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SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
A few notable voices will be left out of the conversation during the Yellowknife Chamber of Commerce municipal candidate forum next month. The chamber has decided to host a mayoral candidates' debate only.

Candidates for council are welcome to fill out a survey, which will be made public by the chamber, but they will not be invited to participate in the Oct. 10 debate.

"I think it's unfortunate," said city councillor Shelagh Montgomery, who is not running for re-election. "I suspect it has something to do with trying to set out logistics and trying to create a forum that's meaningful with 15 candidates. Certainly, as a councillor - and I'm not trying to blow the horn of councillors - but councillors are really the decision-makers at the city and so I think in terms of voters trying to make up their minds, it's very important to have a sense of where different council candidates are coming from."

The chamber made the decision to leave council candidates out of the debate due to a lack of time during the public forum itself and also because of a lack of resources to plan and execute a debate before the election on Oct. 15, said Larry Jacquard, president of the Yellowknife Chamber of Commerce.

"We're not going to be able to host a full-fledged candidates' debate for the simple reason of the time constraints and the fact that the chamber is short-staffed," he said.

Mayoral candidate Tim Doyle is the executive director of the chamber but he has been on leave since Aug. 31 so he could run for mayor.

The chamber is trying to get surveys out to council candidates in time to receive responses before the mayor's debate, said Jacquard. In that case, hard copies will be handed out to the public at the debate venue.

"There's a lot of issues, there's a lot of questions, there's a lot of platforms," said Jacquard. "How do you make it pertinent when you only have a couple hours?

"We want to know what the mayoral candidates themselves are saying and it can't be done with 10 minutes each. We're not saying the mayor's position is more important than the (councillors), it's just that we had to make a choice."

The chamber's mayoral debate is scheduled to be held on Wednesday, Oct. 10, from 6 to 9 p.m. at the Great Hall in the legislative assembly, Jacquard said, although the venue had yet to be confirmed at press time.

In an effort to keep the candidates from preparing for the questions ahead of time, Jacquard was hesitant to disclose what issues may be up for discussion at the event.

All candidates for Yellowknife city council will have the opportunity to speak at the Alternatives North coalition forum that is scheduled for the day after the chamber's event.

"We feel that the councillors have a very important role to play," said Tasha Stephenson, a member of the Alternatives North coalition which is organizing the forum.

"The jobs of mayor and councillor are quite different, so I think it's important for people to be able to assess both."

The all-candidates debate is scheduled for Thursday, Oct. 11, from 7 p.m. until at least 9:30 p.m. in the Northern United Place auditorium, said Stephenson.

"Last municipal election, we found a format that seemed to work that is a little bit different, which is to stage mock council meetings," said Stephenson.

The tentative plan is to hold three half-hour mock council sessions with one mayoral candidate presiding over one-third of the council candidates in attendance.

Members of the public who attend the debate will have an opportunity to submit a question in writing upon arrival. These questions will be put to the candidates during the public question period that will follow the mock council sessions, said Stephenson.

Fact file

candidate Forums

Upcoming 2012 municipal election public forums

What: Mayor's debate, hosted by the Yellowknife Chamber of Commerce

When: Wednesday, Oct. 10, from 6 to 9 p.m.

Where: Great Hall at the legislative assembly, tentative venue

Who: Mayoral candidates Tim Doyle, Mark Heyck and Paul Falvo

Other: Council candidates will fill out a questionnaire that the chamber will make publicly available

What: All-candidates forum, hosted by Alternatives North

When: Thursday, Oct. 11, from 7 to at least 9:30 p.m.

Where: Northern United Place auditorium

Who: All mayoral and city council candidates

Other: Tentative format: three half-hour mock council sessions will begin at 7 p.m. sharp, followed by a public question period

Source: Larry Jacquard, president of the Yellowknife Chamber of Commerce

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