Unfortunately, the recitation of key phrases in party campaign literature dominated the comments of federal candidates in the Ancaster-Dundas-Flamborough-Westdale (ADFW) riding as they responded to questions from area residents.

About 130 people turned out for the only all-candidates debate held in Flamborough.

“We consider this a community service,” said Arend Kersten, executive director of the Flamborough Chamber of Commerce, hosts of the debate. Former chamber president Paul Riggs was moderator.

Despite some hard-hitting questions from the audience, responses didn’t give rise to any spirited debate on any topic. Only three of the five candidates –Conservative incumbent David Sweet, first-time Liberal candidate Arlene MacFarlane-VanderBeek and Green Party hopeful Peter Ormond –attended the debate. New Democratic Party candidate, Gordon Guyatt, in his fourth federal election campaign, was leading a medical conference in Germany and sent McMaster philosophy professor David Hitchcock to stand in for him. Marxist-Leninist Party candidate Jamile Ghaddar did not attend.

Questions about the economy and the arts did give rise to some diverging viewpoints amongst the candidates. Responding to former Green candidate David Januczkowski of Freelton, who asked what would be done to address Canada’s stagnant standard of living that hasn’t increased since 1980, MacFarlane-VanderBeek took the opportunity to criticize Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s lack of action on the economic front. Referring to the impact of the current financial crisis, she said, “Canadians are losing their pensions, their investments.” She said within 30 days of a Liberal government being elected federally, steps would be taken to protect pensions and savings. She also took a shot at the federal Conservatives for “frittering away” Canada’s surplus.

Sweet came to the government’s defence saying that paying down $40 billion of the national debt cannot be described as “frittering away” money. He said the government has taken steps to make sure Canada is competitive on the world stage and he pointed to the launch of the Advantage Canada program in 2007 as one of the ways that the Conservatives are working to that end.

Stressing that the current government model for economic viability isn’t working, Ormond said there is a great need to invest locally and deal effectively with energy costs, both of which are key issues in the Green Party platform. He suggested it doesn’t help the local economy when users of the 407 toll highway send their money to Spain rather than have it remain in Ontario.

Hitchcock advocated a sector-by- sector approach which would involve an NDP government working hand-in-hand with representatives of the lumber and auto industries to resolve issues within their respective realms. The NDP believes in fair trade agreements, he said.

Responding to a young actress’s concerns about cuts to arts funding, Sweet went on the defensive again, stating that the Conservatives didn’t cut funding for the arts, but reallocated $45 million within the arts budget. He said the gov- ernment actually increased the arts budget.

Ormond accused Harper of downplaying the importance of Canadian artists. Identifying himself as a co-writer of a fringe festival play, the Green Party candidate said his party is opposed to Bill C-10, which will allow the government to determine what is or isn’t artistic.

“Art is not about big business,” MacFarlane-VanderBeek said, after remarking that most artists don’t see the Conservative government as a supporter of the arts. She said a Liberal government would double the money provided to the Canadian Council of the Arts.

Hitchcock said the Conservatives have cut money to arts programs, including one that promotes Canadian art in countries around the world. “Arts and culture are an important reflection of who we are,” he stressed.

A similar question posed by Carlisle resident Stan Haworth also saw candidates for the NDP, Liberal and Green parties declaring themselves as art supporters, while Sweet, who described himself as “a champion of local arts,” took umbrage with media reports indicating that Harper doesn’t see the arts as significant.

Haworth quoted a news article about comments that Harper made in Saskatoon about the arts being “a niche issue that ordinary Canadians can’t identify with.” He asked the candidates to react to the premier’s comments.

Sweet said the comments were “taken out of context” and dealt with a specific arts gala, not the arts community as a whole. Ormond said the Green Party understands and appreciates the importance of art, while MacFarlane-VanderBeek said the arts are not a niche, “but part of our country’s culture and identity.” Her comments were echoed by Hitchcock, who said the NDP also believe the arts are important to society as a whole.

The candidates also fielded questions about the lack of funding from federal transfer payments that filter down to municipal governments where taxation has become onerous, the disenchantment of people with politicians who don’t follow through on campaign promises and the need for greater enforcement of food safety regulations in light of the recent Listeriosis outbreak.

Fighting poverty and improving the healthcare system were also discussed.

In the latter category, Lyme Disease victim Rob Manten of Waterdown was able to elicit support from all candidates for an independent review of Lyme policy in Canada in light of data that suggests the test used for Lyme Disease detection in Canada is flawed.