Page 22 – Russwurm Family Blogs

13 April 2016

The Green Party on Education

WRGreens Richard Walsh (Waterloo), Bob Jonkman (Kitchener-Conestoga) and Michele Braniff (Cambridge) were among the many Green Party Candidates who joined Elizabeth May as she announced the Education portion of the Green Party of Canada's platform at the University of Guelph. — Richard Walsh (Waterloo), Bob Jonkman (Kitchener-Conestoga) and Michele Braniff (Cambridge) were among the many Green Party Candidates who joined Elizabeth May as she announced the Education portion of the Green Party of Canada’s platform at the University of Guelph on September 17th, 2015.

As the 2015 election fades into memory, I am continually astounded to see how much Green Party Policy is being discussed… Apparently people were trying to convince Tom Mulcair to embrace the Green Party education policy as a means of retaining leadership of the NDP Party — although not as Green Party Policy. I tried sharing the link to the Green Party of Canada press release but there’s something wrong with the link, so in the interest of reminding people about this awesome GPC policy, I’ve chosen to reproduce it here.

September 16, 2015

(OTTAWA) – Green Leader Elizabeth May (Saanich – Gulf Islands), unveiled the Green Party’s Youth and Education Strategy that includes a plan to abolish tuition fees for students and their families. The strategy would also implement a debt-forgiveness program for student debt above $10,000.

“We must invest in Canadian youth and the skills, training, and education that is necessary to create jobs,” said May. “Young people are faced with the challenge of finding a job after they finish school, in a tough economy, while battling student debt. The Green Party is committed to investing in youth and removing barriers, like student debt, so young Canadians can find stable, sustainable jobs.”

The Green Party’s National Student and Education Strategy will:

● Immediately cut tuition fees for students and their families without adequate financial means, and remove the inadequate 2% cap on tuition for all First Nations and Inuit students.

● Abolish tuition fees for post-secondary education and skills training for Canadians by 2020 through constructing a system of federal grants collaboratively with the universities and colleges.

● Eliminate any existing or future student federal debt above $10,000.

● Abolish interest on new student loans and increase available funding for bursaries.

● Create a national Community and Environment Service Corps, which will provide $1 billion/year to municipalities to hire Canadian youth.

● Help students and their families through the Guaranteed Liveable Income (GLI), to ensure no person’s income falls below what is necessary for health, life, and dignity.

“In these times of high youth unemployment, heavy student debt is a burden that keeps young Canadians from being able to start their post-academic lives on an even footing,” said Gord Miller, former Environmental Commissioner of Ontario and Green Party candidate (Guelph). “The debt forgiveness program and our plan to eliminate tuition fees by 2020 represents positive change for students and their families.”

“I am pleased to be here with Elizabeth today in Guelph to make this announcement,” continued Miller. “Our plan will make education more accessible for students. These critical investments in trades, apprenticeships, and education will ensure that all young Canadians have the skills to build a successful future.”

“It is a bold idea, but we can and must afford it. We can implement this investment in our youth through common sense measures like eliminating subsidies to fossil fuels and restoring the corporate tax rate to what it was in 2009,” concluded May. “We don’t need to continue with the status quo; we can do better.”

The Green Party was the first party to release a fully costed platform, available here.

-30-

For additional information or to arrange an interview, contact:

Julian Morelli
Director of Communications
Green Party of Canada
cell: (613) 614 4916
office: (613) 562 4916 (224)
julian.morelli@greenparty.ca

Or

Debra Eindiguer
Green Party of Canada
cell: (613) 240 8921

debra.eindiguer@greenparty.ca

Or

Kirsten Strom
Executive Assistant to Director of Communications
t: 613.562.4916 (200)
Toll Free 1.866.868.3447
kirsten.strom@greenparty.ca

Attachments

youth_and_education_backgrounder.pdf

Photo Credit
I stitched three photos together to create this awesome panorama photo (so the original is absolutely huge), but you can download it in a variety of sizes from Flickr here. And if you’re interested in more photos from the education announcement you’ll find them in my Flickr album

GPC Education Announcement Panorama by Laurel L. Russwurm is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic (CC BY 2.0) License

13 April 2016

Sign the Leap Manifesto

The Green Party has been on board with the Leap Manifesto from the start. Unfortunately Canada’s political will needs a bit of a push, what with the Alberta NDP pushing pipelines…

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-paWn8eEG7w&w=853&h=480]

You can help by signing the Leap Manifesto petition online and you can also download it as a printable pdf file here.

