Creating an Independent Commission for Federal Leaders Debates

Transcription

1 IRPP REPORT April 2018 Creatig a Idepedet Commissio for Federal Leaders Debates Roud Table Report

2 Creatig a Idepedet Commissio for Federal Leaders Debates ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The IRPP thaks everyoe who cotributed to the roud table process, icludig the roud table participats, ad the democratic istitutios team at the Privy Coucil Office who orgaized the evets ad provided commets o a draft. The report was prepared by IRPP Presidet Graham Fox, who facilitated the five roud tables, ad IRPP Research Assistat Mohy-Dea Tabbara. While it beefits tremedously from each participat s cotributio, it aims to provide a cosesus view ad does ot reflect every poit expressed by every participat. Resposibility for the report ad the recommedatios therefore remais with the IRPP. The opiios expressed i this study are those of the author ad do ot ecessarily reflect the views of the IRPP or its Board of Directors. If you have questios about our publicatios, please cotact irpp@irpp.org. If you would like to subscribe to our ewsletter, IRPP News, please go to our website, at irpp.org.

3 IRPP Report April 2018 CONTENTS Abstract...4 Itroductio Leaders debates durig the 2015 electio Voter cofusio o whe ad where to tue i The pros ad cos of goig beyod the broadcast cosortium Competig visios ad iterests: Parties vs. media vs. voters The role of leaders debates i federal electios Creatig a commissio or commissioer to oversee leaders debates The relatioship betwee the commissio ad political parties, the media ad voters Political parties Media Voters The structure of the commissio Guidig priciples of the commissio Trasparet vs. discreet Rigid vs. adaptable Iovative vs. traditioal Etertaiig vs. educatioal Civic educatio Wide access: Media platforms, distributio ad copyright Iclusive access Logistics of the debate Leaders participatio Number of debates Official laguages Time ad place...19 Recommedatios...19 Coclusio...21 Appedix A...23 Appedix B...24

4 Creatig a Idepedet Commissio for Federal Leaders Debates ABSTRACT Caada s Miister of Democratic Istitutios was madated by the Prime Miister to create a idepedet commissio to orgaize political party leaders debates i federal electio campaigs. As part of the cosultatio exercise lauched by the Miister, the Istitute for Research o Public Policy facilitated five roud tables i Halifax, Motreal, Toroto, Wiipeg ad Vacouver to seek the views of experts ad stakeholders o this reform. This report summarizes what was heard durig these evets ad makes recommedatios o how best to proceed with the reform. Notwithstadig some disagreemets o certai desig features of the commissio, the idea of creatig such a body received strog support from participats i all five cities. Debates are a uique opportuity for citizes to watch party leaders i actio ad come to a decisio o their votes. Gettig the debates right is therefore critically importat to the democratic process. Thus, participats agreed that the iterest of voters must be at the cetre of the commissio s madate, ad that the role of political parties ad media orgaizatios i settig the parameters for debates should be appropriately framed. I the ed, this reform should look beyod recet models ad create a ew process for orgaizig leaders debates that seizes the opportuities of ew techologies ad stregthes debates as a democratic exercise. RÉSUMÉ Le premier miistre du Caada a cofié à sa miistre des Istitutios démocratiques le madat de créer ue commissio idépedate chargée d orgaiser les débats des chefs de parti lors des campages électorales fédérales. Das le cadre de l exercice de cosultatio lacé par la miistre, l Istitut de recherche e politiques publiques a teu ciq tables rodes (à Halifax, Motréal, Toroto, Wiipeg et Vacouver) pour recueillir les avis d u esemble d experts et d iterveats. Ce rapport résume leurs échages et formule des recommadatios sur les meilleurs moyes d egager la réforme. Malgré certais désaccords sur ses particularités de foctioemet, les participats des ciq tables rodes ot largemet souteu l idée d ue commissio. Pour les citoyes, les débats des chefs sot ue occasio uique d observer les chefs de parti e actio et de choisir celui qui obtiedra leur suffrage, d où leur importace cruciale pour le processus démocratique. Le madat de la commissio doit aisi privilégier les itérêts des électeurs, ot coveu les participats, tout e ecadrat le rôle des partis et des médias e ce qui touche l élaboratio des paramètres des débats. Efi, toute réforme doit aller au-delà des expérieces et modèles passés pour créer u ouveau processus d orgaisatio des débats qui itègre les derières techologies et reforce le caractère démocratique de l exercice. 4

