What was billed as an all-candidates debate for the Port Moody-Westwood-Port Coquitlam riding came up short as incumbent Conservative MP James Moore cancelled his appearance hours before the debate began, leading the event's organizer to believe that Moore never intended to show up at all.
And he wasn't the only no-show candidate.
Fred Soofi, an organizer with the host Tri-City Iranian Cultural Society, told The Tri-City News that a secretary from Moore's office emailed him on Sunday to say that Moore would not be able to make that evening's 6 p.m. debate at Coquitlam's Evergreen Cultural Centre due to "another scheduling."
Moore told The News on Tuesday that he was having Easter dinner with his family instead of attending the debate.
"Well, they had it Easter Sunday, so I told them it'd be kind of unlikely but they held it right in the middle of Easter dinner," Moore said. "So it was not the best timing on their part."
Candidates from two of the other three parties - Liberal Stewart McGillivray and New Democrat Mark Ireland - plus Green party rep Rod Brindamour, sitting in for candidate Kevin Kim, who also was absent, attended Sunday's debate, along with approximately 80 spectators, many of whom showed disappointment at Moore's failure to appear, Soofi said.
"Everybody was booing and they expected him to be there - their sitting member of parliament," he said, adding, "He accepted to come so he should have come. It was arranged like 10 days ago, so why he didn't call ahead of time?"
Soofi said that while it wasn't ideal for anyone that the debate should be held on Easter Sunday, none of the candidates objected when initially invited, including Moore.
Moore countered that he accepted the invitation with the hope that he could make some time for it at the last minute but when Sunday rolled around, it just wasn't possible.
"I was trying to find a way to show up for either half of it or part of it during that day," he said. "But it was just a really bad plan of theirs to have it on Easter Sunday."
Moore told The Tri-City News that he would attend tonight's Tri-Cities Chamber of Commerce debate at 7 p.m. at Douglas College's David Lam campus.
