Chronic

so much for my prediction skills... lol

and So which is it? As for the amount of time available for it, that brings us right back to the control that tv execs have over what should be, in your words "an important event" They are the ones who decide how much time is available and they who decide who is included. Surely you must so the inherent problem with this. There should be a set criteria that intelligently sets the requirements for the leaders debate. Those criteria should include consideration of not only how many candidates as part fields, but where they do. A party that is strictly represenative of a single province would be a good example of one that should not be included in a National debate. Do you understand the expense and time and effort it requires to run a full campaign across the country? This is not something that is done lightly, so that should definately be a factor in the decision. And you never did address the issue that your catagorization of " Parties with little or no chance of forming the next government " How do you measure this? As I said, all it would take is for the normal non-voters to get out and vote for a single party and that party would win. Or if you prefer what you would likely term a more realistic possibilty. The Green party recieved 5% of the popular vote last election, dont be surprised if it gets over 10% this year... even if not, it will most likely include one seat in BC, a minority government between between the parties is always a possibilty, which could include them. Stranger things have happened...

This issue has pissed me off for ages. To begin with, the majority of the world speaks english, if only haltingly to better be able to do business with the western world. And here we are fighting over wether or not we shoudl have to speak french to live and work here. Although I beleive that if we should be forced to learn a second language that it should be a more globally accepted language. I'm going to offer a different direction for this. You can't have it both ways, either we are a bi-lingual country (french/english) or we are not. That means that if we are, quebec shouldnt be discriminating against english speaking people. And vice versa, no other province should be discriminating against french speaking people. OR, we are not a bilingual country, in whcih case, if quebec wants to remain a solely french speaking province, than there shoudl be no reason for any other province (unless they choose to) to be bilingual. Same goes for employment opportunites, if people living in quebec wish the freedom to get and maintain jobs in other provinces, then they shouldnt be discouraging other provinces people from getting or maintaining jobs in quebec. THe thing that botheres me most, is the attitude that the rest of the country should bend over backwards to appease quebec when it has no desire to even remote work towards co-operation.

I really agree with you on this. Even ignoring the fact that I am more concerned with seeing the Greens be involved. The fact that the bloc is included in a FEDERAL election to determine the leadership of the Country, when they make it quite clear they have no desire to be part of this country let alone run it is highly disgraceful. Out of all the elctoral processes that we have, the one that says a party can be an offically recognized party and makes no mention of wether or not it has to be a national party is just plain worng. Heres a simple rule... if you dont have represenatives running in at least half the ridings in Canada (308/2) 154, the you cna not be an official federal party. By this I dont mean you need to elect a candidate in half the ridings, only that you run one.

I do, and so does any other person who belives that our current governmental system is corrupt and that we need a new alternative. The old ways just arent good enough anymore. What criteria would you like to see used to decide who can be in the televisde debates? THose haveing a realistic chance of forming the next government is a very vague comment. After all if everyone who didnt vote in the last election voted for the same party, that party would win. Therefore, any registered party has that ability. Personally, I think gaining the necessary 2% of the popular vote and becoming a recognized party is a really good start. how about we add in, they have to run a candidate in at least 95% of the ridings in the country? Many voters who havent given up on the whole process yet, make their decision of who to vote for from the debates. A case of, if you arent there, you dont count. So the current system of a private body (the tv execs) making a decision that is arbrtary and has no standards beyond their own, is just plain wrong and undemocratic. At least in my opinion... Tom

No, actually just every thread that relates to this...

So what you're suggesting is that you would rather see a party such as the bloc, who makes no bones about the fact they they are not in this to form a federal government, be involved then than The Green Party who has made more progress each election and is trying to be a national party? As for the argument of them not having any seats, what do you think would happen if they were included in the debates. They made it this far without that publicity boon that the other main aprties have, and until this last election did it with no government funding.

