Charlottetown-Parkdale candidates address youth forum

It was standing room only at Thursday night's forum hosted by Young Voters of PEI.

The four candidates running in the Charlottetown-Parkdale byelection shared their views on some keys issues:

Sustainability

Melissa Hilton: "We can't survive without water. One thing that has happened ... we have installed water meters ... We also have a new water reservoir in Milton area which is very important for the ease on the load of water that is being drawn from the Winter River Watershed."

Bob Doiron: "We bought new buses and refitted them ... They're driving around now and it's benefited the whole community. Go without putting gas and everything in the car., that really helps the stress and the pollution."

Mike Redmond: "We have to work with our farmers to move away from the use of pesticides in farming. I work with a lot of farmers down east and it's a shared risk and a shared responsibility ... there is a better way organically."

Hannah Bell: "The number one thing that we can do immediately is ban cosmetic pesticides. We cannot continue to poison our water, and it's something that we have to make choices that are about what is best for the greater good."

Electoral Reform

Melissa Hilton: "It was really unfortunate the MacLauchlan government did not honour the plebiscite in October of 2016 ... If a Conservative government is in power, we will honour the vote and we would have honoured the vote from 2016."

Bob Doiron: "I know people were disappointed in that and I realize that and I asked the premier ... Most Islanders usually participate between 70 and 80 per cent in elections. There was only 30 or low 30 per cent . ... It was a disappointment but he made an executive decision to put it off and put it on for all Islanders the next time."

Hannah Bell: "We already know what the voters of this district asked for. So I don't need to ask again from the voters of this district ... When you make an executive decision you're interfering with the democratic process.'

Mike Redmond: "You know what's an absolute shame? We actually engaged young people and then we told them that their choices did not matter."

Bikes Lanes

Hannah Bell: "Changing infrastructure is a long-term project but that doesn't mean it's impossible. We can build roundabouts, we can build bike lanes."

Mike Redmond: "How do you present yourself as a city to have bike co-ops and more people on bikes? First and foremost, you need safety."

Melisssa Hilton: "There is a plan out there. As roads are resurfaced, there are bike lanes being installed. It's all about connecting bike lanes with existing trails. ... There's a need for education to share the road between cars and cyclists."

Bob Doiron: "We developed new bike lanes in Victoria Park ... If you're looking at curbed bikes lanes, do we take that from another budget? Every piece gets spent somewhere. I want to be at the table to make those decisions."

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