A biblical tax of 10 per cent for everyone, 40,000 jobs for youth every year, bringing back CPP starting age to 65 ... were just some of the promises and commitments made by the four candidates taking part in the Lac La Biche federal election forum on Thursday night.
Four of the six candidates representing the Fort McMurray - Cold Lake riding made the trip.
Liberal hopeful Kyle Harriettha, Green party candidate Brian Deheer, Melody Lepine with the NDP and Reoloff Jenssen with the Christian Heritage Party of Canada took to the Portage College stage for the forum hosted by the Lac La Biche POST and the Chamber of Commerce.
Incumbent Conservative MP David Yurdiga was not able to commit to the event since being invited in late August. Although Yurdiga's office was contacted several times for a confirmation of his attendance, it wasn't until a week before the forum that a statement from his campaign office said a family medical emergency had affected his schedule. Libertarian party candidate Scott Berry had said from the time of his invite that his schedule clashed with the forum date.
If attendance on the stage was an issue, so was the attendance in the audience. Slightly more than 100 people attended the event, filling just over a third of the McGrane Theatre seats.
"Perhaps it was the knowledge that the Conservative MP wouldn't be there ... maybe people are already decided ... it might just have been the great weather," said Lac La Biche POST publisher Rob McKinley. "The paper has been hosting municipal, provincial and federal debate nights for more than 30 years ... this is one of the lowest turnouts we've seen in recent years."
It's also the first time an incumbent candidate has failed to make an appearance, he added.
"I was surprised. We tried emails, phones, facebook ... there are a lot of ways to contact our MP. We just weren't a successful getting any kind of definite response over the last six weeks or so," said McKinley. "In the last few days we have been told there is a family medical emergency. Family should come first. I wish Mr. Yurdiga's family all the best as they cope and hopefully overcome whatever they are dealing with."

Although absent, Yurdiga was a steady topic for the candidates during the two-hour event.
Liberal contender Harrietha questioned the MP's dedication to his constituents while he was in Ottawa.
"He spoke for a grand total of eight minutes," Harriettha told the audience of the rookie MPs first sitting in the House of Commons, adding that a review of all debates and information taking place in the House showed that Yurdiga failed to mention a good portion of his riding during that speaking time. "Do you know how many times he mentioned Lac La Biche? None. Not once in all the transcripts."
The local Green candidate also took exception to the incumbent's noticeable absence from the forum.
"We showed up. If you are going to show your commitment to this kind of a job, you show up," said Deheer, adding that he could see a good reason for the lack of audience members. "It's a beautiful day. If I wasn't doing this, there's a few things I would be doing on a day like this."