As I hope you all know a Federal Election is coming up on Jan 23. There is one more Leaders Debate scheduled on Monday. There is a petition collecting signatures to stop the TV executives from being the ones who decide who is allowed in the debates. Right now for a party to be recognized as an official federal party, they must get at least 2% of the popular vote. Once this happens they recieve funding from taxes and are regarded as an offical party. At this point in time they should be being included in all Federal Political Events. That isnt the way it works though when it comes to the televised debates. Regardless of the criteria already set out for federal parties, the television executives arbritarily decide who can be invloved. Which means that they are subverting the federal election process if they follow any guidelines except the established governmental regulations. For a brief refresher (or maybe new knowledge) there are 308 ridings across canada. In the last election only four parties ran a candidate in every riding. To me this is important, because if you wish to be a federal party that represents the whole country, shouldn't you have represenatives across the whole country? The four parties were; the Liberals, Conservatives, N.D.P. and The Green Party. The following link is to a petetion at the Green Parties website. This has nothing to do with any poll or survey, and it is not about supporting the Green Party. It is about allowing the democratic principles that our country is about to work as they were meant to. Nowhere does it say that televion executives should have the power to decide who has access to the leaders debates. By monday's scheduled debate, we need to collect another 10,000 canadian signatures. Just ask yourself this, wouldnt you at least like to see the leader of the Green Party have a chance to say his peace, especially considering a couple of million tax dollars went to them since the last election? Here's the link http://www.info-greenparty.ca/petition/ Let's let the democratic process work without hinderance from the television executives. Tom Adshead

As I hope you all know a Federal Election is coming up on Jan 23. There is one more Leaders Debate scheduled on Monday. There is a petition collecting signatures to stop the TV executives from being the ones who decide who is allowed in the debates. Right now for a party to be recognized as an official federal party, they must get at least 2% of the popular vote. Once this happens they recieve funding from taxes and are regarded as an offical party. At this point in time they should be being included in all Federal Political Events. That isnt the way it works though when it comes to the televised debates. Regardless of the criteria already set out for federal parties, the television executives arbritarily decide who can be invloved. Which means that they are subverting the federal election process if they follow any guidelines except the established governmental regulations. For a brief refresher (or maybe new knowledge) there are 308 ridings across canada. In the last election only four parties ran a candidate in every riding. To me this is important, because if you wish to be a federal party that represents the whole country, shouldn't you have represenatives across the whole country? The four parties were; the Liberals, Conservatives, N.D.P. and The Green Party. The following link is to a petetion at the Green Parties website. This has nothing to do with any poll or survey, and it is not about supporting the Green Party. It is about allowing the democratic principles that our country is about to work as they were meant to. Nowhere does it say that televion executives should have the power to decide who has access to the leaders debates. By monday's scheduled debate, we need to collect another 10,000 canadian signatures. Just ask yourself this, wouldnt you at least like to see the leader of the Green Party have a chance to say his peace, especially considering a couple of million tax dollars went to them since the last election? Here's the link http://www.info-greenparty.ca/petition/ Let's let the democratic process work without hinderance from the television executives. Tom Adshead

As I hope you all know a Federal Election is coming up on Jan 23. There is one more Leaders Debate scheduled on Monday. There is a petition collecting signatures to stop the TV executives from being the ones who decide who is allowed in the debates. Right now for a party to be recognized as an official federal party, they must get at least 2% of the popular vote. Once this happens they recieve funding from taxes and are regarded as an offical party. At this point in time they should be being included in all Federal Political Events. That isnt the way it works though when it comes to the televised debates. Regardless of the criteria already set out for federal parties, the television executives arbritarily decide who can be invloved. Which means that they are subverting the federal election process if they follow any guidelines except the established governmental regulations. For a brief refresher (or maybe new knowledge) there are 308 ridings across canada. In the last election only four parties ran a candidate in every riding. To me this is important, because if you wish to be a federal party that represents the whole country, shouldn't you have represenatives across the whole country? The four parties were; the Liberals, Conservatives, N.D.P. and The Green Party. The following link is to a petetion at the Green Parties website. This has nothing to do with any poll or survey, and it is not about supporting the Green Party. It is about allowing the democratic principles that our country is about to work as they were meant to. Nowhere does it say that televion executives should have the power to decide who has access to the leaders debates. By monday's scheduled debate, we need to collect another 10,000 canadian signatures. Just ask yourself this, wouldnt you at least like to see the leader of the Green Party have a chance to say his peace, especially considering a couple of million tax dollars went to them since the last election? Here's the link http://www.info-greenparty.ca/petition/ Let's let the democratic process work without hinderance from the television executives. Tom Adshead

