Welcome back to Prairie Dog’s continuing coverage of the federal election. I believe we’re in week eight (or is it nine?) of the marathon campaign foisted on Canadians by Stephen Harper and the Conservative Party. There’s still another three weeks or so until the actual election on Oct. 19 — although advance polls will be open over the Thanksgiving weekend from Oct. 9-12.
With the waning days of summer early days of fall upon us, Reginans are starting to organize still organizing all-candidates meetings and other types of forums to explore issues of relevance to the election campaign. Here’s some that have come to our attention so far, with new events denoted by ***:
Tuesday Sept. 29
SENIORS’ FORUM All candidates meeting hosted by several seniors and retirees advocacy groups. Wesley United Church (3913 Hillsdale), 2-4 p.m.
REGINA ALL PARTIES PRE-ELECTION FORUM Hosted by Knox Met United Church, Council of Canadians (Regina), Clean Green Regina and KAIROS Regina, this forum gives candidates the opportunity to respond to questions from the public. Knox Met Church (Victoria Ave. & Lorne St.), 6-9 p.m.
Wednesday Sept. 30
REGINA LEWVAN CANDIDATES FORUM Hosted by the Public Service Alliance of Canada. Italian Club (2148 Connaught), 7 p.m.
Thursday Oct. 1
SSHHHH, WE’RE TALKING POLITICS Drop-in session to learn about the Canadian voting system in advance of the Oct. 19 federal election. Central Library, 6:30-9 p.m.
***Friday 2
ALL CANDIDATES FAIR Designed to boost the voter participation rate of university students, includes a pancake breakfast at 8 a.m., a meet the candidates session from 9-11 a.m., and a candidates forum beginning at noon. RIC119, University of Regina. See ursu.ca/news.
***Monday 5
ALL PARTIES FEDERAL ELECTION FORUM Hosted by Queen City Tenants Association, with a focus on housing. Cathedral Neighbourhood Centre, 7-9 p.m.
Tuesday Oct. 6
REGINA LEWVAN CANDIDATES FORUM Hosted by the Cathedral Area Community Association for candidates running in Regina Lewvan. Cathedral Neighbourhood Centre, 7-9 p.m. 306-569-8755.
***Wednesday 7
YWCA ALL CANDIDATES FORUM The focus is on Regina women and their families. St. Paul’s Cathedral Hall (1861 McIntyre), 6 p.m. See ywcaregina.com.
***Wednesday 14
WHY WOMEN COULDN’T VOTE: FEDERAL ELECTIONS & CANADIAN HISTORY Talk by historian Donica Belisle. CK185, University of Regina, 10:30-11:20 a.m. 306-585-4209.
***Thursday 15
ELECTION FORUM 2015 Moderated by Nilgun Onder, this forum features Leader-Post columnist Murray Mandryk and political scientists Tom McIntosh and Jim Farney. LI215, University of Regina, 2:30-4 p.m. See uregina.ca.
***Wednesday 21
JSGS FORUM: ELECTION 2015: ECONOMIC, POLITICAL AND POLICY CONSEQUENCES Moderated by Jeremy Rayner, with panelists Michael Atkinson, Daniel Beland, John Courtney and Haizhen Mou. Rm210, 2 Research Dr., University of Regina, 10 a.m. to noon. See schoolofpublicpolicy.sk.ca.