respond to CBC's request for an interview.

The PCs sent a statement via text message while the Ontario Liberal Party did not respond at all.

Asked what she made of the fact that Scott is not from the region and has neither attended debates nor granted media interviews, Vezeau-Allen said "that's something he needs to answer."

For her part, Vezeau-Allen said, the top election issues she keeps hearing about from people are health care, U.S. tariff threats, and the cost of living.

On health care, the NDP is proposing a northern command centre that would address issues in the north and help streamline referral processes and paperwork for physicians, she said.

It proposes helping families deal with the cost of living by providing a grocery rebate of up to $120 per month.

In its text message to CBC, the Ontario PC party said it's the only one with a plan to "stand up for Sault Ste. Marie's workers, businesses, and families."

The party did not provide any details of that plan. Instead, they said Scott and his team are spending their days knocking on doors, listening to concerns and installing election signs on people's lawns.

Vezeau-Allen said she believes candidates have a responsibility as future elected officials to attend events hosted by community organizations and unions.

"Voters need to be informed," she said. 

"I was on the phone yesterday, and quite a few people said, you know, 'We want to get to know the candidates,'" she said.

"So for those voters that are looking to find out more, I think it's unfortunate that they don't have the opportunity through our local media channels to find out more about the candidates."