As of press-time late last week the decision by major media companies to bar Green Party leader Elizabeth May from the national leaders debates was still being discussed, a situation that local Green hopeful Donovan Cavers described as “ridiculous.”
“As they did in 2008 I hope the current heads of “big media” get their heads screwed back on soon,” said the candidate for Kamloops-Shuswap-Cariboo.
Cavers pointed out that more than 940,000 Canadians voted for the Green Party in the last federal election.
“Voters have a right to hear where all the major parties stand on the issues,” he said. “That’s one of the cornerstones of democracy - an informed electorate. After all, Canadian taxpayers finance the Green Party. Shouldn’t they get to hear about its policies?”
Earlier in the week the Green candidate for Kamloops-Shuswap-Cariboo issued a climate change challenge to his rivals.
Cavers said that if the NDP, Liberal, or Conservative campaigns in the riding can demonstrate, as judged by a panel of three neutral experts, that their campaign activities have produced only twice the carbon emissions as that of Green Party candidate, then Cavers will publicly urge all local Green Party supporters to support the successful candidate on Friday, April 29.
The other candidates might have a hard time meeting the challenge. Cavers has indicated he plans to cycle from Kamloops to participate in the all-candidates’ forum being planned for Monday evening, April 11, in Clearwater Secondary School.
According to the Green Party website, Cavers is the chef and owner of Conscientious Catering, a catering company which uses exclusively local, organic, and/or fair trade ingredients. In 2010 he received the Kamloops Chamber of Commerce greenest business award.
The Green Party candidate grew up on a farm on the outskirts of Chase.