I think it’s a shame that Green Party leader Elizabeth May is being excluded from the leaders’ debates for this election. The longstanding isolation of the Green Party is largely the product of Canada’s first-past-the-post system and, given that they are so severely hampered by the technicalities of Canada’s electoral system, it seems fair that meeting the technicality of having a sitting Member of Parliament is sufficient procedural justification for their inclusion.
More substantively, there is major focus on the environment in this campaign. As such, having a candidate present whose party is focused explicitly on environmental issues would probably add to the caliber and intelligence of the discussions that result.
Looks like one more reason to be cynical about politicians.
I’m also disappointed to hear that they’ve scheduled the debate to conflict with the US VP debate, thereby forcing people to choose which they would rather watch (and the current interest in Sarah Palin suggests it may not be the Canucks). Is the intent to deter people from watching the Canadian leaders debate?
I am equally offended by the two major parties in the U.S., but I’ve got mixed feeling when it comes to third parties unless they have a viable shot at winning. Just look at our experience with people like Ralph Nader to see how counter productive they can be.
This is straight-up bullying by our major political parties and totally unprecedented. Both the Bloc and Reform were in the position of having only 1 MP, and both were allowed to debate. In this case, vague threats issued by the Conservatives, Bloc, and NDP are scaring the “broadcasting consortium” (why do the networks even have the power to decide this???) into denying the Green party their right to participate.
Why would we expect anything else from the Conservatives, who have spent the last several years proving how they can be huge bullies and get away with it?
Harper sets firm Afghanistan pull-out date, backs down on debate issue
2 hours ago
OTTAWA — Stephen Harper acted to take two potential controversies off the table Wednesday, backing down on his opposition to including the Green party’s Elizabeth May from the leaders debates and setting a firm deadline for pulling troops out of Afghanistan.
Battleground voters agree May should be in debates
CTV.ca News Staff
September 11, 2008 8:29 AM ET
Most respondents in key election battlegrounds support Green Party Leader Elizabeth May’s inclusion in a televised leaders’ debate for the upcoming federal election, according to a new poll conducted for CTV and The Globe and Mail.
The results of the Strategic Counsel poll were released early Thursday morning, one day after Canada’s broadcast networks agreed to include May in the debates after the Conservatives and New Democrats backed down from their initial opposition.
The poll sampled residents in 45 vital ridings in Quebec, Ontario and B.C.
The Election
Elizabeth May, all the way.
Jack Layton and Stephen Harper showed their true colours over allowing Elizabeth May in the leader’s debate.
What are their true colours? Sexist old-time politicos. Back-room dealing bullshit. Complete assholes. Both of them!
I’ve had it with the NDP. They haven’t had a new idea since Tommy Douglas. Maybe if Jack Layton had asked himself, ‘What would Tommy have done?’ he wouldn’t have got it quite so wrong. Jesus Christ, even if he’d have asked his wife Olivia Chow what to do, he couldn’t have got it quite so wrong.
He got it very very wrong.
And Stephen Harper? He’s so scared of Elizabeth May he’s just about shitting himself at the thought of her.