Education issues took centre stage at the all-candidates meeting held at the University of the Fraser Valley in Chilliwack on Tuesday night.

But the conspicuous absence of Conservative candidate Mark Strahl led off the evening discussion attended by more than 100 students and others.

"I think it is completely unacceptable that the Conservatives have made their candidate unavailable," NDP candidate Gwen O'Mahony said in her opening remarks.

The partisan comment led to great applause, as did much of what O'Mahony and Green candidate Jamie Hoskins said, which possibly illustrated why the Tory candidate decided to skip the meeting.

All other candidates were in attendance: O'Mahony, Diane Janzen (Liberal), Jamie Hoskins (Green), Dorothy-Jean O'Donnell (Marxist-Leninist) and Clive Edwards (Western Block).

After an introduction by moderator and UFV chancellor Brian Minter, candidates introduced themselves and then answered questions submitted in advance.

Questions involved topics including: support for single parents at school, student loan interest costs and loan forgiveness, selling water, Canada's military, health transfer payments, child poverty and the Alberta oil sands.

There were few clashes between the three main candidates, Janzen, O'Mahony and Hoskins, but some divergent policy positions emerged.

Janzen talked about her party's $1 billion Canadian Learning Passport, which provides up to $4,000 for post-secondary students and up to $6,000 for low-income students. She also addressed the Liberals' Family Care Plan and a promise to increase employment insurance from six to 26 weeks for Canadians who take care of elderly family members.

O'Mahony addressed her party's promise to cap credit card interest rates at five per cent above prime, something she said would help students who have credit cards pushed on them at university. She also addressed high pharmaceutical costs.

Hoskins addressed access to education, affordability and availability of childcare. He also talked about cutting subsidies to companies in the Alberta oil sands.

Candidates were also asked about the most pressing issues in the riding.

Janzen said it was the $56 billion deficit the Conservatives have created despite claims money is being managed responsibly. O'Mahony said jobs and tax breaks for small business coupled with slashing corporate tax cuts. Hoskins said economic sustainability and poor voter turnout were the most important issues for the riding.

O'Donnell's main message was that the country needs democratic renewal and an anti-war government in Ottawa.

Edwards's main message was that Ottawa can't be fixed; the country needs to deconfederate so that British Columbia and the West can renegotiate a fairer deal.

To wrap up the meeting, Minter addressed the fact that Strahl was not in attendance and asked UFV Student Life events assistant Desmond Devnich to comment on the absence of the candidate for the incumbent party. Devnich said Strahl also did not reply to the questions forwarded to him (and all candidates) before the meeting.

No-shows of Conservative candidates at town hall meetings was addressed by Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff in reference to two similar incidents in the Toronto area this week.

"I think it's just absolutely basic to democratic politics: You show up," Ignatieff told reporters at a press conference in Winnipeg. "You show up, and empty chairs--there are a lot of empty Conservative chairs at debates--say exactly what these people think about democracy."

Ignatieff was quickly called on the fact that not only was he not planning on attending a similar meeting in his riding, but at least three Liberal candidates had skipped debates already. If candidates skipping debates sounds familiar, in 2008, Conservative incumbent Chuck Strahl and Liberal Myra Sweeney missed the only public all-candidates debate held during that election.