Sparring Nunavut candidates miffed at CBC over cancelled debate

(Updated 1:50 p.m., April 13)

Two federal election candidates in Nunavut are levelling accusations against each other, and at CBC North radio, in the wake of a bitter spat over an Iqaluit-based all-candidates debate the broadcaster tentatively scheduled for April 26 and then cancelled April 12.

Jack Hicks, the candidate for the New Democratic Party, fired the first volley in a press release issued April 13, when he accused Leona Aglukkaq, the Conservative incumbent, of refusing to debate her election opponents.

“From the day I entered the race I have been predicting that one of the candidates would find an excuse to avoid participating in a face-to-face all candidates debate,” Hicks said in the news release.

But Cailin Rodgers, a communications worker on Aglukkaq’s campaign, responded by saying the NDP charge is “absolutely false.”

Rodgers said that on April 26, the only date CBC North offered for the Iqaluit-based debate, Aglukkaq will be campaigning in Gjoa Haven and Kugarruk.

Normally, travel to or from Iqaluit from those Kitikmeot communities requires at least two days in each direction.

“She can’t fly all the way back to Iqaluit for a debate on the 26th,” Rodgers said.

Instead, Rodgers said, the Conservative campaign offered four alternative dates on which Aglukkaq would be available in Iqaluit: April 15, April 16, April 23 and April 24.

“Leona looks forward to the opportunity to a public debate in a public forum,” Rodgers said.

But she said CBC rejected April 15 and April 16 because of Iqaluit’s Toonik Tyme festival, and rejected April 23 and April 24 because it falls in the middle of the Easter weekend.

The best date for the Conservative campaign, she said, was April 15, but she said CBC told them it conflicts with a band that’s scheduled to play in Iqaluit that evening.

“The fact there is a band playing somewhere in Iqaluit should not matter to a radio listener in Cambridge Bay. This debate is for all of Nunavut to hear, not just Iqaluit,” Rodgers said.

At the same time, CBC rejected the option of having Aglukkaq participate by telephone, as she did during their 2008 all-candidates’ broadcast.

The two-hour debate would likely have been held at Iqaluit’s Anglican parish hall before an Iqaluit audience, but broadcast live on CBC radio throughout Nunavut.

John Agnew, the managing director of CBC North, said that instead, CBC will now broadcast four successive phone-in shows with each of the four Nunavut candidates during the week prior to the May 2 federal election.

Each phone-in show will run for two hours: one hour in Inuktitut, and one hour of English, Agnew said, and in each show, listeners across Nunavut will be able to call in with questions.

“I think it’s a really great idea. I don’t know why we didn’t think of it before,” Agnew said.

CBC North will announce the exact dates and times of those broadcasts later, he said.

As for the dispute over the April 26 date, Agnew said CBC proposed that date in the belief that it was convenient for all candidates.

When the Conservative campaign told them it was was impossible for Aglukkaq to make it back to Iqaluit from the Kitikmeot in time for that date, Agnew said CBC proposed another date, which didn’t work.

When asked why a debate on April 15 is not acceptable to CBC, Agnew said that date conflicts with Toonik Tyme in Iqaluit, and that CBC wanted to ensure a good turnout at a live venue.

“We decided we didn’t want to go up against Toonik Tyme,” Agnew said.

He also said they wanted a live audience to add more “flavour” to the event.

For his part, Hicks said CBC “made the wrong decision” and has “destroyed the tradition” of federal all-candidates debates in Nunavut.

“Instead of cancelling the all candidates debate, they should have announced that the debate was going ahead on the 26th with those candidates willing to appear in person and participate in a debate,” Hicks said.

In that spirit, Hicks said he is approaching other groups in Iqaluit, such as the municipality, to organize an Iqaluit-based debate on April 26.

And he also suggested that Aglukkaq is not prepared for a debate and hopes to avoid her opponents.

“After being completely scripted for two and a half years, her debating skills may be a little rusty,” Hicks said.

Rodgers responded by saying Aglukkaq is not afraid of a debate on the issues, and that Hicks is attempting to divert attention from them, saying the NDP’s national platform doesn’t even mention the word “Arctic.”

“We want to talk about the issues, not about whether it’s on the 26th or not,” Rodgers said.