5 IRPP Report April 2018 INTRODUCTION Sice the first oe was held i the federal geeral electio of 1968, televised leaders debates have become importat momets i our coutry s democratic life. Electio after electio, voters have tured to debates to assess party leaders ad their platforms ad make their choice as to who they would like to see become prime miister. Over time, leaders debates became the campaig experiece that would be shared by the highest umber of voters: to borrow from the jargo of televisio, a leader s debate was the oe appoitmet viewig momet i the campaig. I recet electios, techological advacemets ad chages i the coduct of politics have challeged the way i which the debates have bee orgaized as well as their importace i the democratic process i several ways. The multiplicatio of platforms has allowed for more diversity i the umber ad format of leaders debates, as well as i the modes of distributio to the votig public. The fragmetatio of the party system has put more pressure o formats, which have had to accommodate a higher umber of party leaders with a legitimate claim to oe of the lecters o the debate-ight stage. The tactical imperatives of campaigig ad the icreased ease with which political parties ca reach their voters directly have challeged the assumptio that a leader s participatio i debates is to be expected, if ot obligatory. Although these chages affected leaders debates over several campaigs, the issue came to a head durig the 2015 geeral electio: more debates were held, but they were distributed across smaller platforms ad reached fewer voters tha i previous electios. The debate about the debates became part of the story of the 2015 electio, ad the experiece highlighted the eed to review how debates are maaged durig electios. I respose, Caada s Miister of Democratic Istitutios, Karia Gould, was charged by the Prime Miister i her madate letter to brig forward optios to create a idepedet commissioer to orgaize political party leaders debates durig future federal electio campaigs, with a madate to improve Caadias kowledge of the parties, their leaders, ad their policy positios. 1 The itet of the madate letter is clear: the govermet is ot cosiderig whether to reform how debates are maaged but how to create a idepedet commissio or commissioer to maage them. To help shape the recommedatios she will make to the Prime Miister regardig the goverace of leaders debates ad desig issues for the debates themselves, the Miister held a series of roud tables across Caada i Jauary 2018, to seek the advice ad iput of experts ad stakeholders ito this critical issue for the democratic 1 Miister of Democratic Istitutios Madate Letter (February 1, 2017), miisterdemocratic-istitutios-madate-letter. 5

6 Creatig a Idepedet Commissio for Federal Leaders Debates process. While the Privy Coucil Office orgaized these roud tables, it partered with the Istitute for Research o Public Policy (IRPP), 2 which moderated the evets ad prepared this report. As part of this exercise, evets were held i Halifax, Motreal, Toroto, Wiipeg ad Vacouver. All roud tables followed a commo ageda 3 to esure that the results could be aggregated ito a summary report. The participat list icluded academics, broadcasters ad other media orgaizatios, jouralists, stakeholder groups ad idividuals with experiece dealig with leaders debates. 4 To esure that everyoe had a opportuity to cotribute meaigfully to the discussio, ad to ecourage all participats to speak freely, the groups were kept to fewer tha 20 participats ad the evets were held uder the Chatham House Rule. The discussio was o the record but ot for attributio; participats took part as idividuals ad ot as official represetatives or spokespersos of their orgaizatios; ad participats were ot to be quoted outside the room (icludig i this report) without their explicit prior approval. The aim of the roud tables was to seek advice ad iput from the expert ad stakeholder commuity to determie whether ay cosesus exists o how to move to a commissio(er) model to oversee leaders debates. What role do debates play i federal electios, ad what do citizes expect of them? Who should be ivolved i decisios o whe ad how debates are held, ad who is to participate? What ca be said about the accessibility of debates across multiple platforms, techological cosideratios, ad the desire to esure diversity i formats to icrease the appeal ad usefuless of debates i the eyes of voters? To this ed, participats were first asked to reflect o their experiece with leaders debates i The, the discussio moved to the advacemets ad lessos to be draw from that experiece as we cosider how best to orgaize debates i future electios. Fially, participats discussed the mechaics of creatig a commissio or commissioer to maage debates ad offered their recommedatios to the Miister ad the govermet. 1. LEADERS DEBATES DURING THE 2015 ELECTION It was clear from the discussios i all five cities that most participats were frustrated by the way debates were orgaized durig the 2015 electio, albeit sometimes for 2 Fouded i 1972, the Istitute for Research o Public Policy is a idepedet, atioal, biligual, ot-forprofit orgaizatio. The IRPP seeks to improve public policy i Caada by geeratig research, providig isight ad iformig debate o curret ad emergig policy issues facig Caadias ad their govermets, 3 Please see appedix A for details. 4 Please see appedix B for the list of participats who agreed to have their ames disclosed i this report. Also ote that the views of political parties were sought by the Miister outside the roud table process described i this report. 6

7 IRPP Report April 2018 opposite reasos. Most participats agreed that a retur to the status quo ate was ot the aswer, ad also that certai iovatios from 2015 should be icorporated ito ay ew proposal to maage leaders debates i future electios. But almost all agreed that a ew way forward was i fact eeded. 1.1 Voter cofusio o whe ad where to tue i Leaders debates are iteded to serve as a tool to help voters come to a view o party leaders, as well as their respective characters ad party platforms. Whe participats were asked to look back o the 2015 electio campaig, may of them first oted that voters were cofused about which debates should be watched ad how they could access them. Ulike previous electios, may more leaders debates took place tha the usual two (oe i each of Caada s official laguages) orgaized by the cosortium of broadcasters. For the first time, ocosortium orgaizatios took it upo themselves to orgaize ad distribute debates, creatig more opportuities to see party leaders i actio but also more cofusio as to whe ad where to tue i. With the larger umber of debates, ad the differet formats, veues ad platforms, voters did ot kow which debates to focus o ad therefore may of them tued i to oe. Oe participat wet as far as to say that debates effectively did ot happe i 2015 because, if they were ot see by most people, they might as well ot have happeed at all. 1.2 The pros ad cos of goig beyod the broadcast cosortium Betwee 1968 ad 2011, a cosortium of four broadcasters CBC/Radio-Caada, CTV, Global ad TVA has bee resposible for the orgaizatio, productio ad distributio of leaders debates i Caada. That chaged i 2015, ad the compariso betwee those two models was a major focus of the roud table discussios. While participats ackowledged the legitimacy ad raiso-d être of the broadcast cosortium i years past, as well as the geeral goodwill of its members, may argued that techological advacemets ad chages i the ews cosumptio habits of voters dimiished the value ad relevace of the cosortium model. May participats oted that the resources required to orgaize a debate had decreased cosiderably, ad the eeded expertise had become more widely available, allowig a much larger umber of media (ad other) orgaizatios to take part i such a evet. I 2015, this led to more varied formats ad the opportuity to focus o particular policy areas. A strog majority of participats viewed this as the mai positive impact of 2015, ad a feature that should be retaied ad explored eve further i future electio cycles. The mai drawback of 2015 was the limited distributio of the debates that were held, ad its impact o viewership. Put simply, the audiece for all debates put together i 2015 was less tha half of that of 2011 a serious failure accordig to most participats. This is true, of course, i aggregate umbers, but the failure becomes eve more egregious whe oe cosiders subgroups of the votig public. Official laguage miorities were sigificatly disadvataged by the absece of the cosortium, as were persos with hearig or visual impairmets. Debate orgaizers were ot (ad 7