As I hope you all know a Federal Election is coming up on Jan 23. There is one more Leaders Debate scheduled on Monday. There is a petition collecting signatures to stop the TV executives from being the ones who decide who is allowed in the debates. Right now for a party to be recognized as an official federal party, they must get at least 2% of the popular vote. Once this happens they recieve funding from taxes and are regarded as an offical party. At this point in time they should be being included in all Federal Political Events. That isnt the way it works though when it comes to the televised debates. Regardless of the criteria already set out for federal parties, the television executives arbritarily decide who can be invloved. Which means that they are subverting the federal election process if they follow any guidelines except the established governmental regulations. For a brief refresher (or maybe new knowledge) there are 308 ridings across canada. In the last election only four parties ran a candidate in every riding. To me this is important, because if you wish to be a federal party that represents the whole country, shouldn't you have represenatives across the whole country? The four parties were; the Liberals, Conservatives, N.D.P. and The Green Party. The following link is to a petetion at the Green Parties website. This has nothing to do with any poll or survey, and it is not about supporting the Green Party. It is about allowing the democratic principles that our country is about to work as they were meant to. Nowhere does it say that televion executives should have the power to decide who has access to the leaders debates. By monday's scheduled debate, we need to collect another 10,000 canadian signatures. Just ask yourself this, wouldnt you at least like to see the leader of the Green Party have a chance to say his peace, especially considering a couple of million tax dollars went to them since the last election? Here's the link http://www.info-greenparty.ca/petition/ Let's let the democratic process work without hinderance from the television executives. Tom Adshead

As I hope you all know a Federal Election is coming up on Jan 23. There is one more Leaders Debate scheduled on Monday. There is a petition collecting signatures to stop the TV executives from being the ones who decide who is allowed in the debates. Right now for a party to be recognized as an official federal party, they must get at least 2% of the popular vote. Once this happens they recieve funding from taxes and are regarded as an offical party. At this point in time they should be being included in all Federal Political Events. That isnt the way it works though when it comes to the televised debates. Regardless of the criteria already set out for federal parties, the television executives arbritarily decide who can be invloved. Which means that they are subverting the federal election process if they follow any guidelines except the established governmental regulations. For a brief refresher (or maybe new knowledge) there are 308 ridings across canada. In the last election only four parties ran a candidate in every riding. To me this is important, because if you wish to be a federal party that represents the whole country, shouldn't you have represenatives across the whole country? The four parties were; the Liberals, Conservatives, N.D.P. and The Green Party. The following link is to a petetion at the Green Parties website. This has nothing to do with any poll or survey, and it is not about supporting the Green Party. It is about allowing the democratic principles that our country is about to work as they were meant to. Nowhere does it say that televion executives should have the power to decide who has access to the leaders debates. By monday's scheduled debate, we need to collect another 10,000 canadian signatures. Just ask yourself this, wouldnt you at least like to see the leader of the Green Party have a chance to say his peace, especially considering a couple of million tax dollars went to them since the last election? Here's the link http://www.info-greenparty.ca/petition/ Let's let the democratic process work without hinderance from the television executives. Tom Adshead

