MONTREAL -- Montreal mayoral Candidate Balarama Holness is wondering why he is not being invited to the upcoming Chamber of Commerce debate, as he feels he meets the debate criteria.
Holness was frozen out of prior debates hosted by the Montreal Council on Foreign Relations and Tourism Montreal already, and is not on the slate alongside Valerie Plante from Projet Montreal and Ensemble Montreal's Denis Coderre for the Oct. 18 "economic debate for the 2021 municipal election."
Addressing the press, Holness said voters deserve to hear what his party has to say.
"We need to make sure that all Montrealers are aware of the platform of Movement Montreal, of Ensemble Montreal and Projet Montreal so all Montrealers can make an informed decision on Nov. 7," he said.
He speculated whether his party was left out of the debate because of its ideas, which he says challenge the status quo.
"We present change, we present new ideas, we present innovation and, who knows, maybe they are afraid of that change."
A recent Leger poll had the Mouvement Montreal leader at 10 per cent, and he has candidates running in 75 per cent of the city's districts, which Holness says meets the criteria set out by the Chamber of Commerce.
The Chamber of Commerce has since clarified that, because the Leger poll was not independent -- rather, it was commissioned by Projet Montreal -- it does not apply to Holness' eligibility.
