POT PARTY GETS THE SHAFT WITH BCTV DEBATE SNUB

Pandora Street runs from staid Oak Bay right to downtown
Victoria.

It has a wide centre boulevard adorned with lawn and trees. It is
heavily travelled and therefore an ideal location for election signs.

Yet, so far, the only signs sprouting on the lawn are of a mildly
anarchistic character.

"Media-controlled Election Fraud," says one. Others ponder
politicians' lack of ethics. But not one sign urging motorists to vote
for this or that candidate.

I thought about the alleged media-controlled election fraud for a
while and couldn't help but give the sign at least some credence,
particularly as far as television's role in election campaigns is concerned.

The recent party leaders' debate on BCTV, an admittedly useless affair
the constraints of which didn't allow for any real exchange of ideas,
nevertheless was an example of how the media can sap democracy of its
lifeblood.

Four parties were represented - the NDP, the Liberals, the Greens and
the Unity party. The latter two are not running full slates in this
election.

Another party that is running a full slate was barred from the debate.
That would be the Marijuana party. In spite of the fact that it is
fielding candidates in all 79 ridings, BCTV didn't deem it necessary
to allow the party to take part in the leaders' debate.

It isn't difficult to guess why. A party named after an illegal
substance causes shudders in the BCTV boardroom.

Yet, many of the Marijuana party candidates, a university professor
and a former Alliance party bigwig included, don't smoke the stuff and
don't want to. So what attracts them to the Marijuana party?

Freedom and choice, they will tell you. The freedom to choose a
lifestyle not determined by the social engineering that has become the
hallmark of Canadian governments.

Whenever critics of our system of government get vocal, the advice is:
don't just protest, get involved. Run for political office, we tell
them, and change the system from within.

So here, some people decided to do just that. They formed a political
party and in no time at all, they had 79 candidates to run for office.

They knew that a one-issue party would not appeal to voters. So they
hammered out a platform that includes policies on everything from
education to health care.

And if you think the Marijuana party is a collection of left-wing
would-be rebels, think again. Many of their policies are decidedly
conservative, appealing to the right wing of the political spectrum.

Take school vouchers, for instance, giving people a choice to shop
around for the school they believe best serves the needs of their children.

You may not like any of the policies advocated by the Marijuana party
and that's fine. You don't have to vote for them. The point is that as
a legally-constituted party, it has a right to be heard and vie with
the other parties for the voters' favor.

And that's why BCTV's decision to bar the Marijuana party from the
leaders' debate was a total abrogation of its responsibility as a
disseminator of news.

Media-controlled election fraud? Well, maybe not quite, but certainly
media-controlled news. And that should worry us.

And lest someone whisper it your ears, yes, my oldest son, Chuck, is
one of the founders of the Marijuana party and a candidate in this
election.

I may not support all the policies of the Marijuana party, but I am
proud of my son for doing what we have taught all our children: Get
involved.