It frustrates me that one or two TV station managers decide who gets to participate in our democratic process. Doesn’t the CBC have a little more influence than that? Why have we left everything to CTV and other stations to decide our fate? Is mainstream media really that worried about the Greens?
Anyways, Elizabeth May, leader of the Green Party, will not be allowed to speak at the debate between the leaders of the major federal parties. Gilles Duceppe, traitor to Canada that he is, is entitled to speak, but someone that leads a party that has seats in all of the federal ridings (at least they did in the last election), cannot discuss their position in a public forum.
I also heard that 3 of the leaders (Harper, Layton, Duceppe) promised to pull out of the debates if she were to attend, with Harper claiming the Greens and Liberals had too much in common. Ugh. I feel like my sense of democracy just got a clean square kick in the junk by all of the leaders, as they have demonstrated their disdain for the democratic process.
To top it all off, I have to be honest that I’m very disappointed that Jack Layton didn’t seize on the opportunity to describe his opposition the way they are: as not being progressive , leaving the NDP as the only moderate and progressive vote. This would have been a perfect opportunity to reveal that the Greens are also a one-issue party.
Also, my understanding is that the Greens in Canada are about as ‘left’ as Milton Friedman. They believe in the market’s ability to solve environmental issues. This may have changed a little since May took charge, but when I showed interest in this party about 6 years ago, ‘the market’ was all they could talk about.
Anyways, it’ll be up to all of use to decide on who’s going to run the country for the next few years. If we choose correctly, maybe we’ll even get a chance to remedy the wrongs that are already being committed.
