Dear Friend,



Nailed it! On May 17th, Green MLAs Michele "Sonic Boom" Beaton, "High Speed" Hannah Bell and Ole Hammar-the-Slammer-lund took part in the Habitat for Humanity ReStore's #HammerDown2021 competition for MLAs, to help promote the ReStore's new location on Minna Jane Dr (where the old Sears was) and the important contributions it makes to Habitat's housing mission. 



Congratulations to the competition's winner, Hal "Super Nova" Perry!Happy June! Did you know that this first week or so of June is full of international and Canadian days dedicated to the environment? This past week was Canadian Environment Week, and yesterday was World Environment Day. June 2nd was Clean Air Day, and coming up on June 8th is World Oceans Day. Given what we know about the deforestation that has been taking place on PEI, not to mention the loss and degradation of topsoil and pollution of our waters, we hope that all Islanders will join #GenerationRestoration <> and help repair our damaged relationship with our natural environment. This will require both personal and political change.



Greens have been busy as always! Read on below for updates on upcoming events, including a REAL LIVE outdoor BBQ in Summerside on June 26th (yay!). Over the next several weeks, we are also inviting you to join each of our MLAs online to help them get started in their new Critic roles. We hope you'll join them and share your ideas and insights!



Jordan Bober

Executive Director 



In this newsletter:



- Meet the new Critics <#meetthecritics>

- Upcoming events <#events> - Summerside BBQ June 26

- D12 Annual General Meeting June 9

- Belfast Cookout June 27





- Recent events

- Green Caucus Updates <#caucus>

- Election Readiness Committee <#erc>

- In loving memory of Ed Parker <#edparker>







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As we reported in our last update, the Green Caucus had a Critic Shuffle <[link removed]> recently! This means that each of the Green MLAs is now taking on different issue areas than the ones they have each focussed on over the past two years.



As Green MLAs take up the mantles of their new critic roles, they want to talk to YOU! What issues would you like them to work on? What information and trends should they be aware of? 



Over the next several weeks, we will be hosting a series of online "Meet the new Critic" discussions with each of our MLAs. This is your invitation to join them for informal, hour-long conversations about the important issues in each of their new critic portfolios.



Here's the first batch of sessions - click on the images below to register!



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Summerside Area Greens Volunteer Appreciation BBQ



Heather Moyse Park, Summerside | Saturday June 26, 2-4pm



Join us for an informal family BBQ to celebrate the start of Summer.



RSVP: www.peigreens.ca/ssidebbq210626 <[link removed]>



This will be a great opportunity to reconnect with other Greens and catch up on the Green news - we will be joined by your Green MLAs Steve Howard, Lynne Lund and Trish Altass as well as Party leader Peter Bevan-Baker and Party president Susan Hartley.



Do you know someone who is curious about the Green Party? Bring them along - you couldn’t find a better opportunity to show them a whole bunch of Greens in their natural habitat!



Food, Games, Prizes and Political stuff! Isn’t that what Summer is all about?



For more info call or text John @ 902.439.5957







The District 12 Charlottetown-Victoria Park Electoral District Association (EDA) is holding its Annual General Meeting on Wednesday, June 9, from 7:00 to 8:00 P.M. 



At this meeting, all members in good standing are eligible to nominate themselves, and to vote, for the vacant positions: Data Coordinator, Finance Coordinator, and Communication Coordinator. 



The EDA Coordinating Team is thrilled that Party leader Peter Bevan-Baker has accepted their invitation to participate in a Q&A session after the official part of the meeting is concluded! 



The meeting will take place on Zoom. Registration required <[link removed]>.



Recent events



Bill Kendrick, Peter Bevan-Baker, Michele Beaton and Darlene Doiron at Burger, Batter & Banter at Phinley's Diner in Stratford on May 31, 2021.Burger, Batter and Banter - Stratford



What a great time we all had at Burger, Batter & Banter on May 31st at Phinley’s Diner! The Stratford Greens (District 5/6 Regional Association) would like to thank everyone who was able to join us in person, those who ordered takeout and those who donated tickets to the event.



