May says she was told the Conservatives, Bloc Quebecois and New Democrats refused to attend the debates if she was invited.

We thought the people who run Canada’s television networks were made of sterner stuff, but it turns out they are pantywaists when it comes to standing up to Canada’s established political parties.

Liberal leader Stephane Dion indicated he would not show if Prime Minister Stephen Harper boycotted the debates.

While it might have made strategic sense for the political parties to exclude May from the national spotlight, it didn’t for the public.

So, we must ask, who are the broadcasters supposed to be serving –the politicians or the public?

Green Party membership has been growing in numbers with each election and the Party is fielding candidates in every riding in Canada. Contrast that with the Bloc Quebecois, which only runs candidates in Quebec, and it doesn’t seem fair to keep May out.

We can understand why NDP leader Jack Layton is afraid to debate May, since the Greens pose the biggest threat to his party.

Same goes for the Liberals and Dion, since much of their Green Shift appears to have been lifted from the Greens.

As for Harper’s accusation that the Greens are too cozy with the Liberals, all we can say is, ‘How quickly they forget.’

How different were the Reform Party and the Progressive Conservatives in 1993, when Preston Manning joined the leaders’ debates?

In reality, the whole issue is about fairness and whether stronger, longer-established parties should be permitted to abuse their influence with the media to exclude a national party that represents the beliefs of many Canadians.

Fortunately, in the end, a sense of fairness seems to have prevailed.

As for the TV broadcasters, we suggest they should have showed some backbone and called the other parties’ bluff. Better yet, they should not have sought their blessings in the first place.

We believe those who organize leadership debates should have invited the Green Party leader to participate and dared those who opposed not to attend.

Perhaps the combination of public outcry and the prospect of May being provided with free national airtime to discuss her party’s platform –without interruption or contradiction –helped nudge resistant leaders into falling like a row of dominoes.

Whatever caused the about-face by the networks and party leaders, who ultimately opted to include May in the debate, we’re just glad that things are just as they should have been from the start.

Let the debating begin.