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Dear Friend,
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| April 23rd
marked the first anniversary of the 2019 provincial election which saw
PEI Greens make history by electing 8 MLAs - the majority of them
women - and forming the Official Opposition of Prince Edward
Island. |
Happy May - and I hope you're enjoying the increasing springiness
of PEI!
Thinking back on the last month is almost dizzying in its intensity
as Islanders have done so much to adapt our personal and work lives to
the "new normal" of COVID-19. But already, as we begin our first phase
of "easing back" to normal, many are starting to think ahead, or as we
like to say "dreaming forward". Just what do we want "back to normal"
to look like? Can we imagine - and create - something
better?
Just over one year ago, during the election, the Green Party of PEI
asked you to "imagine something better". Today, we are renewing that
call, and want you to share your ideas with us! Please join us on May 7th for a special online
forum with our Green Caucus, which will kick off a new
grassroots mobilization to imagine, then create, the better future we
know is possible for PEI.
Jordan Bober
Executive Director
(interim)
In this newsletter:
- Dreaming Forward Forum May 7th
- Other upcoming events
- From the desks of our Green Caucus
- Remembering Josh Underhay
- Freecycling launches on PEI
- COVIDIY - Homemade masks and homegrown
microgreens
Thursday, May 7, 2020 at 7pm
"We have a unique opportunity to imagine a different kind of
Island. I want Islanders together to create a vision of the best
Island that we can possibly imagine. So rather than thinking of
"easing back", let's think of "dreaming forward".
Let's create a working model of what it looks like to live well
together, in community, in this vastly changed world."
-Peter Bevan-Baker
This spring, the world has changed before our very
eyes - so much so that virtually everything we had accepted as
"normal" before the pandemic is now open to question, re-evaluation
and re-invention.
Just one year ago during the election, the Green Party of PEI asked
Islanders to "Imagine something better". Today, we are renewing that
call to imagine the better, stronger, and more resilient Island that
we can become as we emerge from the current crisis.
Please join us on May 7, 2020 to share your ideas - and
let's "dream forward" together!
This online forum will take place using the Zoom
videoconferencing platform. To register and receive a link to
participate in this forum, please click here: https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJEtdeuqrj8uGNIjv6n0qFWPD95cNC11qboJ
Friday, May 8 at 7pm: Green Online Board Game Night with
Charlottetown Rep Adina Nault
Are you starting to wonder what to do with another Friday stuck at
home? We have a solution for you! I would like to invite you to join
us for a board game night! How???? With the help of Board Game Arena, we can play a variety of
different games together - online!
This time, we will be playing the game
Saboteur, in which there are two teams: one
trying to dig to the gold while the other tries to stop them. This
game can be learned quickly, therefore no experience is needed. When
you enter the game, you will be able to review the rules at the bottom
of your screen. We will encourage you to join us on Zoom while playing
this game and join us for some friendly conversations.
Click here for more information and to
register!
 Saturday, May 23, 2020 - Women's Institute Roadside
Cleanup
The Women's Institute's Annual Roadside Cleanup is an important
annual event that helps get our Island in tip-top shape again for the
summer. We're thrilled to learn that the Cleanup will tentatively go
ahead this year on May 23rd. Let's pitch in!
If you'd like to join a Green roadside cleanup crew, please
RSVP here. We'll connect you with others in your area to
form a lean, Green, roadside cleanup machine!
May 26, 2020 - District 12 Electoral District Association
Annual General Meeting
The District 12 EDA is holding its Annual General Meeting
on Tuesday, May 26, on Zoom.
The 30-day notice of the meeting was
e-mailed on Saturday, April 25, to all members living in the
district.
Three positions on the Coordinating Team are currently
vacant. Green Party of PEI
members in good standing are invited to seek election. Members whose
membership has expired since June 2019, fret not! You can renew at any
time right up to the meeting date and regain voting rights. Have been
thinking how you can become actively engaged at the Party’s grassroots
level? Now is a perfect time to seize this golden opportunity to join
a dynamic EDA and contribute your knowledge and experience to help our
Party work towards a more fair, caring, and sustainable
society.
Note: Members wishing to
participate in the AGM are requested to register
in advance to get the link to the
Zoom meeting.
From the desks of Green MLAs
Our MLAs have had a lot to
say of a diverse array of topics in the past
month!
In her previous life before becoming an MLA, Lynne Lund
homeschooled her two young boys. She has a few tips to offer the many
parents who have suddenly found themselves thrust into the the role of
"home educator".
The Green Party - and Trish Altass personally - have long
advocated for a Basic Income Guarantee to ensure that all Islanders
can meet their basic needs while improving outcomes for our society
and ultimately, saving taxpayer money. COVID-19 has shone a light on
the problems with patchwork and often insufficient social support
programs.
With many service locations closed and Islanders asked to go
online for critical support services, Trish Altass is concerned that
some rural Islanders - especially those with poor rural internet
services - are being denied equitable access to those
services.
MLA Hannah Bell has been a small business owner and has worked
with many small businesses through her former role as Executive
Director of the PEI Business Women's Association. She shares some tips
with small businesses on ways to adapt and supports they can access
during COVID-19, and urges Islanders to adapt some of their buying
habits to help small businesses survive during this time.
Chronic and acute crises such as COVID-19, climate change and
persistent poverty are forcing us to re-evaluate our economic model.
Lynne Lund suggests we take a seriously look at "Doughnut
Economics".
