I am very disappointed that the University of Manitoba Students’ Union (UMSU) has decided to cancel the upcoming Winnipeg South federal candidates’ debate. The rationale given to my campaign by vice-president external Astitwa Thapa was “the Local Candidate’s Debate has been cancelled because of [Conservative candidate Gordon] Giesbrecht’s refusal to attend the debate. We have heard from a lot of students that they just aren’t interested in attending if there won’t be a debate with the Conservative representation.”