The 2021 federal election leaders' debate "did not deliver," says the man in charge of them..Federal Debates Commissioner David Johnston, 80, said he was personally unaware of specific complaints of bias..“There was widespread agreement the 2021 debates did not deliver as well as they should have,” Johnston, a former governor general, testified at the House affairs committee..“The two major weaknesses identified were format and moderation.”.“Were the debates organized to serve the public interest? We believe changes need to be made in the future to better serve the public.”.The Leaders’ Debates Commission faced numerous complaints over its role in the September 20 election campaign..A federal judge last September 8 censured the commission for blacklisting Rebel News from assigning reporters to the debates..“There is room in the nation for expression of opposing view,” wrote Federal Court Justice Elizabeth Heneghan..“The commission is mandated to protect the public interest and this extends to the accreditation process. The independence of the commission does not relieve it from the obligation to act fairly.”.The commission was also criticized for excluding People’s Party leader Maxime Bernier, even though his party drew almost 842,000 votes..Other leaders criticized moderator Shachi Kurl, president of the Angus Reid Institute, over a September 9 question to the Bloc Québécois: “You denied Québec has problems with racism yet you defend legislation such as Bills 96 and 21 which marginalize religious minorities, anglophones and allophones. Québec is recognized as a distinct society, but for those outside the province, please help them understand why your party supports these discriminatory laws.”.MPs on the House affairs committee this week described the exchange as offensive..“The English-language debate was a fiasco,” said Bloc MP Alain Therrien (La Prairie, Que.)..“As a Québec MP and Québec candidate I can tell you firsthand how incredibly insulted I was,” said Liberal MP Sherry Romanado (Longueuil-Charles LeMoyne, Que.)..Conservative MP Chris Warkentin (Grande Prairie-Mackenzie) noted the commission also contracted the CBC to oversee debate production though the Official Opposition campaigned on cuts to the CBC..“Would the commission be prepared to eliminate groups that were subject to debate from the process of editorial decision making?” asked MP Warkentin..“I would have some reservations about the neutrality or the view of non-bias.”.Warkentin noted one debate moderator, CBC host Rosemary Barton, posed in a selfie with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau..“That was known to the commission before the selection of that individual. Was there any concern?” asked Warkentin..“I am not aware of it being drawn to my attention,” replied Johnston.
