"Unfortunately, as the national party leader I just can't make it to the local debate." - NDP Leader Jack Layton
Efforts to round up the four main federal election candidates in Toronto-Danforth for an all-candidates debate has proven futile.
While Green Party candidate Adriana Mugnatto-Hamu and Liberal representative Andrew Lang have said they're interested in attending a debate, the Conservative candidate, Katarina von Koenig, as well as the riding's incumbent MP, Jack Layton, who also serves as leader of the federal New Democratic Party, have declined to attend an all-candidates meeting set for Thursday, April 28 at Don Mills United Church, near O'Connor Drive and Pape Avenue.
Marie Crawford, the candidate for the Animal Alliance Environment Voters Party of Canada, also plans on attending the debate, which will run from 7 to 9 p.m.
On April 13, Mugnatto-Hamu issued an open challenge to Layton calling on the Toronto-Danforth incumbent to attend an all-candidates debate in his riding.
Layton hasn't participated in such a debate for the last three federal elections.
"Lots of voters decide at debates who they'll vote for. I think he ought to make that effort," Mugnatto-Hamu said, noting it's up to those in attendance to decide if they're willing to have someone step in for Layton at the debate.
"I do think people want to hear from their potential representative."
Mugnatto-Hamu said she's also not impressed the Conservatives have declined to attend the meeting.
"I don't like that kind of politics. It's anti-democratic and it's leading the country down the wrong path," she said, pointing to various instances where the Conservative Party has declined to have its candidates participate in debates.
Layton said he's sorry he can't make it to the April 28 debate.
"Unfortunately, as the national party leader I just can't make it to the local debate. We have to be all across the country," he said Tuesday afternoon, April 19, adding a telephone town hall meeting held in early February in the riding drew "thousands of people on the line."
"I'm thankful to the constituents for their understanding and support; to the people for forgiving me for the absence," said Layton, who said he may try the telephone town hall model again in the future.
The NDP leader said he makes an extra effort to spend a lot of time in between and in the period running up to elections in the riding.
Layton also said he encourages all-candidates debates to happen in the riding and doesn't want to see them cancelled like during the 2008 federal election.
"The NDP will be there. We'll have a voice," he assured, adding he'd send a qualified representative to the upcoming debate in his place.
In 2008, the riding's NDP MPP Peter Tabuns was assigned that task but was ultimately denied the opportunity to step in by those attending the meeting.
Liberal candidate Andrew Lang has made it clear to the debate's organizers he won't accept an NDP "surrogate".
"I'm running against Jack Layton, not against anybody else. I'm debating against the candidates for Toronto-Danforth," he said Tuesday evening.
"It's a ploy by the NDP to pretend to have a representative when they don't. We need a representative that represents and that's what I bring to the table."
Lang said he doesn't expect the debate to be a very interesting one as the Liberals and the Greens share similar philosophies on many issues.
von Koenig, the riding’s Conservative Party candidate, responded late Tuesday evening that prior commitments would prevent her from participating in the April 28 debate.