There Is an Arrest Warrant Out for Jill Stein (Leader of the Green Party in the U.S.)

THE

Nation

Why? Because she protested with the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe. Story here.

Liz Makes More Sense in the House of Commons (No One Applauds)

GreenParty of Canada Candidate Kate Storey Ready to Hit The Campaign Trail in a Key Riding in Rural Manitoba.

GRANDVIEW. Green Party candidate Kate Storey (above) kicked off her campaign in Grandview on Sunday. “I am ready and happy to take on the challenge of this longer campaign.” said Ms. Storey. I look forward to using the time to get out to more communities and talk to more people in Dauphin Swan River Neepawa.”

“The Green Party has attracted more stellar Canadians - with personal reputations that command respect across Canada -- than any other party.  I am proud to represent the Green Party beside candidates like MP Elizabeth May,  broadcasters Claire Martin and Jo-Ann Roberts and Olympic mayor Ken Melamed.”

“Canadians deserve a government that delivers on long-term and sustainable jobs, a sustainable and expanded public health system, genuine security, and leadership globally in confronting the climate crisis,” said Ms. Storey. “Canadians deserve MPs who put Parliament ahead of party, setting aside hyper-partisanship for citizenship.”

“Elected Greens  give Canadians the kind of respectful, effective, hard-working government they deserve. More Green MPs in a minority Parliament will have influence and clout, working across party lines. Greens believe in A Canada That Works – Together.”

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contact

Kate Storey, Green Party of Canada

204-546-2099

It's Worth Defending

Larry --

Our coastlines, our drinking water, our national parks -- we love these things, and defending them is no easy task, especially in the era of the Harper Conservatives.

The current government has been giving away our natural resources to foreign multinational corporations at an alarming rate, and has pushed for the reckless and unsustainable expansion of the oilsands and other high-polluting industries.

But I have good news for you.

Kate Storey of the Green Party Nails it on GMO and Glyphosate

by Tony Mitra

Kate is an organic farmer based in Manitoba. She is also the Agriculture critic of the Green Party and an aspiring politician that is standing for the coming federal and provincial elections, hoping to be either an MP or an MLA. Story here.

Manitoba Greens Call For Premier to Quash Energy East pipeline

Winnipeg Free Press

The Selinger government can — and should — slam the brakes on a proposed national pipeline that would pump diluted bitumen from the Alberta oil sands into eastern Canada, the Green Party says. Story here.

Well-Known Meteorologist Runs for Greens

My name is Claire Martin, and I am excited to announce that I am running as the Green Party candidate for the riding of North Vancouver. During my twenty-year career as a meteorologist and broadcaster, including nine years with CBC’s The National, I have been committed to making the subject of environmental science accessible to Canadians. Over this period, I have seen first-hand the impacts of the climate crisis grow worse, and the need for decisive action become more urgent. I am running in 2015 because I care about building a stronger, more sustainable Canada that confronts the climate crisis head-on, and doesn’t ignore this challenge to the detriment of our society, our economy, and our future. Over the last four years, Elizabeth May has shown us how much a Green MP can achieve, and I can’t wait to join her and many more Green MPs in Ottawa after the next election. In order to make that happen, we need your help! The election could be called at any point in the next six months -- make sure your local candidate has the support they need, volunteer today. No matter how much or how little time you have to give, it is valuable. From making phone-calls a couple nights a week, to baking cookies to keep our canvassing teams energized and ready to spread our positive message. Together, we will make the 2015 election the one that changes everything. Join the team: greenparty.ca/volunteer Thanks, Claire Claire Martin Candidate - North Vancouver Green Party of Canada

Blogger Takes Stephen Harper, Prime Minister of Canada to Task Over His Latest "War Games." (Letter)

Dear Editor,

Sad, isn’t it? 

