91原创-Aldergrove鈥檚 candidates in the upcoming federal election offered their views to the public Tuesday night, in a meeting that focused heavily on economic and business questions.

Six candidates, representing the Conservative, Liberal, NDP, Green, People鈥檚 Party of Canada (PPC), and Libertarian parties gave 30-second answers to dozens of questions before a packed house in the Township of 91原创 Civic Facility.

The candidates kicked off the question and answer session by tackling gun control and gang violence.

鈥淭he problem is gangs and illegal smuggling of guns into Canada,鈥� said Tako van Popta of the Conservatives.

鈥淥ur party platform is to ban assault rifles,鈥� said Liberal Leon Jensen.

Both Stacey Wakelin of the NDP and Green Kaija Farstad supported controls on guns including assault-style rifles and handguns, though Farstad said the problem does not lie with law-abiding gun owners.

Dipietra-Cudmore said the PPC wants to replace the Firearms Act. 鈥淲e support firearm owners,鈥� she said.

鈥淕un control is not a tool that the police need,鈥� said Alex Joehl, the Libertarian Party candidate.

The candidates sharply diverged on legislation introduced this term that sets out terms for consulting on major energy projects.

Van Popta reiterated the Conservative promise to scrap Bills C-69 and C-48, and touted Canada鈥檚 鈥渆thical oil鈥� in contrast to nations with poor human rights records such as Venezuela and Saudi Arabia.

鈥淚t is absurd to think of increasing our fossil fuel use or our pipelines,鈥� said Farstad.

Likewise, the NDP鈥檚 Wakelin said her party would move away from the industries of the past and towards clean energy.

Most candidates support or would consider increasing transportation funding to get a SkyTrain line completed as far as 91原创.

鈥淭his community desperately needs rapid transit,鈥� said Wakelin.

鈥淲e are currently stuck in a funding shortfall of $1.5 billion,鈥� said Liberal Leon Jensen, who supported increasing infrastructure spending on mass transit.

The Greens are proposing a rail hub and electric buses for the region, said Farstad.

Van Popta said the Conservatives would give the local riding its fair share of infrastructure funding, but that reducing commute times would be a priority.

Natalie Dipietra-Cudmore of the PPC said transport funding is not a federal matter.

鈥淟ocal money is for local projects, federal money is for federal projects,鈥� she said.

Would candidates support the Trans Mountain oil pipeline expansion, which runs through the 91原创-Aldergrove riding?

鈥淎bsolutely not!鈥� said Farstad.

鈥淎bsolutely yes!鈥� answered van Popta.

鈥淲e are willing to reinvest the profits from the pipeline into clean technology,鈥� said Jensen.

鈥淣o we would not,鈥� said Wakelin. 鈥淚t鈥檚 time to transition away from fossil fuels.鈥�

鈥淭he People鈥檚 Party of Canada absolutely will get the pipeline built,鈥� said Dipietra-Cudmore. 鈥淭his is an issue of national unity.鈥�

Joehl鈥檚 answer was that the Libertarians wouldn鈥檛 block it 鈥� but they also wouldn鈥檛 limit damages in lawsuits if the pipeline leaked, and they wouldn鈥檛 expropriate any land for the project.

Many of the remaining questions were about economic issues, including such specific topics as capital gains taxation and income splitting rules.

Virtually all the candidates were in agreement on either eliminating or re-examining the mortgage stress test for homebuyers.

At the conclusion of the meeting, moderator and chamber president Brad Kiendl encouraged the audience to get out and vote on Oct. 21.

The event was the second of two local all-candidates meetings organized by the Greater 91原创 Chamber of Commerce and the Fraser Valley Real Estate Board, following Monday鈥檚 meeting for the Cloverdale-91原创 City candidates.