No Green in the Debate

Jim Harris isn’t being permitted to participate in the official televised leader’s debate. This is pretty shameful, given that their popularity is running at abou 5% and they’ve got candidates in every riding. The rejection has won Harris the particular privilege of guest-posting to BlogsCanada’s election blog.

One commenter at BlogsCanada argues that the Green Party should get official party status before being allowed to participate in the debate. He ought to check his history, as the PCs were invited in 1997 when they had exactly two seats in the House of Commons. Official party status, I think, requires 12 seats in the House. Besides, the Bloq makes the debate in every election, despite running candidates in roughly a fourth of all ridings. The broadcasters can’t even argue that it’s a numbers issue, as we’re down to four major parties.

I’m not necessarily backing the Green Party here, but I believe that Harris deserves a chance in the debate. This page explains how you can contact broadcasters to express your displeasure with their decision.