How do you make your voice heard when you're one of 22 candidates vying for votes in next Thursday's municipal election?

That was the challenge facing this year's crop of city councillor candidates at Wednesday night's election forum held at the Gold Rush Inn.

Seventeen of the 22 candidates attended the forum, which was hosted by the Whitehorse Chamber of Commerce.

The event lasted about 2 1/2 hours (that's about nine minutes per candidate in attendance, for those keeping score). It was moderated by former Yukon MP Larry Bagnell, who has a background in municipal issues.

The night's key issues shouldn't have been a surprise to anyone: development, McIntyre Creek, Porter Creek D, ATVs and snowmobiles.

Aside from answering questions prepared by the chamber and queries from the audience, the back wall of the hall — which was full — was lined with written answers from candidates on issues such as housing affordability and taxes.

And how do you keep a group of that size in line and on schedule?

A tiny gong.

The sound of the gong meant the candidate had reached his or her maximum time for answering a question and it was time to move on.

Some struggled with the timing, while others were more successful.

Jocelyn (Joy) Curteanau earned the unofficial "award for most words in one minute,” from Bagnell, after a rapid statement on the importance of fiscal responsibility.

She drew applause from the audience after she finished — a little out of breath — ahead of the gong.

The first question prepared by the chamber, the simple, "Why should someone vote for you?” drew some criticism from the candidates.

"Surely the chamber could have come up with a more substantive question,” said candidate Pat Berrel, adding that he wants to work as part of a team.

Mike Gladish agreed: "I think everyone will work hard.”

When it came to questions of developing businesses and the Yukon economy, many candidates suggested it was key to lower the cost of living to encourage more businesses to stay in the territory.

"Every time we see an ore truck driving driving by, we are exporting jobs,” said Al Fedoriak.

Roslyn Woodcock said she would support a stronger "buy local” campaign for the city and other incentives for new, local businesses.

Some suggested tax incentives might be a way to go.

Helen Geisler said she would support tax breaks for new businesses as long as they plan to remain for at least five years.

Curteanau pointed out that the first two or three years for a new business are often the most expensive.

Incumbent Dave Stockdale said it's the Whitehorse way of life that encourages people to stay.

"If you build a great community, people will come .... We need to keep the same quality of life that we have right now.”

The topic of McIntyre Creek and the potential Porter Creek D development led many candidates to speak about the value of the green space in the city.

"I want to protect that area,” said Leona Kains. "I want my kids to be able to play in that area.”

Candidate Cam Kos said he would support the idea of permitting that area to be used by Yukon College for studies and classes.

"The majority of people have asked to keep it untouched,” he said. "The people have spoken.”

Incumbent Kirk Cameron said he has pushed for more information on the project while on council.

It's important to enable the city to finish its process before council makes a decision, he said.

Another incumbent, Betty Irwin, told the crowd she has consistently voted against development in the area, calling McIntyre Creek "a treasure.”

"Nothing proposed to be built there will be anywhere near affordable housing and help that problem,” she pointed out.

Berrel said he would never vote to have any development in or around the McIntyre Creek area.

"Surely we can find less ecologically-sensitive areas for development.”

After seeing the limited uptake of lots for the new Whistle Bend subdivision, incumbent Dave Austin suggested Porter Creek D "should be moved down the line, but not taken off the map.”

Candidate Jean-Sébastian Blais said he "cares about our title ‘the wilderness city' and wants to protect it,” adding there needs to be a larger, city-wide discussion on densification.

A question from the crowd also quizzed the would-be councillors on their stance regarding the city's reworked ATV and snowmobile bylaws.

It asked the candidates if they believe off-highway vehicles should be restricted to outside the city's urban containment areas.

Candidate Conrad Tiedeman said he is also not in favour of an outright ban.

"The people who are currently not following the current bylaw, why would they follow more restrictive ones?” he asked. "More regulations are not the answer.”

Irwin predicted the next council will be reviewing both bylaws again.

"I don't think it's enforceable the way it is written, and I think there's going to be problems there,” she said.

Many candidates agreed that any problems with the vehicles were caused by a small minority of people.

John Streicker was among the candidates promoting better education on safe practices.

"We need to start to create a culture of responsibility for these vehicles,” he said.

Julie Ménard told the audience it's important that the current bylaws are applied "and that we have enough staff to support them.”

The final question of the night centred around whether would-be councillors would meet with representatives of various cultural groups and work on the city's commitments after joining the Coalition of Municipalities against Racism and Discrimination during the past summer.

All the candidates said they would be willing to meet with the groups.

"Racism is ignorance; our blood is also the same,” said Garth Brown. "This isn't just about protecting cultures, it's about celebrating cultures.”

The candidates who were unable to attend last night's forum were: Patrick Singh, Mike Tribes, Michael Kokiw, Sharon Shorty and Randy Collins.

The chamber will host a second forum for the five mayoral candidates from 6:00 to 9:00 this evening at the Gold Rush Inn.