greenpolitics.ca

Although it’s the height of summer and the last thing British Columbians want to think about is politics, the BC Green party leadership race is finally getting under way. Lack of official party support for an all-candidate leadership tour only allows a first impression gleaned from brief conversations plus a close inspection of their respective campaign web sites. My detailed evaluation of the line-up says that it’s shaping up to be a two- or maybe even a three-horse race.

The BC Green party doesn’t have a good track record when it comes to choosing a leader. Although she handled the provincial media fairly well and performed successfully in the televised leadership debate, in my opinion former leader Adriane Carr’s reign was a disaster for the Green party.

Conventional thinking maintains the view that Green parties will not be effective until at least one elected Green sits in Canada’s parliament or a provincial legislature. This ignores the fact that the mere threat of Green environmental candidates has already forced Canada’s major political parties to hurriedly ‘green’ their image.

Something rotten is eating away at the heart of the Green Party of British Columbia. It’s called corporatism, and it functions through elitism, control of decision-making, and restriction of information. Right now, many Greens are wondering whether the Green Party of British Columbia can still claim to be Green.

Green politics is not just about the environment. It is far more holistic than that. Green political philosophy is based on an egalitarian, anti-authoritarian, eco-centric, environmentally concerned and decidedly democratic approach to governance. Green principles must not be forgotten by Greens everywhere.

There are basically two kinds of political and social leader — those who seek power over others, and those who lead by example and empowerment. Green politics was never supposed to imitate the ‘top-down’ authoritarianism of the mainstream political parties. Green politics rests on the belief that everyone in a free and democratic society has the right to voice and vote in decision-making.

Let’s get one thing absolutely clear: unless we can swiftly reduce our greenhouse gas emissions on an emergency basis to 90% of present levels, we’ve going to create irreversible climate change and a very insecure future for our grandchildren. How can we each play our part in reducing global warming?

There’s a growing gulf between those in our society that have — jobs, income, property, family — and those who have not. And that gulf is widening to include many more formerly middle-class people in the ‘have-not’ category.

I believe we are now entering a new period in history. Welcome to the corporate era. It’s going to be an interesting time — especially if you’re not safely ensconced inside a corporate castle. From the outside, the castle walls look cold, dark, and steep.

We cannot continue to flounder around with the outmoded ideas of the past. Our very survival is at stake: the future of this planet and the vitality and well-being of the Green movement in Canada, is on the line. The goal of this discussion paper is to raise the prospect of achieving a regionalized structure for the Green movement, one that will allow it to evolve along fully democratic lines. A secondary aim to outline a new concept of federal organisation, one that can be applied to all national Canadian institutions.