Islander disqualified from Canada's Next Great Prime Minister
Last Updated: Monday, January 12, 2009 | 9:44 AM ET
CBC News
The show's producers originally told Labchuk her run for Parliament was not a problem. (CBC)A P.E.I. woman is considering legal action after she was cut from the CBC game show Canada's Next Great Prime Minister because she has previously run for Parliament.
Camille Labchuk ran for the Green Party in New Brunswick in 2006, which is against the rules of the contest. Labchuk said she knew about the rule, but after receiving an email from the CBC encouraging her to apply, she decided to inquire further.
The show producers told her the run for Parliament would not disqualify her, so she went to work doing what she could to win the contest. She took two months to do research and create a video. She also held a public event, but now she has been told she is disqualified because of her 2006 campaign.
"The feeling I have right now is one of being utterly crushed, after having invested my heart and soul into this competition," Labchuk told CBC News Sunday.
"What's more, there are potential future damages. For instance if I'd made it to the semifinals I'd have had a one in two chance of winning a consolation prize of $5,000, and a one in eight chance of winning the grand prize of $50,000, plus the internship. So it's certainly a huge opportunity I've been prevented from obtaining here."
The top prize would have been stepping stones for her political career, she said. She wants to be reinstated or be given compensation.
The CBC admits the producers made a mistake by telling Labchuk they would override the rule, and the corporation has apologized, but Labchuk remains disqualified.
"For those people who didn't apply to become participants based on the existing rule, and for the integrity of the brand of the show, if you like, we needed to be consistent and enforce the rules equally across the board," said CBC spokesman Jeff Keay.
