|
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 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
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).
Motion
39 - Prohibit Construction that could result in the release of
dangerous particulates in Schools with Children Present
(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 (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) (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
(Sponsored by Karla Bernard, MLA for District 12)
Motion
48 - Improving social assistance for Islanders in
need (Sponsored by Hannah Bell, MLA for District
11)
Motion
49 - Calling on Government to improve fiscal accountability
(Sponsored by Michele Beaton, MLA for District
5)
Motion
50 - Drug Treatment Courts (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 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: https://www.assembly.pe.ca/.
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, Twitter and
Instagram.
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 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
first fundraiser, 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 11th at 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].
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 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 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: https://www.facebook.com/events/2459575017632640/
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
Remember to check back regularly on
our Events Calendar!
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!
|
