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With 18 days away from the Vancouver Municipal Election, 9 candidates for mayor and city council gathered at the Biltmore Cabaret for an all-candidates debate.

Notable candidates such as Vision Vancouver mayoral candidate Gregor Robertson and B.C. Marijuana Party mayoral candidate Marc Emery made an appearance at the event and layed out their plans for the future.

Major issues which were discussed over the 2 hour debate included plans to deal with the ailing economy, and strategies on handling rising housing prices.

The 2010 Winter Olympics was also a topic of interest, especially for Emery.  “The Olympics are going to be the peak of a disaster” Emery said.  “[The world] is not coming here.  Tourists are going to be weighed down in the middle of a recession, holding the Olympics is the worst possible thing that can happen” Emery added.

Organized by the non-partisan group Get Your Vote On, the debate was an effort to encourage political participation amongst young British Columbians and was the only debate with a focus on youth.

NPA mayoral candidate Peter Ladner did not show up.

People enjoyed the relaxed atmosphere of the venue and the debate

9 candidates showed up at the Biltmore Cabaret municipal debate including Vision Vancouver's Gregor Robertson (Above)

Rising housing prices is a major problem for youths who are renting or are looking to buy their first house (Above, Vision Vancouver's Andrea Reimer)

A large portion of the crowd consisted of youths

"The Olympics are going to bankrupt us" said Emery