WRGREENS FINALavatar I missed it when the CBC aired the “This Changes Everything” documentary this past Sunday
night, but I understand you can still watch it online at CBC (unfortunately not available for Free Software users). I think that’s the ink (but I can’t check.)

The Waterloo Region Greens are planning a local screening. Check back for details (or subscribe to the blog for updates).

11 April 2016

Kitchener-Conestoga + Kitchener South-Hespeler Greens AGM

You’re invited to join us for the Kitchener—Conestoga & Kitchener South Hespeler Annual General Meeting

Bob Jonkman works at the WRGreens Office #elxn42 — Bob Jonkman at the WRGreens Office #elxn42

Date: May 1, 2016
Time: 7 pm
Place: Huether Hotel
Barley Works, upper “Operations Room”
59 King Street North, Waterloo, ON, N2J 2X2
RSVP: david.weber@greenparty.ca
Please join other area supporters for our Annual General Meeting at 7 pm on Sunday May 1st, where we will elect our local Green Party executive for the upcoming year and discuss direction and plans for the future.

Elizabeth May joined Bob Jonkman and Richard Walsh for street side sign waving last fall

It is important that we strengthen our membership, engage our fellow citizens, and promote electing Green candidates. For these reasons, we encourage you to consider running for one of the positions on the Executive Board. The positions are not overly demanding of your time. The goal is to meet occasionally, organize info tables at local events staffed by volunteers, and ensure a Green presence in our community all year round.

The following positions on the Executive Board are open, with the first three being the most essential:

Chief Executive Officer (GPC) or President (GPO)
Chief Financial Officer
Secretary
Membership Chair
Fundraising Chair
Organizing Chair
Communications Chair
Member-at-Large
Elizabeth May joins Kitchener South—Hespeler candidate David Weber in elxn42

You must be a member of the Green Party of Canada or the Green Party of Ontario in order to vote or stand for a position on the corresponding executive at the AGM.
Don’t miss out on the fun!
Any person whose membership has lapsed within the last year may renew their membership at the meeting to acquire voting privileges. It’s preferable to do this online at the Green Party of Ontario website at gpo.ca or at the Green Party of Canada website greenparty.ca.

Contact David Weber (AGM organizer) for more information at 519-591-5773 or david.weber@greenparty.ca. Hope to see you there! KitchenerSouth-HespelerGreenParty

7 April 2016

Voting System Debate at Kitchener City Hall TONIGHT!

Alternative Vote vs Proportional Representation
Barry Kay vs Dennis Pilon
Come down to Kitchener City Hall for the
Electoral Reform Debate of the Century!
THURSDAY
April 7, 2016
Kitchener City Hall Council Chamber
200 King Street West, Kitchener N2G 4V6

Hey Waterloo Region Greens! Come find out what the fuss is about!

Proportional Representation is incredibly important, especially for small nation wide parties… like the Greens! Did you know that if the average number of votes it took to elect a Liberal MP in 2015 was applied to the number of votes the GPC won, we would have 16 GPC MPs in Parliament?

The question is what will replace First Past The Post?

I started learning about Proportional Representation from Fair Vote Canada, the multi-partisan group that advocates for Proportional Representation. PR can be achieved in many different ways, no matter which Proportional system is chosen, the Green Party would win more seats in Parliament that it earns in votes. My own assumption is that if Canadians thought voting Green would actually elect anyone, there could be twice as many Green voters…or more.

While the Liberal electoral reform election promise sounded like an ad for Fair Vote Canada, they really didn’t promise Proportional Representation… it just sounded like they did. The Liberal party is actually divided on this; and while some Liberals support Proportional Representation, many Liberals support replacing FPTP with Alternative Vote, another winner-take-all system.

