Good Sunday Morning,

After another riveting week of testimony at the Electoral Reform Committee hearings in Ottawa, Elizabeth is now focusing on her fall series of town halls in our riding. Simultaneously Minister Maryam Monsef is holding her town halls on Electoral Reform across the country.  After visiting Whitehorse the Minister was already looking forward to joining Elizabeth on Saturna this Wednesday. And so can you.

Saturna is special. Part of the Gulf Islands archipelago, Saturna is home to a rural community of about 300 souls that celebrate their remoteness with a deeply west-coast warmth and charm. Ferry access to the island is limited but on the day of their Town Hall there is a direct ferry leaving Swartz Bay at 2:50 arriving on Saturna at 4pm. (The return ferry leaves Saturna at 9:40pm) At 5:30 there is a potluck at the community hall just a few steps from the ferry landing. If you want to participate, you are asked to bring your favorite dish to share. Don't forget some cutlery and a plate. Remember we are guests and usually Elizabeth's town hall is a low key, intimate affair here.

Alternatively, if you don't feel like schlepping your dinner on the ferry, you can enjoy a fabulous meal at the local pub/restaurant overlooking the Sailsh Sea. It's right next to the ferry dock and a stone's throw from the community hall. The actual Town Hall begins at 7:00pm and will be live streamed on Elizabeth's Facebook page so you can attend even if you can't take the time to visit the island. Tune in about 15 minutes early if you can. You can also participate on twitter by following the #ERRE hashtag and help us build an audience by sharing the live feed link on Twitter and Facebook.

Of course sharing the memes and engaging in the #ERRE thread is a great way to use social media to help build support for this historic process of democracy building. So whether in person or on line, you can be part of the solution. It's up to us to spread the word about this and all the other town halls.

This week Elizabeth reminds us again why building our own media network is so important. Mainstream media proves over and over that we can't rely on them to report on climate change news with any credibility. While real climate stories remain untold, the large media channels find it easier to mimic a supermarket checkout tabloid than to educate themselves on the issues that really matter. Read Elizabeth's blog on page 9 of Island Tides and find out how you can help.

And speaking of helping, on Thursday September 8th, Adam Olsen is officially launching his campaign to become the next MLA for Saanich North and the Islands. Join the excitement and bring a friend. Andrew Weaver and Elizabeth May will be there. Doors open at 6:30pm, program starts at 7:00pm.

You can meet Adam and Andrew at the Saanich Fair today and tomorrow. Elizabeth will be there too for most of the afternoon so come and join us at the Green Party Tent if you can.

Have a fabulous long weekend,
Thomas