Green Party of Ontario calls for inclusive, democratic debates in Ontario

Toronto – Today, the date of the only televised Leaders’ Debate was announced for September 27th.  At the moment, Green Party Leader Mike Schreiner is not included, but there is still time for democracy to prevail.

“We are set to confirm our full slate of candidates this weekend,” says Green Party Leader Mike Schreiner. “We have a great team and are determined to bring a fresh voice to politics as usual at Queen’s Park.  Our vision tackles the major challenges facing us today, with a long-term perspective that secures our children’s future.”

The Green Party is clearly part of a growing global political movement that has elected officials all over the world – including seats in Germany, Britain, Australia and most recently, in Canada with the election of Elizabeth May earlier this year.  The Greens in the German state of Baden-Württemberg also formed government earlier this year, a global first.

Most Ontarians agree that the Green Party should be included in this year’s Leaders’ Debate. 

• People across the political spectrum support fair and inclusive debates – municipal councillors, community leaders and members of all parties have signed a grassroots, non-partisan campaign ‘Mike at the mic’, started by Dave Meslin, a Toronto community activist.
• The Agenda on TVO has recently announced that Green Party candidates will be included in all of their election debates. This decision was made democratically according to Steve Paikin, “…after seeking input from our production team, [we] realize that the Greens had fully developed, and in some cases, quite different positions from the three mainline parties on a host of other issues as well.”
• Dozens of organizations, including the Elementary School Teachers Federation, the Ontario Chamber of Commerce and the Canadian Federation of Independent Business have asked for the Green Party’s position on a variety of issues.

“We started asking about the rules for being included in the debates at the beginning of this year,” stated Green Party Campaign Manager Becky Smit. “We are still unclear on the criteria used to make the decision. We would welcome the opportunity to meet with the consortium to present our case.”

Some of the reasons the Green Party should be included in this year’s debate:

• The Green Party was first to launch their provincial platform on May 25th.
• In the 2007 general election, the Green Party of Ontario received 354,897 votes. Locally, Green Party candidates achieved results as high as 33.14%, including 18 second and third place results. 
• Recent polling shows the Greens in close races with Progressive Conservative and Liberal candidates in select ridings.

The Green Party has organized an online campaign for inclusion in the Leaders’ Debate at LetMikeSpeak.ca.  

In 2008, public outcry in response to Elizabeth May’s exclusion from the Federal Leaders’ debate led to the reversal of the consortium’s decision to exclude her.

Contact

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Becky Smit
Office: 416-977-7476
Toll Free: 888-647-3366
Cell: 647-830-6486
Email: beckysmit@gpo.ca