A teddy bear wearing a tie was put in the place of Victoria Conservative candidate John Rizzuti at a forum on Monday night, highlighting his no-show at six public debates to date.
Organizers of the candidates forum, hosted by the B.C. Sustainable Energy Association and the Dogwood Initiative, placed the bear. Candidates from the four main national parties were invited to the event. Two others, Libertarian candidate Art Lowe and Jordan Reichert, of the Animal Alliance Environment Voters Party, are running in the Oct. 19 federal election.
Rizzuti said he has made a strategic choice to knock on doors instead.
Contacted at his home during a candidates meeting hosted by the National Association of Federal Retirees, Rizzuti said it’s about time and priorities, and he has chosen to meet voters on the doorstep instead. “I’m interested in listening to as many voters as possible before Oct. 19,” Rizzuti said. The Conservative candidate said he’s meeting groups of voters, giving presentations and knocking on doors.
But other candidates said Tuesday that the Conservative’s absence from the forums is disrespectful and undemocratic.
“I think it’s disrespectful and it’s the arrogance of this government that thinks it doesn’t need to speak to the citizens of Canada,” Liberal candidate Cheryl Thomas said in an interview.
Jo-Ann Roberts, who is running for the Green Party, said candidates “earn votes; you don’t own votes.”
She called Rizzuti, a former school principal, a very fine person. “But this is a democracy and if you’re not going to participate, you have not earned your vote,” Roberts said.
“That’s very disrespectful not to come to events where the public has said this is our opportunity to hear where you stand.”
NDP incumbent Murray Rankin said he has mentioned the elephant in the room — the absent Conservative candidate — at every debate.
“If this person is truly running for office, I think it’s disrespectful to the electors of Victoria that they are not prepared to defend their position in front of those electors,” Rankin said.
Kim Speers, a professor in the University of Victoria’s school of public administration, said she always wonders what candidates are hiding when they don’t show up for forums and debates.
Speers said a bigger audience can be reached at the events, and it’s an audience that might not have other ways to reach the candidates.
“I think [candidate debates] are very important for the community because instead of just seeing candidates on signs or ads, it’s an opportunity to see how they interact with each other, respond to questions on often-controversial issues and also see how much they know about local issues and the local community,” she said.
The meetings can be a litmus test of a candidate’s character to see how they respond to jabs from other candidates or criticism from the audience, Speers said. “This trend to not participate in all-candidates meetings, which started a few elections ago, I think it’s about risk management and control from the centre.”
Bruce Carter, CEO of the Greater Victoria Chamber of Commerce, said Conservative candidates have agreed to participate in all three of its election forums, which will be streamed live online. The events are noon to 1 p.m. for Esquimalt-Saanich-Sooke on Sept. 29, Saanich-Gulf Islands on Sept. 30, and Victoria for Oct. 1. More details at victoriachamber.ca
Carter believes there are a lot of undecided voters, and candidate forums can influence who gets their vote. The forums will likely focus on the economy, business and development. The questions will be unbiased and reasonable, Carter said. The forums’ format will allow for questions to the candidates, while also allowing them to debate.
