GreenerPolitics

Paul Knowles, New Hamburg Independant

Once upon a time, not all that long ago, I fell into conversation with a woman on an airplane. The plane was bound for Amsterdam; the woman was a Member of Parliament in the Netherlands, representing the Green Party.

Here is how she became an M.P.: as an active member of the Greens, she campaigned, exclusively within the party, to be put on their official “list”. I don’t recall the exact numbers, but let’s say she earned the 14th place on that list.

Read the rest of the article

16 August 2007 - Today’s Senate Standing Committee on Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport majority report into water supply options for South East Queensland produced recommendations that don’t go far enough, with only the additional comments by Greens Senator Rachel Siewert applying the evidence before the Inquiry and recommending that the Traveston Dam be scrapped.

“The Senate inquiry was presented with overwhelming evidence that Traveston Dam is a high-cost, high-risk approach to South East Queensland’s water supply, which will not ease the current drought” said Australian Greens lead Senate candidate for Queensland, Larissa Waters.

“Yet the majority report and the additional comments by other Senators all stopped short of calling for the dam to be scrapped. Greens Senator Rachel Siewert made a call on the evidence and recommended that Traveston Dam should be stopped.

Read the rest of the article

from Kamloops this Week, By Mikelle Sasakamoose

Green Party of Canada Kamloops candidate Donovan Cavers is putting his money where his mouth is and fulfilling campaign promises whether or not he gets elected.

Cavers and friends are cooking a four-course, 100-mile meal for 40 environmentally friendly eaters next Friday.

The party fundraiser is exclusively organic and all ingredients are produced within 100 miles of the dinner, which will be held in Barnhartvale.

“I’m just trying to raise awareness about the local food that’s available, inspire local people and support local farms,” said Cavers, noting food security is important, especially as the price of fuel rises.

Read the rest of the article

GLORIA GALLOWAY, Globe and Mail

OTTAWA — The Liberals accused the federal Conservatives yesterday of exceeding election spending limits by more than a million dollars in the final days of the 2006 campaign by passing off national advertising costs as money spent by local candidates.

Elections Canada is now locked in a court battle with 37 of the candidates who want the government - which returns 60 per cent of the election expenses of candidates who get at least 10 per cent of the votes in their riding - to reimburse them for the costs.

Read the rest of the article

And a related story: Elections Canada rejects Tory ad expense claims

by Jennifer Ditchburn, Canadian press

OTTAWA – The Conservatives and Elections Canada just don’t see eye to eye on political financing rules.

The federal agency is refusing to reimburse at least three dozen Tory candidates for advertising expenses incurred during the 2005-2006 election, in a dispute over whether those expenses were genuinely spent on local TV and radio spots or used to benefit the national campaign.

Read the rest of the article

Official agents for those candidates, represented by the Conservative Party’s lawyer, have taken Chief Electoral Officer Marc Mayrand to Federal Court over the issue.

From City News

After an embarrassing day for the Quebec Provincial Police, where they first denied and then confirmed they had undercover officers acting as protesters at the ‘Three Amigos’ summit in Montreal last weekend, many questions still linger.

At a news conference scheduled by the QPP to answer questions regarding their behavior on Friday afternoon, Inspector Marcel Savard defended the three and insisted they were not there to provoke demonstrators.  He also says one of the officers was given a rock by protesters but the officer had no intention of using it.

After originally denying it, the force has admitted the trio was involved in the protest after a video clip of the them showed up on the popular website, YouTube.com. But the provincial police are denying they were attempting to provoke protesters into violence and say the three officers were planted in the crowd to locate any protesters who were not peacefully demonstrating.

Read the rest of the article