by Pieter Vorster | Feb 13, 2019 | News and Events
Mark de Bruijn Nominee for the Green Party of Canada Candidate for NIPR Much of my passion for the natural world and it’s wonders comes from leaving my urbanized European homeland at the age of 3, and moving to a country with nothing but wilderness everywhere. My father was smitten by it, and our family spent countless weekends and summers exploring the wilds, from our home in the Calgary foothills to the California Sierras. I grew up hiking, canoeing, trail riding and rock climbing my summers away in the glorious Rockies, much of it as a counsellor with a YMCA wilderness camp near Banff. Upon graduating from the University of Calgary with a 1st class honours B.Sc. in zoology, I worked as a fish biologist in the Arctic on Canada’s first major environmental assessment for a pipeline destined to bring Alaskan natural gas to Edmonton. Our work ultimately contributed to the Canadian government’s decision to decline the development application – the huge pipe was never built. Gradually I discovered my real interest lay in helping others appreciate and treasure the wonders of nature. I became a college biology instructor at Mount Royal College in Calgary. Later I completed the training to teach high school chemistry, biology and math, including a stint as school principal. As economics, interests and lifestyles changed, I gathered an eclectic range of skills working as general contractor, sporting goods buyer, healing program coordinator, and employability teacher and coach. But always I returned to education and the natural world as my primary passion. Along the way I discovered an interest in exploring the potential of creative...
by Larry McCumsey | Apr 18, 2025 | News and Events
April 17, 2025 MONTREAL – The Green Party of Canada has launched its election platform. You can read it here. This is a platform for everyone who has been pushed to the margins, sidelined, underestimated, or ignored—and who is done with the status quo. For people who are organizing, showing up, and demanding more social justice. Please find the Parliamentary Budget Officer’s costing...
by Larry McCumsey | Mar 23, 2025 | Newsletters
Hello fellow Greens! The Coldest Night of the Year Comox Valley Green Team graces the cover page this issue. This is just one of the many things that we have been up to but of course the election dominates our thinking right now. Here’s your chance to see what has been happening and what we have planned for the coming weeks. NIPR Newsletter (Vol IV - Issue 1) Mar...
by Larry McCumsey | Mar 17, 2025 | News and Events
From Elizabeth May’s weekly newsletter: Good Sunday Morning! Issue #258 – March 16, 2025 I rarely make a prediction–in writing–about politics- especially in the volatile times we are in! But today is an exception. I am close to 100% sure that a week from today – March 23 - our new Prime Minister, the Right Honourable Mark Carney, will stroll over to Rideau Hall to ask the Governor General to call an election. Why Sunday March 23? Because on January 6, when Justin Trudeau announced he would resign as soon as a new leader for the Liberal Party was chosen, he asked the GG to prorogue Parliament until March 24. The Liberal Party made its own decision to select the new leader by March 9. If you ask me, this was an odd choice, rushing through their leadership race and leaving a new Liberal leader with only 25 days until the House resumed normal business. At that point both the NDP and Bloc leaders were saying they would vote to bring down the government as soon as possible–hardly normal times! It would be a pretty tricky path for any new Liberal leader and freshly minted PM to navigate. But for a new leader, now Prime Minister without a seat in the House of Commons, it is beyond tricky. Carney cannot risk a single indelible memory, or much retweeted YouTube of Pierre Poilievre in his place, saying “Mr. Speaker, my question is to the Prime Minister…Oh right! He is not allowed in the Chamber!” If I am right and the election is called next Sunday, that would put voting...
by Larry McCumsey | Feb 26, 2025 | News and Events
21 people attended the premier of the feature documentary Yintah at the Campbell River Community Center on February 20th, 2025. The movie was sponsored by the North Island Powell River (NIPR) Federal Green Party Riding Association and follows the Wet’suwet’en land defender’s 10 year struggle to keep gas companies from building a pipeline through their territory. Cortes Currents interviewed two of the event organizers about the film and some of the deeper issues within the local community. The event was also covered by the Campbell River...
