Good Sunday Morning,

You've all received Ann's newsletter earlier this week reminding you how important it is to ratify the resolutions that we passed in Calgary. For those of you still unsure about the significance of these resolutions we've update our Calgary blog for your reference. Among other things you will find this link to our new revised policy on the Israel/Palestine conflict which, once ratified, will replace the controversial policy resolution passed at last summer's convention.

Many of you have also received the fabulous update from Elizabeth's Hill Office with the subject line "Elizabeth May: Week in Review." Here is an excerpt.

Debates: Dec 12 - Debate on C-30 - CETA and ISDS Provisions

Questions: Dec 14 - Question on Commitment to Asbestos Ban

Update on Electoral Reform Committee

For the first time in Canadian history, a Parliamentary committee recommended that the government take concrete steps to move away from the archaic First Past the Post voting system and toward a proportional system of electing Members of Parliament and the Government

The report, an unprecedented document that compiles the best public and academic evidence available, will be an important milestone for reform. It confirms that the overwhelming majority of those who testified to the Committee favoured proportionality. Further, it tasks the government with designing an electoral system according to specified guidelines which will achieve acceptable levels of proportionality. By 2019, in the words of the Liberal Speech from the Throne, ‘every vote will count.’

Good Sunday Morning,

We did it! The Special General Meeting in Calgary was a resounding success!!

It felt like deja vu all over again as I rode the escalator down to the baggage carousel at the Calgary airport. But instead of my wonderful billet host waiting patiently for my arrival on my last stop of the Unity Tour, a bunch of us made our way to the car rental counter at the far end of the concourse. The hotel was sparse but comfortable, no restaurant but free coffee, porridge and croissants for breakfast. I was disappointed that David Simon, a German Green I had hoped to meet and tap further for his vast experience, was sadly turned back at the airport in Berlin due to a new visa requirement he had not anticipated. We didn't know what to expect as we arrived at SAIT early the next morning to register. Trepidation hung in the air.

Good Sunday Morning,

I started drafting this issue on Friday morning, at my billet in Fredericton where I have been welcomed once again by the warm embrace of our Green family. Last night's event was the 9th in the 'Unity Tour' that has now grown to 10 stops across the country. The conversations have been engaging, personal and extremely thoughtful in their content. The decorum has been respectful, appreciative and warm. In most of the venues, including last night, we found ourselves seated in a circle, making it easy to see one another as we shared our stories and perspectives.

In addition to the discussion papers that are posted on the who-we-are web page, we started to unpack three topics that deserve considerably more exploration than they have been exposed to in the past; Responsibility, Consensus and Leadership. I have touched on two of these subjects in past GSM emails, which thankfully are now available for review in the archive section on the web site.  The issue of Responsibility deserves a little more air time and I think it appropriate to explore it here.

Good Sunday Morning:

The events this week underscore again why the diversion from our priorities by the fallout from last summer's convention is so damaging to our cause. The timing for our party to be divided over a purely symbolic motion, that addresses itself to an age-old conflict half way around the globe, could not be worse. That it was passed into Green Party policy through a process, that gave final say to a small group of self-selected individuals privileged to attend a convention, and without taking the time to build a consensus that included the support of our Party Leader, highlights a major deficiency in our internal processes.

So while I am taking some time out from my job as coordinator for the SGI EDA, traveling across the country and bringing people together to explore those deficiencies, I will try to give you an update of some of the issues that should be our primary focus.

Good Sunday Morning,

It was while sitting in a lecture hall at U-Vic at Elizabeth's Town Hall of C-51 (Elizabeth was the first to ring the alarm) that the first sense of shock appeared. Well not shock exactly, but a deep dismay that this could happen. That our world could be so shattered by a broken political process. That the pendulum could swing so dramatically. Not so much surprised because independent Senator Bernie Sanders stellar ascent to within reach of the Democratic Nomination signaled a clear and deep dissatisfaction with establishment politics.

