Why is Doug Ford afraid of fair debates? | Unpublished
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Toronto, Ontario
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The Green Party of Ontario is independent yet is philosophically aligned with other green parties in Canada and around the world. The GPO is fiscally conservative, socially progressive and environmentally focused, and begins with the basic premise that all life on the planet is interconnected and that humans have a responsibility to protect and preserve the natural world.

The Green Party of Ontario (GPO) became an officially registered political party in 1983, and has been developing in size and sophistication since that time, expanding its membership and rising in the polls. We have increased the number of candidates in successive provincial elections. In the 1999 provincial election, we fielded 58 candidates, and became the fourth largest party in the province. In 2003, we fielded our first nearly-full slate, 102 out of 103 candidates, and received 2.8% of the vote. The 2007 election saw Ontario voters support Green Party values with unprecedented enthusiasm. The GPO, for the first time in history, had a full slate of candidates and garnered over 8% of the vote.

In the 2018 election GPO leader Mike Schreiner became the first Ontario Green to be elected to Queen's Park. The party now has two seats and polls between 4-8%. 

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Why is Doug Ford afraid of fair debates?

May 4, 2018

QUEEN’S PARK -- PC leader Doug Ford is the only major party leader to go silent on fair and inclusive debates.

Premier Wynne and Andrea Horwath are in. Over 20,000 Ontarians have signed petitions at fairdebates.ca and MikeAtTheMic.ca to advocate for Mike Schreiner’s participation in televised debates. In a Toronto Star online poll, 82% of respondents agree there should be a Green seat at the debate table.

“I challenge Mr. Ford to support fair debates. While the Premier and the NDP leader have welcomed Greens into the televised debates, Doug Ford goes silent. What exactly is he afraid of?” asked Green Party of Ontario leader, Mike Schreiner.

Ford is masquerading as a man of the people. In truth he is doing everything he can to stay away from them, with staged events and a media-free campaign bus. The leaked video where Ford tells developers behind closed doors that he would open the Greenbelt for development raises serious questions about whether he will put people before well-connected insiders.

“If this is how he campaigns, this is how he wants to govern. We can’t let that happen.” added Schreiner. “We’re better than this, and we deserve better from those who want our vote. The Green Party believes in doing politics differently. We’re ready to take on all three parties on the issues that matter the most to Ontario. Ask anything you want. I’m ready,” said Schreiner.

 

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