8 Creatig a Idepedet Commissio for Federal Leaders Debates perhaps could ot be) held to the stadards of the broadcast cosortium for reach ad accessibility, with importat egative cosequeces for may voters. I this light, the debates may well have met the requiremets as jouralistic exercises but failed too may voters o democratic egagemet grouds. Durig a few of the roud tables, the discussio o the accessibility of debates i 2015 led to exchages o the broadcast cosortium s motivatio i maagig debates. While it was geerally recogized that members of the cosortium came together years ago to assist the democratic process ad that there is i fact little for them to gai from the exercise, some participats viewed them as havig too much cotrol over the process. A few participats suggested that it seemed as if the cosortium was tryig to keep other orgaizatios out of the debate process, a charge that was strogly rejected by those close to the cosortium. Others oted the lack of public trasparecy o the guidelies established to determie who participated i the debate ad its format. Whe iformed of the guidelies used by the cosortium to determie the eligibility of party leaders i electios prior to 2015, most participats agreed they were by ad large the right oes, but the fact that decisios were made behid closed doors udermied the public legitimacy of the process. It is clear from the discussio that the tesios that arose betwee the differet actors i 2015 remai ad will have to be take ito accout whe cosiderig a alterative goverace model. 1.3 Competig visios ad iterests: Parties vs. media vs. voters The discussio o the 2015 experiece also served to highlight a critical compoet of the debate about the debates, which is the sometimes-coflictig perceptios differet actors have of the debates themselves. Political parties uderstadably view the debates through the les of their broader electio strategies. They offer leaders a opportuity to speak directly to voters, with virtually o itermediary. The parties approaches to debate egotiatio will therefore almost ecessarily be shaped by their electoral stregth relative to their oppoets, as well as their campaig objectives. The politicizatio of the debate-orgaizig process was ever more public tha durig the 2015 campaig, whe Prime Miister Stephe Harper raised doubts about whether he would eve participate i the debates. The esuig cotroversy demostrated how much power the icumbet has to decide how, whe ad whether the debates will take place, revealig aother sigificat flaw i the way debates are maaged. Most participats agreed that decisios o formats ad schedules should be shielded as much as possible from partisa cosideratios ad campaig tactics. The media, o the other had, view debates largely through the les of jouralism. It is a opportuity to hold leaders to accout o behalf of voters to test their mettle ad campaig commitmets. Thus, the jouralistic quality of the debates is a critical determiat of their success. This is true ot just of ews orgaizatios themselves, 8

9 IRPP Report April 2018 which eed stories to cover politics, but of their coceptio of the service they provide to citizes. A good quality debate with high productio value is more likely to attract voters, which ehaces the value of the exercise to the democratic process. Fially, i the view of most (but ot all) participats, voters cosider debates to be a exercise i democracy. They are the best opportuity Caadias have to hear directly from the party leaders with a legitimate chace at becomig prime miister ad lear about their platforms ad their characters. For may voters, it is the oe time durig the campaig whe they focus o the electio ad their impedig choice. Chages i the media ladscape ad ews cosumptio habits otwithstadig, they remai a critical tool for may voters to decide how to cast their ballot. While there was o cosesus o the degree to which these three visios diverged, may participats believed that some effort must be made to esure a appropriate balace amog these competig views, ad that the iterests of voters remai at the cetre of cosideratios. 2. THE ROLE OF LEADERS DEBATES IN FEDERAL ELECTIONS After expressig their views o the curret state of debates, participats were asked to share their thoughts o the role of leaders debates withi the cotext of Caadia federal electios. Participats uaimously agreed that leaders debates are a essetial feature of ay federal electio, ad that their distict qualities separate them from other campaig evets. They were described first ad foremost as the most effective ad iclusive way to have a atioal coversatio about the issues facig the coutry. May participats also raised the poit that debates are a rare opportuity for voters to see leaders of major parties share a stage ad aswer the same questios. Ofte durig a campaig, parties will craft messages targetig certai demographics, whereas i the cotext of a atioally distributed debate, politicias are put i a situatio i which they must have oe message for all Caadias. Oe participat emphasized that may voters oly egage with politics durig the federal campaig, so debates are a way for them to uderstad politicias persoas; debates ted to humaize politicias. Give their cetral importace to the electoral process, a strog cosesus emerged that debates warrated a more robust goverace structure that would depoliticize the process. It should be oted that those who disagreed with the otio of reformig the maagemet of debates felt strogly about their positio, but they were very much i the miority. 3. CREATING A COMMISSION OR COMMISSIONER TO OVERSEE LEADERS DEBATES The idea of establishig a public commissio or commissioer to orgaize leaders debates was supported by a large majority of participats across the coutry. Eve 9