Then when I heard voter turnout was 50% I wondered if this election was decided by those who stayed home. One quarter of the American people have elected a man who frightens everyone. I'm very much reminded of Elizabeth's words at the hangar rally last year. "We are not about gaining power" she said. "We are about wresting power from people who are dangerous when they hold it."

Good Sunday Morning

There are lots of activities to share with you this week so let's get right to it. But first a couple of takes on Trudeau's first year in as Prime Minister.

Trudeau's Report Card
"We are in new territory now and we need new tools. This is an administration with potential. While we firmly believe parliament and Canada need a much larger caucus of Green MPs, we hope for the Liberal administration to do the right thing – for Canada and for future generations. The challenges we face are too critical to be blindly partisan.

We measure the Trudeau administration’s performance against the Liberal platform promises and against the Speech from the Throne. The over-riding priority of climate change is one that touches many portfolios. As Bill McKibben has explained: This is literally a math test, and it’s not being graded on a curve. It only has one correct answer. And if we don’t get it right, then all of us—along with our 10,000-year-old experiment in human civilization—will fail."

Good Sunday Morning

When Dimitri's supporters call for a leadership change over the BDS resolution, they don't realize that Elizabeth May has already taken us far beyond the limits of being a protest party. A leader is not just a spokesperson. As our leader, Elizabeth guides us through the nuanced twists and turns in the halls of power. She builds bridges and forges relationships that help us to advance our cause. She earns the respect of her colleagues across the political spectrum. She elevates the Green brand to a place where even some of our opponents believe that our democracy is better served by having us at the table. And she inspires us with hope and high expectations for a better future. All across the country, Green leaders at the provincial level have adopted this high standard of statesmanship.

Good Sunday Morning

In January 1961 John F. Kennedy embedded this iconic statement into our collective consciousness: "Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country." Many great leaders have called on the spirit, if not the letter, of that quote to inspire their followers to take action. Barack Obama used it during his historic campaign in his One Voice speech. And Elizabeth has often inspired us to make our voices heard.

On Wednesday Justin Trudeau was quoted in a Montreal newspaper as saying that any major reform to the voting system will require “substantial” support. “Under the current system, (Canadians) now have a government they’re more satisfied with and the motivation to change the electoral system is less compelling,” he told Le Devoir.

Good Sunday Morning,

So I've been asked by a lot of people about what's been going on in the Green Party lately. There is a Special General Meeting in Calgary this December, the ratification vote of constitutional resolutions, and much discussion on social media about what happened at Convention last August. When I receive feedback from my readers it often involves an expression of appreciation for connecting the dots on pertinent issues. So I thought I would spend a little time here today putting some of these internal governance issues into context.

Most of the fabulous volunteers I've had the honour of working with since being canvassing coordinator for Elizabeth in the last campaign, have inspired me because they have shared with me what attracts them to the Green Party. When I first ask the all important question, the answer is simple: Elizabeth May. But when I probe a little I discover it's not really Elizabeth; her style or her flair, but what she stands for. Elizabeth May offers us a level of authenticity that when combined with her brilliant mind and steadfast principles is rare to find in a human being, let alone a politician.

Good Sunday Morning,

"You can't get out of a hole while you are digging it at the same time." Elizabeth told the House on Monday morning. "The era of procrastination, of half measures, of soothing and baffling expedience, of delays, is coming to its close. We are entering a period of consequences." Elizabeth knows because she has been working on this stuff for a long time. Here is a recent video of her telling an audience about her experience with battling acid rain while working in the Mulroney administration. The point is that when faced with the reality of the moment we can adapt. Whether it's under Churchill, Mulroney or Trudeau if the political will is there, we can do the seemingly impossible.

But political will is not just the determination of politicians. Political will is much broader than that. In a democracy, political will is the culmination of influence that manifests itself in action. So who exerts that influence? In a recent Tyee article we are told how B.C. economist Robyn Allan warned Jim Carr that the information he is receiving is flawed. This reinforces the point we come back to again and again. Lobbyists and civil servants are mired in old world thinking and that is what they feed to ministers. The first rule of democracy is that you have to show up. Greens need to offer an alternative view and Elizabeth works tirelessly to do just that.