Conservative leadership candidate Leslyn Lewis is once again indicating she may skip the third leadership debate and take the $50,000 fine, as she would rather travel the country and answer Canadians' questions directly.."I cannot in good conscience fritter away an opportunity to meet thousands of Canadians who are desperate for answers so I can attend an impromptu meeting with leadership candidates to discuss questions to which the answers have already been memorialized in previous debate videos that exist online," she said in a letter to the Leadership Election Organizing Committee (LEOC) Wednesday..The MP for Haldimand-Norfolk, Ontario said there had been no announcement of the debate format for the questions to be asked at the Aug. 3, 2022 debate..Lewis said despite her team being in regular communication to confirm whether there would be a third debate, they received only two weeks notice to change their travel plans. Lewis also claimed her team was "threatened" with a $50,000 fine if they did not comply with the "sudden change of plans.".Lewis asked the LEOC whether the leadership candidates would be asking the "usual questions that have already been answered," on carbon taxes, pipelines and the federal budget, or if they would answer questions that "regular" Conservatives want answered..Lewis said at every campaign stop, she is asked about the Liberals' Net-Zero policies, the World Economic Forum encroaching on the privacy of Canadians, the World Health Organization's Pandemic Treaty, COVID-19 vaccine injuries, an inquiry into the pandemic response, and abortion polices.."It's easy to survey the parties' 675,000 members and cherry pick some 'member asked questions' that are safe and paint our party in a media friendly light. But if we are going to hold a debate that will actually inform the members' voting decisions, we need to address the questions the members are asking directly," Lewis said..Lewis said if the third debate won't address the topics Conservatives have asked her about, she would rather "go straight to the members myself to answer their questions.".Lewis previously skipped the Western Standard's leadership debate on July 8, as she had a prior commitment to meet with supporters in Canada's Northern Territories..Frontrunner Pierre Poilievre will also be skipping the third debate. He claimed the party's third debate is "smack dab in the middle of the 'get out the vote' period."."Pierre will be on the road again without interruption to help make that happen," his campaign said.
