Eight of 10 Edmonton mayoral candidates took part in the city’s first public forum Friday evening.  Hosted by Ladies Corner Canada Media Limited, an independent media company in Edmonton, candidates Amarjeet Sohi, Brian (Breezy) Gregg, Michael Oshry, Cheryll Watson, Diana Steele, Kim Krushell and Abdul Malik Chukwudi participated, while Augustine Marah and Mike Nickel did not.

Rick Comrie also attended the virtual forum, however, due to technical issues he could not properly take part for most of the forum.

The candidates were each asked a wide range of questions by moderator Mary Thomas ranging from important attributes of a mayor, how to address the opioid crisis and homelessness, and Edmonton’s economic recovery.

Watson was asked about the most important attribute for mayor. She said the mayor should represent the city and be a “chief collaborator” and create cohesiveness and build consensus on council.

She was also asked about communication with other levels of government. Watson said there is currently a fractured relationship with the provincial government

“That’s putting all of our citizens at risk because we aren’t receiving the funding, we don’t have that collaborative partnership where we’re working together on some of these really big, complex issues like mental health, like our unhoused community,” she said.

“It’s really important that we have a good relationship because that’s the work that we need to do together.”

When asked about why he is the best candidate, Oshry said this is the first time in a generation that there is uncertainty on where economic and social successes will come from.

“We’re going to need a very strong mayor who’s got some experience at city council, which is imperative, and has business experience, which obviously I do — small, medium and large — and knows the challenges of what it’s like to work with the city,” Oshry said.

Chukwudi was asked how he would address the opioid crisis and said he has been following it quite closely but he doesn’t understand why the current levels of government have not made any headway on addressing the crisis.

“I think most of our problem is just the will to do what is right.”

Krushell was asked about how to address homelessness in the city. She said one of the challenges is society has been treating homelessness as if it’s “one homogenous group.”

She said there needs to be a standard bylaw for shelters so they have minimum standards to meet. There should also be collaboration with the private sector and the not-for-profit sector on providing housing as well as jobs and opportunity.

“I think that collectively we can actually get stuff done by working together, and focusing on the data and what the data shows us in terms of having real results,” she said.

One question Steele was asked was how to make the city safer for multicultural people. She said she believes there is a rise in mental health issues, which is where crime and hate is coming from.

“We need to focus on funding social services properly so that the police and social services can do their jobs appropriately,” Steele said.

When asked about the challenges he’s noticed in the city, Gregg said a “repair industry” should be developed, that would create more efficiency and less waste. He noted the city should also develop its agricultural industry by reaching out to the provincial and federal governments for support in order to have food sufficiency.

Sohi was asked what he would do similarly or differently to his previous time on city council. He said council needs to set a clear tone and direction for administration on where they want the city to go.

He said there needs to be a focus on growing the economy, addressing homelessness, mental health and addictions issues, address climate change and deal with racism and inequities in the city.

“This is where the city needs to go, we need to focus on these intersecting, interconnected four pillars that would allow our community to succeed, that will allow Edmontonians to succeed,” he said.

ajunker@postmedia.com