Derek Neary
Northern News Services

Fort Simpson (Nov 26/99) - We've become quite familiar with the faces of the MLA candidates as official agents and campaign managers plug away with little notoriety to ensure we see and hear from the candidates as much as possible.

Duncan Canvin, working for Nahendeh candidate Paul Gammon, said he and Gammon get together every morning to discuss the agenda and campaign strategy. Canvin is also the bookkeeper, fund-raiser, travel agent, media liaison and sign-maker. The latter is something he has found very time consuming, he noted. The massive plywood signs he has produced have taken him an average of 10 to 12 hours apiece, he said.

Although they are in competition, the official agents and the candidates all tend to get along just fine, according to Canvin.

"It's a friendly campaign. No one's out there slamming each other. No one bears any animosity towards each other. We're all still friends as far as I'm concerned," he said, adding that when they bump into each other they tend to discuss things other than politics.

Tom Wilson, who is fulfilling the same role for incumbent Jim Antoine, said he's friends with Gammon and Canvin as well as with candidate Bill Laferte and his official agent, Leo Leahy.

"We all live here in the same little town and we'll all be here after it's over," Wilson said.

He added that he appreciates that the candidates are keeping the campaign clean.

"People are focusing on the positive aspects of what they hope to do, which is a lot better than negatives," he said. "Nobody's out to smear anyone else."

That's not to say everything has been going smoothly -- there's still the weather to contend with. Wilson noted that Antoine was in Trout Lake longer than expected last week then got re-routed to Whitehorse due to poor weather conditions in Fort Simpson.

"Those are just some of the things that get a little frustrating," he said.

Asked if he'd ever be interested in running for MLA himself, Canvin didn't hesitate in his response.

"No," he said. "I'll be back continuing to open the store as usual."

Wilson, on the other hand, said he doesn't want to step on Antoine's toes, but he isn't ruling it out.

"You know, I've thought about it," he said. "One never knows what lies down the road. It certainly isn't a job that someone who doesn't want to work 20 hours a day commits themselves to."

No matter what their future in politics, as campaign managers they are susceptible to a little ribbing from the general public just for being involved in the political arena.

While passing a couple of community members reviewing a bulletin board plastered with campaign literature, one of them noticed Canvin and jokingly called out, "Who is this Paul Gammon," eliciting laughter from everyone.