Dear Friend,

Members of one of our newest District Associations, the D21 & 23 Regional Association, meeting up to plan how to keep the momentum going. Both districts elected Green MLAs this spring.It may feel like a long time ago now, but the federal election took place less than one month ago. We would like to extend our heartfelt congratulations to the four Green candidates on PEI who had very strong results in their respective ridings: Alex Clark (Egmont), Anna Keenan (Malpeque), Darcie Lanthier (Charlottetown) and Glen Beaton (Cardigan). All told, more than 20% of Islanders voted Green in this election - the highest percentage of any province in Canada!

Greens here on PEI are also excited about the election of the first Green MP in Atlantic Canada. Jenica Atwin <[link removed]> was elected in Fredericton, and yes, there is a PEI connection! Atwin's campaign was co-managed by Islander Robert Sheidow (who cut his campaign teeth earlier this spring as campaign manager for Michele Beaton (who was of course elected!) and Devon Strang in Stratford, and then for John Andrew in the District 9 deferred election) and by New Brunswicker Shannon Carmont, who served as Director of Communications for the PEI Greens during our April general election. We're so proud of Robert, Shannon, Jenica and their whole team for this accomplishment!

While we're on the topic of federal Green politics, we of course cannot fail to extend our love and gratitude to Elizabeth May, who has stepped down as the federal Green Party leader recently. Elizabeth May has been a tremendous federal leader and friend and ally of the PEI Greens, coming to PEI many times to support us over the last few years. We will miss her, and wish her nothing but the best for this new phase of her life when, while remaining an MP and undoubtedly still one of the hardest-working MPs in Canada, she will also have a little more time to spend with her family, including her new husband as of April 22nd this year, John Kidder.

In the meantime, Jo-Ann Roberts (another Island and Maritime connection - she grew up on PEI and currently lives in Halifax) is serving as the interim federal leader, and the convention where the next leader will be chosen by members will be - guess where? - right here, in Charlottetown on October 2-4, 2020! We're looking forward to hosting Greens from all across the country next year!

Meanwhile, here on PEI, our own record-setting Green Official Opposition caucus is back in the Legislature for the fall session, while our volunteers are busy organizing in their districts and within the provincial organization. Read on to get the scoop! 

Jordan Bober
Executive Director

In this newsletter:

- Greens back in the Legislature
- District Associations
- Opportunities to get involved
- Upcoming events



The new Green MLAs receiving their PEI Legislative Assembly pins. From L to R: Trish Altass (D23), Ole Hammarlund (D13), Karla Bernard (D12), Speaker of the Legislature Colin LaVie, Lynne Lund (D21), Michele Beaton (D5), and Steve Howard (D22).November 12th marked the return to the Legislature by our Green Official Opposition Caucus for the fall session (even though many days already feel like winter!). Here's a look at some of the things they're bringing to the agenda this session:

Green Bills:

Bill no. 111 - An Act to Amend the Tourism Industry Act - Sponsored by Hannah Bell, MLA for District 11

This bill would require operators of short-term rentals to, upon request, provide the province with their contact information, the number of nights the establishment is rented and the price charged for the rental. The purpose is to provide the PEI government with crucial data it needs to understand the scope of the short-term rental market on PEI, in order to better regulate it to prevent short-term rentals from eroding the Island's increasingly scarce housing supply.

>>IN THE NEWS: P.E.I. Greens introduce bill aimed at clarifying data, definitions of short-term rentals <[link removed]>

Bill no. 109 - An Act to Amend the Employment Standards Act (No. 2) - Sponsored by Karla Bernard, MLA for District 12

This bill is a simple amendment to the Employment Standards Act to ensure that employees who are part of a collective labour agreement are also entitled to leave due to domestic violence, intimate partner and sexual violence.

Bill no. 110 - An Act to Amend the Highway Traffic Act (No. 4) - Sponsored by Steve Howard, MLA for District 22

This is also a simple amendment that makes it an offence for vehicles that are not in the process of being charged from being left unattended at an electric vehicle charging station.

Stay tuned for more in the weeks ahead!

Green Motions

Motions do not have the force of law, however they are useful ways of discussing and raising awareness about issues in the Legislature that can then go on to inform laws or government policies (for example, Peter Bevan-Baker's motion to ban conversion therapy last year led to the current bill to ban conversion therapy, which passed second reading last week <[link removed]>).

Motion 39 - Prohibit Construction that could result in the release of dangerous particulates in Schools with Children Present <Prohibit%20Construction%20that%20could%20result%20in%20the%20release%20of%20dangerous%20particulates%20in%20Schools%20with%20Children%20Present>(Sponsored by Trish Altass, MLA for District 23) - PASSED!

Motion 40 - Call on the Legislative Assembly to refer Social Determinants of Health to the appropriate Standing Committee  <[link removed](Add%20social%20determinants%20of%20health%20to%20standing%20committee%20schedule).pdf>(Sponsored by Trish Altass, MLA for District 23)

Motion 41 - Providing an annual report on progress by PEI Government on implementation of the Calls to Action of the Truth and Reconciliation Committee (TRC) and Calls for Justice of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls (MMIWG) <[link removed](Report%20on%20implementation%20of%20recommendations%20from%20TRC%20and%20MMIWG).pdf> (Sponsored by Peter Bevan-Baker, leader of the Official Opposition and MLA for District 17)

Motion 42 - Urging the Child and Youth Advocate to undertake a preview of the Public School Branch sexual violence policy <[link removed](Full%20review%20of%20the%20Public%20School%20Board%20sexual%20violence%20policy).pdf> (Sponsored by Karla Bernard, MLA for District 12)