Canada’s days as an honest broker are over. The Harper government has transformed my country from a kinder, gentler peacekeeping nation, into a wanna-be petro-state that takes sides, “smites” its enemies, sows seeds of hatred based on culture, religion or gender and intimidates those whose views differ from its own. 

After all, by Harper's definition, I’m a “radical” because I oppose the tar sands and donate to “subversive” organizations like the David Suzuki Foundation. Apparently so, too are First Nations people who are trying to fight Harper’s draconian legislation which directly threatens their land, water and air. 

Harper may be backing off parts of his "anti-terrorist" Bill C-51 which threaten so many of our civil liberties. But only after repeated warnings from many informed people, including former Prime Ministers and Chief Justices. And the fact those parts were there in the first place, is revealing. And what remains, I fear, still gives police too many more power with little oversight.

Harper wags his finger at other nations for failing to implement “democratic values,” while shamefully letting ugly, vote-suppressing “robocalls” in the last election, go largely unpunished on his watch at home.

With breathtaking contempt for international law, Harper is barging ahead in the Middle East, selling the lie that ISIL is a threat to Canada. Could it not be just the opposite? Is not the very expansion of his war games there more likely to make us a bigger target?  After all, did most of the ISIL fighters themselves not get their start during the American invasion of Iraq, that grotesque, unjust bit of deception that Harper was itching to get Canada into, had he only been PM at the time? 

Harper actually labelled jihadi terrorists (as evil as they clearly are), “the most dangerous enemy our world has ever seen.” How conveniently he ignores the Nazis and Fascists who embroiled our world in two great wars in the 20th century, claiming the lives of tens of millions of troops and innocent civilians. Anyone who is prepared to use such inflamed hyperbole to get his way, richly deserves to have his term in office ended at the next election! 

More recently, after two useless wars which accomplished nothing, one in Afghanistan (where more of our returning veterans took their own lives than were lost in combat) and the other in Libya, now such a “paragon" of western democratic virtue, here he is, agitating for more of the same. 

For what? And for how long? Forever?

So why is he doing this? Simple; To divert our attention away from his monumental failure to diversify the economy, away from his singular vision of making Canada "an energy superpower." Now that oil prices have tanked, it has revealed that vision to be one that not only has harmed the environment, but the economy, as well.

Instead of having "clean, green" jobs to turn to (thanks to Harper's neglect of the solar and wind sectors), many of those laid off in the oil patch are having to go half way round the world to find similar jobs, the only kind they know how to do, just to put food on the table.

This man does not fool me. Please don’t let him fool you.

Larry Powell,

Neepawa, MB

Related: Elizabeth May's Speech in the Commons on Canada's Military Contribution Against ISIL

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Save the CBC From the Harperites! Please Sign!

Please sign and show the Green Party of Canada you support their efforts to shield this precious Canadian treasure, the CBC, from the assault from the Harperites!
Thanks! Just click here!
PinP
Related: "Holding Power to Account - a Postmortem"

Kate Storey Selected to Run Again for the Green Party of Canada in Dauphin – Swan River - Marquette.

Onanole, MB.  by Larry Powell - Green Party of Canada.

“It’s time to end ‘top-down’ politics in this country,” Storey declared, as a group of dedicated supporters voted unanimously to again endorse her this weekend as their party’s choice in the federal election later this year. "Vote Green and give your MPs the ability to actually represent the people for a change,” she declared.

If elected, Storey promised to dedicate herself to fight against the scourges of climate change, and for the principles of social justice and democracy.

Kate Storey, candidate, Green Party of Canada.
Dauphin - Swan River - Marquette.

She and her husband, Doug have been operating an organic farm near Grandview for years. They’ve become living examples of how sustainable agriculture can succeed in a sea of industrial farms, where genetic modification, pesticides and monoculture are increasingly compromising the quality of our food and the very survival of precious pollinators, such as honeybees. 

Storey comes to the candidate’s job with a wealth of political experience, having run both federally and provincially on previous occasions.

