A poverty of Tory debate

It’s good to know that candidates running to be the next leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Alberta have gotten a taste of what it’s like to be poor. Almost 500,000 Albertans live in poverty, and the three candidates spent two hours this week living a simulated one month in the life of a struggling family.

“We’re really trying to build empathy, to move people from having an intellectual experience to understanding the anxiety, chaos and overwhelm of living in poverty,” said Capital Region United Way director Joanne Currie of the exercise organized by Premier Dave Hancock.

Here’s something else Tories should organize: a televised debate between Thomas Lukaszuk, Ric McIver and Jim Prentice. There has been a series of forums held by the party, but they have been tightly formatted and focused toward current Conservative members.

Lukaszuk sent a letter two weeks ago to the party asking that it en- sure there’s a public, televised forum that would test candidates with unscripted questions.

“I honestly do not understand what the reasons are, but I can speak to the final outcome ... (it) looks like there will not be any public debates, which is very unusual,” said Lukaszuk.

Given that the winner of September’s leadership contest will automatically become premier, the party would be well advised to organize a public, televised debate. Granted, it’s only party members who make the initial selection of the new leader, but any future success is going to depend on the broader support of Albertans.

The party has nothing to lose and everything to gain by exposing the candidates to a broader audience.

After all, the Tory candidates have happily received a glimpse of what it’s like to be poor — it would be a shame if Albertans had to live with a poverty of debate over who should be the next premier.