CBC Global Header Navigation

 
CBCnews
Story Tools: EMAIL | PRINT | Text Size: S M L XL | REPORT TYPO | SEND YOUR FEEDBACK | Bookmark and Share

Green party again threatens suit over debate exclusion

Last Updated: Friday, December 2, 2005 | 8:16 PM ET

CBC News
The Green party is once again threatening legal action over being excluded from televised leadership debates.

Leader Jim Harris said during a campaign stop in Charlottetown on Friday that his party had the support of 583,000 voters in the 2004 federal election, and there's evidence the number will grow in the Jan. 23 vote.

The party was snubbed in the 2004 debates, but never followed through with lawsuit threats.

For this federal election, leaders of the Liberals, Conservatives, Bloc Québécois and NDP have agreed to two English and two French debates being aired by a broadcast consortium of Canada's largest TV networks, including the CBC. The first two are Dec. 15 and 16 in Vancouver.

Harris said the consortium should let him participate, and the fact his party does not have an elected MP is no excuse for his exclusion.

"I find it amazing that broadcast consortium, meeting in secret, five executives, can make decisions in terms of what our democracy is going to look like in Canada," Harris told a news conference.

He pointed out that the Bloc Québécois was included in the debates for the 1993 election despite not being officially being recognized as a party.

  • This story is now closed to commenting.
Story Tools: EMAIL | PRINT | Text Size: S M L XL | REPORT TYPO | SEND YOUR FEEDBACK | Bookmark and Share
 

Canada Headlines

Mandatory gun sentence struck down by Ontario judge
An Ontario Superior Court judge has struck down a mandatory minimum sentence for a first offence of possessing a loaded firearm.
HMCS Corner Brook collision damage extensive video
The damage done to HMCS Corner Brook when it hit the ocean floor off B.C.'s coast last summer was more extensive than first reported, CBC News has learned by obtaining exclusive pictures of the submarine.
in depth Canada's ailing submarines
An interactive look at HMSC Corner Brook and the other three second-hand submarines that Canada purchased in 1998, which have all been something of a nightmare for the navy since Day 1.
Stanley Cup rioter seen in brick attack on cop video
Vancouver police have released video of a suspect who hit an officer in the head with a two-kilogram brick during the Stanley Cup riot.
'Disgusting' court backlog may free hit and run accused
The family of a young mother killed in a hit and run is outraged that the case against the alleged driver is among thousands in B.C. at risk of being thrown out because of a huge court backlog.

Top CBCNews.ca Headlines

Headlines

HMCS Corner Brook collision damage extensive video
The damage done to HMCS Corner Brook when it hit the ocean floor off B.C.'s coast last summer was more extensive than first reported, CBC News has learned by obtaining exclusive pictures of the submarine.
Whitney Houston's body headed home to New Jersey video
Whitney Houston's body was flown out of Los Angeles, and headed to New Jersey, where her family was making arrangements for a funeral at the end of the week.
Mandatory gun sentence struck down by Ontario judge
An Ontario Superior Court judge has struck down a mandatory minimum sentence for a first offence of possessing a loaded firearm.
Online surveillance critics siding with child porn: Toews
Critics of a bill that would give law enforcement new powers to access Canadians' electronic communications are aligning themselves with child pornographers, Canada's public safety minister says.
Low vitamin D in womb tied to poor language skills
Children born to women who had low levels of vitamin D during their pregnancy are more likely to have language problems, a new study suggests.

Features

The week in pictures
PHOTO GALLERYThe week in pictures
Images in the news