Posts Tagged ‘Green Party of Canada’
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In Support of Peter V. Tretter
Today I’ll write something specific to the Green Party of Canada. Disclosure: I have never been on the party’s federal council.
I have been a party member since 2004 and active as a volunteer since 2006. I was President & CEO of the Barrie Federal Green Party Association for 6 years and three times a Campaign Manager for local green candidates.
I am neutral on the question of Annamie Paul. I don’t know if we should have a confidence vote on her leadership or if we should revoke her membership. My notebook says IDGARA – I don’t give a rat’s ass. Right now there is the threat of a general federal election. This is not the time to replace our leader. This is the time to unite behind our leader.
I do manage two unofficial Green Party Facebook groups – Canadians in Support of the Green Party of Canada & Ontarians in Support of the Green Party of Ontario and in my Canadians group I have seen so much division over this question.
I personally wish Annamie Paul would simply apologize for not supporting our Green MP’s in Parliament so we can all get over it and move on. However, she has not apologized and I can understand the pain felt by our MP’s and party members this has affected.
As a member of a grassroots party, we all have the right to have our voice heard. That needs to be done in a constructive manner and the federal council needs to understand that our pain is their pain. That the mistakes of our leader are the mistakes of all of us, as she is our spokesperson.
Statement supported by:
Redins, John
Yelle, Marie-Josee (Joric Simard) -
The internal activist
The list for a donor organ in Belgium is 1,248 patients long. Many will wait more than three years to receive a kidney. Roel Marien, 39 and the father of two young girls, says he does not have the time to sit and wait. So he took matters into his own hands and began to search for a donor among his Facebook friends.
His move sparked a discussion among doctors and patients in Europe about the current system, which is based on strict laws and anonymity. Is it fair if people search for organ donors online to avoid endless waiting lists? Might social media give certain patients an advantage, if they can present their stories well online? Should Patients Be Able to Find Organ Donors on Facebook? (2015) by Benjamin Duerr as published in The Atlantic.I am an activist. But I am not a normal activist as you might think. I am an activist for one person – me, myself, and I.
This may seem like a selfish position, but in the day of online slacktivism, I think we are all activists for ourselves. You have the people who use GoFundMe to ask for money for school/health, or to ask for a kidney.
My activism may be a bit more broad – I care about the Green Party and the Environment, my health, and other causes close to my heart. But try and talk to me about something outside of that, and I’ll be with the rest of the world watching Pop Star.
And isn’t it sad that we can’t move out of our bubbles, our comfort zones, to consider what others are being activists for? What is close to their hearts?
I heard it said once that liberal-types unfriend more people on Facebook than conservative-types, because conservative types are supposively more open minded. I don’t know if that’s true or not, but I do have a hard time reaching other activists in my sphere about my non-profit Journey to Diversity Workplaces.
Does that mean they don’t care? I don’t know. It means that they don’t care enough to look deeper into what I’m presenting.
The same can be said with my own kidney search. I haven’t taken to GoFundMe, because I am not out of pocket for any expense money. However, I have been on the transplant waiting list for 8 years. Yet a previous blog post I did on the topic got very few reads.
So what does all this mean? We’re all selfish bastards, and we need to learn to both lighten up, and to support our friends, and neighbours.
Because isn’t that what a good neighbour would do?
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Are the @CanadianGreens as inclusive as they could be?
For reader’s of my blog, you’ll know I am on dialysis. I have treatments three evenings a week, Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. This is both a blessing, and a curse. A blessing because I am still alive, and a curse because it makes it really hard to travel.
I am the immediate Past President of the Barrie Green Party. I was President for almost 6 years. I have been actively involved with the party since 2005, and this is my 10th year as a member.
Coming up 18 July – 20 July is the Green Party of Canada’s Biennial General Meeting in Fredericton, New Brunswick. I am sure it’s a beautiful city, but it has a huge barrier for me as an attendee. Horizon Health Network operates the Dr. Everett Chalmers Regional Hospital. They have a dialysis unit….
but it’s a satellite of the hospital in Saint John, New Brunswick. And they’re full.
If an attendee was in a wheelchair, we’d ensure there was ramp. If they were deaf, we’d ensure there are American Sign Language interpreters.
Saint John is approximately 1.5 hours away from Fredericton. I’d have to make two trips. One to see the kidney doctor, and another for the actual dialysis treatment. Upon visiting a new dialysis unit for the first time, it’s standard practice to see the kidney doctor. So the party is asking me to make a 6 hour round trip… at my expense. And I’m already a low income member.
Why couldn’t we simply have the convention in Saint John?
I had a similar problem in 2009 when the convention was in Nova Scotia, which unfortunately I couldn’t attend due to getting the flu. But 2010 in Toronto was fine, as was 2012 in Victoria, BC.
This past Sunday at its Annual General Meeting, the Barrie Green Party heard from Sandra Holdsworth from the Trillium Gift of Life Network. She pointed out that those on the waiting list for a heart transplant go around with a backpack that has an artificial heart in it to keep them alive until they get a transplant. I imagine they can’t just travel anywhere. How are we accommodating them?
So I am asking my fellow members to help me find a solution, as I could be on dialysis for a very long time.
If you live in Ontario, I encourage you to ensure you’ve signed your organ donor card, by visiting the Barrie Green Party’s campaign page. (If the link doesn’t work, visit beadonor.ca)
Thank you for reading.