Motion 48 - Improving social assistance for Islanders in need <[link removed](Improving%20Social%20Assistance%20for%20Islanders%20in%20Need).pdf> (Sponsored by Hannah Bell, MLA for District 11)

Motion 49 - Calling on Government to improve fiscal accountability <[link removed](Fiscal%20Accountability).pdf>(Sponsored by Michele Beaton, MLA for District 5)

Motion 50 - Drug Treatment Courts <[link removed](Drug%20treatment%20courts).pdf> (Sponsored by Lynne Lund, MLA for District 21)

Your Green MLAs at work

Of course, in addition to work on bills and motions, Green MLAs are hard at work every day assisting constituents, playing important roles in the legislative committees, and holding the government to account. See, for example, the important role that District 23 MLA Trish Altass has been able to play <[link removed]> in ensuring that a REAL registry is set up to monitor the long-term health of TOSH students who may have been exposed to toxic substances during the school's renovations.

Keeping tabs on the PEI Legislature

The PEI Legislative Assembly has recently given its website a new look - check it out here: [link removed]. This website is where you can keep track of what's going on, including by watching live broadcasts of the proceedings of the Legislature and of standing committees. 

You can also watch the Legislature live in person at the Coles Building, which is a neat experience if you've never had the chance to do it before. The Legislature sits on Tuesdays & Thursdays from 2-5pm and 7-9pm, on Wednesdays from 2-5pm, and Fridays from 10am-1pm. No one knows exactly when the legislative session will end (the government ends the session once it's got through its agenda), but typically the sessions last for 4-5 weeks.

The Office of the Opposition 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]>.





District Associations are teams of Greens working at the district level to increase the Green Party of PEI's presence and participation in communities, to organize through fundraising, volunteer recruitment and skill-building to be ready for the next election, to nominate candidates, participate in policy development and just plain have fun!

We now have electoral district associations (EDAs) up and running in Districts 12 (Charlottetown-Victoria Park), 17 (New Haven-Rocky Point ), and 22 (Summerside-South Drive), and Districts 21 (Summerside-Wilmot) and 23 (Tyne Valley-Sherbrooke) are organizing together as a Regional Association (RA). There are other district associations in the works throughout the Island.

With a growing number of district associations, we felt it was time for them to have their own places on our website. So, we're happy to announce the launch of the District Associations page <[link removed]> on the Green Party of PEI website! You can find this page under the "Get Involved" menu on the website.

Each District Association has its very own page including contact information, information about the district, and anything else it would like to share, such as events or volunteer opportunities. There are also Donation buttons at the top of each page that you can use to direct a donation to the district association!

Lots on the go in the District 21 & 23 Regional Association

Districts 21 & 23 RA members Bev Cornish, Debbie Graham, Sandra Hartt, David Voigt, Lynne Lund, Trish Altass & Laurie Tirone with leader Peter Bevan-Baker celebrate their first successful Regional Association fundraiser with a specially-made cake!A great example of what the District Associations are up to comes from Bev Cornish of the D21&23 Regional Association, who reports that firstfundraiser, a dinner held at Backwoods Burger in Tyne Valley on November 7th, was a huge, sold-out success!

Guest speakers included: President of the PEI Green Party, Martin Ruben, MLAs Trish Altass & Lynne Lund as well as Leader of the Opposition, Peter Bevan Baker. Lovely background music was provided by Geoff Charlton. Peter accompanied Geoff on a couple of tunes with his trumpet.

The event also served as the launch for the RA's ongoing raffle. Debbie Graham generously made and donated a beautiful Queen size quilt. Tickets are available from District 21 & 23 RA members. The quilt will be drawn for in December of 2020

The Regional Association is also planning to sing Christmas Carols this year! It has made arrangements to visit both Parkhill and Andres Lodge in Summerside on Wednesday, December 11that 6.30 P.M. and we would love to have you join them! If you are interested in attending, please contact Bev Cornish:[email protected] <mailto:[email protected]>.





Provincial Council Vacancy

Interested in holding a role on Provincial Council for an interim basis until the next AGM in the spring of 2020? The following positions are vacant:

-Charlottetown Representative
-Fundraising Chair

Contact the GPPEI President, Martin Ruben, at [email protected] to express interest or for more information.

Young Greens of PEI

If you're under the age of 35, be sure to sign-up for the Young Greens Newsletter <[link removed]> to keep in touch with all things Young Greens! 
The Young Greens of PEI are always looking for more volunteers, and love seeing new faces at events. Be sure to like their Facebook page <[link removed]> to keep in touch. Any inquiries can be made to [email protected].





Green Christmas Carols - Summerside, December 11th

Feel like singing? Join the D21 & 23 Regional Association in spreading good cheer around Summerside with some good ol'-fashioned Christmas carolling! Check out the Facebook event page here: [link removed]



An Experiment in Grassroots Policy Development - January 9 & 11, 2020

Policy wonk. Policy nerd. Policy meeting. Policy conference. Insurance policy. Discipline policy. Cancellation policy. Sorry, that’s against our policy.

Was there ever a word that telegraphed “warning: this is going to be deadly boring” as policy?

And yet, for the Green Party, policy is the wind beneath our wings, the raw material from which we develop a platform, and draft legislation.

Green Party of PEI members are invited to participate in this pilot event as we test out some policy idea generation techniques that we hope to include as part of our full grassroots policy development process in the spring!

More info and RSVP: www.greenparty.pe.ca/policypilot <[link removed]>

Remember to check back regularly on our Events Calendar <[link removed]>!



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