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Dear
Friend,
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More than 80 people from all over PEI participated in each of
our first two Rural Roundtables on Jan 12 & Feb
3. The discussions were awesome and we took pages and pages of notes
that will inform Green policies and our next
platform.
We plan on holding more of these, so stay
tuned!
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We're pleased to bring you another month of Green news.
The buzz around the Green Party of PEI these days is: Dialogue! As
a political party, it is so important for us to continually check in
with Islanders, so that the work we do is rooted in the needs, hopes
and experiences of people throughout PEI. To this end, we have held
two rurally-focussed online forums over the past three weeks, as part
of our Rural Roundtable series. We have been just blown away
by the participation and the fruitfulness of these discussions,
leaving us all (including our Green MLAs) feeling newly energized. So
thanks so much to all who joined us in those forums!
Later this month, on February 16th, we will be shifting our focus
to the critical Island-wide issue of Housing, with our Housing Forum. If you are
concerned about the state of housing on PEI and want to talk about the
way out of the crisis, we hope you can join us there!
Until then, take care,
Jordan Bober
Executive
Director
In this newsletter:
-
Upcoming Events
-
Green Caucus updates
- Let us know what topics you'd like to see Green MLAs raise in the
House
- From the desks of Green MLAs
-
Members' Corner
- Member survey and tax receipts coming soon
- Volunteers wanted for the Election Readiness Committee
- Grassroots policy discussions
- The Downtown Charlottetown Greens want you!
Wednesday, Feb. 16 @ 6:30pm: Housing Forum
Housing is in a state of crisis on PEI - and has been for
several years. Rapid population growth, changing demographics, and a
lack of government foresight and action means that, for many, keeping
a roof over their head is neither affordable nor something that can be
taken for granted.
How do we get out of such a desperate situation, and into a future
where affordable, appropriate housing is a right enjoyed by all?
Let's put it all on the table and talk about the future of
housing on PEI.
Our MLAs and caucus staff are hard at
work preparing for the spring sitting of the Legislature, which starts
on February 22nd.
Part of that involves writing questions,
motions, and statements to bring up in the House. We want to
hear from members about what sorts of topics we should be
raising.
The three main opportunities we have to
raise issues are statements, motions, and
questions. Here is a quick overview of what these
look like:
 Statements are short (under
90 second) speeches, often used to recognize a person or organization
doing great work in the community, or an important event in an MLA’s
local district. These are not “debatable”, so other MLAs do not get to
respond to them and there are no votes.
 Motions are used to initiate
debates where every MLA has an opportunity to speak. These typically
call on government to take some course of action on an issue, but
can’t actually force government to take that particular action.
Motions end with a vote, but MLAs can speak as long as they want on
these so that doesn’t always happen!
 Questions can be asked at
various points during debates, including the daily Questions Period,
on the budget, and on bills. Question Period is the most prominent of
these because the media is always paying close attention, but it’s
also the most restrictive in terms of format and content. Questions on
budgets and bills are much more flexible.
If you have a idea for a topic to
raise in the Legislature, please let us know by
emailing [email protected].
Don’t worry about writing it out in full, or whether it should be a
statement, motion, or question -- all you need is a good idea! We’ll
figure out where we can best raise it, and our caucus staff will take
care of fine tuning it to fit the Legislature.
Just a final note, we’ll make sure to
consider everything you send us, but with the multitude of issues and
priorities we have to juggle, not every idea – even those generated
within caucus – makes it to the floor of the Legislature.
From the Desks of Green MLAs
PETER
BEVAN-BAKER
 PETER BEVAN-BAKER: Immediate action is
needed to address the growing crisis in long-term care
PETER BEVAN-BAKER: Rising hospitalizations
are showing the King government response to Omicron is
flawed
PETER BEVAN-BAKER: Island Seniors are at
risk due to challenges in Long Term Care
LYNNE
LUND
 LYNNE LUND: Calling on Minister Jameson to
clearly communicate and consult with parents, teachers and all
Islanders on a safe back to school plan
What
is the King government’s plan for back to school and when will they
share it with Islanders?
OLE
HAMMARLUND
 OLE HAMMARLUND: Blah blah blah — Actions, not
words, are needed to solve our climate crisis
OLE HAMMARLUND: Calling for improvements to
ventilation in Island schools
TRISH
ALTASS
TRISH ALTASS: Inconsistency of COVID
restrictions and lack of support for Island workers leave many feeling
anxious
MICHELE
BEATON
 MICHELE BEATON: Calling on King government
to enforce COVID protocols in LTC to keep residents and workers
safe
MICHELE BEATON: calling on Minister Hudson
to provide immediate access to rapid tests for community organizations
needing them
MICHELE BEATON: Statement on how to improve
staffing concerns in long term care
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 website at www.peigreencaucus.ca
for blogs, videos and more!
Provincial Council
Meetings
Regular
Provincial Council meetings take place on the third Monday of each
month, usually via Zoom. The next meeting will be on February 21 at
7pm.
Members are welcome to join Provincial Council meetings as
observers or presenters (see the policies on
guest observers and presenters here). Please write to
[email protected] to request to join a meeting as an observer or
presenter.
Click here to subscribe to meeting
notifications.
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Keep an eye on your inbox!
In the next week, you can expect to receive a) your
2021 tax receipt and b) the 2021/2022 Member
Survey in your inbox, so please keep an eye out for
those!
The annual Member Survey is a really important opportunity
for us to obtain both general and specific feedback from Members,
which informs the party's activities and priorities. This year, the
survey will consist of two parts: an anonymous survey feedback survey,
and a (non-anonymous) set of questions so that we can learn more about
you, the members.
Call for Volunteers: Election Readiness
Committee
The Election Readiness Committee (ERC) is
seeking volunteers interested in serving on the main committee as well
as in working groups.
The ERC has an important mandate to ensure ensure the party's preparedness
for the next election, including for the candidate nomination process
leading up to the election.
If you would like to contribute to the Green Party by
serving in this key committee, please write to [email protected] with a
bit about yourself, your interest in the committee and any particular
skills or experience you might like to offer.
Grassroots Policy Development
Members would have received an email on January 25th all
about our Grassroots Policy Motion Development Process, which is
gearing up in advance of the spring AGM.
Since then, a number of members have started policy
conversations on our Loomio Member Discussion Space.
We encourage you to check out the conversations that are happening
there - or start one of your own! Click here to
join.
As always, if you have an idea for new Green Party policy,
you are encouraged to write to [email protected] for advice and
assistance. And click here to learn more about the Grassroots
Policy Development Process.
Live in District 12 or 13? The Downtown Charlottetown Greens
want you!
On December 2, 2021, members from
District 12 (Charlottetown-Victoria Park) and District 13
(Charlottetown-Brighton) gathered at Beaconsfield’s Carriage House and
voted unanimously to form a new combined Regional Association for the
two districts - the Downtown Charlottetown Greens!
A meeting will be held sometime in
the coming months to elect a new Coordinating Team.
Vacant positions:
Chair, Data Coordinator, and Communications/Member relations
Coordinator.
In the meantime, Julie Dodd,
Barbara Dylla, and Trudy MacDonald have accepted to form a transition
team to lay the groundwork for the incoming team.
If you are interested in helping to
launch the association, please write to [email protected].
Click here to visit the new Regional Association's web
page.
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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