Special thanks to Peter Bevan-Baker who joined in with the fabulous Green Party Band to provide music for the event, and to MLA Michele Beaton who slayed us all with her powerful singing voice.



The Stratford Greens Coordinating Committee (Bill Kendrick, Mary-Ellen MacMillan and Darlene Doiron) look forward to working with you to help build membership and hopefully get a District 6 candidate elected in the next provincial election. Please contact them at [email protected] <mailto:%[email protected]> if you would like to lend a hand!



Green Family Feud



Thanks to the Districts 21&23 Regional Association, the Green Party of PEI broke new ground on Thursday with our first-ever game show! Green Family Feud, inspired by the popular TV game show, pitted "families" aligned with MLAs Lynne Lund and Trish Altass against one another in a battle of wits hosted by Stratford's Bill Kendrick. It was a hoot! 



Who prevailed? Well, in case you missed it, we got it all on tape! Click on the image below to watch the game on Youtube (43 minutes total).



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Last month, the Winter/Spring sitting of the Legislature came to a close, capping off a long and very successful sitting for the Green Caucus. To review the highlights of the entire sitting, please check out our recent May Green Caucus Update <[link removed]>.



Just because the Legislature is not sitting does NOT mean that the MLAs are on vacation! Important committee work continues as the MLAs work on constituency issues, get familiar with their new critic portfolios and work on ideas for new bills and motions to introduce in the fall.



Did you know... Most legislative committee meetings are broadcast live to the public? These can be interesting to watch as the discussions are much more free-flowing than during legislative sittings, and the committees are often inviting expert guests to help shed light on a wide variety of topics. See the committee meeting calendar at www.assembly.pe.ca/calendar <[link removed]>, and click on any meeting for more details.



Fairer taxation for PEI



MLA Hannah Bell is wasting no time jumping in the Finance portfolio, one of her new Critic portfolios alongside Environment, Energy and Climate Change. She has picked up the torch to call for PEI to join other provinces in making our tax system more progressive and fair by introducing a new tax bracket on the province's highest income earners.



Currently, PEI's top tax bracket of 16.7% applies to any income over $63,970. By contrast, most provinces has at least one additional tax bracket applied to income in excess of $100-$200k.



"It's about making a more equitable share of revenues," Bell said. "So not only does it provide for a potential increase in revenue, but it spreads that tax burden more fairly among earners."



With the P.E.I. government preparing to launch an online casino, expected to draw in an additional $1.2 million in annual provincial gambling revenues, the Greens say government would be far better off to forget the casino and instead go after those top earners with a new income tax bracket.



"Online gaming targets and impacts most disproportionately those who can least afford it," said Bell.



>>Read more: Go after top income earners with a new tax bracket, Opposition urges P.E.I. government (CBC) <[link removed]>







June is Pride month in Canada - a time when we celebrate diversity and LGBTQ communities, acknowledge their history, the hardships they have endured, and the progress that has been made.



Peter Bevan-Baker and Karla Bernard recorded video messages on May 17th, the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia, as part of Pride PEI's #TakeaStandPEI campaign. Click on them below to watch on Facebook:



<[link removed]> <[link removed]>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 <[link removed]>, Twitter <[link removed]> and Instagram <[link removed]>. And check out their website at www.peigreencaucus.ca <[link removed]> for blogs, videos and more!







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Last month, the Election Readiness Committee (ERC) met for the first time to start planning for the next provincial election, which is scheduled for October 2023. While this may seem still pretty far away, there's a lot of work to do so it's never too early to get started. On top of that, the last two provincial elections were called early by the Premier, before the legislated fixed date, so we need to make sure we're ready to go on short notice if that happens again.



The ERC is made up of some party "old-timers" as well as more recent members. So we should have a good mix of the strengths that helped us achieve the historic results of the 2019 election, as well as new ideas to help us grow and adapt to the changing political environment.



