National Post (National Edition)
The whole platform
Re: That’s what a debate is for, John Ivison, Aug. 14.
Your columnist reaches the right conclusion — that Maxime Bernier should take part in televised leaders’ debates. But first, he meanders — his word — at length about just one of Bernier’s policies — immigration. I regret that he failed to mention other policy proposals that are more important, and more prominent in Bernier’s campaign: ending crony capitalism, building pipelines, scuttling poultry and dairy cartels, breaking barriers to interprovincial trade … Readers should look at the whole platform before deciding for or against Bernier and his People’s Party.
Brian Kappler, Montreal
Re: New debate commission may bar Bernier from participating, Brian Platt, Aug. 13
It should be disgraceful that the election is being fixed, not by Russians, but by Canadians. The commissioner of the Leaders’ Debates Commission, David Johnston, has ruled that the People’s Party of Canada cannot be represented in the televised debates because the opinion polls say leader Maxime Bernier doesn’t have a “legitimate chance of being elected.” I would call that prejudging the election. If the opinion polls can do the job for us, then why bother with an election at all?
Opinion polls are a tool to sway public opinion, not measure it.
Robert Wood, Ottawa
This commission, created by the Liberal government, states that one of the requirements for debate participation is that the party is represented in the House of Commons by a member of Parliament who was elected under the party’s banner. As Bernier did not have a party, this requirement obviously could not be met.
I think the only reason Bernier is not the head of the Conservative party is because of 12,000 Ontario/Quebec dairy farmers who joined the party for one day to make sure he did not phase out their organization.
That Bernier has leadership qualifications cannot be contested and even though he lost the leadership of the Conservative party to Andrew Scheer, I still want to hear what Bernier has to say — even though the other five participants in the debate may not.
Lou Johnston, St. Albert, Alta.