Calgary-Greenway byelection to replace Manmeet Bhullar full of issues, lacking voters

The byelection in Calgary-Greenway hasgrabbed a fewheadlines,but perhaps the biggestis the debate over who lives where.

Liberal Khalil Karbani, who'sfacing off against seven other contenders in thissuburban and ethnically diverse riding along the city's northeastern edge,thinks candidates should live in the area.

• Calgary-Greenway byelection race tight, according to poll
• Calgary-Greenway byelection set for March 22 despite opposition
• Calgary-Greenway candidates debate to replace Manmeet Bhullar

"I live and breathe this riding,"says Karbani. "I know what's happening in this riding, this community. They live outside this riding and claim to know what's going on," he said of most of his opponents.

Karbaniwould like to make it illegal for people to run in ridings in which they don't live.

According to Elections Alberta, Prab Gill with thePCs, Devinder Toor of theWildrose and Roop Rai of theNDPdo not live in the riding, which includes the communities of Taradale, Coral Springs, Monterey Park, Abbeydale and Applewood.

Karbaniandtwo independent candidates, Abdulbaki Said Hussein and Sukhi Rai, are the only political hopefuls who live in the riding held by the late Manmeet Bhullar.

Voter turnout

The candidates have just oneday to figure out how tomotivate the 28,298 registered voters who call Calgary-Greenway home.

The campaign hasn't exactly sparked a voter frenzy, with a paltry2,397 people casting ballots in theadvance polls.

Karbani was one of the first tovote onday one of the advance poll, anddidn't miss the opportunity toscore a few political points minutes after he marked an 'X' by his name, pointing out many of his opponents can't do the same.

RoopRai,theNDP candidate in Greenway,defends her decision to run in ariding outside her northwest community of Panorama Hills.

The former radio host and producer says she's been spending 14 hours a day meeting with voters inthe areaand isaware of the issues facing the diverse communities.

Wildroseshoots down wage allegations

The Wildrose'sToorhashad to fight another issue altogether, fending off allegations heposted an ad for a job at one of his fiveliquor storesthat pays less than Alberta's $11.20 minimum wage.

The NDP campaign postedthe ad and linked it to the candidatewho finished third in last year'sgeneral election. They accused him of "breaking the law"by offering to pay employees $10an hour.

"We did our research, our due diligence, and we just released that information only because we wanted to raise awareness,"said Rai. The NDP claim the ad was posted on February 21, 2016.

Toor countersit was actually February 21,2014 when Alberta's minimum wage was $9.95.

"Somebody doctored it and put it in February 21, 2016. I have no involvement in this. This is just a part of the other partiesbringing a distraction to the campaign,"Toortold CBC News at his campaign office.

• MORE CALGARY NEWS |Young people more likely to support a future without fossil fuels
• MORE CALGARY NEWS |$1B for infrastructure, E.I. changes top list of Alberta wants from federal budget

There was also an ill-timed deadline for Toor to pay a fine for selling mini-bottles of Wiser's spicedwhiskey at one of his liquor stores. The 50mlbottles were labelled not for re-sale, but Toor's store, Payless Liquor on FalconridgeDr. N.E.,had them stocked on a shelf behind the cash register with a sign that read "$2.99".

In the AGLCreport, the liquor commission ruled there was a clear violation of the RetailLiquor StoreHandbook and"Mr. T. [Toor]should have noticed these bottles on the shelf and dealt with them immediately and/or his staff should have noticed them and brought them to his attention."

Toor was ordered to pay a $1,000fine, which he did on March 16, right in the middle of what's been described as a tight race.

PCstronghold?Not so fast

University of Calgary political scientistMelanee Thomas said given the popularity of Bhullar and the propensity to vote forthe PCs in the riding,the once-mighty partyshould hold on to the seat.

But there's one factor that can't be ignored. "Alberta politics appear to be in some kind of re-alignmentnow,"said Thomas. She said there's some real substance to the change we saw in the last provincial election.

A recentsurveyby Mainstreet Research, which shows a tight four-way race,reflects that.

"If I were the NDP and I was looking at polling a close second at this point, I would be thrilled with that result in thisriding,"saidThomas.

'He wasn't a nine-to-fiveguy'

Tarjinder Bhullar, ManmeetBhullar's older sister, spoke publicly with CBC News for the first time since her brother'sstate funeral.

She considered running for the PCsin the byelection, but decided against it, andsaidit's beenhard adjusting to life without her "little"brother.

• MLA Manmeet Bhullar's deep commitment celebrated at memorial

"Every day there's something, multiple times during the day that remind you of him and what he would be doing, what we would be doing together,"said Tarjinderduring an emotional interview in Bhullar'sformer office.

"You move from one minute, to one hour, to one day at a time."

She said the next MLA for Calgary-Greenway will haveto work hard to match the contribution her brother made to people in the riding and the province.

"He listened to their concerns, he came up with solutions, he wasn't a nine-to-fiveguy, he was there when they needed him."

There are a total of eight candidates running: Khalil Karbani (Liberal), Roop Rai (NDP), Thana Boonlert (Green), Prab Gill (Progressive Conservative), Devinder Toor (Wildrose) and independents Said Hussein Abdulbaki, Larry Heather and Sukhi Rai.

Advance polls end on Saturday at 8 p.m. Regular voting takes place between 9 a.m. and 8 p.m. on Tuesday, March 22.