OTTAWA -- Federal Green Party Leader Elizabeth May (MP, Saanich-Gulf Islands) is urging the Liberal Party to belatedly follow the Green Party’s lead in extending the leader’s courtesy to NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh by not running a candidate against him in the upcoming Burnaby South by-election.

“The Liberals did the right thing when their candidate, Karen Wang, stepped aside after making racial comments about the NDP Leader,” said Ms. May. “It’s not too late for them to do the right thing again. Let Jagmeet Singh run unopposed in the Burnaby-South by-election.

“There’s a long tradition in our parliamentary democracy of not opposing leaders of federal parties so they can have their voice heard in Parliament. Stéphane Dion extended it to me in 2008 and the courtesy has been extended to former leaders such as Joe Clark, Stockwell Day, Stephen Harper, Jean Chrétien and Robert Stanfield.”

Mr. Singh accepted Ms. May’s offer of the leader’s courtesy last August.

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For additional information or to arrange an interview, contact:

Rod Leggett

Press Secretary

613-562-4916 x206

rod.leggett@greenparty.ca