Chamber debate All four of the local candidates took part in last night’s (Tuesdays) debate hosted by the Chamber of Commerce at the Capitol Centre.

The issues ranged from infrastructure funding, the Employment Insurance System, supporting first time home buyers and more.

City Reporter Matthew Sookram was there and spoke to the candidates following the debate.

Conservative Candidate Jay Aspin says they view small business as a fundamental issue and says unfortunately the Liberals want to raise infrastructure funding on the backs of small businesses.

Liberal Candidate Anthony Rota says the Liberal platform has incentives to help small businesses such as reducing the tax rate from 11% to 9%.

Nicole Peltier says the Green Party wants to make sure small businesses survive, especially in a globalized market.

And NDP Candidate Kathleen Jodouin says the bottom line is small businesses need to be protected and they will cut their taxes by 2%.

The four local Federal Election Candidates also promoted their parties platforms. Sookram with reaction from the candidates.

For most of the night there was a lot of back and forth banter between all four candidates, regardless of the topic they were discussing.

NDP Candidate Kathleen Jodouin says there needed to be more discussion regarding cuts to healthcare funding. She says the recent cuts to the hospital are very upsetting and disappointing.

Green Party Candidate Nicole Peltier says her biggest issue dealt with climate change and says the forestry industry needs to be better prepared to deal with the climate shift.

Anthony Rota is the Liberal Candidate and he says the Economy was the number one item addressed. He says people are looking for jobs and our economy has been stagnant for the last ten years.

And Conservative Candidate Jay Aspin agreed that jobs and the economy was the primary focus. He says we’ve created 2500 jobs and we’re laying the groundwork to get more jobs.