ANNOUNCEMENT BY ADRIEN POULIOT AND ALEX TYRRELL
ANNOUNCEMENT BY ADRIEN POULIOT AND ALEX TYRRELL
For immediate release
September 10, 2018
Adrien Pouliot, leader of the Conservative Party of Québec, and Alex Tyrrell , leader of the Green Party, have today proposed to the mainstream media an enhanced formula to the leaders’ debate so that the population can be better informed about the choices available to them during this election.
Mr. Pouliot stated: "As a former media owner, I understand and agree that you cannot have all the leaders present at the debate. On the other hand, the media has now applied this formula to exclude smaller parties from virtually all their media interventions."
Mr. Tyrrell went further, stating that our democracy was ill served by this practice even though his and Mr. Pouliot’s party will present nearly 200 candidates across the province. "The media have a responsibility to give a voice not only to the parties represented in the National Assembly but also to those who offer a serious and credible alternative to Quebec voters".
Messrs. Pouliot and Tyrrell propose the following formula: the leaders of the two parties who garnered the largest percentage of votes at the previous election after the ones represented at the National Assembly would be invited to speak at the end of the leaders' debates, either in a “rebuttal format” or by participating in the media scrum with reporters after the debate to offer their comments on the debate.
According to Mr. Pouliot, "this formula costs nothing, is easy to organize and will allow voters to have a glimpse, however short, of other choices available to them."
Mr. Tyrrell concluded by emphasizing the importance of informing the public to make an informed choice: "Our two parties have elaborate programs, and we are present large complement of candidates across Quebec. Voters have a democratic right to get more information on these two additional choices. "
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For more information, contact: Nicolas Boni-Rowe
Communications Officer of the Conservative Party of Québec for the 2018 election
514-774-2664