Layton is disappointing. His position seems to be identical to that of Harper. The same crapola that she is just a Liberal in disguise. If she were a Liberal why would she disguise it and why would she bother to run candidates against the Liberals in most ridings. May does seem to have good relations with the Liberals and has an agreement with them re running in her own riding but that does not add up to her being a Liberal. However, May should have criticized Dion as well since he said that if Harper withdrew because May was participating he would not debate either. Actually I think it would be great if there were a debate with no Harper. This would make him seem like an arrogant fool. As it is he shows his evasiveness by not answering the question as to whether he really said he would not debate if May were included.
May calls out Harper, Layton for boycott threats
Blasts leaders who 'secretly threatened' to skip debates
Last Updated: Tuesday, September 9, 2008 11:52 AM ET
CBC News
Green party Leader Elizabeth May plans to appeal to the CRTC over her exclusion from the leaders debates. (Sean Kilpatrick/Canadian Press)
Green party Leader Elizabeth May sharply criticized Conservative Leader Stephen Harper and NDP Leader Jack Layton on Tuesday, demanding they publicly admit they threatened to boycott debates next month if she were to be included.
"I think we have to out the leaders who secretly threatened not to participate," May said in an interview with CBC News on Tuesday.
Her comments come a day after a consortium of television networks declined to let May participate in the nationally televised debates, saying three parties threatened to boycott but providing no more details.
The Green party will file a formal complaint with Canada's broadcast regulator, the Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission on Tuesday, May said.
The party also started an online petition Tuesday demanding May be included in the debates.
Bloc Québécois Leader Gilles Duceppe didn't threaten a boycott, but did express a preference for only the four major parties at the debate, and Liberal Leader Stéphane Dion has said he supported May's inclusion — but wouldn't attend the debate if Harper wasn't there.
"It looks like it's Mr. Layton and Mr. Harper," May said. "I think the Canadian public deserves an answer from each of them. Would they actually refuse to appear on a stage if I was there?"
In arguing against May's inclusion, the Tories and NDP cited a deal she struck with Dion, in which they agreed not to run candidates against each other in their respective Nova Scotia and Quebec ridings.
The NDP confirmed late Monday that Layton had said he wouldn't attend the debate were May allowed to participate.
"We said that if the Liberals were going to have two representatives, we would not accept the invitation," campaign spokesman Brad Lavigne said on Monday.
No comment from Harper
When asked by reporters in Winnipeg on Tuesday whether he told the consortium he would pull out of the debate upon May's inclusion, Harper said :"I gather that the consortium has made a decision, and I have no further comment on that decision."
On Monday, Harper said letting May participate in the debates would in essence allow a "second Liberal candidate" to participate, which he said was unfair.
Harper said May would endorse the Liberal party before the campaign was over.
But May told reporters in Ottawa on Monday afternoon, that there's "absolutely no way" that she would turn her back on Green candidates running against Liberals and endorse Dion.
Harper was afraid the Greens would cut into his voter base, said May.
"Progressive Conservatives and former Reformers … are really disappointed and disillusioned that Mr. Harper has taken a party whose roots were in grassroots democracy and populism and turned it on its head into a top-down control machine that wants to run over everyone."
May also criticized the consortium for giving in to Harper and Layton's demands, saying it should have "called their bluff."
No comments:
Post a Comment