
Four local North Island - Powell River Greens attended the Green Party of Canada’s Special General Meeting in Calgary (Dec 3rd and 4th, 2016).
They participated in discussions on a range of policy resolutions, reviewed the Green Party’s policy making process, and deliberated recommendations of the Special Parliamentary Committee on Electoral Reform (ERRE).
Pictured above are Megan, Carol, Mark, Adriane Carr (Green Party Councillor in Vancouver), and Leroy.
Good Sunday Morning,
We did it! The Special General Meeting in Calgary was a resounding success!!
Then the room started filling with familiar faces and there were hugs all around. Many attended one of the events on the Unity Tour and others I recognized from previous travels or the August convention. Elizabeth received a spontaneous standing ovation even before we enjoyed a very moving First Nations Welcoming Ceremony. Then after Elizabeth’s keynote address, our president Ken Melamed introduced our Federal Council noting what an honour it is to lead such a dedicated team. He then introduced the deputy leaders before officially opening the meeting. Paul Manly and Jo-Ann Roberts reported on their incredible work to achieve consensus around a new resolution and Dimitri Lascaris spoke eloquently in support of the new resolution, acknowledging that “the compromise resolution does not endorse the BDS movement” and “that this was ultimately the right thing to do.” From there it was still a procedural grind as we all familiarized ourselves with the process of Green Rules again. But we stuck with it and by the end of the day, the new resolution to update our policy on Israel and Palestine had been passed with overwhelming support. Our worst fears of continued or even intensified division did not materialize. Instead the SGM attendees rallied around consensus and applied the now more familiar Green Rules of Procedure the next day to address a special resolution on Kinder Morgan, new policies on Indigenous Rights, our Party’s updated position on Electoral Reform and improved GPC governance by approving a number of exciting new initiatives to help us move forward. And that’s a good thing. With the acrimony in the House and the unbelievable reality south of the border, it is so wonderful to be able to find solace in our Green Values. On Sunday, speaking to Adrian Carr’s emergency motion, Jean Rousseau our VP French stood up in plenary and called the fight to stop Kinder Morgan “our Standing Rock“. While watching the video we received word that the “Army Corps of Engineers denied the permit for the Dakota Access pipeline to drill under the Missouri river, handing a major win to environmental activists…” This proved especially poignant in light of the motions that were passed to improve our policies on indigenous issues, renounce the doctrine of discovery and press for an end to poverty among indigenous women. We stand united in our opposition to pipelines across the country that endanger our land and waters by carrying Dilbit to foreign markets. There are alternatives and they need to be explored. With the passage of this motion to stop Kinder Morgan, you can expect new resources to be focused on this important challenge as we unite with other voices across the country that seek a more responsible solution. And speaking of seeking responsible solutions, one of the objectives of the SGM in Calgary was to “review and adopt improved processes for policy making”. As we experienced again last weekend, traveling to conventions requires considerable resources of time and money which currently favours members living close to the convention site and those with sufficient financial resources to travel. Also, as we champion proportional representation in our electoral system, our own resolution development and adoption process currently has no mechanism to insure proportional or regional representation of the full membership at convention. Combined with the strife that resulted from last Summer’s convention and the minimal prioritization of resolutions of varying importance and complexities, the consensus at the SGM was that it is time to do a comprehensive re-assessment of our internal processes in anticipation of Electoral Reform bringing consensus based governance, in the form of Proportional Representation, to Canada. By combining this initiative with a motion to urge council to reinstate ratification votes for all resolutions, we have embarked on a journey that hopefully will find ways to engage the broader membership in resolution development.
Our reflex is to invoke cynicism and cheer as opposition parties hurl accusations across the aisle. But do we really want the Liberals to fail? Rona Ambrose is already calling on them to park this initiative. Nathan Cullen seems to be firm in his belief that the Liberals are collectively disingenuous. The Liberal MPs on the committee suggested that it may be time to renege on the promise to make this happen in time for the next election even as the Prime Minister has reiterated his intent to meet that deadline. The controversial survey, as broken as it is, has continued to keep this issue in the news and has collected over 150,000 responses. Right now it’s hard to see how all this could end well. But perhaps, as we emerge from a convention that exceeded all our expectations in reaching consensus, Greens have a role to play. Perhaps we can be that sober voice that identifies the common ground and charts a course forward. Perhaps we can serve to mitigate the attacks and accusations that cause all sides to entrench and harden their positions. Maybe we can, like the hummingbird intent on fighting a forest fire, be the inspiration that unites everyone behind a common objective.
Bonnie North, CEO of the Barrie-Innisfil EDA executive, has worked with Marlene Wells and the rest of the support team in Ottawa to develop a survey action kit that they call “Operation Postcard.” Click on the link and check out the many tools you can use to bring people together and make your voices heard. We also have our very own GPC survey on the national web site where you can register your views. Since the SGM in Calgary I’ve received a number of comments from people who had never really experienced the power of Green Rules in uniting a room. They expressed that this was an amazing experience and well worth the trip. Sadly the On-Line Ratification Vote now under way only offers the outcome, in the form of the Operatives of each motion, and does not reflect the hard work and dedication to consensus that we experienced in the workshops and the plenary. Nevertheless, I would like to encourage you to please join Elizabeth and take the time to ratify all the motions passed by overwhelming majorities or consensus at this SGM. If you are a member of the Green Party your ballot was mailed to you on with the subject line “2016 Online Special General Meeting.”
So in the context of all this, I can’t help but feel a profound relief and sense of gratitude that our party has found itself again. We stand united and strong in our values and our shared commitment to building a better world for all. Thank you all for your dedication and support of this vision we share. Have a fabulous weekend, We welcome your comments and feedback. If you were forwarded this email by a friend and would like to subscribe or if you wish to be removed from this Sunday Morning mail-out but still receive our fantastic newsletter, please just click reply and let me know. Thomas Teuwen For the latest news or to support our efforts, visit our web site today! |
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