Last night's CBC radio candidates' forum was a little different than those of past years.

Only the three main parties were invited to attend the Yukon's biggest election event, while the three fringe parties were bumped down to a noon hour call-in show.

'It's disappointing,' said Philippe LeBlond, the Green party candidate. 'It's the only media we have and voters need a fair chance to hear what parties have to say.'

Although LeBlond wasn't invited to the Whitehorse's forum, Green party candidates in the N.W.T. and Nunavut were asked to local CBC forums there.

The decision made by CBC Yukon is not consistent with previous years'.

All six candidates were allowed to attend in 1993 and 1997. Four out of five of the candidates attended the forum in 2000. Geoffery Capp, the Christian Heritage Party (CHP) candidate was not there that year because his party did not have official party status.

Russ Knutson, last night's moderator, said the decision to include only three parties was based on 'standard CBC policy,' which looks at whether a party has seats in Parliament and if the party has official party status.

The Green party, the Marijuana Party and CHP are all official parties, although they have never won any seats.

Health care and the economy were the two main issues of the night, which featured a far smaller crowd than those at previous forums.

Larry Bagnell said the Liberals had given more than $18 billion to the provinces and territories to be used on health care.

'But it's not just about putting more money into the system,' said Bagnell. 'There needs to be more doctors for the North. There needs to be better ways of accrediting doctors.'

James Hartle, the Conservative candidate, said his party will work within the context of the health act.

Pam Boyde, the NDP candidate, said her party was totally committed to sustainable health care.

'We would follow the Romanow report,' Boyde said of the former Saskatchewan premier's report on the nation's health care system.

'We would reduce health care costs by using nurse practitioners and nutritionists that can deal with prevention and minor medical issues.'

She said Yukoners are concerned the health system would be privatized, 'and they don't want that.'

She said the reason some Canadians are considering privatization is because of the massive cuts to health care over the years.

'If Canada met its obligations to funding health, this wouldn't be an issue,' she said.

One caller, from Dawson City, said Canadians already have a two-tier system, referring to professional athletes who hire their own doctors.

'How come they don't have to wait in the emergency room like I do to get stitches?' said the caller. 'Why can't Canadians have the option of going down the street to a private clinic?

'It would keep money in Canada instead of having people go down to the States for services.'

Hartle said it is not the government's choice if Canadians want to privatize.

'It's the voice of the people, if they want it, then we will look at it,' he said.

Bagnell said the Liberals would protect public heath care.

When it came to the economy, Hartle criticized the Yukon Environment and Socioeconomic Assessment Act, which dictates how an industrial project should be evaluated.

The Conservative candidate said YESAA is so stringent it will stop the construction of the pipeline and the railway 'and we'd have absolutely no development here at all. Bagnell voted on YESAA . . . why would a Yukoner do this?'

Boyde said there needs to be a public review of any large scale activities.

'People need to be involved for projects to endure,' she said.

Bagnell said when it came to large industrial projects 'a very thorough environmental assessment would have to be done.'

Bagnell took most of the heat when it came time for candidates to ask questions of each other.

'Larry, you made a point of talking about how much money you brought to the Yukon, but when it came to cleaning up the Faro mine, most of the money went to a Bay Street accounting firm instead of to Yukoners,' said Boyde.

Bagnell said he had nothing to do with the decision, as the Toronto appointment was made by the court.

'And that won't mean the final clean up will be going to that Toronto company,' he said. 'I agree that the benefits should be going to Yukoners.'

Hartle took his question as another opportunity to confront Bagnell on YESAA.

'It was designed by bureaucrats in Ottawa. How could you allow a bill to be so restrictive?' asked Hartle.

However, Bagnell said people still have chance to give recommendations on the act, if they feel it is too restrictive.

When asked what the candidates had been hearing when they go door to door,

Boyde and Hartle said they heard people are upset with Liberal misspending, especially on gun registration.

Hartle said the Conservatives would repeal gun registration and put more money into policing.

'There has not been one person in the Yukon who wants the gun registry to stay in tact as it is,' said Hartle.

When Bagnell went door knocking, he heard Yukoners saying they wanted a representative who can make territorial concerns heard in Ottawa.

'I guess we're not hitting the same people,' said Boyde.

Audience member Elaine Kennedy, one of Hartle's campaign workers, said the Yukon is a welfare state, relying on southern taxpayers.

'And how long do you think they'll put up with it,' she asked.

Hartle agreed with Kennedy saying the Yukon is living on handouts from Ottawa.

'This is not Mr. (Stephen) Harper's vision,' he said of the Conservative leader.

Hartle said there are enough precious metals in the Yukon that the territory could be a 'have' province.

'We don't have to be reliable on transfer payments. We could be in the same position as Alberta and be sending money to Ottawa,' he said.

Boyde said her party is not against mines, 'but if there are going to be mines, they should clean up their mess.'

Boyde said the Yukon should be looking at renewable resources, like geothermal energy and wind power.

'These can be industries,' she said.

Audience member Dave Jones asked how committed the parties are to the Kyoto agreement.

'It's a start. We need to cut emissions by 20 per cent, but since the Liberals committed to Kyoto, greenhouse emissions have increased by 18 per cent,' said Boyde.

She said Canada needs to put the focus on creating more energy efficient homes and creating infrastructure for pedestrians and cyclists.

Bagnell said the government had invested funds into a number of green projects that would help meet Kyoto goals.

Hartle opposed the Kyoto agreement.

'We need a made-in-Canada solution,' said Hartle, adding there need to be caps on smog.

Brian Godzilla Salmi, the Rhinos' campaign manager, asked what the candidates thought about the restrictions placed on people running for office.

This week, the Rhino party lost a court battle to stop the election after their appearance on the ballot was thrown out because the party did not have an accountant.

Salmi believes people should be able to run without having a large apparatus of staff.

Boyde said the Rhinos had raised a very important question, but any challenges to election legislation had to go through the legislative process.

Hartle said the Rhinos should remember that an accountant's rights should be protected, as they have the right to refuse a party representation.

Bagnell said he wasn't able to help the Rhinos with their plight.

'An MP is not allowed to interfere with the courts,' he said.

However, Bagnell commended Salmi for wearing an empty Yukon Gold beer box on his head.

'That shows strong support for local products.'