A party leader that was once left on the sidelines provided a refreshing reminder of what politics should be about last night in Ottawa.
As we narrowly avoided a Christmas election campaign when the federal budget passed by a final tally of 170-168 (thanks in part to four people who didn’t vote), one of the “yay’s” cast in favour was from Green Party MP/Leader Elizabeth May.
She apparently was swayed to support the budget because of renewed environmental commitments from the Liberals.
I was pleasantly surprised to see May in the spotlight yesterday, as it wasn’t too long ago that she was left out of some of the most important moments in politics.
I well remember an election from years ago when the Green Party (and May as leader) were not invited to federal leadership debates because they had no seats, a decision that was repeated earlier this year because (this time) they didn’t meet the three-part threshold to qualify.
The Leaders’ Debates Commission at the time said the Green Party had a discrepancy between the number of endorsed candidates it submitted on April 1, and the number of confirmed candidates it registered with Elections Canada.
Notwithstanding the fact that they set those same rules themselves, leaving the Green Party out was a mistake both times.
May represents a party which attracted hundreds of thousands of voters and dedicated candidates across the country.
Ironically, it was May’s voice (previously silenced before because of regulations) that helped provide a key vote and a voice of reason that it was time to govern and not campaign again. Better late than never, especially when it takes away a Christmas present that none us wanted.
I’m Paul Martin and that’s what I see looking Beyond the Headlines.