Official Opposition Fisheries Critic Trish Altass is concerned
that the government may have some blind spots when it comes to
ensuring the safety of local and temporary foreign workers when the
fisheries are re-opened.
Although the Legislature voted unanimously in 2019 to appoint
an independent Child and Youth Advocate, the position remains unfilled
- and COVID-19 is the worst possible timing for such an important
vacancy, argues Karla Bernard.
Is the $4.7 million in funding announced for the Potato Board
going to help farmers, or processors? Opposition Agriculture Critic
Michele Beaton still doesn't have an answer from the Minister of
Agriculture.
Poverty is a "wicked", complex and persistent problem that is
made worse during crises like the pandemic. Hannah Bell believes that
it is our moral and ethical responsibility to raise our voices for a
Basic Income that lifts our friends and neighbours out of
poverty.
Official Opposition Statements
MLA Michele Beaton highlighted the plight of brew-on-premises
businesses and those who depend on them, and provided suggestions for
how to fix it. Fortunately, Cabinet took her up on those suggestions!
During an emergency, writes Peter Bevan-Baker, is it more
important than ever that all MLAs are able to do their job and bring
the diverse voices of their constituents to the table while holding
the government to account.
The past couple of weeks have shaken the Atlantic region with
the impact felt throughout the country. Many Islanders are closely
connected with individuals who have either lost their lives, or
someone they love in the senseless acts of violence in Nova
Scotia.
Peter Bevan-Baker argues that it is both possible and essential
for the Legislature to be recalled in some manner to pass important
legislation and agree to new rules that would allow it to carry out at
least some of its business online, as is the case in so many other
workplaces.
The Green Caucus has been hard
at work to improve the lives of Islanders. If you haven't already, be
sure to follow them on Facebook, Twitter and
Instagram.
And check out their new website at www.peigreencaucus.ca
for blogs, videos and more!
Remembering Josh & Oliver Underhay
On April 19th, many Islanders in the Green community and beyond
took time to remember the lives of Josh Underhay and his son Oliver,
who were tragically taken from us one year earlier. Josh was known to
many of us as a passionate and hardworking candidate, former
Provincial Council member, friend, teacher, colleague, bandmate,
active transportation advocate, polyglot and bridge-builder among
diverse communities, and a dedicated husband and father.
It
was extremely touching to see the many ways in which people took the
time to remember Josh and Oliver and to build upon Josh's legacy, in
particular to advance his vision of a Greater Charlottetown in which
it is safe and enjoyable to get around anywhere by bicycle. Many shared photos of candles they placed in their
windows and bikes they put out front of their houses with ribbons, and
Greg Bradley installed a bicycle memorial just off the Confederation
Trail by the Charlottetown Farmers Market (pictured above). MacQueen's
Bike Shop is urging folks to get out on their bikes on
May 8th (International Bike to School Day) and May 17th (International
Bike to Work Day) to help keep the momentum behind Josh's vision going
strong. And we even received a beautiful poem from Leon
Berrouard, one of Josh's former high school teachers.
Thank you to the whole community for once again coming together to
mark this significant date of remembering and mourning.
Freecycling has come to PEI!
"Freecycles" - groups and systems set up to
connect people with things to give away with people who need them -
have long existed in many communities around the world.
Freecycling is easy, saves items from the landfill, and helps to
avoid downcycling. Now PEI has it's own Freecycle Group in the
form of a Facebook Group established (appropriately, on Earth Day) by
Sarah Charette (who also serves as one on the Green Party of PEI's
Ombudspersons)!
The idea seems to have gained traction, and the new group already
has more than 120 members and many items on offer. You can join the
Freecycle PEI Facebook group at https://www.facebook.com/groups/2522782677825694/.
Last month we launched our new skill-sharing series, COVIDIY
- and have two great episodes to share with you so far!
In our first episode, Sue Whitaker demonstrates how she
sews non-medical masks at home, and also how to make a
non-sew mask out of shop paper.
In our second episode, Eddie Childs demonstrates how to easily
grow your own supply of microgreens at home, and Sue
Whitaker returns to demonstrate an easy way to grow sprouts in
a jar.
You can access both webinar recordings and other resources
on our COVIDIY page, www.greenparty.pe.ca/covidiy.
Do you have a skill you'd be willing to share with
other Islanders? Please contact us at
[email protected]!
COVID-19 resources
 In March, we launched our COVID-19 Resources
page on our website to help Islanders. This is a continuously updated
list of resources arranged in categories including:
- Provincial government initiatives
- Provincial and other supports for small businesses, artists and
freelancers
- Options for Buying Local during the pandemic
- School, children and family resources
- Mental Health, Social and Justice Services
- Additional Community Resources to Assist Individuals and
Families
- Federal government programs that have been announced
Are we missing important resources? Please let us know at
[email protected]!
Get daily updates from the Green Party of PEI - follow us on
Facebook, Twitter or Instagram today!
We can't do any of this without
your support!
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Can a Basic Income Guarantee help close gaps in
social support structures?
Rural Islanders need fair and equitable access to
supports
Small Business Survival
Thriving in Balance
Is government considering all factors for safely
opening our fisheries?
Without a Child and Youth Advocate, Island children
remain at risk
Are announced farm supports helping Island farmers
- or processors?
Wicked
Problems
Statement from Michele Beaton on unnecessary
restrictions placed on “ferment-on-premise” businesses
Statement on need for government to recall the
Legislature
