MONTREAL - The date of the French-language federal election debate has been moved up a day to avoid overlapping with a first-round Montreal Canadiens playoff game.
The French language debate was scheduled for Thursday, the same day the Habs will face off in their first playoff game against the Boston Bruins. It has been moved to Wednesday, The Broadcasting Consortium confirmed.
Bloc Quebecois Leader Gilles Duceppe got the ball rolling on the issue, saying there's little doubt hockey-mad Montreal fans would choose the game over the debate. NDP Leader Jack Layton echoed those sentiments.
"A very large number of people would choose to watch the Canadiens play. Were I not in politics I might choose to make the same decision," said Layton.
A letter confirming the change said the decision was made "with the consent of all parties participating in the debates, and is in keeping with the Consortium's goal of ensuring debates are scheduled to reach as wide an audience as possible.
The Broadcasting Consortium believes this schedule modification is in the best interest of the general public."
The first English debate is scheduled for Tuesday, before the playoffs begin.
A random sampling of Montrealers done by CTV News' Derek Conlon Sunady suggested that the decision was a wise one. Most stated that they would opt to watch the chase for Lord Stanley's Cup over the fractious political verbiage.
