With only days left to the election, the final push is on. CTV is hosting a leaders’ debate but has decided to leave Coon and Austin out. One Change has hosted some riding debates. Charges against Liberal Andrew Harvey have been dropped. Liberals turn their attacks towards the third place New Democrats. Sign vandalism seems to be higher this year than usual. Greens lay out a new soft drink tax. Seat projections have been provided by the folks over at http://www.threehundredeight.com.
The Green Party has decided to protest the CTV debate (hosted at St Thomas University). In what they are calling “Stand Up to CTV”, the Greens plan to confront what they believe is corporate Canada holding democracy hostage. The event, which takes place September the 18th at 5:30 has 2,300 invites sent out to party faithful and political activists but less than 100 confirmed attendees. Coming off the Elizabeth May bump, we’ll soon discover exactly how many Greens are charged about the election.
Portland-Simonds had a modest (but better than expected) turnout for a One Change riding debate which saw Trevor Holder face his political adversaries. The contenders and incumbent MLA had a much less barbed debate than that of the leaders during the televised CBC debate. Soft spoken, warm, and at times detached; the debate was informative and felt more like a town hall meeting rather than a debate.
Andrew Harvey was being charged for defrauding the government in an incident that took place three years ago. The Crown prosecutor made the decision to drop the charges only recently, saying that the charges didn’t meet the threshold to prosecute. The party still maintains that the timing of the charges is suspect and even went so far as to demand an apology from Premier David Alward for comments he made in regards to the incident.
Brian Gallant has attacked Dominic Cardy and the New Democrats’ platform. Cardy has been extremely critical of Gallant’s costly platform and the $900 million investment in infrastructure; but now Gallant has countered by pointing out the 24 key points in the New Democrat platform which have not even been costed. Gallant has also been hostile on the NDP’s practice of parachuting candidates into ridings where they have no place being. Cardy has taken this in stride, partly because it has gained him and his party some more media attention but also because he feels it is a sign that there might be trouble in Liberal paradise.
Parties and citizens alike have noticed a rise in sign vandalism this year. Large streetside signs have been knocked down, destroyed, and beheaded. Smaller signs have gone missing from sidewalks and lawns. And in some ridings there have been reports of “green vandals” which saw Tory, Grit, and NDP signs pelted with green paint.
Also in Green news, Coon has announced a tax on snack food and sweetened beverages such as pop. The tax is said to have dual benefits: helping youth cut back on unhealthy eating habits as well as creating a new revenue for healthcare in the province.
Threehundredeight.com has tabulated the results of recent polls and combined the results to project plausible election results. Given the limited seats in the New Brunswick Legislature, the projection is rather wide but worth consideration. The results give the Greens and People’s Alliance no chance of attaining even a single seat but speculate the New Democrats could go as high as 5 seats in the best case scenario.
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