NIPR Greens Executive Members

Jay Van Oostdam

Jay Van Oostdam

Director at Large

Member Bio

Jay strongly supports the six values of the Green Party and has been involved with the party since 1983 – supporting the party as a campaign worker through many elections, acting as a financial agent between elections and running as a candidate in the 1991 BC election.

Jay first landed in BC as a veterinarian in the Nanaimo region in 1981, followed by a post doc at the UBC Pulmonary Research Lab.  A Master of Public Health allowed Jay to branch out into human / environmental monitoring for BC Environment and then for the last eighteen years with Health Canada in Ottawa on human biomonitoring and health impacts of contaminants in high Arctic peoples and southern populations.  Jay’s work in the high arctic, his wife and two sons have brought to the fore the need for real changes in how the human race relates to the world and how we need to make the six Green values (Ecological Wisdom, Non-violence, Participatory Democracy, Respect for Diversity, Social Justice and Sustainability) the values we all live by on this planet.

Jay and his family have settled in the Comox valley.  The Climate Crisis (heat dome, forest fires, atmospheric rivers/flooding) plus the non-sustainable forestry practices in BC (decimation of old growth, need for carbon sequestration in all forests) shows how we need radical changes now if our children are to survive on this planet.  The NIPR Greens must elect a Green Party candidate so these “radical” Green values are incorporated into decision making in Parliament.

Mark de Bruijn

Mark de Bruijn

CEO

Member Bio

Twenty-four years ago, I moved to the Comox Valley as a school principal and sciences teacher with the Campbell River district. This was after a number of other careers, including human resources director, sporting goods buyer, general contractor, college instructor, and fish biologist.

Since retiring, my lifelong interest in the global issues of environmental preservation, cooperative governance, and social justice led me to join the Green Party of Canada in 2014. Since then, I’ve been an active member of the North Island-Powell River Electoral District Association’s executive, serving as its CEO for a couple of years and becoming its candidate in the 2019 federal election.

My passion for collaboration and cooperation beyond the limits of our current partisan politics continues to fuel my Green involvement. Canada must move from a never-ending growth economy to embrace bold policies that will usher in a modern society that is circular and sustainable, equitable for all, and in harmony with natural systems. Greens are the only political group with the values and vision, the global reach, and the will to accomplish this.

Together with my partner Carol McCuaig we enjoy living by Green values, exploring a low-impact spiritually-based lifestyle, growing our own food, and being in nature. Our twin 11-year old grandsons live in Calgary where their dad is an environmental biologist and mom a high school counsellor.

Jessica Wegg

Jessica Wegg

Director at Large, Candidate for next federal election

Member Bio

Jessica recently took a sabbatical from the EDA executive, during which she was confirmed as the Green Party Canada candidate for North Island-Powell River riding in the next federal election. She has subsequently returned to a regular role in the executive. To learn more about Jessica visit Jessica Wegg - About Jessica.

Carol McCuaig

Carol McCuaig

Membership Director, Electoral District Agent

Member Bio

Prairie born and Victoria raised, Carol is a true West Coast girl who has witnessed, firsthand, the radical environmental and social changes we’ve seen on Vancouver Island and throughout our province. A passion for health and wellness, personal development and social change carried her through 20+ years executive team management in the field of integrated health and cancer care. Education, program development and facilitation, and the co-creation of a progressive organizational model of health and healing, were her focus.

Carol’s latent interest in politics surfaced in 2013 when she co-created a local political group called ‘Y-vote’, a setting in which to create political awareness and foster intelligent political action. A Green Party member since 2014, Carol is currently a member of GPC’s NIPR Election Readiness committee as well as holding the role of Volunteer Coordinator. 

The Green Party has the values, the policies and, most importantly, a growing membership with the courage to acknowledge the state of our planet,….and take action!
Susan Short

Susan Short

Financial Agent

Member Bio

My history with the Green Party began in 2019 as a member and then NIPR Executive member; we then immediately dove into the 2019 election campaign!  I became an Electoral District Agent and in 2020 became the NIPR Financial Agent.  In 2021, I volunteered with Jessica Wegg’s election campaign and I continue to be excited about the vision, the values and the passion that Green members have for our community, country and planet.  My working background is in the field of accounting and office administration, which allowed me to work in a variety of businesses, charities, a university and a seniors’ cooperative.  I have volunteered for over 40 years in various not-for-profit organizations, including Habitat for Humanity.

This North Island – Powell River riding is a beautiful part of the west coast with lakes, forests, rivers, mountains, and with both rural and urban communities that are never too far away from vistas of our natural setting.  We live on the traditional lands of many indigenous nations and I am thankful to learn more of our shared history, understanding why reconciliation is necessary and how we move forward together.  I appreciate also that in BC, we have had a resource-extraction based economy that is not sustainable or good for our environment.  Now is the time for facing hard facts and coming up with creative solutions and the Green Party is addressing these issues.

I continue to enjoy working with the people on the NIPR Executive as we engage with our communities about the issues confronting us today, and welcome those who would support and join us in this work.

Larry McCumsey

Larry McCumsey

Secretary

Member Bio

I’m relatively new, both to the Green Party and to Powell River.  My wife and I moved to Powell River from Alberta in January 2019.  I retired in September of 2020 and my work with the GPC is one of the ways that I am filling my time. I’ve never been politically active in my life but have awakened to the fact that much needs to be done to protect our world and it’s not going to happen if we all just sit back and wait for others to do the job.  I have a technical background as a computer consultant and so my contributions include working in the role of Secretary and maintaining the NIPR website.
Linda Ash

Linda Ash

Director at Large, North Island Area Team Lead

Member Bio

I was born and raised in Vancouver but had lived in Sydney, Australia for 30 years, where I raised my 2 daughters.  We moved back to Vancouver in 2005 where I continued my career in the education field as admissions administrator.  My eldest daughter lives in Calgary, Alberta raising her family of 2 little boys and my youngest daughter is living back in Australia having realized her dream of working with animals and becoming a Veterinary Nurse.  Eight years ago and after semi retiring from my school career I moved from Vancouver to the north island.  I now manage a fledgling book shop in Port McNeill.

My move to the island has brought me so much closer to our natural environment and reinforced to me the necessity of reducing our dependence on fossil fuel, preserving what we have in terms of old growth forests, replenishing our wild salmon population and all that depend on these to survive.  Our planet is deeply in crisis.  We cannot be oblivious any more to what is happening and we must act rapidly to make a drastic course change. It is so clear that we have run out of time.

My involvement with the Green Party of Canada began after I volunteered on the 2019 federal election campaign and knew I couldn’t stop at just one election.  Part of my role within the current North Island Powell River EDA includes the position of North Island Area Team Lead.  This covers the communities of Port McNeill, Port Hardy and Port Alice, Sointula, Alert Bay and Woss.

My belief is that the Green Party is the only party that has the political will, policies and philosophy to move Canada forward at the pace we must go to begin healing this earth.  The only party to hold the government of the day accountable for the environmental and economic decisions it makes, to demand a cessation of burning fossil fuels and to develop greener economic initiatives.

We live in one of the most beautiful places on earth.  I do not take it for granted and I will work within the Green Party of Canada, with the goal of making sure our politicians don’t take it for granted either.

Green Party Core Values

The Green Party of Canada and Green Parties around the world share common values based on six fundamental principles. Non-violence, sustainability, social justice, ecological wisdom, participatory democracy, respect for diversity.

Pin It on Pinterest

Share This