September 9, 2015
Rudyard Griffiths
Chair of the Munk Debates
The Munk Debates c/o The Aurea Foundation
The Gate House, Massey College
4 Devonshire Place
Toronto, ON M5S 2E1
VIA E-MAIL
Dear Mr. Griffiths:
Thank you for the invitation to participate in the Munk Debate on Canada’s Foreign
Policy. Given the current, devastating Syrian refugee crisis, a debate with all Party
Leaders on foreign policy could not be more timely.
We have enjoyed the productive conversations our team has had with yours. In
response to your proposed format, we are largely comfortable with it, but we have
two real concerns with the debate.
The first has to do with our commitment to an equal number of English and French
debates over the course of this campaign. We believe in keeping our commitments
both regarding debates, and our three point plan for growing the economy. We
agreed in principle, under the presumption that this was a bilingual debate;
however, this is clearly not a bilingual debate.
The second is that it has come to our attention that the Munk Debate will be
charging admission to an exclusive list of Canadians who want to attend. We cannot
accept that. The days of political leaders auditioning in front of the country’s
wealthiest elite are behind us. Debates should be open to all Canadians, regardless
of where they live or with whom they associate.
These are very serious concerns. Our decision to participate in this debate will be
contingent on your ability to meet these concerns in a material way.
Respectfully yours,

Dan Gagnier
National Campaign Co-Chair
CC:
Conservative Party of Canada

Katie Telford
National Campaign Co-Chair

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