Registered Lobbyist for SNC Lavalin Nuclear Key Planner for Harper's Debate Team

A very quick note to other bloggers out there. Could this be one of the reasons behind Stephen Harper’s position not to appear at a debate with Elizabeth May? The Globe and Mail is reporting today that Michael Coates, who has been working on behalf of Harper as his representative in planning the debates, is actually a lobbyist registered to lobby the PMO on behalf of a number of large corporations, including SNC Lavalin Nuclear, and the B.C. Lumber Trade Council.

Could it be that Ms. May and the Green Party’s message might actually run counter to the goals and objectives of a company like SNC Lavalin Nuclear, and that one of the main men on Harper’s team who represents a company like that, who was also instrumental in planning the debates, might have perhaps exerted some influence to keep the Greens out?

Of course, the NDP also wouldn’t be a friend of all of these companies either, but there has never been any question of excluding them from a televised debate. Elizabeth May, on the other hand, was a much easier target to keep silenced.

The Broadcast Consortium's decision to exclude Elizabeth May really does boggle the mind, when you realize that taxpayer money is shifted from the Federal Government to the Green Party (and the other major parties) based on the number of votes received in the last election. Essentially, we now have a situation where taxpayers are in part funding a message which they can not hear. Think there might be some vested interests out there outside of the Conservatives and NDP who don't want others to hear the publicly-funded Green Message?

Right now, I think it's too early to conclude anything on this, but I do believe there should be follow-up. Someone else in the party might want to do some more digging on Coate’s role in planning the debates, and his role with Bell, SNC Lavalin, etc. Here’s a link to the Globe and Mail’s article:

Steve May, CEO Sudbury Federal Green Party Association