I attended a debate on Wednesday night.  Well, I say "debate" but what occurred on the stage (or rather, in front of it, since it wasn't wheelchair accessible) at the B'nai Tikvah Temple in Calgary's neighbourhood of Britannia would be more accurately described as a series of tiny stump speeches.  This could be viewed as a flaw in the format - there was no type of rebuttal system set up, merely a series of questions from both the Calgary Leadership Forum who organized the debate, and allotted time from the candidates to answer - but really the candidates themselves were very unwilling to challenge each other.  Again, we could view this as a flaw in the candidates themselves - three were brand new to politics, and obviously very nervous to be there - but really there was very little that these candidates disagreed on (with the obvious exception of the Libertarian Candidate).

So what happened?

You may have already heard, but the Harper Government has issued marching orders to all of its candidates instructing them that they should avoid debates and the media for the duration of the campaign.  These marching orders were issued literally the day before this particular debate was to take place.  Until that point, the incumbent for the riding of Calgary Centre, Joan Crockatt, had in fact confirmed her attendance.  Confirmed, it must be stressed, after being given three alternative dates to choose from.  Yet at 4pm the previous day, the Calgary Leadership Forum was contacted by the Crockatt campaign team and informed that the incumbent would not be in attendance.  The reason given?  Her mother's 88th birthday celebration.  In Lloydminster.

Far be it from me to be judgmental, but I would suggest that such an occasion could perhaps have been slightly anticipated and planned around accordingly.

GordonMcDowell via Compfight cc

Regardless, the remaining candidates - Kent Hehr for the Liberals, Jillian Ratti for the NDP, Thana Boonlert from the Greens and William Hatch for the Libertarian Party - all showed up, taking valuable time out of their campaign schedules to talk about the issues facing our country.  And, lest we forget, so too did about 100-150 constituents, taking time out of their personal lives to hear from the people who are vying for their votes, one of whom, ultimately, will also represent their voices in the house of commons.  You can well imagine the dismay of those gathered that the incumbent did not deign to grace them with her presence.

For my own part, such dismay was only compounded when Kent Hehr, currently the favoured choice to unseat Joan Crockatt, also informed me he would not be attending any further debates that she did not attend.

You see, in Hehr's view, an evening such as the one that occurred on Wednesday could be better spent doorknocking and shaking hands with constituents on a one-on-one basis.  Expanding on this position, the Liberal candidate suggested that debates were frequented by the same crowd time and time again (and in small numbers), while doorknocking would be reaching an audience that is not already onside to his platform (and in far greater numbers).

To be sure, I do believe there is something to this.  The crowd at the B'nai Tikvah Temple was definitely friendly to centre-left ideas (or at least, if they were opposed, they did not take pains to vocalize it).  I did recognize some people from previous campaign events I had attended.  But many others I did not.  Factually, I know that people were in attendance who had never been to a local debate (having invited some of them myself).  And perhaps most damningly, I know my own mind and my mind is not yet made up.  Would another debate such as the one I saw on Wednesday change it one way or another?  Perhaps, perhaps not.  Would I attend such another debate?  Perhaps, perhaps not.

I realize that I may be in the minority in my indecision.  A poll from Insights West suggests that as many as 92% of Conservative supporters will not change their minds before election day.  That figure may well be one of the strongest indicators that debates, as Andrew MacDougall observed in the Toronto Star, are "a highly partisan experience where people pack the rooms."

Still I can't help feeling that if our elected officials - ostensibly, the people who lead us and guide the direction of our country - do not actually lead, then we can only expect the system to get worse and worse.  Indeed, it seems as though the local candidates are merely taking a page out of the playbook of their leaders.  Thomas Mulcair has made it clear he will not attend debates that Stephen Harper is not part of, and has already pulled out of one such conversation.  With the frontrunner in the polls and the incumbent PM not in attendance, how many people will tune into a debate between Justin Trudeau and Elizabeth May (and maybe, if we're truly blessed, Gilles Duceppe)? 

I should be clear that Kent Hehr's stance did not, from our brief conversation, appear set in stone.  For that matter, it remains unclear if any further debates would be forthcoming.  There are numerous non-partisan organizations in the city that very likely would want to hear what the candidates have to say about the issues (Calgary Economic Development, perhaps?).  Organizing a debate is a thankless chore, however, and when candidates fail to show it becomes that much harder to raise volunteers and generate interest.  It is my sincere hope, however, that if a debate does seem to be forthcoming, that ALL candidates, including Mr. Hehr and Ms. Crockatt, will attend.

A long time ago, I wrote a short play about a funeral that nobody shows up to.  The funeral workers, however, are compelled to place the floral arrangements, dress the body, and set up the open casket.  They do this because it is a ritual to them, a habit.  Yet without any attendees, their gestures may ultimately be devoid of all meaning.  Certainly the deceased man is not able to appreciate the work they are doing.

So in an election where none of the candidates show up, what exactly are we all doing?  We can dress up the corpse of our country's democracy all we like, and run through the motions, but if the people running for office are ignoring the whole ritual, what meaning does our own participation in the election process have?

There's an old adage that repeating a process and expecting a different result amounts to insanity, but I put it to you:  having a conversation with nobody present is the true definition of crazy.