A competitive riding

Kitchener-Centre Liberal challenger Karen Redman fielded the second most questions of any participant in our online chats to date.

Redman responded to 19 questions during the 60-minute online forum, a complete transcript of which can be read here.

Among the questions posed was this one from Pete:

What about the sponsorship scandal? The Liberals lied about that, and you were in power. How do you respond?

Karen’s answer:

“There was an internal audit, an inquiry and the RCMP were called in to investigate the sponsorship scandal. It was a terrible situation and the Liberal government of the day took action. Unlike Mr. Harper who withholds information from Parliament and misrepresents how Canadian taxpayers’ dollars are spent. The list of Mr. Harper’s indiscretions grows daily – he has two Senators under investigation for electoral fraud, a former chief advisor being investigated for influence peddling, reckless and wasteful spending for the G8 and G20. I don’t trust Stephen Harper.”

The issue of trust came up repeatedly during Redman’s chat and she raised it herself in the context of contempt of Parliament in an on-air interview following the online forum.

“He (Stephen Harper) wasn’t giving Parliamentarians the information they needed to have an informed discussion, so they couldn’t vote on things,” Redman told us. “It’s the first time in the history of the Parliamentary system (that a Prime Minister has been held in contempt).”

Our online chat followed a morning of canvassing for Redman, who said she appreciated the chance to reach out to voters in a new way.

“I thought it was a great experience. I wonder if it’s a different audience; I hope it is,” Redman expressed. “But it was great to be able to get questions and answer them directly. The responses seemed to be more immediate.”

Join us for our live chat today at Noon when we welcome the NDP candidate for Kitchener-Conestoga, Lorne Bruce. Submit a question now by following this link.