10 Creatig a Idepedet Commissio for Federal Leaders Debates those who opposed ay reform seemed to accept that this was the most promisig optio. But flowig from that broad cosesus came may differet proposals o defiig its madate ad its relatioships with the may actors ivolved. Most agreed that the commissio(er) should have the ability to set the groud rules for a certai umber of debates, determie guidig priciples o issues such as participatio ad distributio, ad oversee how the debates are ru. That said, coflictig advice was give o the rage of duties that would be fulfilled by the commissio(er), as well as its ability to eforce certai decisios i the process. Some participats thought that a idepedet commissio(er) should be resposible for most if ot all aspects of orgaizig a debate, from choosig a moderator ad establishig the format ad questios to producig the feed that would be provided to ay ad all media orgaizatios wishig to make the debate available o their platform. This would, i their view, esure that the iterests of Caadia voters were kept frot ad cetre. Other participats coutered that (i cotrast to ews orgaizatios) they worried a commissio(er) would ot be imble eough to adapt to chagig circumstaces i the electio campaig. Others still thought the commissio(er) should be a small orgaizatio that delegates duties to rigorously chose cotributors. As a example, some participats described a small commissio that had the fial word but that was supported by a advisory group composed of jouralists, academics ad other kowledgeable idividuals that would provide the ecessary expertise. Aother possibility would be to restrict the role of the commissio(er) to oversight, accoutability ad selectig a competet service provider to produce the debates. Participats also deliberated o the commissio(er) s role i matters that go beyod logistics. Some participats suggested that the commissio(er) should have permaet research capacity to esure debates keep up with techological advacemets ad best practices. Others explored the possibility of icludig a fact-checkig dimesio i the madate to couter fake ews ad other more siister attempts at ifluecig the debate. The idea of icludig a public educatio compoet i the madate was also see positively. That said, participats urged cautio agaist over-reach: the madate should complemet those of other istitutios such as the Chief Electoral Officer. Moreover, may participats wared agaist expectig too may differet thigs from this ew office: however successful it might be, such a commissio(er) caot be expected to icrease voter turout ad youth egagemet. I the ed, most participats teded to advocate a commissio rather tha a sigle commissioer. They favoured a limited madate cosistig of orgaizig oe or two debates i each official laguage that would be broadly accessible o as may platforms as possible. They also supported the otio that media orgaizatios ad political parties should iform decisios but be kept at a distace from them. Fially, most agreed the commissio should ot prevet willig orgaizatios ad participats from orgaizig other debates outside its core madate. If the govermet is to create a commissio to oversee leaders debates, most participats agreed it should be idepedet from govermet. For reasos similar 10

11 IRPP Report April 2018 to those cited by the Chief Electoral Officer o November 3, 2017, before the Stadig Committee of the House of Commos o Procedure ad House Affairs, they believed it should be separate from Electios Caada, although the idea of creatig a admiistrative relatioship to avoid duplicatig bureaucracies received much support. While ot ecessarily goig as far as givig it the status of a aget of Parliamet, that idea was frequetly used to describe the idepedece the commissio should have from the govermet. 4. THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE COMMISSION AND POLITICAL PARTIES, THE MEDIA AND VOTERS 4.1 Political parties Throughout the roud table process, participats were almost uaimous i their view that the commissio would eed the support of most, if ot all, political parties to be see to be legitimate i the eyes of voters. That public legitimacy would be essetial to the commissio s ability to compel behaviour from parties ad their leaders. They also agreed that there must be cosesus amog the major parties to esure that the idividual(s) selected to lead this ew office had eough credibility ad legitimacy to carry out their madate. The toe of the discussio was very differet whe it came to the degree of party ivolvemet i the orgaizatio process. While oe of the participats supported a commissio where parties ad their leaders have ay decisio-makig power, two sides emerged. O the oe had, some participats expressed the view that parties should be able to have their views heard by the commissio. I this view, decisios should be arrived at i a public process, ot issued by edict. Oe recurrig suggestio was that party represetatives could be part of a larger advisory group that would also iclude academics, jouralists ad citize groups, for example. O the other had, some participats strogly believed that the commissio should have o liks to political parties whatsoever. From their perspective, parties caot ad caot be expected to set aside their partisa imperatives ad therefore have little to cotribute to the commissio s work beyod lobbyig for rules favourable to their iterests. Some wet as far as to support the idea of a advisory group but isisted that parties be kept o the outside. The idea of how to frame the relatioship betwee the commissio ad parties remaied cotested throughout the roud table process. O the issue of participatio, some participats argued that the commissio should fid ways to compel party leaders to atted, or at least pealize those who opt out. That said, most participats thought the idea uworkable, ad eve udesirable. The commissio should strive to use the legitimacy of debates to coditio the behaviour of political parties, but the political cosequeces of political decisios should ultimately be left to voters. 11

