A Chatham woman who recently graduated from Political Studies at Queen's University is fulfilling one of her dreams by hosting a panel featuring the Chatham-Kent-Leamington federal candidates.
Andrea Colasanti is hosting and moderating the panel on Wednesday evening.
The panel will feature all five candidates who are vying for the September 20th vote in Chatham-Kent-Leamington. According to Colasanti, Chatham-Kent Mayor Darrin Canniff will also be in attendance to provide opening remarks beforehand.
"Candidates will have an opportunity to provide opening statements, to let constituents know a bit about them... Candidates will then be asked five questions and each candidate will have an opportunity to answer," said Colasanti.
Some of the topics that will be covered include climate change, child care and reconciliation with indigenous people.
Colasanti, who now lives in Ottawa, was selected as the representative for her home riding of Chatham-Kent-Leamington to host a panel ahead of the federal election through Equal Voice's Daughters of the Vote initiative.
Equal Voice is a non-profit organization that promotes the participation of more women in Canadian politics. Colasanti applied for and received a leadership grant to plan and host the panel through her participation in an Equal Voice conference at the end of 2020.
"Always in the back of my mind, I thought this would be a great way to use the leadership grant through the conference, to use it to do some kind of all candidates panel," Colasanti explained. "An election was called and I thought 'what a perfect opportunity.' I'm very excited that all the candidates agree to attend the panel."
Colasanti will be coming back to her hometown to host the event at the SOAR Innovation Hub in Chatham.
However, due to COVID-19 restrictions, the event will not be open to members of the public and will instead be live-streamed on Facebook.
Colasanti said she's excited to get the opportunity to do something that taps into her passion while also giving Chatham-Kent-Leamington residents the chance to learn more about the candidates and help them cast an informed vote.
She said she's also hoping that the event will be a way for the younger demographic in the region to get involved in politics.
"There are a lot of issues I think young voters in Chatham-Kent-Leamington are really passionate about," said Colasanti. "Entering the housing market, the climate crisis and now the pandemic... While it's important for all voters to be informed, I'm really hoping this event, I hope that some folks in their 20s and 30s will tune in so that we can ensure our representative in Ottawa is able to represent our interest."
The event will be live-streamed on the 2021 Federal Election: Chatham-Kent-Leamington All Candidates Panel Facebook page and can be viewed by clicking here. The panel kicks off at 6 p.m. and is expected to last until 7:15 p.m.
For anyone unable to watch live, a video of the panel will remain on the event's Facebook page afterwards.
