Summerlanders will have the opportunity to meet the candidates in the upcoming federal election at a forum later this month.
The forum will be held at Centre Stage Theatre on Tuesday, April 26 from 7 to 9 p.m. Doors will open at 6:30 p.m. and will close at 7 p.m.
The forum is organized by the Summerland Chamber of Economic Development and Tourism.
Lisa Jaager, manager of the chamber, said organizers are accepting candidate questions for the event.
She said duplicate questions will be removed and offensive questions will be weeded out.
“We’ll try to keep it as respectful as possible,” she said.
The five candidates are Dan Albas of the Conservatives, Dan Bouchard of the Green Party, David Finnis of the New Democratic Party, John Kidder of the Liberals and Sean Upshaw running as an Independent Conservative.
Since 2000, the Okanagan Coquihalla riding has been represented by Stockwell Day of the Canadian Alliance and later the Conservative Party.
Day recently announced he is stepping down from a role as an elected politician,
“Summerland is in a good position,” Jaager said. “We have at least two candidates who have strong Summerland ties.”
She added that the election on May 2 is important as it will have an effect on policies which will affect the community.
“The decision absolutely will, without a doubt, have an impact on how we do business in Summerland,” she said.
She added that it is important to ensure Summerland concerns are on the mind of whichever candidate is elected.