12 Creatig a Idepedet Commissio for Federal Leaders Debates 4.2 Media The discussio o the media s potetial role i the work of the commissio was just as cotetious, ad ra largely alog similar lies. O oe side, participats isisted that the commissio should be idepedet from the media ad directly resposible for all aspects pertaiig to orgaizig ad producig the leaders debates. They believe that media orgaizatios have vested iterests i the debates (such as the etertaimet value of the format, the participatio of certai leaders or the time slot give to debates) ad that they would aturally seek to shape debates to suit those iterests, possibly to the detrimet of the public iterest. A middle positio emerged that media orgaizatios should be allowed to be part of a advisory group alogside academics, jouralists ad citizes groups. Accordig to propoets of a third positio o this issue, media orgaizatios would play the role of a supplier to the commissio, rather tha a stakeholder. Those iterested i orgaizig the debates that fall uder the commissio s resposibility would be ivited to submit proposals to the commissio icludig a fiacial proposal for their debate. The successful bidder would the act as a host broadcaster for the debates, ot ulike Olympic Games coverage. Regardless of the model chose, may participats argued that it was either possible or ecessary for the commissio to build i-house productio capacity ad that broadcastig orgaizatios should cotiue to provide the eeded expertise i this regard. Others were less coviced, arguig istead that if obroadcast media compaies could produce debates i 2015, the commissio could do so i future just as well. I the ed, it was agreed that, whatever relatioship the commissio had with media orgaizatios, it should egage all media icludig TV, radio, prit ad social media. 4.3 Voters Participats were uaimous i their view that voters iterest must be at the core of the commissio s madate ad this trumps the iterests of all other actors ivolved. May participats argued that ot oly should voters iterests be paramout, but that they should be give a voice i the commissio s structures ad processes, ad that these should be ope ad trasparet. Specific suggestios icluded public cosultatios, a olie platform to submit questios for the debates themselves, public opiio research, ad commuity outreach to esure that the views expressed to the commissio are reflective of the diversity of the coutry. 5. THE STRUCTURE OF THE COMMISSION To carry out its madate, the commissio must be orgaized i a way that would safeguard the iterests of voters. To that ed, participats put forward their perspectives o various aspects of the commissio s structure: 12

13 IRPP Report April 2018 How should the commissioer be selected? Who should it report to ad how should it be fiaced? Should it carry out its activities iterally or delegate them? What activities should it coduct besides orgaizig debates? As previously oted, participats agreed that to esure the authority ad legitimacy of the commissio, the commissioer must be ear-uaimously approved by parties i Parliamet. Oe participat suggested a two-thirds majority just i case the uaimity coditio leads to deadlock amog the parties. Participats also discussed the selectio criteria that they believed should be used to evaluate differet cadidates. There was geeral agreemet that the commissioer should ot be a career public servat but rather someoe with gravitas who has expertise i a relevat field. Participats differed o whether the commissioer ca have a partisa backgroud or ot. Those who were opposed said that they were afraid that ay partisa affiliatio could udermie the legitimacy of the commissio because some party leaders could use the affiliatio as a excuse to miss the debates. Others argued that a partisa past should ot ecessarily disqualify someoe from servig i the positio. Fially, a umber of participats isisted that the selectio of idividual commissioers must lead to a fully biligual commissio. Oce created, most participats believed the commissio should be aswerable to voters, most likely through Parliamet. Moreover, give the cetral importace of debates to the electoral process, ad cosistet with the public fudig of Electios Caada, it would be legitimate for the commissio to be fully supported by public fuds. Participats agreed that the commissio should be iclusive i its decisio-makig. Noetheless, they had differig perspectives o what that would look like i terms of istitutioal structure. Regardig cotet, participats almost uaimously agreed that a advisory group should be put i place to provide feedback to the commissio o format ad cotet. While the participats who expressed themselves o the matter believed that the advisory group should be opartisa, there was debate o what that meat practically. Some thought that it should be etirely academic, others that jouralists ad civic groups should be icluded, ad fially some wated to iclude represetatives from parties ad/or the media at least o format ad broad themes, if ot o cotet. Participats also isisted that Caadia voters must be icluded i the decisio-makig process. Regardig the productio of the debates themselves, participats were split ito two groups. Oe group believed that the commissio should have a productio wig that would be resposible for producig the debates ad makig the feed accessible to all orgaizatios who request it. The commissio would have the ability to cotract for services but would oversee the operatios. A subset of this group suggested that productio resposibilities could be assiged to CBC/Radio-Caada as a service provider to the commissio, as such a madate would be cosistet with that of a public broadcaster. The other group believed that, i order to esure a high-quality feed, established broadcasters would have to produce the debates. I their view, the 13