As I hope you all know a Federal Election is coming up on Jan 23. There is one more Leaders Debate scheduled on Monday. There is a petition collecting signatures to stop the TV executives from being the ones who decide who is allowed in the debates. Right now for a party to be recognized as an official federal party, they must get at least 2% of the popular vote. Once this happens they recieve funding from taxes and are regarded as an offical party. At this point in time they should be being included in all Federal Political Events. That isnt the way it works though when it comes to the televised debates. Regardless of the criteria already set out for federal parties, the television executives arbritarily decide who can be invloved. Which means that they are subverting the federal election process if they follow any guidelines except the established governmental regulations. For a brief refresher (or maybe new knowledge) there are 308 ridings across canada. In the last election only four parties ran a candidate in every riding. To me this is important, because if you wish to be a federal party that represents the whole country, shouldn't you have represenatives across the whole country? The four parties were; the Liberals, Conservatives, N.D.P. and The Green Party. The following link is to a petetion at the Green Parties website. This has nothing to do with any poll or survey, and it is not about supporting the Green Party. It is about allowing the democratic principles that our country is about to work as they were meant to. Nowhere does it say that televion executives should have the power to decide who has access to the leaders debates. By monday's scheduled debate, we need to collect another 10,000 canadian signatures. Just ask yourself this, wouldnt you at least like to see the leader of the Green Party have a chance to say his peace, especially considering a couple of million tax dollars went to them since the last election? Here's the link http://www.info-greenparty.ca/petition/ Let's let the democratic process work without hinderance from the television executives. Tom Adshead

As I hope you all know a Federal Election is coming up on Jan 23. There is one more Leaders Debate scheduled on Monday. There is a petition collecting signatures to stop the TV executives from being the ones who decide who is allowed in the debates. Right now for a party to be recognized as an official federal party, they must get at least 2% of the popular vote. Once this happens they recieve funding from taxes and are regarded as an offical party. At this point in time they should be being included in all Federal Political Events. That isnt the way it works though when it comes to the televised debates. Regardless of the criteria already set out for federal parties, the television executives arbritarily decide who can be invloved. Which means that they are subverting the federal election process if they follow any guidelines except the established governmental regulations. For a brief refresher (or maybe new knowledge) there are 308 ridings across canada. In the last election only four parties ran a candidate in every riding. To me this is important, because if you wish to be a federal party that represents the whole country, shouldn't you have represenatives across the whole country? The four parties were; the Liberals, Conservatives, N.D.P. and The Green Party. The following link is to a petetion at the Green Parties website. This has nothing to do with any poll or survey, and it is not about supporting the Green Party. It is about allowing the democratic principles that our country is about to work as they were meant to. Nowhere does it say that televion executives should have the power to decide who has access to the leaders debates. By monday's scheduled debate, we need to collect another 10,000 canadian signatures. Just ask yourself this, wouldnt you at least like to see the leader of the Green Party have a chance to say his peace, especially considering a couple of million tax dollars went to them since the last election? Here's the link http://www.info-greenparty.ca/petition/ Let's let the democratic process work without hinderance from the television executives. Tom Adshead

I hope I'm not putting this in the wrong area. As I hope you all know a Federal Election is coming up on Jan 23. There is one more Leaders Debate scheduled on Monday. There is a petition collecting signatures to stop the TV executives from being the ones who decide who is allowed in the debates. Right now for a party to be recognized as an official federal party, they must get at least 2% of the popular vote. Once this happens they recieve funding from taxes and are regarded as an offical party. At this point in time they should be being included in all Federal Political Events. That isnt the way it works though when it comes to the televised debates. Regardless of the criteria already set out for federal parties, the television executives arbritarily decide who can be invloved. Which means that they are subverting the federal election process if they follow any guidelines except the established governmental regulations. For a brief refresher (or maybe new knowledge) there are 308 ridings across canada. In the last election only four parties ran a candidate in every riding. To me this is important, because if you wish to be a federal party that represents the whole country, shouldn't you have represenatives across the whole country? The four parties were; the Liberals, Conservatives, N.D.P. and The Green Party. The following link is to a petetion at the Green Parties website. This has nothing to do with any poll or survey, and it is not about supporting the Green Party. It is about allowing the democratic principles that our country is about to work as they were meant to. Nowhere does it say that televion executives should have the power to decide who has access to the leaders debates. By monday's scheduled debate, we need to collect another 10,000 canadian signatures. Just ask yourself this, wouldnt you at least like to see the leader of the Green Party have a chance to say his peace, especially considering a couple of million tax dollars went to them since the last election? Here's the link http://www.info-greenparty.ca/petition/ Let's let the democratic process work without hinderance from the television executives. Tom Adshead