But I’m no expert, so I invite you all to come out to this panel discussion and learn from people who are.

6 April 2016

Fixing Canada’s Democracy ~ Making Every Vote Matter Petition

The Liberal Promise:

“To make sure that every vote counts, the Government will undertake consultations on electoral reform, and will take action to ensure that 2015 will be the last federal election conducted under the first-past-the-post voting system.”
– Justin Trudeau, Speech from the Throne
December 4, 2015

What’s wrong with our current voting system?

“While proponents [of the current system] often speak of the system as having the virtue of local representation, in fact representation is restricted to those who happen to vote for the winning party. Again, we think of this as normal—one alternative, known as proportional representation, is often derided as having been designed for “losers”—when a moment’s thought should reveal how arbitrary it is. Why should only the “winners” be represented in a democracy? The point of an election, surely, is to represent the people—all the people, not just some of them.”
– Andrew Coyne
The Walrus, October 2015

Why is proportional representation the best solution?

“In countries where it has been introduced, it tends to reduce partisanship by promoting more collegial cross-party law-making. It helps to increase voter turnout, because people no longer see their votes as “wasted.” It ensures that representation from a region is not dominated by monolithic blocks of MPs from a single party…which completely distorts the diversity of perspectives of those populations. And it boosts the representation of women and of marginalized groups in Parliament…”
– Craig Scott
Maclean’s Magazine, December 2014

…and you’re sure the current system is broken?

YES!!! “In contrast to many other systems, the Canadian provides very few checks and balances on a prime minister with a majority. The unelected Senate is a wet noodle; the government backbenchers are yes-men; the cabinet members are appointed by the top dog. With a couple of exceptions, none would dare stand up to such a domineering leader and controlling staff.”
– Jeffrey Simpson
The Globe and Mail, 2015

…and you’re sure PR is the way to go?

YES!!! “Countries that count votes, not seats, tend to enact policies that are less homophobic and less racist. They have lower incarceration rates and are less interested in “law and order” approaches to crime. They wage war less often and get out of wars in which they do engage faster. They spy on their citizens less. They protect the environment better, embrace renewable energy faster and have more success reducing CO2 emissions. Forbes recently gave all five top spots for “Best places to do business 2015” to PR countries…”
– Patricia Lane
rabble.ca

Prime Minister Trudeau promised that 2015 would be the last first-past-the-post election in Canadian history, and that every vote would count in our next election. This is our one chance to fix Canadian democracy for good — add your name in support of proportional representation.

Please go to http://www.greenparty.ca/en/democracy to sign this petition.

And share 🙂

5 April 2016

Divest Waterloo presents Gordon Laxer at the KPL

WRGreen folk may be interested in Divest Waterloo‘s presentation:
Gordon Laxer: After the Sands: Energy and Ecological Security for Canadians
Wednesday April 6th, 2016
@ 7:00 pm – 8:30 pm
at the Kitchener Public Library ~ 85 Queen St N, Kitchener, ON, Canada N2H 2H1

KWPeace writes:

Gordon Laxer is coming to KW to give a public lecture on his new book, After the Sands: Energy and Ecological Security for Canadians.

Impeccably researched, After the Sands is critical reading for anyone concerned about rising sea levels, pipeline and tanker spills, climate change chaos and Canada’s future in a carbon restricted world.

Ralph Nader hails it as “a myth-destroying blockbuster book.”

The talk will be followed by responses from the community to relate Laxer’s work to local struggles and opportunities.

Where: Kitchener Public Library, Central Library Theatre, 85 Queen Street North, downtown Kitchener [Map]

When: Wednesday, April 6^th, 7:00–8:30pm (note that community groups will have information tables outside the theatre starting at 6:30)

The event is free and open to the public—everyone is welcome!

Please register here: afterthesands.ticketfi.com

This event is hosted by the Department of Political Science with support from numerous campus and community groups including the Kitchener Public Library, the Waterloo Aboriginal Education Centre, the School of Environment, Resources and Sustainability, the Balsillie School of International Affairs, Sustainable Campus Initiative, Waterloo Political Economy Group (WatPEG), Waterloo Public Interest Research Group (WPIRG),ClimateActionWR, the Council of Canadians (Guelph and Centre Wellington Chapters), Divest Waterloo, and KAIROS. Wordsworth Books and Hacienda Coffee folks will be on hand with books for sale and treats to share!