14 Creatig a Idepedet Commissio for Federal Leaders Debates commissio should be a rule-setter rather tha a producer. A few withi this group suggested the competitio-style process of broadcasters as service suppliers described above. Fially, participats also discussed whether other activities should be performed withi the commissio. For some, the commissio should oly be active durig electio periods ad should be reduced to a small office staffed by oe or two idividuals betwee electios. However, most participats did ot thik this was realistic or advisable. At a miimum, i the case of a miority govermet, the commissio should be electio-ready at all times, for obvious reasos. Furthermore, at least oe participat i each city metioed that the commissio should have research capacity that would esure it kept up with best practices i producig debates as well as the priorities of Caadias. A few participats isisted this research process would be ecessary to costatly adapt the commissio s work to the chagig demographic ad media ladscape i Caada. I additio, a large cotiget of participats said that the commissio should have a role i educatig Caadias but that it should ot duplicate the work of others, otably Electios Caada. Lastly, a participat suggested that the commissio could also serve as a resource for those who would like to orgaize debates at the local level durig federal electios. 6. GUIDING PRINCIPLES OF THE COMMISSION Beyod structure, participats debated the priciples that should guide the commissio s decisio-makig process. Four mai sets were discussed: trasparet vs. discreet, rigid vs. adaptable, iovative vs. traditioal, ad etertaiig vs. educatioal. 6.1 Trasparet vs. discreet May participats across the coutry criticized the curret debate orgaizatio process for beig opaque. They objected to the fact that debates were egotiated by two private stakeholder groups the media cosortium ad the participatig federal parties with potetially limited regard for the public iterest. To couter this tred, participats early uaimously called for a ope ad trasparet process. As oe participat explaied, the orgaizatio of debates must be see by the public, it caot just happe. May participats wet further ad isisted that the commissio must democratize the process by cosultig Caadias ad icludig them i its decisio-makig. 6.2 Rigid vs. adaptable Most participats believed that the commissio should have the flexibility to adapt to chagig circumstaces. I every city, at least oe participat put forward the idea of buildig a commissio that has the capability to self-evaluate ad evolve over time. They argued that may aspects of society otably the media are chagig at a rapid pace. Eve a decade ago, Facebook ad Twitter were still iche platforms, but ow they are amog the chief ways that Caadias cosume political iformatio. As a result, they suggested that the commissio should fid metrics to moitor its success 14

15 IRPP Report April 2018 ad have the capacity to alter itself to suit the eeds of a evolvig society. This should iclude moitorig peer istitutios i other coutries to maitai the most up-todate structure, rules ad format possible. 6.3 Iovative vs. traditioal If participats agreed o oe positive aspect of the 2015 leaders debates, it was their approval of the diversity of debate formats. Orgaizatios comig ito the process with ew ideas ad perspectives o the best way to share leaders positios with Caadia voters was a defiite improvemet. Participats also metioed that techology ad chagig social orms should be cosidered i the way debates are orgaized goig forward. Cosequetly, participats agreed that iovatio should be oe of the guidig priciples of the commissio. Throughout the discussio o iovatio, however, it was clear that some established past achievemets regardig reach ad accessibility eeded to be preserved. 6.4 Etertaiig vs. educatioal Participats agreed that the pricipal role of the debate should be to iform voters ad help them make their choice o electio day. Therefore, most participats thought that the commissio should orgaize debates aroud the otio that they should be primarily educatioal exercises. However, a few isisted that the etertaimet value of debates ad its impact o the umber of viewers should ot be discouted etirely. 7. CIVIC EDUCATION Leaders debates are a meas of educatig the public about the issues facig the coutry ad the policy positios of differet parties. O that issue, participats all agreed that the pricipal role of debates is to iform ad educate voters about the choices before them. The other mai facet of a civic educatio madate would be to socialize Caadias o the importace of the debates themselves ad citize egagemet i them. This would be doe through various educatio campaigs ad activities orgaized by the commissio. While a majority supported this proposal, participats agreed that the commissio should ot compete with other istitutios but collaborate with them to carry out its civic educatio madate. Furthermore, additioal elemets of its madate should ot be so burdesome as to distract the commissio from its core fuctio of orgaizig debates. 8. WIDE ACCESS: MEDIA PLATFORMS, DISTRIBUTION AND COPYRIGHT At the momet, televisio remais the mai medium that Caadias use to access the debates. However, with demographic shifts ad chagig media habits, more 15