We'll be looking at a whole range of things, including recruiting candidates, nomination procedures, training and capacity building, communications and advertising - in short, pretty much all aspects of the election campaign. As the work of the committee gets going there will also be plenty of opportunities for members to get involved, so keep an eye out for those in future newsletters.







<>Ed Parker with Lynne Lund, many of whose campaigns he enthusiastically supported over the years.Last month, we were saddened by the loss of Ed Parker, a beloved and active Green Party member & volunteer. Ed first got involved with the Green Party of PEI during the 2015 provincial election. He then joined our Provincial Council and has been involved in almost every Green campaign on the Island since. Ed was a joyful person to be around - as many of us reminisced about Ed, many remembered that Ed was one of the first people they met in the Green Party, and how welcome he made them feel at party events. We will miss him a lot!



To help you get to know more about the kind of person Ed was, we have copied his full obituary below:



Edgar W. Parker, of Summerside, PEI, passed away peacefully, at the age of 83, at Prince County Hospital on May 12, 2021 after a brief illness. Born in Hampshire, on March 30, 1938, he was the first child of the late Henry William Parker, and Gladys Emma (Easter) Parker. His brothers Donald, Allan, Lloyd, and Harold, and sisters Phyllis MacLeod - deceased (Roddie), Peggy Rolfe (Breck), and Dorothy Ann DeWolfe (Normand) contributed to a rich and colourful family dynamic; they were, and continue to be, some of the strongest and most loyal people to be found.



Ed was married to his high-school sweetheart, Gertrude (Gamble), for more than 64 years. He was fiercely devoted to her; she was the true love of his life. And as her life changed, and she began to struggle with caring for herself, he assumed that job for her without hesitation or resentment. She survives him, as do their five devoted and heartbroken children; Ron, Penny Wareham (Dave), Tim (Lizz), Pam, and Cindy.



Ed loved his family dearly, and his grandchildren Emily, Parker, Nick, Sam, Nathan, and Isaac were a source of pride and joy. Nicholas Herring was also a happy, recent addition to Ed’s life. And there were great grandchildren too! Abigail, Stella, Charlotte, and Theodore- he loved these kids so much and he genuinely enjoyed their visits with Brampy.



Ed believed in giving his best to any and every job or task he undertook. As a young man, he worked at a butter factory, and despite initiating a lifelong addiction to butter, that job, along with working on the family farm, taught him the meaning of hard work. Over the years, his work ethic allowed him to move up through the ranks of a few companies, until he eventually obtained an executive position with Shoppers Drug Mart. He remained with the company for three decades, until he retired.



Outside of his professional life, he had numerous interests and hobbies. At Thanksgiving and Christmas, he dutifully stuffed the family turkey, and could be counted on to take a nap in the middle of the living room floor amidst the family chaos. King of the corny joke, Ed loved to make people laugh. He had a gift for making people feel special, just by being in his company. His hugs were internationally known, and distributed freely and easily. He loved to travel, and in addition to traveling to various parts of the globe, spent many a winter in San Diego, where he made numerous lifelong friends. He was an avid golfer, a skiing enthusiast, a gardener, a handyman, a fantastic whistler, and a talented singer (especially in the shower). He devoured books, and instilled the love of reading in all of his children. He made the world’s best burgers, and was well-versed in a variety of home-cooked breakfast options. A lover of animals, he ensured that the bird feeder was always full and the bird bath was always clean. Many lucky squirrels were treated to a drive in the truck as they were relocated to a new home, far from his back deck.



In his later years, he became a passionate member of the Green Party, and volunteered for them on a regular basis. His life was full and rich to the very last day. He lived every day with vigour, humility, and positivity. Simply put, there was no one like him.



The family will hold a memorial service when it is possible to allow his many friends and loved ones to celebrate this great man, without the restrictions of the current pandemic. If you would like to be notified when and where the memorial service will be held, or to offer a testament to Ed and his life, please email [email protected] <[link removed]> In the meantime, if you desire to honour Ed’s memory, Canadians can make contributions to the Green Party in your province of residence, or to the Green Party of Canada. Otherwise please consider a contribution to Ducks Unlimited, another cause Ed supported for many years.































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