The campaign is officially underway and there has been a flurry of activity already! Green signs are popping up all over the city, we’ve knocked on hundreds of doors, and a visit from our provincial leader, Mike Schreiner, helped kick off our campaign this past wednesday.
WalkabboutMike makes friendsGreen Party of Ontario Candidates: Stacey Danckert (Kitchener Centre), Michele Braniff (Cambridge), Mike Schreiner (Guelph), Bob Jonkman (Kitchener-Conestoga), Zdravko Gunjevic (Waterloo) and David Weber (Kitchener South-Hespeler)Kitchener Centre Candidate Stacey DanckertMike Schreiner
Strong Women in Politics: Stacey Danckert (Kitchener Centre), Hannah Bell (PEI MLA) and Michele Braniff (Cambridge)
These three women give me hope.
It is exciting to that 2/5ths of Waterloo Region’s Green Party Candidates are women. Stacey Danckert will represent Kitchener Centre and Michele Braniff Cambridge in the Election we are about to have here in Ontario.
The inspirational woman in the middle is Hannah Bell, the newest elected Green in Canada. In a recent PEI By-Election, Hannah won the second Green seat in the PEI Legislative Assembly. In PEI the Greens are the Third Party, and they are polling awfully well. Even though they are only a caucus of two, they have already demonstrated that politics can be done differently.
And oddly enough, citizens like that.
Ontario’s Green Party Candidates are looking for their chance to do the same thing here. It’s time.
REMINDER for TODAY:
Join the Waterloo Region Greens and Green Party of Ontario Leader Mike Schreiner for our 2018 provincial election Campaign Launch at Fresh Ground, located at 256 King Street East, Kitchener, N2H 2V6
Come celebrate with us as we kick off the biggest campaign we’ve ever run in Green Party history! We’ll have lots of excitement as the writs are drawn up and the election is officially underway. Make sure to wear Green so we can show Ontario that the Green Wave is here.
On Wednesday, May 9th, Mike Schreiner, Leader of the Green Party of Ontario, will be launching our official campaign for the 2018 provincial election.
Come celebrate with us as we kick off the biggest campaign we’ve ever run in Green Party history! We’ll have lots of excitement as the writs are drawn up and the election is officially underway. Make sure to wear Green so we can show Ontario that the Green Wave is here.
This discussion is centred around the issues facing people with developmental disabilities and their families in Waterloo Region. It will provide an opportunity for members and organizations involved in the developmental services sector to hear learn about the policies offered by local politicians and their parties over the next four years.
Care has been taken to ensure this is not a debate. The panel of participants represent the four major parties in the 5 Waterloo Region constituencies with no candidate running against each other in the upcoming election.
The audience will be individuals with an interest in the Developmental Sector, primarily family, self-advocates and persons supported by the Sector and people volunteering or working in the Sector or related Sectors. The purpose of the evening is for candidates to outline their Parties Platform related to the Developmental Sector and to speak to the issues related to the Sector.
If possible, the organizers would appreciate an RSVP indicating the number of people who will attend:
by email info@wrfn.info, or
by phone 519-886-9150;ext=1
Thu, 26 April 2018, 6:30pm – 9:00pm Holiday Inn Kitchener Waterloo 30 Fairway Rd S, Kitchener ON N2A 2N2, Canada (map)
Come out to support Bob Jonkman, Kitchener–Conestoga’s 2018 GPO candidate in this pre-election Panel Discussion.
Candice Lepage and the Glorious Greens Team: Mike Schreiner (GPO Leader), Bob Jonkman (Kitchener-Conestoga GPO Candidate), Stacey Danckert (Kitchener Centre GPO Candidate), David Weber (Kitchener South Hespeler GPO Candidate) and Zdravko Gunjevic (Waterloo Candidate)
Since our Cambridge candidate Michele Braniff was unable to attend, Green Party of Ontario Leader Mike Schreiner pitched in. (Just one of the many things that makes him a great leader!)
After watching the other teams compete on the obstacle course, Mike scientifically determined which team member should play which position.
But things didn’t actually work out as planned.
The Glorious Greens made it through two rounds before being disqualified; not bad for our first time out (and valuable experience for next time!)
In between times we got to meet interesting people.
#Wloo candidate Zdravko Gunjevic ran into his MP, the Hon. Bardish Chagger.
The Glorious Greens team got to pose with FlapJack, the festival mascot
#KitCon Greens’ Bob Jonkman introduced Mike to the Hon. Bardish Chagger.
The current Kitchener—Conestoga Green candidate (Bob Jonkman) and the previous Kitchener—Conestoga Green Candidate (David Weber) introduced Mike to the Kitchener—Conestoga Conservative MP, Harold Albrecht.
We had an information booth set up inside the Woolwich Memorial Centre.
Alongside our button making event…
…where kids of all ages…
…could make their own button…
while being serenaded with live music!
Our first outing at the Elmira Maple Syrup Festival was a great success.
Life is Sweet at the Elmira Maple Syrup Festival… what a glorious day! We hope to see you there next year!
The Waterloo Region Greens are pleased to announce we have achieved a full slate of candidates for the 2018 Ontario Election. The last slot was filled when Bob Jonkman won the nomination for Kitchener—Conestoga.
