Frank gets the last word on the televised debate

All alternatives must be aired

 

Ottawa Sun

Thursday, September 20, 2007

 

By FRANK DE JONG

When Ontario’s party leaders face off against each other tonight on live television, there will be someone missing: Me.

Despite a surge in voter support and unprecedented media coverage, the Green Party of Ontario wasn’t invited to the televised leaders’ debate. The network executives who set the rules decided three’s company, so that’s what viewers will get when they tune in to see the Liberal, Conservative and NDP leaders deliver scripted answers and trade predictable jibes.

Obviously, I feel left out. But why should they invite me?

To start with, other people want me on the debate. Thousands of people of all political stripes have called, e-mailed or signed the petition at www.letfrankin.ca to protest the snub.

But there’s a more compelling reason to include a Green voice in the debate: Barring a party that’s been polling as high as 11% is simply undemocratic and, in an era of low voter turnout, irresponsible.

Never mind that adding a fresh voice to the debate — especially on the issues of school funding and climate change — would increase viewership. It’s also a great opportunity to engage voters who have become disillusioned by or lost interest in the political process, and might well lead to a higher turnout at the polls.

Sure, I think Greens have a right to be heard — I’m biased, and our party has a lot to gain. But voters also have the right to hear us. This view is supported by the Supreme Court of Canada, which stated in a 1997 ruling that “elections are fair and equitable only if all citizens are reasonably informed of all the possible choices and if parties and candidates are given a reasonable opportunity to present their positions.”

Televised debates are powerful election tools. They let voters see how the leaders measure up, whether they can think on their feet, and how they articulate their party platforms. Since so many voters depend on these debates to help them decide how to mark their ballots, it’s incumbent on the organizers to present all the alternatives.

We’re required by Elections Ontario to account for every penny spent in the campaign, yet the networks don’t have to account for their decision to limit debate by excluding us. When put on the spot, they argue if they let the Greens in, they’d have to let every small party in.

Even if a debate between all 10 registered parties isn’t feasible, including just the Greens is neither unreasonable nor unprecedented. It’s not unreasonable because unlike, say, the Ontario Provincial Confederation of Regions Party, the Greens are no fringe party. We’re consistently polling between 6% and 11%, we’re running candidates in all 107 ridings, and we’ve released a serious and comprehensive platform. It’s not unprecedented because Adrianne Carr, then leader of the B.C. Greens, was included in her province’s 2005 debate. P.E.I. Green Leader Sharon Labchuk had her say in a televised debate earlier this year.

Neither won a seat in those elections, but being in the debate gave them a big boost. Without such a boost, or until Ontario switches to a more democratic voting system — as we hope voters will choose to do in the referendum — it’s difficult for an up-and-coming party to win that first seat.

But since the networks have dug in their heels, we’re kicking up ours with a party tonight in Toronto. I’ll answer the debate questions as they’re posed on television, and we’ll post the results online at www.gpo.ca.

Unlike the other debate, everyone’s welcome.

This is a letter I just sent to the Toronto Star….not sure if it will get published…probably not, but I had to try…

In the last few days I have read a number of letters from people concerned about both the Liberal and Conservative positions on school funding. Fawad Siddiqui writes, “…no funding of any religious schools. Our society is secular and, as such, no faith should be preferred over others….Catholic schools should not be funded…” Malcolm Buchanan states, “…why should we fund Roman Catholic schools? Why don’t they (the party leaders) respond to the public cry to end the special privilege to the separate school system? Politicians in Newfoundland moved to end religious domination of public education…if only one of the three main party leaders would do the same in Ontario.” William J. Phillips writes, “A province cannot offer superior educational opportunities in its schools if it fragments its system by funding religious schools.” Sheila Austin states, “Newfoundland has shown that separation (of religion and the state in schools) has reduced animosity between people of various religions. I suggest we need a referendum on this issue.” And Margaret Middleton writes, “It takes pure guts to initiate a single public school system.”

All of these people will be very happy to know that the Green Party position on this issue is exactly what they are asking for; namely ending funding for Catholic schools, and focusing all of our public resources on a single public school system, so that we can offer every child a high quality education in a safe and supportive environment. And to ensure that we are following the will of the people, we would call for a referendum to be held so that every person would have their voice heard on this critical issue.

Of course, with the media once again failing to give the Green Party the converge that we deserve, and with our leader, Frank de Jong excluded from the televised leaders’ debate, many people will not even realize that there is a party whose position on school funding, as well as many other issues, is supported by a majority on Ontarians.

At a time when the Green Party’s support is within the standard of error of the NDP’s, when the environment consistently tops the list of issues important to voters, when the Green Party is running candidates in every one of the 107 ridings in Ontario, and when over 70% of people believe that the Green Party should be included in the debates, it is truly a shame that democracy continues to be stifled in this way.

Russell Korus

Green Party of Ontario Candidate,

Vaughan.