GreenerPolitics

by Rosemary Frie

Hi Everyone,
 
It’s nearly September, and that means … the provincial election race is almost under way! I went out canvassing for a couple of hours this evening with Marija Minic, the nominated candidate for the Green Party of Ontario in our riding, York Centre. We were heartened by the responses - very few doors closed quickly in our faces and a fair number of positive responses - including a donation to the campaign and three requests for lawn signs.
 
It’s pretty cool to be going through my first campaign - I mean, I’ve helped out for a couple of days here and there on a couple of other campaigns, but there’s nothing like the first time as a core member of the campaign team. And we’re pretty much on top of things - our website has ‘gone live’ (www.marijaminic.ca) thanks to more than 50 hours of work a member of our team, Howard Pasternack, has put into it over the last couple of weeks, we have our lawn signs ordered, our 70,000 postcards are being printed as I type this — the postcards invite people to our Sept. 16 event, introduce Marija, say a bit about the Green Party of Ontario’s platform, and directly asking people to donate, volunteer, and/or take a lawn sign — and they will be distributed to most of the households in the riding in the first day or two of the campaign (which starts Sept. 10) - and a brochure is just about ready to go to press, plus we’ve had business cards printed for me and for Marija.
 
Sure, there have been some wrinkles along the way, but overall it’s already been an amazing experience. And I’m blessed to have a small but tight-knit, dedicated and hard-working team of people around me - plus a wonderful candidate.
 
Go Campaign to Elect Marija Minic Go!!

from Citynews.com

The provincial election is only months away, and as always, education is the hot topic among Ontario voters.

The latest front-burner issue is funding for faith-based schools. Conservative Leader John Tory got the ball rolling when he proposed extending funding to Muslim and Jewish schools, provided they also teach provincial curriculum. 

The Liberals and the NDP have stated they do not want to see any changes to faith based funding.

Read the rest of the article

The Electoral Reform Edition

Whenever we talk about elections, we seem to focus on what candidate or what party we plan on voting for.  Perhaps because of this, we tend to forget the electoral system that shapes our choices.  In the United States, the choice is usually between the Republicans and Democrats and in Canada, the choice is between Conservative, Liberals and the NDP.  However, a move is afoot in Canada and the United States to change the system to allow us a more flexible choice on the ballot.

Jim Harris and the Yes Referendum in Ontario, Canada

Jim Harris is the former Leader of the Green Party of Canada and recent inductee to the board of directors for Fair Vote Canada.  He believes that there is a historic opportunity to move to a system of Mixed Member Proportional Representation.  If it passes, it will inevitably lead to having Green Party members elected to the legislature.

We talk about what it will take to win this historical vote, how it might be accomplished, and what kind of opposition the ‘Yes’ side is likely to encounter in the next few months.

If you’re interested in getting involved in this campaign, you can contact Jim at jim@jimharris.ca. You can also visit his blog on the Ontario election by visiting http://greenparty.ca/en/node/1859

Ken Mathenia and the Michegan Third Parties Coalition

Ken Mathenia is the Chair of the Green Party of Michegan and the Green Party Representative for the newly created third party coalition.  The coalition is made up of US Taxpayers Party, the Reform Party, the Socialist Party and the Libertarian Party and while they don’t agree on much, what they do agree on is that it is in the interest of democracy for their parties to be granted ballot access and the ability to participate in candidates debates.

GALEN EAGLE, Peterborough Examiner

It has been a fringe party, one left out of the national debate and one yet to win a single seat in the House of Commons, but Joel Parkes insists that’s all about to change.

The local federal Green Party candidate says Canada is looking for alternative political options and predicts Peterborough will be one of the first ridings to vote in a green representative.

Read the rest of the article

From the Caledon Citizen

Newly elected provincial Green Party candidate Rob Strang wants to make the upcoming election a referendum on development issues for Dufferin-Caledon.

“The only development that should take place is development that improves our quality of life and enhances a sustainable economy,” the former Orangeville town councillor said.

Strang won the nomination over Bolton resident Patti Foley, in a strongly contested race that saw local Green Party membership triple in the past three weeks. Roughly 70 people came out to hear the two candidates speak at the Caledon Community Complex.

Read the rest of the article