MLAs pass on forum; Two candidates were notably absent from an election forum organized by teachers.
Langley Advance
May 1, 2009
By: Matthew Claxton

Questions about poverty, child care and education were discussed by five of Langley's seven candidates for provincial office on Monday in Fort Langley.

NDP and Green Party candidates from both the Langley and Fort Langley Aldergrove ridings, and the B.C. Refederation candidate from Fort Langley-Aldergrove answered questions of a three-member panel.

But Liberal incumbents Mary Polak and Rich Coleman did not attend. They had announced their intentions earlier, with Coleman saying the forum was a partisan one.

The evening was organized by the Langley Teachers' Association. Its three panelists were BC Teachers Federation president Irene Lanzinger, economist Seth Klein from the Centre for Policy Alternatives, and former Socred cabinet minister and radio host Rafe Mair….

The economy, child poverty, education and the environment dominated the night's questions….

Ron Abgrall, the Langley Green candidate, said he knows what it's like to barely make ends meet.

"I'm a working father who is not able to pay the bills - just barely, anyways," he said. If he got sick or was injured on the job, he could easily fall through the cracks, and others already are.

"Minimum wage is not enough," Abgrall said.