On Monday night, Yellowknife’s Explorer Hotel partnered with the FOXY group to put together an NWT All-Candidates Forum for the upcoming election.
Over the course of two hours, sixteen different candidates from across the various communities of the NWT were asked a series of questions formulated by the youth of the territories. The forum was set up with thirteen questions in total, with four to five candidates selected to answer at a time, giving each a chance to answer at least two questions throughout the evening, and a chance to submit written answers after the event.
The questions were diverse, and touched on many different topics that sit at the top of voters’ minds, such as solutions for artists pursuing full time careers, how candidates would properly fund non-profit groups, short term solutions to the North’s housing crisis, as well as what candidates would do to help protect the LGBTQ+ community. The questions were all created by a group of young northern residents, none of whom were over the age of 25.
While some would traditionally call an event like this a debate, no such argument or disruption took place, with all candidates allowing time for the others to speak, and many agreeing with their peers on their proposed solutions.
Once the event had wrapped up, some gathered voters chatted amongst themselves, and expressed surprise at some of the issues raised from the questions, as well as pride in the younger residents for becoming so engaged with their community. The forum was organized by FOXY (Fostering Open eXpression among Youth), which uses traditional beading, theatre, digital storytelling, photography, and music to help teenage girls express their knowledge, opinions, and questions about health and love.
The Territorial General Election is set to take place on Tuesday, November 14th.
