The 10 people running to be the next MPP of Sudbury faced off in their final debate before the Feb. 5 byelection on Thursday night.
The candidates did touch on issues over the two-hour session in front of a crowd of some 200 at College Boreal, but the controversy surrounding the defection of NDP MP Glenn Thibeault to the provincial Liberals once again dominated.
"It would have been easy to stay where I was," Thibeault said. "We're here right now actually having a democratic vote, ensuring that if people don't like what I did, they can vote against."
But New Democrat candidate Suzanne Shawbonquit questioned that.
"You had an option, you could have said no to the premier. You could have," she said, turning to face Thibeault.
"Why would you want to say no to a progressive vision?" said Thibeault.
Some of the other issues discussed were climate change, how to reduce the provincial deficit and the snowplowing of northern highways.
The campaign to bring a PET scanner to Sudbury came up several times, as all candidates have promised to support it, although Progressive Conservative Paula Peroni said she is the only one whose party is behind the idea as well.
There was also a debate over the slow development of the Ring of Fire, with most candidates blaming the Ontario Liberal government for not moving quick enough.
But Thibeault said blame should be placed elsewhere.
"Really, what we are forgetting here is the federal government needs to be a player. You need to ensure that you have both levels of government in this," he said.
But independent candidate and former Liberal Andrew Olivier said Thibeault was just "diverting attention" away from the province's failings on the Ring of Fire file, further suggesting that mining companies and first nations in the northwest would be more receptive to an independent like himself.
"The problem is as soon as come in wearing a party colour, they're not going to let you in the door. You got to get in there with no hidden agenda," said Olivier.
But Olivier also told voters not too focus too much on the issues.
"Policy's easy, guys. Policy's easy. Honesty and truthfulness, that's hard."
At several points, the debate slipped into a discussion of northern Ontario's place in the province and the role of the MPP who Sudbury will elect next week in getting northern issues noticed by southern decision makers.
"The issue hidden behind a lot of what's been going on in this election is that Northern Ontario is still a colony," said Green Party candidate David Robinson.
Sitting right up front in the auditorium, were a half-dozen prominent NDP MPs and MPPs.
Reporters asked Thibeault after the debate what it was like to have his former colleagues staring him down during the debate.
"You know what, I'm glad they're hear helping the Sudbury economy, they've obviously got to be renting hotel rooms, so you know, we can always use the money and supporting out tourism industry and it was great to see some of them," he said.
Link: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/sudbury/integrity-questions-dominate-final-sudbury-byelection-debate-1.2937184
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