Coalition Negotiations Must Begin Immediately
For the opposition parties to form a coalition government, a formal letter stating their intent and ability to do so must sent to the Governor General as soon as the election results are announced. The leaders of the four opposition parties must immediately begin negotiations to thrash out a working agreement for the next parliament. To delay would be to open the door for a second and perhaps even more repressive Stephen Harper minority régime that 64% of Canadians do not want.
Posted in Canada, coalition, democracy | 5 Comments »
It’s time for the four Canadian opposition parties to come together in a coalition to stop the awful prospect of yet another mandate for what could soon prove to be the meanest, most secretive, most militaristic, and most repressive ultra-right government in Canadian history.
Although philosopher George Santayana offered the sage advice to learn from history or repeat it, it seems that his message hasn’t yet reached the inner sanctum of the Green Party of BC. By parachuting herself into the recently-announced Victoria-Fairview byelection, leader Jane Sterk is making the same mistake as her predecessor.
As polls show public support for the Green Party of Canada rising steadily to between 10% and 12% nationally and up to 15% here in BC, the tension between possible electoral success and the party’s set of basic Green political values becomes even more apparent. The problem is that most party members have no knowledge or understanding of core Green values.
Canadians looking for a level playing field in the 2008 Canadian election are being let down by the decision of the nation’s major broadcasters not to invite Green Party leader Elizabeth May to take part in the crucial televised leadership debate. Stephen Harper and Jack Layton may yet rue the day they decided not to let Elizabeth May play in their sandbox.
This is the second of a two-part series on restructuring Green political parties in accordance with Green values. 
Despite the intent to create a more democratic political process, many Green parties from the start adopted the same ‘top-down’ hierarchical structure as mainstream political parties. Their leadership progressively sealed themselves off from the party’s grass roots, and in many cases membership and fundraising declined precipitously. This analysis looks at why.
Although an eight-month Elections Canada investigation cleared him of any serious wrongdoing, the choice of West Vancouver-Sunshine Coast MP Blair Wilson as 