by Larry McCumsey | Feb 3, 2025 | Environment, Featured Events, News and Events
JOIN US!!! Thursday, February 20 at the Campbell River Community Centre, Room 1, to watch and discuss YINTAH, a new riveting documentary film about Indigenous sovereignty and the push for resources by fossil fuel companies in central BC. Viewing begins at 7 PM with discussion to follow. Sponsored by the North Island Powell River Federal Greens. ** warning: threats of violence and occasional harsh language YINTAH, meaning “land” in the Wet’suwet’en language, tells the story of an Indigenous nation’s fight for sovereignty as they resist the construction of multiple oil and fracked-gas pipelines across their territory. Over the period of a decade, the film follows Tsakë ze’ Howilhkat Freda Huson, Tsakë ze’ Sleydo’ Molly Wickham, and their fellow land defenders as they reoccupy their traditional territory and galvanize their nation in a fight against several of the largest fossil fuel companies on earth. YINTAH is about an anti-colonial resurgence—a fierce and ongoing fight for Indigenous and human rights. The film reveals the hypocrisy of the Canadian government’s espousal of reconciliation, as Indigenous land is still being seized at gunpoint for the purpose of resource extraction. The Hereditary Chiefs’ claim to jurisdiction over the territory is supported by a 1997 Supreme Court of Canada decision. When a lower court effectively sidesteps this decision, granting pipeline companies access to Wet’suwet’en land, Wet’suwet’en leaders put their bodies on the line, building barricades to keep the companies out. Ultimately, YINTAH is the story of the Indigenous right to stewardship and sovereignty over their territories. Freda, Molly, and the land defenders are part of a centuries-long fight to protect their children, culture, and...
by Larry McCumsey | Feb 3, 2025 | Environment, Featured Events, News and Events
This fast-paced, interactive, action-oriented workshop focuses mainly on what we can do personally and publicly about climate change. Collaboration with other participants is part of the joy of our time together and is critical as building a community is key to dealing with climate change. We will learn from each other. Come ride with us on a light-filled journey through a dark subject. Solutions do exist! Please register through Elder College. Finding Climate Solutions with Joan Gillies Campbell River Elder College Course: CREC 5224 $35.00 Mondays Mar 1-31 1-2:20...
by Larry McCumsey | Jan 16, 2025 | Environment, News and Events, Political Activity, Social Justice
North Island - Powell River Green Party candidate Jessica Wegg talks with Roy Hales of Cortes Currents about the coming...
by Larry McCumsey | Dec 21, 2024 | Newsletters
2024 is almost a wrap - time for our year-end newsletter. Check out this issue for our CEO’s end of year message and a review of a number of events and issues relevant to our riding. Season’s greetings from the NIPR EDA executive and best wishes for a happy and healthy New Year! NIPR Newsletter Vol III-Issue 4 - Dec...
by Larry McCumsey | Sep 15, 2024 | Newsletters
Hello fellow Greens! We’ve had a fairly busy summer – you’ll find some of the details here. We’re also looking forward, reviewing issues and making plans. In each issue we try to present thoughtful articles that help to define what it means to be Green. Check out our quarterly newsletter for September 2024: NIPR Newsletter Vol III - Issue 3 - Sept...
by Larry McCumsey | Aug 19, 2024 | Featured Events, News and Events
Federal Green Party Leader Elizabeth May and NIPR candidate, Jessica Wegg, to Visit the North Island! August 26th and 27th, 2024 Federal Green Party Leader Elizabeth May is coming to North Vancouver Island. She will be accompanied by the North Island Powell River candidate Jessica Wegg. As many of you know, Elizabeth has spent her adult life and much of her youth tirelessly promoting social justice, the environment, human rights and fair economic policies. As an author, lawyer, environmentalist and human rights activist she has served Canadians since the 70’s, and has inspired a generation of like-minded people at home and around the globe. https://www.greenparty.ca/en Jessica Wegg, Green Party candidate for North Island Powell River, is one such inspired woman. A resident of K’omoks, Jessica is a wife, the mother of two young children, human rights lawyer and climate activist. Jessica has worked with sexual abuse victims and been a strong advocate for prisoner’s rights. She is passionate about the outdoors and spends a great deal of time there with her husband Jon and children. With that passion comes her commitment to our children and grandchildren to make our nation, and the earth, a better place for them to grow and thrive. https://jessicawegg.ca/ The events below are opportunities to let the Green Party know what’s important to you and the issues that affect your lives. You have our attention! North Island Events: Monday, August 26th, 11am-1pm, Sointula - Coffee with Elizabeth & Jessica at Coho Joe’s Café Monday, August 26th, 6:30pm-8:30pm, Port McNeill - Meet and Greet, Gatehouse Theatre Tuesday, August 27th, around 2:30pm, Alert Bay - Meet and Greet, Council Hall Join us in the...
Current News from the Green Party of Canada