Updated throughout the day when so moved...

Greens file court challenge over debate snub (March 31, 2011 - CBC News) The Green Party of Canada has filed an application with the Federal Court of Appeal to challenge a broadcast consortium's exclusion of leader Elizabeth May from the election campaign's televised leaders debates.

Hebert: Why Elizabeth May doesn't belong in election debates (March 31, 2011 - The Toronto Star) The television consortium's decision to exclude Green Party Leader Elizabeth May from the election campaign debates is an accurate reflection of her party's diminishing contribution to the national conversation and the debatable relevance of her debut appearance at the same table in 2008. [...] It is an understatement to say that the 2008 debates inspired more frustration than enlightenment and May -- among others -- contributed to their failure. She spent less time showcasing what made the Green party distinct from the chorus of her opponents than contributing to a cacophonic critique of the Conservative incumbent.

Leaders' debates set without May (March 30, 2011 - CBC News) English debate to be held on April 12, French on April 14

Broadcasters are undemocratic, May says (March 30, 2011 - CBC News) Jean-Pierre Kingsley, the country's former chief electoral officer, said it's up to the broadcast consortium that runs the debates to make the decision, so there may be no legal recourse - but he says the fact they don't have a sitting MP in the House of Commons doesn't mean the Green Party should be left out of the French- and English-language debates. "The fact that they didn't get anyone elected is not reflected in the six per cent of the votes that they got," Kingsley told CBC Radio's Kathleen Petty in Ottawa.

Greens have not earned a place in televised leaders' debate (March 31, 2011, The Vancouver Sun) [It] shouldn't be forgotten that back then [in 2008] Greens held one Commons seat, if only by way of a last minute floor-crossing by independent Blair Wilson, whom the Liberals had exiled.

But that was then. This time, the male leaders are a little wiser and are saying they would not mind May's participation. The faceless TV consortium will thus be the only ones to get the blame for her exclusion.

May should be at the table (March 31, 2011 - Ottawa Citizen) [There's] a lot to be said for an event that puts the five of them around a table. Of course there are disadvantages to such a big group, too, but there's nothing stopping broadcasters -or anyone else, in the Internet age -from holding one-onone debates to get deeper into the issues and expose differences of personality. It looks like a standoff between Harper and Ignatieff is in the works, and given their status at the front of the pack, that would serve voters. Other pairings could be illuminating too -a debate between Jack Layton and Elizabeth May on environmental policy, for example.

Harper: I'm not interested in having multiple debates (March 31, 2011, Paul Wells - Macleans) Today Harper said he isn't interested in any debates beyond the televised four-headed network consortium debate.

Stephen Harper refuses to explain limits on media queries (March 31, 2011, Vancouver Sun) On Thursday, Harper was asked to explain why - when Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff and NDP leader Jack Layton provide news conferences with no limits on questions - he insists on no more five questions. Harper chose not to answer that question and moved on to the next questioner.