Monday night’s final English debate was the stage for a change in the direction of the election campaign. Stephen Harper appeared more poised and calm than he has ever been, leaving Paul Martin and the other leaders taking aim anywhere possible. Harper behaved more like a prime minister than an angry and disgruntled opposition leader.
Moderated by TVO’s Steve Paikin, the debate was much more organized and orderly than in years past. Paikin successfully controlled the leaders, asking pointed questions and bringing them back if their answers seemed to stray.
In a surprise move, and most likely an election tactic, Martin promised to remove the notwithstanding clause from the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. In the past, Harper has suggested that he would use the clause to strike down same sex-marriage legislation but has since said that he would not.
A noticeable absence at the debate was the Green Party of Canada, which has just received public funding after garnering four per cent of the vote last election. The parties invited to the debate should not be decided by television programming executives. If a party has earned public funding, it should, in the same vein, have earned a spot at the debates.
Regardless of which side of centre your political views may lie, in an election as close as this, it is important that we students ensure our interests and our voices are heard.
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