OTTAWA — Green party Leader Elizabeth May has lost in her a last-ditch effort to get in to the televised leaders’ debates.
Federal Court judge Marc Nadon has decided not to expedite the case before the first debate on Tuesday.
The Greens had been hoping the court would agree to hear her case and rule before the debates got underway next week.
Party lawyer Peter Rosenthal argued the guidelines used to decide who’s in the debates change with every election and are “constitutionally deficient.”
A lawyer for the media consortium that’s running the debates argued the matter was too complex to be heard fully within a matter of days.
The Greens wanted a judicial review of a CRTC policy that says broadcasters do not have to include all political parties in debates.
The media consortium running the debates insisted that only parties with seats in the last House of Commons can participate.
The French-language debate will take place April 14.