Green Party co-leader Elizabeth May said she received a “rude awakening” on Wednesday morning at 4:30 a.m. PT that “something quite unbelievable had happened.”
The federal debate commission rescinded an invitation to the Green Party to participate in the debates, saying that “the Commission concludes that because the Green Party of Canada has intentionally reduced the number of candidates running in the election for strategic reasons, it no longer meets the intention of the participation criteria to justify inclusion in the leaders’ debates.”
The French language debate is set for Wednesday night, while the English language debate is scheduled for Thursday night.
May, who first participated in a leaders’ debate in 2008, said the rules over the years have changed and shifted but the Green Party has always met the criteria to participate.
“The consistency in it is its inconsistency,” May said. “A desire by larger parties to keep out the Green Party.”
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She said this decision is “anti-democratic” and a “mistake” and they are asking for the public’s support to speak out against the commission’s decision and they have sent a letter asking them to reverse their decision.
“This is a really critical moment for Canadian democracy,” May added.
“The shock of this rude awakening is not wearing off.”
At a press conference earlier on Wednesday, Green Party co-leader Jonathan Pedneault said the decision, made despite the party meeting eligibility criteria, is a co-ordinated attempt to silence dissent and protect the political status quo, in his view.
Pedneault says the move undermines freedom of expression and denies Canadians the right to be fully informed ahead of the election.
He’s now calling on the Debates Commission to reverse what he also called an “undemocratic” decision.
— With files from Sean Boynton
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