Candidates in Cloverdale-91原创 City covered topics from oil pipelines to recent shootings at an all-candidates meeting Monday evening at 91原创鈥檚 Kwantlen Polytechnic University campus.

A question on gun control and gang violence, presented by moderator Frank Bucholtz, was sparked by the recent daylight murder in the Clayton neighbourhood, part of the Cloverdale-91原创 City riding.

鈥淩ight now, gun violence is out of control,鈥� said Rae Banwarie of the NDP.

The former RCMP officer said the NDP would reduce the ability of criminals to get firearms.

Tamara Jansen of the Conservatives said her party would make it easier for police to target gang members and keep them in jail, while Liberal John Aldag spoke about the Liberals鈥� plan for a buyback of semi-automatic rifles and allowing municipal governments to ban handguns.

Ian Kennedy of the People鈥檚 Party of Canada (PPC) said law abiding gun owners should not be targeted and advocated clamping down at the border for smuggled firearms.

鈥淲e have to look at it from a sociological aspect,鈥� said the Green Party鈥檚 Caelum Nutbrown, saying poverty and income inequality should be targeted with improved education for gang prevention.

A question on the SNC-Lavalin scandal and deferred prosecution agreements for law breaking corporations saw Liberal Aldag answer first.

He said the deferred prosecution legislation was put in place because Canada was the only G-7 nation without such a power, although it has also been widely reported that SNC-Lavalin lobbied the federal government for just such a law.

鈥淲e are committed to having that tool at the Crown鈥檚 disposal,鈥� said Aldag.

Jansen noted that businesses have to be ethical, and it鈥檚 important that businesses that are honest are supported.

The other candidates took a harsher line.

鈥淚 come from a law and order background,鈥� said Banwarie. 鈥淚f companies break the law, they need to be held accountable.鈥�

鈥淚t has really put a black mark on our government,鈥� Kennedy said of the SNC-Lavalin scandal.

鈥淐orporations need to be held accountable to the same laws that individuals are held accountable to,鈥� said Nutbrown.

Justin Trudeau鈥檚 recent blackface scandal led to questions about how to counter bigotry in Canada.

Nutbrown and Kennedy were both forgiving of Trudeau, calling it a mistake.

鈥淲e have all made mistakes at some point in our lives,鈥� said Nutbrown.

Banwarie used the question to point to a more recent incident, saying he was more concerned about Trudeau鈥檚 sarcastic response to an Indigenous woman who interrupted the PM at a fundraising speech last spring to raise concerns about contaminated drinking water.

The incident made Banwarie worry that Trudeau鈥檚 attitudes are not just in the past, he said.

Aldag said the incident has allowed for a number of discussions on doorsteps as he has campaigned in the community. He also said many communities in Canada may not know why blackface is considered demeaning, due to its history.

鈥淩acism is absolutely abhorrent,鈥� said Jansen, but she said all races and religions are accepted in Canada.

鈥淲e don鈥檛 have a problem with racism out there,鈥� she said of the riding.

A question about health transfers led Jansen to talk about the Conservatives鈥� commitment to increasing health transfers and to insist the party supported the public health system.

鈥淲e鈥檙e not going for a two-tier system,鈥� she said.

But Kennedy of the PPC was open to the idea of private health care.

鈥淪o that it helps ease the burden the current public health care system has,鈥� he said.

Personal versus party platforms were at the center of a question of whether the candidates would reopen the abortion issue.

鈥淣o, I would not,鈥� was Nutbrown鈥檚 entire answer.

鈥淚鈥檓 not going to do anything to undermine a woman鈥檚 right to choose,鈥� said Banwarie.

鈥淲e feel that Canadians want us to focus on much bigger issues,鈥� said Aldag.

The Conservatives would not re-open the debate, but Jansen noted she herself is pro-life.

She used the question to attack the other parties for enforcing what she called 鈥渋deological conformity.鈥�

The Trans Mountain Pipeline expansion came up, with candidates asked if they would support its completion.

Kennedy said he would, but also that he would like the project to be sold back to the private sector. The Liberal government bought the pipeline in 2018.

Aldag used the question to criticize previous PM Stephen Harper鈥檚 policies and the current Conservative campaign鈥檚 promise to scrap Bill C-69. Doing that would simply mean projects would wind up being thrown back into court proceedings instead of being built, Aldag said.

Jansen touted the Conservatives鈥� plans for Canadian energy independence by 2030.

鈥淲e鈥檒l be firing on all cylinders across all sectors and regions,鈥� she said.

鈥淚 would not agree with a pipeline,鈥� said Nutbrown, calling oil a 鈥渟unset industry鈥� that will be dying away in the future.

The NDP鈥檚 Banwarie said he couldn鈥檛 support the pipeline until the issues of First Nations people along the route are considered.

鈥淎ll that鈥檚 needed is one spill, just one,鈥� he said. 鈥淎ll you need is one tanker crash, and that鈥檚 the end of our coastal waterways.鈥�

Organized by the Greater 91原创 Chamber of Commerce and sponsored by the Fraser Valley Real Estate Board, the event was one of two meetings to be held in 91原创-area ridings.