Green party leader excluded from televised debates

VICTORIA – Green leader Elizabeth May says a broadcast consortium’s decision to exclude her from a televised leaders’ debate is "breathtakingly anti-democratic."

She is calling on Canadians to rise up and to register their disapproval.

"It’s very important that in the next few hours that Canadians from coast to coast express their concerns," May told the Victoria Times Colonist. "Otherwise, the old-boys’ club will win."

Consortium spokesman Marco Dube told media Tuesday only the four leaders whose parties are in the House of Commons – Conservative, Liberal, NDP and Bloc Quebecois – are invited to take part.

The Green party has not yet elected an MP. This election, the Greens are focusing all their energy on trying to get May elected in the B.C. riding of Saanich-Gulf Islands.

Dube told media outlets Tuesday five host broadcasters – CBC, Radio-Canada, CTV, Global and TVA – "unanimously decided they wanted to invite the four parties that have representation in the House."

He characterized it as a programming decision.

May characterized it Tuesday as an "arbitrary" decision that goes against what Canadians want. When May was initially excluded from the televised debate in 2008, polls showed Canadians overwhelmingly supported her inclusion.

"They have no rules and no criteria on how they operate," May said. "They are just trying to shut down democracy . . . It’s an old-boys’ club and I don’t think Canadians will stand for it."

She also is angry the Bloc is included in the debate, when the party only fields candidates in one province, while her party has candidates across the country.

May doesn’t think gender has anything to do with the decision -"I don’t know if they’re keeping me out because I’m a woman" – but suggests it is unfortunate that the consortium doesn’t recognize the importance of including the only female leader in the debate.

"What message does it send to our kids around . . . who can be prime minister?" May asked.

The Green leader said she would like to know whether Conservative leader Stephen Harper and NDP leader Jack Layton would support her participation in the debate – since both said they wouldn’t participate in the televised debate in 2008 if she was included.

May initially was excluded from a televised leadership debate three years ago because the Green party did not have an elected MP.

She argued the decision as "anti-democratic." Harper, Layton, and Bloc Quebecois leader Gilles Duceppe initially opposed her inclusion but the backlash saw her invited to participate.

Many pundits called May a strong debater and some even proclaimed her the winner of the English-language debate.