Federal election 2015: Charlottetown candidates' roundtable

Conservative candidate Ron MacMillan found himself defending community mailboxes as the federal candidates for the Charlottetown riding debated on CBC Radio's Island Morning.

MacMillan was joined byBecka Viau of the Green Party, Sean Casey of the Liberal Party, and Joe Byrneof the NDP.

MacMillan was alone in saying his party would not seek a reversal of the decision to end door-to-door mail delivery in Charlottetown.

"This is a crazy decision and we don't have to accept it," said Byrne.

"The whole idea of increasing prices and decreasing service is not in line with the mandate of Canada Post," added Casey.

MacMillannoted community mailboxes are in use across Canada, and questioned where to draw the line and the cost of restoring door-to-door service across the country. He said he would work to make sure community mailboxes in Charlottetown are in safe locations, and that people with mobility issues would still have mail delivered to their door.

Viaucountered that people challenging the location of the mailboxes, or who have mobility issues, face a vast bureaucracy when taking their issues to Canada Post.

Cuts to civil service

MacMillan also found himself defending his party with respect to cuts to the federal civil service, both in Charlottetown and in P.E.I. as a whole.

In Charlottetown, the Conservative government has cut jobs at Veterans Affairs and closed an immigration services office.

"This whole downsizing of government at the altar of the balanced budget is something that has fundamentally changed government services in Prince Edward Island and Canada," said Casey.

Casey said the Liberals were not afraid to run modest deficits for the next few years in order to restore those services.

In addition to increasing the civil service, Casey discussed the Liberal infrastructure spending plan, with a particular emphasis on affordable housing. The need for more affordable housing was echoed by both the Greens and the NDP, but Byrne questioned the Liberal commitment.

"It was the Liberals that cut the affordable housing strategy in the 1990s," he countered.

MacMillan responded that his focus is on creating jobs and opportunities in the private sector. He said the Conservatives have been lowering taxes and that's what Canadians want.

"There' s a lot of promises being made and I'd like to know how they're going to be paid for," said MacMillan.

Viau expressed doubt about the Conservatives' ability to make any program work effectively.

"It seems impossible that the Conservative government can say that they are willing to make a program work when they are not willing to sit down with the provinces to talk about it," she said.

"We need to start working together, and not just speak to talking points."

Immigration and refugees

The international refugee crisis, and the fact that Charlottetown is the centre where most immigrants to P.E.I. settle, also was discussed.

MacMillan expressed pride in the government record, saying since 2006 Canada had taken in more immigrants per capita than any other country in the OECD.

But Casey attacked the government record on the refugee crisis, saying Canadians had tried to open their homes and been thwarted because of federal government policies and attitude.

Viau noted federal cuts to the non-profit sector have made it difficult for it to respond to the current refugee crisis.

Byrne, while noting Canada should meet a UN target of taking in 10,000 refugees by Christmas, also suggested Canada needed new avenues for immigrants.

He targeted the temporary foreign worker program in particular, saying if you are good enough to work in Canada, you should be good enough to live in Canada.

• Read a recap of the live blog here