Federal Green Party Co-Leader Jonathan Pedneault is calling on the commission overseeing the federal leaders debates to include him in today's French-language debate following a last-minute decision to exclude his party.

"This decision from the debates commission today does not protect democracy," he said Wednesday (April 16). "It protects those who have already had their turn. It protects the ones who pave over the truth, who bulldoze through public interest and leave the rest of us to pick up the pieces."

The Leaders Debate Commission announced Thursday morning it had rescinded its invitation to the federal Greens because the party had "intentionally reduced the number of candidates running in the election for strategic reasons."

The commission was referring to comments from Pedneault himself, who had said earlier this week that the party would drop 15 candidates for strategic reasons in ridings where the federal Conservatives were likely to win. 

One of the criteria for inclusion in the debate was for parties to have endorsed candidates in at least 90 per cent of federal ridings 28 days before the date of the general election.

Parties must also have at least one sitting MP whom voters had elected under its banner and must have at least four per cent national support in opinion polls. Parties qualify if they meet two of these three criteria. 

Greens met the MP threshold and the candidate threshold when the commission announced the party's inclusion with the addendum that "parties are not required to demonstrate that those candidates have been formally nominated with Elections Canada" as "debates are held well in advance of Election Day."

But the party's decision to since reduce the number of candidates caused a change.

"Whether or not the Green Party of Canada intended to run 343 candidates, it has since made the strategic decision to reduce the number of candidates running, meaning that voters no longer have the opportunity to vote for those candidates," it reads. 

The commission added that "(deliberately) reducing the number of candidates running for strategic reasons is inconsistent with the Commission鈥檚 interpretation of party viability, which the (inclusion) criterion was designed to measure." Held up against this move, the inclusion of the federal Green Party leader "in these circumstances would undermine the integrity of the debates and the interests of the voting public."

Elections Canada currently lists 232 Green candidates, meaning that the party is officially running in 68 per cent of ridings. If the party had kept the candidates, it still would have been short 96 candidates. 

Speaking to reporters in Montreal but without taking questions, Pedneault accused the Bloc Quebecois and conservative commentators of having launched a 鈥渃oordinated campaign鈥� against his party. "They are afraid and they are afraid not of chaos or confusion, but they are afraid of a clear voice that's calling for change." 

Pedneault's exclusion was the second and more significant change involving the French-language debate scheduled for 3 p.m. Pacific Standard Time. The commission yesterday announced that it would move the start time by two hours to accommodate a key Montreal Canadians game. 

The English-language debate is scheduled for Thursday, 4 p.m. Pacific Standard Time.