Fringe candidates upset about being left out of upcoming candidates forum

Guelph’s fringe party candidates in the upcoming provincial election are upset that they have been left out of an upcoming all-candidates forum.

One is even calling for a boycott of the event by all candidates.

The Guelph Chamber of Commerce is hosting the forum on May 22 at Guelph City Hall. It will feature the Liberal, Progressive Conservative, NDP and Green Party candidates.

Not invited to take part are the Alliance, Communist, Libertarian and None Of The Above Party candidates.

“I’m very disappointed to learn our city’s representative Chamber of Commerce has chosen to exclude half the registered candidates from a public debate,” said Alliance candidate Thomas Mooney. “This is a disgraceful slap in the face of democracy.”

None Of The Above Party candidate Paul Taylor has even gone so far as to call for a boycott of the event by the big four.

He said he plans on being outside City Hall that night in polite protest.

“I feel like the fat kid that wasn’t picked by the sports team at school,” Taylor said.

“Elections Ontario and Elections Canada should be very wary about the debates because they are an important platform for people to hear the different sides of the parties,” Taylor said.

Taylor said he emailed the Chamber of Commerce and hasn’t heard back.

“People need to know that there is other options,” Taylor said.

Guelph Chamber of Commerce CEO Kithio Mwanzia was not available for comment until Monday.

Mooney said voters deserve to hear from all candidates “and be heard by them.”

“By hand picking who can attend debates, that is essentially providing a biased platform of political discrimination. Their actions are arbitrarily limiting the constituents of Guelph from hearing and seeing that there are alternative choices this election,” Mooney said.

Communist Party candidate Juanita Burnett canned the situation "disappointing but unsurprising."

LIbertarian candidate Mike Riehl said "It’s disappointing that a large number of voices representing real Canadians are being left out of major electoral events.  A diversity of ideas is the strength we should be striving for, providing equal access to publicity for all candidates rather than playing favourites."

Green Party candidate Mike Schreiner, who has fought his own battles to be included in provincial party leader debates, said he believes the fringe candidates should be included.

"I understand how it feels to not be included in a debate. I am disappointed all candidates have not been invited. I support the inclusion of all candidates to be at the debate on May 22nd," Schreiner said in an emailed statement.

Liberal candidate Sly Castaldi’s campaign provided the following statement: “As an advocate, Sly believes that an open debate on the issues facing Guelph is integral to the democratic process.”

NDP candidate Aggie Mlynarz and Tory candidate Ray Ferraro did not immediately respond to a request for comment.