Nelson corner of electoral district to have meet-and-greet for election candidates

Election forum primer

Photo: File

Nelson chamber will host a meet-and-greet event for candidates of the Columbia-Kootenay-Southern Rockies electoral district on Wednesday.

The meet-and-greet for the next Columbia-Kootenay-Southern Rockies member of Parliament is on.

Hosted by the Nelson and District Chamber of Commerce, the event is a hybrid “Business after business” event between 5-6 p.m. with people able to meet (and greet) the candidates for the electoral riding.

There are six candidates vying for votes, including Rob Morrison (Conservatives), Jim Wiedrick (independent), Kallee Lins (NDP) and Reggie Goldsbury (Liberals) are confirmed. Also running are Steven Maffioli of the Green Party and Laurie Baird of the People's Party of Canada.

Beginning at 6 p.m., there will be a podium and microphone set up and allow all the candidates a three-minute introduction to themselves, their policies and reasons for running.

“We will also have a series of questions developed on federal policy and each candidate will be asked to draw a question from the question vault and have two minutes to speak on the topic,” said chamber executive director Tom Thomson.

Because of the hectic nature of the election campaign and the difficulty of scheduling events over such a vast geographical territory, not all candidates are able to attend, Thomson added.

• Wednesday, April 23, 5-7 p.m. at the Adventure Hotel banquet room on Vernon Street.

The Trail and District Chamber of Commerce will also combine the candidate meet-and-greet — for chamber members only — with its Business-after-Business event, moving up to the Prestige in Rossland on April 24.

“All candidates are invited to attend, but there will be no speaking opportunities for the candidates — just a chance to mingle,” said chamber executive director Erika Krest.