16 Creatig a Idepedet Commissio for Federal Leaders Debates ad more idividuals will move away from televisio ad toward ewer platforms such as social media or streamig services to access electio debates ofte o their ow time. Thus, a majority of participats argued that the commissio must always be aware of media developmets ad strive to adapt its work to whatever ew platforms arise. That said, there was a cosesus i all cities that the commissio should be midful of the fact that may commuities rural ad remote, low-icome ad Idigeous still do ot have access to a reliable or affordable Iteret coectio. Furthermore, may Caadias are ot yet proficiet with techology. Experimetig with ew platforms should ot be doe at the expese of accessibility. At least for the time beig, therefore, the commissio must esure that it still provides access to the debate through traditioal media. As oe participat put it, the commissio should thik about Twitter, yes, but also about rabbit ears. Some participats argued that there is also a opportuity to allow otelevisio traditioal media to carry the debate, otably radio, magazies ad ewspapers. Util very recetly, they had bee excluded because of the high costs of producig ad/or airig the debates. Maclea s ad the Globe ad Mail broke the tred by orgaizig their ow debates ad streamig them o their websites. I fact, radio ad prit media ca provide access to a differet audiece from both televisio ad olie platforms ad should be egaged to icrease accessibility. Throughout the cosultatio process, may participats made the poit that debates should be platform-agostic ad that all media orgaizatios, big ad small, should have access to the commissio s debate feeds for distributio via their platforms. At the momet, though, televisio is still the medium that ca reach the largest umber of Caadias. Participats agreed that, if all curret broadcast cosortium members aired the ew commissio s debates, it would help maximize reach. However, the questio o how to icetivize them to do that was perhaps the most itesely deliberated questio of the roud table process. O oe side, participats argued that the commissio should madate the mai broadcasters to air the debates. They argued that a requiremet to broadcast the debates sactioed by the commissio could legitimately be made a coditio of licece. Oppoets of this view questioed how such a madate could be imposed o some broadcasters ad ot others, or eve other media orgaizatios. More fudametally, they also rejected the very otio of usig coercio to force broadcasters to air the commissio s debates. Istead, they suggested the commissio should offer a free feed that ay media platform could tap ito if it so chose, provided it complied with certai terms ad coditios. A middle-groud optio was also suggested by a few participats: the commissio could madate CBC/Radio-Caada as the public broadcaster ad the oly broadcaster with pa- Caadia reach i both official laguages to air its debates, while ecouragig others to use the feed without coercio. I the ed, o cosesus was reached o this cotetious matter. 16

17 IRPP Report April 2018 The issue of copyright was also brought up i almost all cities. May participats praised the idea of havig a free feed that could be carried by virtually ay media platform ad shared without risk of copyright ifrigemet. However, some participats worried that, if the commissio does ot cotrol access to the feed to some extet, the debates could be subject to doctorig ad might be altered beyod recogitio o certai platforms. They explaied that techology has reached a poit where eve artificial itelligece ca alter speech ad video i a very realistic way. While almost everyoe agreed that we should move away from copyright-protected access, protectig the itegrity of the feed should be a cetral cocer for the commissio, ad it should be reflected i the terms ad coditios imposed o those who wat to distribute it. 9. INCLUSIVE ACCESS Across the coutry, may participats complaied that past debates were ot produced iclusively. Four groups of people were idetified as havig bee particularly affected: Caadias livig i rural ad remote commuities, Caadias with disabilities, ew Caadias who have difficulty with Frech ad/or Eglish, ad official laguage miorities. Caadias livig i rural ad remote commuities icludig o-reserve Idigeous peoples do ot have access to the same services as Caadias livig i cities or suburbs. As such, the commissio must esure that at least oe quality media platform carryig the debate is able to reach these commuities. Caadias with disabilities have ofte bee forgotte i the desig ad productio of the leaders debates. Closed-captioig has ofte bee iaccurate ad rarely delivered i a timely maer, which limited some idividuals ability to follow the debate i real time. At times, oly Eglish iterpretatio would be provided, eve though may people with hearig impairmets are proficiet i America Sig Laguage (ASL) ad ot ecessarily Eglish. Furthermore, closed-captioig was ofte excluded from the video stream posted after the debate, or the debate was posted o a website that is ot accessible to persos with hearig or visual impairmets. As oe participat argued, if havig accessible booths at pollig statios is importat for Electios Caada, havig accessible debates should be a priority for the ew commissio. It was oted that may ew Caadias may face laguage barriers that prevet them from participatig i the electoral process ad watchig debates. Participats argued that, if the commissio were to make a feed available free of charge, it could work with ethic media orgaizatios to have iterpretatio i laguages other tha Eglish ad Frech. Participats oted that official laguage miority commuities ofte have few optios ad limited access to media i the official laguage of their choice. The madate of the commissio should therefore reflect the values ad priciples of the Official Laguages Act. 17

18 Creatig a Idepedet Commissio for Federal Leaders Debates As a fial observatio, participats champioig the cause of these groups argued that this issue wet beyod access, as debates rarely had ay cotet that addressed the cocers of their commuity. They believe that the commissio should be more iclusive i its cotet choices, ot just the accessibility of the productio. 10. LOGISTICS OF THE DEBATE 10.1 Leaders participatio Participats discussed how, i recet electio cycles, there have bee questios as to why Elizabeth May, the leader of the Gree Party of Caada, had bee excluded from leaders debates eve though her party is represeted i Parliamet ad usually receives over 5 percet of the popular vote. The decisio had bee made based o criteria that were kow to political parties ad debate orgaizers but ot the public. Moreover, the ratioale for the decisio was ot commuicated ad defeded i the public square. As a result, may participats have asked that the ew commissio set clear ad trasparet rules to justify its choice of leaders to be icluded i debates at the start of the plaig process. Largely mirrorig the oes already used by the cosortium, proposed criteria icluded pollig results, umber of seats i the House of Commos, ruig a cadidate i every ridig, meaigful participatio i daily politics, a full-time leader, ad havig a leader who is proficiet i the laguage of the debate. As oted i sectio 4.1, the attedace of party leaders was a cotroversial topic of discussio. While a majority of participats saw the evets that ufolded i 2015 followig Coservative Party Leader Stephe Harper s decisio ot to participate i cosortium-led debates as egative, ot everyoe thought the commissio should tackle this issue. I all cities, at least oe participat proposed that certai mechaisms be put i place to coerce party leaders to take part i the ew commissio s debates. The suggested pealties that would be applied to absetee parties icluded reducig the amout reimbursed for campaig expeses ad reducig free air time provided to parties at electio time. I cotrast, others said that they did ot see this issue as problematic. They believed that, if the commissioer is chose by all parties, ad if the debates are see as importat ad legitimate by the votig public, it would be more difficult for leaders to justify missig a debate. I their view, shame ad social pressure could also be effective ways to ecourage leaders to take part i debates Number of debates Participats ear-uaimously agreed that the commissio should orgaize oe or two debates i each official laguage per electio campaig ad focus its efforts o esurig that these were of high value to voters. A few participats suggested that the commissio should also orgaize smaller, more issue- or regio-specific debates, but that idea was ot supported by the majority. Rather, the commissio should focus o those few core atioal debates, while ot puttig limitatios o other orgaizatios 18