BREAKING: Gordon Laxer was just named as a finalist for the John W. Dafoe Book Prize for non-fiction stories on Canada.

NASA: Athabasca tar sands environmental impact 1984 vs 2011 (Public Domain image)

5 April 2016

GPO: The 2016 Calabogie Convention

The Green Party of Ontario will be hosting its 2016 Convention at Calabogie Peaks Resort, from May 13-15, 2016.

Just announced, our keynote speaker will be Jo-Ann Roberts, GPC candidate and former CBC Radio Host. We’re very excited to have Jo-Ann join us, to tell tales from her high profile campaign in Victoria, where she ended in 2nd place with a mighty 23,666 votes (that’s more votes than 151 MPs who were elected!)

Register now!

The convention is only 6 weeks away, and things are shaping up to be an excellent weekend. Here’s a snippet of what we have planned so far:

Hear from our Keynote Speaker, Jo-Ann Roberts

Participate in our Strategic Pathway to Election ’18 presentation & breakout sessions with GPO Leader Mike Schreiner & ED Becky Smit (members only)

Discuss the incoming policy and constitutional resolutions with passion and grace (available online)

Connect with like-minded, passionate Greens from across the province, in a beautiful setting in Eastern Ontario

Join in a nature walk, a nighttime campfire, or grab a drink at the hospitality suite

Remember, all Convention registration payments and accommodations are eligible for a generous tax credit of up to 75% back. This means you could be paying as little at $73.53 after taxes for an entire weekend, food, gala dinner, speakers & accommodations!

Voting

Political Conventions are the place where party members forge policy and vote in elections. This year, registered Green Party of Ontario members don’t have to attend the Convention to cast their votes for the 2016 Provincial Executive Elections. For the first time ever, the GPO is are offering online voting through Simply Voting, a secure, independent voting management company.

Online voting will be open from April 16, 2016 to May 14, 2016 at 1:30 PM. You will receive an email from vote@simplyvoting.com on April 16, 2016 with your unique link to the secure ballot and your password.

For more information on the election, please go to www.gpo.ca/elections.

2 April 2016

Info Table

Bob Jonkman spent some time staffing the WRGreens table at Cross Cultures.

I got the idea to put out a bowl of candy from my Fair Vote WRC Friend, Sharon Sommerville. Candy rockets (my own favourite Hallowe’en treat) proved to be very attractive to the kids attending the Cross Cultures conference. By the end of the day, we were out of buttons, too.

29 March 2016

Cross Cultures: UN Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination

Look for the WRGreens information table at Kitchener City Hall March 31st, 2016 for the Cross Cultures commemoration of UN Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination

Cross Cultures has been organizing Waterloo Region’s full day free event to commemorate the UN Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination every year, for educators, students, organizations and the general public. Events are within the concept of Elimination of Racial Discrimination and with focus on specific themes each year.

8:30 arrivals
9:00 Elder indigenous opening prayer
followed by “O Canada” and dignitary greetings

The day continues with panel discussions, speakers, presentations (multimedia etc), information booths, displays…

6:30 we have the annual

Peace Concert

Encompassing the word “culture” in its broader sense (song, dance, instrument, drama, poetry, visual art & photography display, CD & DVD etc)

Location: Kitchener City Hall Rotunda
200 King St W, Kitchener, ON N2G 4V6, Canada

Kitchener City Hall

28 March 2016

Better Late Than Never

Welcome to the new Waterloo Region Greens blogsite. To start, this site is intended to post information about all WRGreen events in Waterloo Region, general Green Party news and events, as well as information and events that might be of interest to Green supporters. Posts here will be sporadic, so if you want to stay in the loop, your best bet would be to subscribe.

This site was not up and running in time for National Puppy Day on March 23rd, but I thought it would be better to post this late than never. The Green Party is a truly grass roots organization, and as such volunteers are always welcome. Get involved!