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Conservative candidate Brendan Bell, right, answers a question during an all-candidates debate held by the NWT Status of Women Council in Yellowknife last week. Seated next to him are First Peoples National Party of Canada candidate Noeline Villebrun, the NDP's Dennis Bevington, and Liberal candidate Gabrielle Mackenzie-Scott. - Mike W. Bryant/NNSL photo

YELLOWKNIFE/INUVIK - The intensity of debate picked up during the final week of campaigning before tomorrow's vote in the federal election. Candidates squared off in two final forums held in Yellowknife and Inuvik.

The NWT Status of Women Council's forum on Oct. 7 was the third held in Yellowknife since the election was called last month. About 80 people attended the debate held at the Northern United Place.

Inuvik hosted the final all-candidates debate last Thursday. About 50 citizens turned out to meet the candidates and hear their platforms.

In Yellowknife much of the debate focused on how the ruling Conservative Party has governed since coming to power in 2006, putting the party's candidate Brendan Bell in the hot seat most of the night as the three other challengers attempted to portray his party as dismissive of women's issues, weak on the environment and uncaring towards aboriginals.

"Thank God they didn't have a majority last time," thundered the NDP's Dennis Bevington after receiving a question on child daycare.

"Let's make sure they don't have one this time."

Although Inuvik's forum was more subdued, Bevington continued to attack his Conservative opponent, taking Brendan Bell to task for his comments on the rapidly declining economic situation around the world.

While mentions of the economic crisis were largely absent from the debate, all candidates said it is a concern they've been hearing from voters.

Bell stated that Canada's tighter regulations on banks will keep the country clear of problems encountered in the U.S., adding that July's productivity numbers continued to show growth. In an angry response, Bevington shot back that July's productivity numbers were based on commodity prices that have since plummeted.

Bevington is seeking to retain his seat in the House of Commons, won in 2006 after three previous attempts. Bell is hoping to win the seat for the Conservatives for the first time since 1984, while Liberal candidate Gabrielle Mackenzie-Scott is trying to re-take the seat lost in the last election when Bevington defeated then-Liberal incumbent Ethel Blondin-Andrew.

Noeline Villebrun was the fourth candidate attending the forum. She is representing the First Peoples National Party of Canada, a fledging group that came into existence in 2004.

Sam Gamble, the Green Party representative and fifth candidate vying for the Western Arctic seat, was the only candidate not present at the debates. He passed on Yellowknife's debate to attend a meeting with supporters and former Green Party leader Jim Harris, who made a quick stop in the NWT capital on Tuesday.

Gamble said the cost of flying to Inuvik for the last debate was too much for his campaign, and he did not allow him to attend in person - opting instead to answer questions via telephone. He used his answers to introduce voters to the Green Party platform and demonstrate that the party is not simply a fringe movement. Gamble agreed with Bell on at least two issues, demonstrating that the party is not simply leftist.

In Yellowknife, Bell, who answered both prepared questions and those selected from floor steadily and with confidence all night, defended the government's record while pointing to his experience as a cabinet minister with the territorial government as an advantage. In Inuvik he played up his history as a business and family-friendly candidate.

On childcare, Bell said he would like to see the Conservatives create tax credits for businesses that open up daycare spaces. On health and wellness, Bell said the territory needs more alcohol and drug treatment centres. On the discrepancy in incomes between residents living in larger centres and those in smaller communities, Bell said getting the Mackenzie Valley Pipeline approved was essential for opening up jobs in smaller communities.

"I agree we have two economies in the North," said Bell. "That's why I'm a big advocate of the pipeline."

Mackenzie-Scott, meanwhile, said her party would provide incentives to keep doctors in the North, support small business owners, and be environmentally responsible when it came to resource development.

"Sometimes you have to say no. It cost me my job as chair," said Mackenzie-Scott, referring to her departure earlier this year as chair of the Mackenzie Valley Environmental Impact Review Board.

The liberal candidate was less committed at the Inuvik forum, taking a populist approach to her answers, glossing over the liberal platform and focusing on her time as a mother and her service as chair of the Mackenzie Valley review board.

During the Yellowknife debate First Peoples' party candidate Villebrun spent much of the night attacking her three challengers' the party records, saying they have done little to improve the lives of aboriginal people. In Inuvik she highlighted her time as Dene National Chief and her experience on national committees on the environment.

"They still pussyfoot around their policies," said Villebrun.

Bevington was the most vocal critic of the Conservative government's record.

"We need governments that are honest with people," said Bevington. "We don't have that, just lies."

He referred to the closing of 12 Status of Women offices across the country as "mean-spirited little cuts." He said those offices would be restored under an NDP government. The NDP would also "prime the pump with public money" to provide more public housing in the North, said Bevington.

Inuvik resident Myra Bernhardt said she took time to speak with all the candidates before the Inuvik debate. After the event she still had not decided who she would be voting for. "I don't know yet," said Bernhardt. "It was the same old things they always go on about."

Voting tomorrow runs from 7:30 a.m. until 7:30 p.m.

See the final questions and answers in NWT News/North's Candidates Forum, page 16.