Olivia Chow said her lack of french is the reason she is NOT putting her name forward in this leadership race
“Jack spent a lot of time building up the Quebec team and the caucus and the connection with the Québécois,” Ms. Chow said, “so I think it is really important to have someone who is a lot more fluent than what I can do.”
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/ex-union-leader-sid-ryan-co...
That is a bit of a bombshell for some. She has set a minimum standard thatmany will respect.
I assume whomever set the March date for the first debate did so knowing there were people about to declare -- otherwise that would have been not a good idea.