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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.

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