Each riding has its own page ~ complete with contact information ~ in the menu bar at the top of the blog.
We’ll post important elections dates in our calendar (there’s a link in the top menu bar). Subscribe to the blog in the right sidebar) to keep up with all the WRGreens election action (you’ll receive blog posts direct to your email box!)
WRGreens are on social media:
Tomorrow GPO Leader Mike Schreiner will join the WRGreens Candidates (except Michele) in the Elmira Maple Syrup Festival Pancake Flipping Contest. If you can’t make it there between 10am and noon, there’s a good chance you’ll find candidates at our booth in the Woolwich Memorial Centre concourse.
As the Finance Critic for the Green Party of Ontario, last night I appeared with the other opposition critics to discuss the 2018 Liberal budget on TVO’s The Agenda.
Before the budget was officially released, we had spent 4 hours in “Budget Lockup,” where we were allowed to read and evaluate the budget before everyone else, while being disconnected from the rest of the world. We were then given a brief opportunity to share our thoughts about the budget with Steve Paikin.
There just wasn’t enough time for a more thorough discussion, so I wanted to share more of my thoughts with you here.
Deficit
Deficits are not in and of themselves a bad thing (most of us borrow for the things we need), but it is completely unnecessary right now, in our strong economic climate. We can support the people in our communities and strengthen our social programs and we can afford to do it now. For example, we could increase royalty fees for our natural resources, which we are currently practically giving away (like the water that we sell to Nestle for $1/million L!).
We could create road tolls and move away from nuclear, among so many other revenue tools that could be discussed.
Environment
I didn’t want to spend time talking about what people already know we know. But this budget doesn’t cut it.
We need more aggressive emissions targets (net zero by 2050), we need to stop allowing the biggest emitters exemptions from the cap and trade (right now 150 of the largest emitters pay nothing!).
We need to put more money into transitioning into a Green economy – it creates more jobs and moves us to where we need to be, rather than further away from it.
And the great lakes and biodiversity saw such a pittance in this budget, I think it really shows the Liberals’ hand on protecting our natural environment.
We need to stop throwing good money after bad on nuclear power. It helped us move away from coal when we needed to, but it has also proven itself to be far too costly. As a matter of fact, it largely accounts for about one quarter of the deficit we face over the next year! Now that renewables have become affordable, we should be moving towards 100% renewables, including inexpensive hydro from Quebec and Manitoba. We could also be working harder to do the upgrades that will cut the amount of energy that we need.
Social Programs
There are lots of things that get a piece of the pie here, but notably missing is any mention of a future for basic income. Will they even look at the data, let alone roll it out province – wide?
And until then, I appreciate that they are streamlining OW and ODSP programs a bit, but the people in our communities that are accessing these programs need more money now – there is no way to live healthfully off of the tiny amount we provide to support those most in need. For example $50 on dental care for children won’t even cover an exam!
All in all, when you look at it more carefully, the budget doesn’t seem like a plan at all but rather, pieces of a plan. If you plan well, social program spending actually saves you money (i.e., less hospital spending, less on police, less on poverty stop-gaps), whereas if you implement solutions haphazardly, they are likely to cost even more and achieve nothing. While the Liberals will speak to helping the many social programs that get a mention in the budget – programs that the GPO has been advocating for increased spending for years – they haven’t developed a consistent plan to actually do it. The lack of sincerity on rolling this out right before an election after 14 years of not doing it, just doesn’t sit well with me.
But how can we blame them? This is how politics has been done for more years than I know. This time, let’s demand more. Let’s demand that they show us how they will pay for it. Let’s demand that they are consistent in their policies. Let’s demand transparency and honesty. Let’s demand a healthy and happy future for our children and grandchildren.
When: 4:00pm to 6:00pm on Thursday, 22 March 2018 Where: Kitchener Public Library Location: 85 Queen Street North, Kitchener, Ontario Map
Mike will host a round-table discussion with Waterloo Region leaders and influencers to discuss the path they want Ontario take.
This inclusive meeting is open to everyone! Light snacks and refreshments will be served.
A Social Evening with GPO Leader Mike Schreiner
When: 7:00pm to 9:00pm, Thursday 22 March 2018 Where: Abe Erb Waterloo Location: 15 King Street South, Waterloo Map
Join Mike and the WR Greens for a locally brewed beverage, a locally prepared meal or snack, and meet your local Green Party candidates and candidate-nominees from the five Waterloo Region ridings.
Hi Green supporters,
The campaign is officially underway and there has been a flurry of activity already! Green signs are popping up all over the city, we’ve knocked on hundreds of doors, and a visit from our provincial leader, Mike Schreiner, helped kick off our campaign this past wednesday.
#KitCon Greens’ Bob Jonkman introduced Mike to the Hon. Bardish Chagger.
The Waterloo Region Greens are pleased to announce we have achieved a full slate of candidates for the 2018 Ontario Election. The last slot was filled when Bob Jonkman won the nomination for Kitchener—Conestoga.
When: 7:00pm to 9:00pm, Thursday 22 March 2018