Green Party co-leader Elizabeth May is set to respond on Wednesday morning to the party’s removal from the leaders’ debates.
May will be speaking in Sidney, B.C., at 11 a.m. PT, and that will be live-streamed above.
The federal debate commission rescinded an invitation to the Green Party, saying that “the Commission concludes that because the Green Party of Canada has intentionally reduced the number of candidates running in the election for strategic reasons, it no longer meets the intention of the participation criteria to justify inclusion in the leaders’ debates.”
At a press conference on Wednesday, Green Party co-leader Jonathan Pedneault said the decision, made despite the party meeting eligibility criteria, is a co-ordinated attempt to silence dissent and protect the political status quo, in his view.
Pedneault says the move undermines freedom of expression and denies Canadians the right to be fully informed ahead of the election.
He’s now calling on the Debates Commission to reverse what he calls an “undemocratic” decision.
This story will be updated following May’s comments on Wednesday morning.
— With files from Sean Boynton