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PC candidates missing debates 'not healthy for democracy,' says advocate | "How DARE you not come to meaningless debate #12 (Anglo version)!?"

https://old.reddit.com/r/canada/comments/1ixuebr/pc_candidates_missing_debates_not_healthy_for/

								

								

Attending debates should be like attending class: you can get out of it with a note from your doctor, and nothing less. Failure to debate at least once should be grounds for disqualification. And in case there are concerns about the bias of the debate itself, create a department in Elections Ontario/Canada to handle the questions asked, to ensure it's even-handed.

Conservatives in particular play this game far too often, and it shouldn't be ignored. They're denying the electorate the ability to judge them on their merits.

/u/RideauRaccoon

Authoritarian nonsense born out of you never maturing past your school years. And I'm just positive that a new department would never be bias in favour of the party in power or do anything to sabotage the party most likely to cut their department.

What do you really think will happen at these debates? The same that always happens, nothing! Every word spoken by both sides will be lies and rhetoric with a handful of out of context sound bites taken by the party in opposition to try and rile up their base.

And what school did you go to where doctors note were required? Every single one I went to a parents word was enough and even then no one really cared. You could miss a week, never talk about it never have your parents call in to "excuse" you and nothing would come of it.

Grow up.

13
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In what appears to be a continuing trend since Doug Ford first took the reins of Progressive Conservative party in 2018, several PC candidates have skipped local debates in their regions throughout the snap election campaign that began nearly a month ago.

The trend is one that John Beebe, director of the Democratic Engagement Exchange at Toronto Metropolitan University, said is "not healthy for democracy" as many in the province already demonstrate an apathy toward voting, after the 2022 election saw a record low for voter turnout in Ontario.

I'll bet anything the sole reason they care is because the few voters that do turn out vote for the PCs. They don't want more voters they want more liberal voters.

He said candidates are instead choosing to send out targeted messages through social media or paid advertising.

"But it's those more informal back and forth takes that are critical to the health of our democracy," Beebe said. "It's particularly important for first [time] and infrequent voters who haven't already made up their minds to hear from candidates directly."

There it is!

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