greenpolitics.ca

Where did Canada’s Green parties come off the rails? Or more likely, how come the Greens never really got on track in the first place? I’ve pondered this many times over the past 25 years, and it seems to me that besides the centralised, hierarchical structure I’ve already discussed, the main reasons for its failure are conventional political thinking, political naïvité, and lack of a strategic vision. But there’s more….

Years of activism have convinced me that we are not going to protect the environment, slow down global warming, or achieve world peace and a just society, unless we have a biocentric and participatory democracy that gives people the right to decide issues that impact their lives, and which respects Nature. We need a new kind of politics. We need Green politics. Here is the full text of that speech.

Catharine Johannson, the Green Party’s Political Campaign Director, wrote to Elections Canada in response to my complaint. For those who want the sordid details, here is her letter to the Commissioner and my response to it. Since the time of posting, Elections Canada has acknowledged my complaint.

I am complaining about the actions of the Green Party of Canada in the current nomination contest for the candidacy of the Green Party in Saanich Gulf-Islands. I believe that the Green Party may have acted and could still be acting illegally in these matters, and am asking the Commissioner to investigate my complaint without delay.

Stuart Hertzog believes that the primary task of the Green Party is not the environment, but to defend and develop Democracy. He is concerned that Canadian Green parties have drifted away from their Green political principles in their drive for political power. Centralising decision-making into federal council and the leader has alienated Green grassroots activists and undermined the party’s membership base.

In this concluding article, John Ryan explains why there is enough common ground for the federal Liberal, NDP and Green parties to form a mutually-acceptable and visionary political partnership that can defeat Stephen Harper’s Conservatives, form a coalition government, and lead Canada towards a progressive and independent future.

Long-time political observer John Ryan believes that a strategic political agreement between the Liberals, NDP, and Greens will enable them to win the next Canadian federal election and form a coalition government. Only then would the majority of Canadians have a government that would reflect their views, values, and interests, he explains.

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.

Although an eight-month Elections Canada investigation cleared him of any serious wrongdoing, the choice of West Vancouver-Sunshine Coast MP Blair Wilson as Canada’s first Green MP throws serious doubt on Green Party leader Elizabeth May’s commitment to the fundamental Green political principles of ecocentrism and grassroots democracy.

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.