Your Email:
Your Name:
To:
Subject:
Message: Green Party Wants Major-Party Nod Elizabeth May, leader of Canada’s “Green Party,“ wants that party recognized as a major political contender. Right now, the Greens are seen as Canada’s fifth party after the Bloc, NDP, Liberals, and the Conservatives. That means May does not have access to the public stage during, for example, debates among the top political parties. May contends that recent polls show her party is gaining popularity and it should be included in debates. May ran for a position in the House of Parliament during a recent by-election in London, Ontario. She came in second ahead of a well-known Conservative candidate—the city’s former mayor. May stresses in a Globe and Mail interview: “The last set of debates were a mockery of democracy where other party leaders got away with the debate format to give pre-scriped sound bites. I think the inclusion of someone with, obviously, nothing to lose and the intense commitment to ensuring that truth comes out will actually have a saluatory effect on teh debates. And, if nothing else, ladies and gentlemen, I promise you better television." All of this happens as Stephen Harper’s Conservatives lose ground on the environmental front and former Prime Minister Brian Mulroney criticizes the party for its anaemic environmental performance. Conservative lightweight Rona Ambrose—Harper’s answer to Canada’s environmental concerns—may be on the way out as the party wakes up to the fact that it needs more than a pretty face on the environmental front. One wonders what they were thinking about when they made this choice for Environmental Minister. May, however, offers damning praise for her Conservative counterpart: “I actually think that she’s been performing admirably under the instructions given her by her boss, which is to confuse the Canadian public, avoid doing anything on the environment while pretending she’s doing it." Canadian politics needs another strong voice to join in the environmental debate in this country. It is time to acknowledge the political legitimacy of the Green Party. www.corporateknightsforum.com