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Let’s dance again… by volunteering.
I like to keep active by volunteering. I find it gets me moving, the blood flowing, and I get to meet all sorts of amazing new people. This is especially true when I am the volunteer head of the organization. Two of which could really use your help.
In 2008, the Green Party of Canada, here in Barrie, had it’s best result ever, having a statistical tie with the NDP for third. Everyone was shocked. We couldn’t have done it without our volunteers. Three years later, we didn’t do so well. Why? We didn’t have as many volunteers. The Globe and Mail has actually come out and said that if we want to change how politics is done in Canada, citizens should join a political party and change it from the inside. I agree.
Coming up this July, the Green Party of Canada will hold it’s biennial general meeting in Fredricton, New Brunswick. In the Green Party, the only policies the leader is allowed to promote are the ones voted on by the members. It really is grassroots democracy. And you can be the change!
I’m also the volunteer head of another, non-political, non-profit, non-charity organization Journey to Diversity Workplaces.
J2DW was created because of a real desire for change — in our pocket books. To change the way we work, the way we treat each other, employees, managers, and co-workers, and to make life a little more stress-free. We want workplaces that are ethical, moral, and legal. No loophole searching.
J2DW as born this past December, but we still need a few good people to join the Board of Directors during the infancy of the organization to help us find out balance as we start to stand on our own two legs.
If you would like to volunteer for either of these two amazing organizations, please don’t hesitate to email me.
Neither of these two groups peak your interest? Email me anyway, and perhaps I can put you in touch with an organization that does.
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Reflections on a Green Century
I have been a Green Party member here in Canada since 2004. Most people know this story – I got involved because a friend of the time who was doing a Master’s program at Ottawa’s Carleton University was telling me about Green Party tax policy, and suggested we become a member. 7 years later and I don’t know if he’s still a member, but I’m the only one of us who got involved.
In the last 2 – 3 years, we have made major strides. Elizabeth May became our first Green MP in the Canadian House of Commons,
English: Green Party leader, Elizabeth May. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
representing Saanich–Gulf Islands in British Columbia. If you’ve never been to Victoria, BC you should really go. It’s such a beautiful area, and Elizabeth is lucky to represent it. Now this year we’ve earned a spot in British Columbia’s Legislative Assembly, with Andrew Weaver representing Oak Bay–Gordon Head.
This is truly exciting. Two elected Greens in Canada. Plus Adriane Carr on Vancouver City Council, where they do have municipal political parties. Sure we have other municipal elected officials, but unfortunately due to the non-partisan nature, they often go unrecognized.
So we truly are in the Green Century. The Green parties in Canada have evolved, and changed so much since I became a member in 2004. We’ve gotten better, higher quality leaders like Elizabeth May, and Mike Schreiner (leader of the Green Party of Ontario.) And higher quality candidates. This tells me that we will continue electing people, even under the antiquated first past the post system. And Fair Vote Canada recently gave the Canadian government a petition of 25,000 signatures on their Declaration of Voters Rights.
In Barrie, we have a plan to elect Ontario’s first Green MP. We’re calling the Order of the Green Century. The plan is pretty simple. Like a legion of 100 centurions, we’re recruiting 100 volunteers, and 100 monthly donors. With this we will be able to have a fully funded election campaign, and enough volunteers to knock on every door in the electoral district at least once. Because this century is the Green Century, and I want it climate change-free. Want to get involved? Email me!
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Updating in the ecosystem
Canada (Photo credit: palindrome6996)
So it’s been a while since my last update. My Kobo I mentioned is a really good product. I did have to send it in under warranty to be replaced a few weeks ago, I couldn’t connect the Kobo to my computer. Works great now!
So with the Barrie Green Party, which is the local electoral district association for both the Green Party of Canada and the Green Party of Ontario; for a few years now we’ve played host to a few college co-op students. This term we’ve had our co-op students working on research articles for the newly formed Georgian College Young Greens. The newest is on Alternative Energy Sources. They’ll also be doing one for the Barrie Young Greens.
Health wise I’m still on the transplant list, I potentially have a 5 year wait still. I’ve been on the list for 5 years since it goes back to my “return to dialysis” date.
What else is new? I’m going to BC in August for the Green Party of Canada convention. I’m really looking forward to that!
Oh and I’m also now on Google+! And my main website has been totally changed to a cool new format!
Have a great day!!
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Why a merger is great for the Greens!
Lately there’s been talk of a merger between the New Democratic Party and the Liberal Party of Canada. Especially given the dramatic rise of the NDP (and their subsequent loss of power in a majority parliament), and the Liberals utter defeat back on May 2nd.
Image via Wikipedia
This generally can mean good things for all involved.
If the Liberals and NDP merge, there will be folks who are dissatisfied with that option. Look at the UK where their version of the NDP and Liberals merged years ago. And have since formed government with the Labour party.
So how does a merger help the Green Party? Because not everyone is going to want to vote for the new party. It will allow smaller parties like the Green Party to attract more votes, and win more seats.
Of course all of this wouldn’t be necessary if we simply had some form of proportional representation. Have you signed the Declaration of Voters’ Rights yet?
Related articles
- No more talk of NDP-Liberal merger: Broadbent (cbc.ca)
- Talk of NDP’s possible merger with Liberals on ice (ctv.ca)
- NDP’s rising fortunes put talk of merger with Liberals on ice, for now (thestar.com)
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