Candidates in this year’s Muskoka Lakes election race have been challenged to take polygraph tests to prove they ‘aren’t on the take’ with developers. The latest in the Bala Falls controversy happened at an all-candidates meeting at the Bala Community Centre last night. District candidate for Ward A Greg Knight tells the Moose he was asked at the intermission by filmmakers whether he’d take a polygraph test to prove he’s not getting paid by Swift River Energy Ltd – the company behind the controversial proposed hydro plant in Bala. Initially he indicated that yes, he would take the test, but he said the more he thought about it he wanted to make sure the filmmakers and the polygraph scenario was legit. Mayoralty Candidate Don Furniss was also asked by the camera crew, who had a large RV on site. Furniss says he has no idea who they were, but that he heard it was somebody doing a movie about Bala Falls. “I’ve never seen them before,” he said. “They were there to intimidate Greg Knight and myself.” Furniss says he too has no problem with taking a polygraph administered by an independent third party, “but not one affiliated with a staged stunt”. “Absolutely have I not taken any money,” he added, while also referencing recent photos taken by Save the Bala Falls proponents showing him sitting in a Bracebridge Tim Hortons with Swift River Energy Ltd’s Bala Falls Project Manager Karen McGhee. “I paid for my own coffee” added Furniss. About 300 people attended the debate. After the meeting, groups of people allegedly challenged the pair to take the test and even suggested there was a polygraph machine and licensed polygraph expert onboard the RV, according to Knight. (Photo: (L-R) Greg Knight, Don Furniss)