Bruce-Grey-Owen Sound MP Larry Miller won't be participating in any all candidates meetings for the upcoming election unless there is a change in format.
In a release from his office Friday, Miller reiterated what he stated in a letter to the Owen Sound Sun Times following the 2011 election campaign.
In that letter, Miller stated that all-candidates meetings, in their present format, have become obsolete and for that reason he would respectfully decline to participate in any all-candidates meeting that follows the traditional format.
He says it's a format that simply does not work and has simply become a contest between candidates to see who can get the greatest number of supporters out to these debates.
Miller does not blame the groups and associations that organize the all-candidates meetings, saying it is a tendency that has developed over time.
Instead, Miller says the debates should be about voters having the opportunity to ask questions directly to the candidates and to hear their opinions on issues that are important to the voter.
Miller stresses, it should not be taken as an indication that he won't participate in any all-candidates meetings, simply that he will participate those types of all-candidates events that make an effort to avoid the practices and tendencies of the current format.
He says any meetings that involve direct, one-on-one participation with the voter would be a very suitable format.
The letter can be found below.
