Demand Democratic Debates Rally

edit: Less than an hour after I posted this, the Conservatives backed down and said they will allow Elizabeth to participate. Now they’re just trying some funny stuff about bringing McKay in.. anyway. Read below for an outline of the drama for democracy.

Friday, September 12 2008, 12:30pm
Nathan Phillips Square and the CBC Headquarters
Free, media presence guaranteed
Facebook event

This is a chance to make a visible splash about one of the most important issues Canada’s democracy is plagued with, and demand that Elizabeth May be included in the debates. Although the organizers of the rally are Green, the nature of the event is non-partisan, to show that this is not just about our leader having a voice, it’s about the lack of control we as citizens have about institutions we fund.

The network consortium, constituting of representatives of the five largest networks, reached an agreement with the leaders of the other political parties to exclude Elizabeth May from the debates. The reason was that three of the four politicians refused to attend if Elizabeth was to be invited. Recently, Gilles Duceppe and Jack Layton placed their feet in their respective mouths and claimed that they really didn’t mean it like that. To be more precise, Jack Layton the whole thing “has become a distraction”.

But don’t take it from me- there are many, many people out there just as upset as I am: Jim Harris, who’s calling for people to donate a symbolic $10 for legal fees , Chris Tindal, and Tony Burman, an insider to the whole process, just to name a few.

I guess this issue resulted in one positive thing: it showed Canadians the true nature of our politicians, and our so-called democracy (or, as I just mistyped it, democrazy). And NDP and Conservative supporters are switching to the Greens en masse.