“I may not win,” she declares, “but I’ll be bringing an important message to you during the campaign which would otherwise be lost in the now familiar, but cynical clamor of the ‘old-line parties.'”

Out to Pasture.

Speak Up For Democracy Rally - Winnipeg. (Video) Elizabeth May and Others

Related: A Wake-Up Call From the Green Party Leader - Will Anyone Listen?

First Green Party Member in the History of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia, Canada, Sworn In

Globe & Mail

British Columbia’s first provincially elected Green Party member, Andrew Weaver (r.) wasted little time attacking Premier Christy Clark’s plans to export liquefied natural gas from northern B.C. to Asia after a swearing-in ceremony Thursday at the legislature. Details here.

Manitoba Greens Celebrate Climate Scientist's Victory in British Columbia

Green Party of Manitoba

WINNIPEG – Manitoba Green Party leader James Beddome (l.) congratulates new Green MLA Andrew Weaver (below) on his historic win in B.C.’s election yesterday. “Andrew will be a wonderful first Green representative, bringing his strong voice to work for the environment and our planet’s future.”

Andrew Weaver is the first Green ever elected to a provincial legislature in Canada. He defeated the Liberal incumbent in the riding of Oak Bay-Gordon Head. Other B.C. Greens came close to winning seats, with Adam Olsen only 387 votes behind the NDP victor and Jane Sterk placing a strong second to the Liberals in the riding of Victoria-Beacon Hill. The Greens are B.C.’s third political party in terms of popular vote.

“Greens are rising in popularity across Canada,” says Beddome. “Our sound and sensible policies are resonating with voters as everyone learns to think ‘green’. The Green Party of Manitoba looks forward to electing MLAs in Manitoba’s next election.”

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Contact:
James Beddome,
leader of the Green Party of Manitoba
call or text at 204-990-5195

Ban the Use of Neonicotinoids in Canada

Elizabeth May, Leader, Green Party of Canada

Pollinators, including honeybees, are a central element of our food system and a critical pillar of our ecology. Details here.

• Related: Pollinator Protection - Europe Shows Us How It's Done (Letter)
• Lots of Buzz About Disappearing Honeybees.

Climate Crisis Threatens Canadian Agriculture, We Need an Agricultural Adaptation Plan, Now

Elizabeth May

All around the world, governments are mobilizing resources to both reduce greenhouse gas emissions while adapting to the climate crisis. Everywhere around the world that is except Canada. Details here.

Video: Withdrawing From UN Drought Treaty For The Cost Of...

House of Commons April 16, 2013 Elizabeth May: Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister told this House that Canada legally withdrew from the treaty to combat drought and desertification because it was “ …not an effective way to [use] taxpayers’ money”. The cost of the treaty, $300,000 a year, is roughly equivalent to half the cost of a G8 gazebo or 109 days of the care and feeding of a rented panda, less than 4% of the PMO office budget, a third the cost of shipping an armoured vehicle to India, or two days of government advertising to tell us how happy we should all be with the way the government is spending our money. By what criteria is that spending more effective than pulling our weight in the world to confront drought and expanding deserts? Hon. Julian Fantino: Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to speak to the criteria. That is making Canada's assistance more effective and efficient so we can dedicate those resources to the people most in need. We are supporting concrete measures to help developing countries deal with drought instead of paying for conferences, salaries, and bureaucrats. Our commitment is to help the poor in a tangible way. We are doing that. It is not about talk shops or travel.