19 IRPP Report April 2018 watig to produce their ow debates. Not oly would this likely icrease the total umber of debates, but it would also allow for greater experimetatio i participatio, format ad dissemiatio Official laguages All participats agreed the commissio should orgaize at least oe debate i each official laguage. Moreover, some argued that the Frech-laguage debate has traditioally bee too focused o Quebec, with little regard for the 1 millio fracophoes livig outside Quebec. I additio, may participats argued that both ASL ad Quebec Sig Laguage should be available at all debates Time ad place O both time ad place, may participats argued that debates have bee too focused o cetral Caada. Debates are usually held i Toroto, Ottawa ad Motreal, ad the timig usually suits people livig i those cities. I British Columbia, the debates usually take place aroud 3:00 pm, which makes it very difficult for most west-coast Caadias to watch debates live. Participats suggested that the commissio should be more midful of the impact of such decisios o voters i regios other tha cetral Caada ad determie how to make watchig the debates as coveiet as possible to as may voters as possible. Regardig veues, a few idividuals also advaced the idea that the commissio should orgaize debates i colleges, uiversities ad eve museums rather tha televisio studios to better frame them as a exercise i educatio ad culture. RECOMMENDATIONS A umber of specific recommedatios were made by participats throughout the roud table process. I other istaces, recommedatios were discerible from the ature ad toe of the exchages ad the level of agreemet or cosesus o issues raised over the course of the discussios. The followig is a summary of recommedatios, which are based o the IRPP s assessmet of what was heard throughout this cosultatio exercise. 1. The Govermet of Caada should proceed with the creatio of a idepedet body to oversee leaders debates durig federal electio campaigs. Based o the discussios held throughout the roud table process, there is clear support for the idea of creatig a idepedet body. The proposal received broad support at every roud table, ofte ethusiastically so. Eve those participats who supported the status quo over ay proposal for reform seemed to agree that it was the reform optio they preferred. I fact, o other reform optio was raised i ay meaigful way at ay of the roud tables. 19

20 Creatig a Idepedet Commissio for Federal Leaders Debates 2. The govermet should opt for a commissio over a idividual commissioer. Most participats agreed that the idepedet body would be more effective if it were led by a small group rather tha a sigle idividual. 3. The idepedet commissio should have, ad be see to have, broad support from political parties, ad it should report to the public, ot to the govermet. The process of creatig such a commissio should iclude some opportuities for political parties to express their opiios ad ultimately their support for this reform. Moreover, while most roud tables did ot go as far as to declare that the commissio must have the status of a aget of Parliamet, there was strog support for the importace of havig similar idepedece, authority ad accoutability mechaisms. 4. The commissio should be fully supported by public fuds. Cosistet with the importat role debates play i a electio campaig, as well as the established practice of publicly fudig electios themselves, the commissio should be fully supported by public fuds. Of course, measures must be put i place to esure this is doe prudetly ad i the iterests of taxpayers, but the priciple of supportig this public process with public fuds is soud. 5. The core madate of the commissio should be to orgaize a few key debates ad should ot preclude other orgaizatios from producig similar activities or evets that would fall outside that madate. The diversity i the format of debates i 2015 was widely viewed as a positive iovatio that should be preserved i future. The madate of the commissio should focus o oe or two debates i each official laguage ad esure its highest possible value to voters ad widest possible distributio. It should ot, however, bar other orgaizatios from orgaizig other debates, be they with party leaders or other spokespersos. The aim of this reform should be to uiversalize access to oe set of comprehesive debates, ad the allow others to pursue their ow iitiatives. 6. The process led by the commissio should seek iput from media orgaizatios ad political parties, but also academics, stakeholders ad citizes, i a ope ad trasparet maer. I establishig rules, timetables ad formats for leaders debates, the commissio should seek iput i a trasparet way. Eligibility criteria ad other priciples that will guide the commissio s work should be commuicated to the public at the outset, ad deliberatios should be coducted i full view of the votig public. 7. I matters related to the participats, timig ad format of debates, the commissio should be the oly decisio-makig authority ad should be held to accout for its performace after each electio cycle. Oce advice from outside groups has bee received, the commissio should decide how debates will be coducted o its ow. It should proactively disclose the ratioale for the decisios it makes regardig debates prior to a electio, ad the be held to accout for its results after a electio. 20