Yellowknife students ask N.W.T.'s election candidates about things that matter to them

Students at Yellowknife's St. Patrick High School had a chance to meet some of the N.W.T.'s federal election candidates on Thursday and ask questions about things that matter to them, including the cost of living, the drug crisis and community safety.

Organizers said all four of the territory's candidates were invited to participate in the hour-long event. The NDP, Conservative and Liberal candidates were in attendance but Green Party candidate Angela Davidson, also known as Rainbow Eyes, was not.

Char Crowe, a Grade 10 student, was helping keep time as the candidates answered various questions. Crowe hopes her peers, even if they're not quite old enough to vote yet, are interested in what potential leaders' priorities are.

"I think they should understand how politics change our life and how important it is to understand what voting does," said Crowe.

Speaking before the forum began, student Zephyer Pineda wanted to see the candidates discuss safety concerns.

"Going downtown isn't safe for anyone in particular and I tend to go there a lot. It doesn't feel safe... We're supposed to be able to lead the future, so we should know now rather than waiting for tomorrow," said Pineda.

One of the first questions during the forum was about what the candidates would do as the territory's MP to address the drug crisis and violence.

NDP candidate Kelvin Kotchilea answered first, saying his party would let communities take the lead, but he also said that support from the federal government is needed.

"When people feel defeated in life and frustrated and angry, they give up. Addiction is a mechanism to cope with those difficulties because they don't feel supported by leaders," said Kotchilea. 

Liberal candidate Rebecca Alty said she sees two priorities for action.

"One is on the law enforcement side, and the other is on the addictions and treatment," said Alty.

Alty said her party would work to add 1,000 more RCMP officers across the country as well as 1,000 more border officers to stop drugs from coming into Canada and ending up in the N.W.T. 

Alty also said she would offer more support to local healing centres and community justice programs.

Conservative candidate Kimberly Fairman said her party would work to see that repeat offenders aren't released on bail and re-victimizing people in communities. Fairman also noted that the Conservative Party is committing $450 million toward recovery options for people who are struggling with addictions.