Langley residents had the opportunity to meet their provincial candidates face-to-face Wednesday afternoon at the first of four all-candidates meetings scheduled this month.
Hosted by the Langley Seniors Community Action Table (LSCAT) at St. Joseph’s Roman Catholic Church, the afternoon opened with a two-minute remark from each of the candidates in the Langley and Langley-East ridings, followed by smaller round table discussions.
Candidates travelled from table to table, directly answering questions from residents in a smaller, more intimate setting.
The focus of the afternoon was seniors issues, ranging from housing, transportation, health, home care, income security and effective use of tax dollars.
In the next five years, it’s projected that the number of seniors living in Langley will increase from 20,000 to 32,500, and by the year 2030 nearly one in four Canadians will be a senior citizen.
Running in the Langley riding are candidates Mary Polak (Liberal), Gail Chaddock-Costello (NDP), Elizabeth Walker (Green Party) and Justin Greenwood (Conservative).
In the Langley East riding are candidates Rich Coleman (Liberal), Bill Masse (Green Party), Alex Joehl (Libertarian) and Inder Johal (NDP).
Johal was absent from the meeting due to illness.
The next all-candidates meeting is scheduled for tonight (April 19) from 7 to 9 p.m. at the Langley Seniors’ Resource Centre, 20605 51B Ave. Hosted by the Langley Teachers’ Association, the forum will focus on educational, environmental and other equity issues.
Two more meetings are scheduled for Tuesday, April 25 from 7 to 9 p.m. at Kwantlen Polytechnic University’s Langley campus for the Langley riding, and April 27 from 7 to 9 p.m. in the west gymnasium at the Langley Events Centre for the Langley East riding. These are hosted by the Greater Langley Chamber of Commerce and the Fraser Valley Real Estate Board.
