MILTON: As political temperature rises in Canada ahead of the polls, Muslim voter organisations in the country jointly invited candidates from all political parties contesting for the Canadian Parliament to a debate in the city of Milton and its surrounding areas.
Two candidates from the Liberal Party, two candidates from the NDP, and one independent candidate participated in the debate, where they presented their viewpoints and responded to various questions.
However, no candidate from the Conservative Party of Canada attended the event.
Organised under the auspices of the Muslim Advisory Council of Canada, each candidate was given two minutes to express their stance and to answer each question posed to them.
Held in the hall of a local school in a highly organised manner, the debate saw participation from the NDP — led by Canadian Sikh politician Jagmeet Singh — whose two candidates reiterated their party’s manifesto and spoke about improving the lives of ordinary Canadian citizens.
Meanwhile, an independent Muslim candidate said that he was contesting independently, without the backing of any political party, so that he could express his views freely without being bound by political loyalties.
Adam, the incumbent Member of Parliament from the Liberal Party and a candidate in the elections, described the Middle East war situation as a humanitarian tragedy and an act of cruelty while responding to a question.
Christina, a Liberal Party candidate and a lawyer contesting from another constituency, referred to Pakistani and other Muslim voters in her area as valuable members of the community.
Adam also claimed that he could eat Pakistani spicy biryani six days a week. Speaking to Jang/Geo, he further highlighted his previous performance in raising constituency issues with the Liberal government and reiterated his love for biryani.
A Pakistani-Canadian organiser responsible for managing the debate’s timing told Jang/Geo that the purpose of this debate was to highlight local issues, draw attention to Islamophobia, and advocate for facilitating Canadian visa application processing for Pakistanis through Islamabad instead of Dubai or Delhi. He said that the debate had helped in bringing these issues to the forefront.
Several Pakistani-Canadian voters present at the event expressed their dissatisfaction with the behaviour of Muslim and Pakistani-origin members of the Canadian Parliament elected in previous years.
They told Jang/Geo that while some candidates reference the Pakistani community and identity during election campaigns, once elected, they forget their promises and what it meant to be a Pakistani, and instead present themselves solely as representatives of all Canadians, without rendering any significant services to the Pakistani community over the years.