Experimental Lakes Area Closure a Financial Blunder, Say Greens

Grandview:  The Green Party of Canada calls on the  federal government to keep the  Experimental Lakes  Area (ELA) research station open. Closure of ELA will  cost Canadian tax payers $50 million to decommission  the site while keeping it open would only be $2 million  a year.  “Do the math,” says Kate Storey, of the Dauphin  Swan River Marquette Green Party. “This attack on  science is a financial blunder.” Giving no reasons, the Harper government terminated  funding to the facility, forcing it to close this March.  Concerned citizens have suggested that the closure is  a vendetta against environmentalists. Research coming  out of the experimental lakes could be inconvenient to  those wishing to ignore the effects of toxins on the water  and on the health of Canadians. The Experimental Lakes station has operated as a unique,  world-renowned centre for freshwater research in  northwestern Ontario for about half-a-century. Studies  done there have resulted in strategies to combat acid rain,  climate change, algae blooms, mercury poisoning and  nutrient buildup in lakes such as Erie and Winnipeg.   The science could be used to move industry to become  more environmentally responsible. The ELA cost relatively little to maintain. Scientists could  bring in specific funding for their experiments and be  asked for rent, potentially making it self-funding. The  scientific activity is also an economic boon to the local economy.  However, even scientists with funding to offer  are no longer being allowed to work there.  Thousands  of people have signed petitions to keep it open and various  groups have offered to buy the facility, but the Harper  government is deaf to common sense.    Storey is particularly appalled at the actions of the local  Dauphin MP.  “Mr Sopuck ran a campaign on his "green credentials" and commitment to science. Yet, on March 20th, he voted with his Conservative  colleagues to defeat an Opposition motion calling for  continued funding to keep the ELA open until another  operator could be found. "Why would anyone with even  a small bit of environmental or economic common sense  agree to close such a valuable scientific facility?"  Storey asks. The ELA was a help to ordinary Canadians because it  provided the science needed to keep our drinking  water clean. Canada’s pre-eminent water scientist  David Schindler recently called the government’s  action “sheer stupidity.”  CONTACT:   Kate Storey  204-546-2099 or  kate.storey@greenparty.ca ===== Green Party Demands Action On GE foods Dear Larry,  Are you eating untested genetically engineered foods? If you buy anything from a typical grocery store, the answer is yes. Unfortunately, avoiding them is almost impossible since the labeling of GE ingredients is not required by law and is entirely voluntary. Health Canada has never conducted independent research into the safety of GE foods, relying solely on information provided by the companies making the products. In fact, despite being on shelves since 1996, genetically engineered foods have never been subjected to any long-term testing to review potential health hazards, including antibiotic resistance, toxicity, or allergic reactions. Genetically engineered crops also pose serious threats to the health of natural ecosystems and organic agriculture. Elizabeth May has been fighting for transparency in food labeling, and to stop GE foods being sold in Canada. The Green Party will continue to speak out to demand: Mandatory labeling for all GE ingredients Local, provincial and territorial GE-free food zones Independent research of GE foods and GE crops and their long term effects on people and the environment A ban on the introduction of new GE products like salmon and alfalfa in Canada We can win this fight with your help. Please help us continue to speak out publicly in Parliament and in the media about this important issue now by donating $15, or any amount you can afford. With your support, we will have the resources needed to call attention to the Conservatives’ attempt to relax Canada's food standards, and ensure an open and transparent food system that is safe for all Canadians. Sincerely, Kate Storey Shadow Cabinet Critic for Agriculture Green Party of Canada

Green Party Leader Gob-Smacks the Media Darling of the CBC and National Post

Greens do politics differently (But not in the way that Rex Murphy thinks)

By Elizabeth May

In his Saturday National Post column, Rex Murphy claimed that Canada’s Green party has no goal other than to get me elected as an MP — and that this has been the case for “two or three general elections.”  Full story here.

Rex Murphy caricature courtesy 

of By the Bay Art Studio

Green Party Supports Last-Ditch Efforts to Save Experimental Lakes Area (ELA)

GPC
OTTAWA – The Green Party of Canada once again offers its whole-hearted support to the Coalition to Save ELA – made up of top scientists from across the country – in light of rumours that the Harper Conservatives have found a private buyer for this irreplaceable, public, 58-lake scientific area. Details here.