Dear Editor:
Re: Coverage of all-candidates debate in Edgemont Village Oct. 14.
After reading Jeremy Shepherd’s front-page news story in the Oct. 16 North Shore News, we would like to note that he failed to mention part of the story that evening.
With a packed house at Highland’s United Church and a respectful question-and-answer period completed, the Conservative representative, Andrew Saxton, jumped up with one last wild card (chance to speak to a question) after the moderator was offering his final summation of the evening and thanking the crowd for attending.
At this point, the Conservative candidate interrupted the moderator, rose to his feet and began to speak to the crowd. In his final statement, he began to expound on Mr. Harper’s generosity and virtues and mentioned that Mr. Harper donated all the proceeds of his hockey book to veterans’ families.
This disrespect of the debate rules (giving a speech after all questions were answered) and the nature of Mr. Saxton’s dissertation was enough to get the crowd fired up. At this point, booing commenced throughout the packed church and the majority of the people in the room simply got up and walked out while the Conservative representative continued to speak.
Whether it was the candidate’s statement praising Mr. Harper’s generosity towards veterans’ families or the fact that the candidate was blatantly ignoring the debate rules, the fact that the crowd responded overwhelming with such displeasure was a significant part of the story that evening.
David and Lillian Hunter
North Vancouver
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