The Liberal Party say they will invest in new and small businesses. The Green Party wants to focus on the green economy, while the New Democratic Party would like to make sure Canada benefits from foreign investment.

The economy and environment were just two of the topics discussed at a round table discussion hosted by Northern Life and CBC at Laurentian University April 7.

Carol Hartman, Liberal Party candidate, Fred Twilley, Green Party candidate and Glenn Thibeault, incumbent NDP MP for Sudbury all took part in the discussion. Conservative candidate Fred Slade did not participate and had told organizers he had agreed to a previous commitment.

Candidates were asked what they would do to improve the economy, especially for the Sudbury area.

Hartman said the Liberal Party would focus on investments to create small and new businesses.

“That's where you stimulate the economy,” she said. “You don't stimulate the economy by giving huge corporate tax rates to the richest, largest corporations in Canada.”

Twilley said the Green Party believes that “the green economy is considered the business opportunity of the century.”

“There are so many more jobs, sustainable jobs, available in the green economy than anywhere else,” he said. “By investing in energy conservation and green energy, we will effectively make our businesses more competitive.”

Twilley gave an example of mining, and said there is “tremendous potential” for geothermal energy in the mines.

Protecting the jobs Sudbury already has is Thibeault's priority.

“With the Investment Canada Act that we've seen...what we need to do is make sure this Investment Canada Act has a net benefit for Canada,” he said. “We want to see companies when they come in and they do a foreign takeover, we want to ensure it's a foreign investment and not a foreign takeover.”

Thibeault also spoke about the NDP's platform for northern Ontario, released on April 7. He said the platform included a plan to establish a tax credit up to $4,500 per new job and to make FedNor a stand alone agency. Hartman said the Liberal Party have always wanted to make FedNor a stand alone agency.

When discussing the environment, Twilley said the economy and environment go hand in hand.

“A lot of people are afraid that if we focus and do things about the environment, the economy will suffer. That is quite the opposite,” he said. “If we reduce our dependency on energy, the cost of production will go down (and) our global competitiveness will improve. If we don't do that, we're going to run into a lot of problems.”

Hartman said the Liberals believe in clean resources.

“Canada and Sudbury is extremely rich in our natural resources,” she said. “What we will do is encourage investment in clean resources, in mining those resources, meeting the smallest impact on our environment. The economy and environment go very nicely hand-in-hand.”

Thibeault said his party has already attempted to implement Bill C-311, which would cut emissions by 80 per cent by 2050. He said the bill would have become law as it was passed in Parliament, but eventually rejected by the Senate.

“The first way to help the environment is to get rid of the Senate,” he said. “We passed not only once in the 39th Parliament, but again in the 40th Parliament, Bill C-311. Once we get rid of the Senate, this would actually pass, this would have been law.”

Thibeault also said the NDP wants to end subsidies for oil companies and invest more money for research into green energy.

Northern Life and CBC will be co-hosting a round table with candidates from the Nickel Belt riding April 14. It will take place at 12 p.m. at the Howard Armstrong Centre in Hanmer.