Last week, friends, family and Green supporters gathered at the Wellington Gallery in Aurora to help me kick-off my bid to become the Green MP for Newmarket-Aurora.

It was fabulously successful and I am so grateful to everyone who came out to lend their support (both emotional and financial) to our cause.

The local press was present and there was a great article by Sean Pearce in the Era (and possibly the Banner?) yesterday.

The best part of the night, for me, was hearing that I had helped to restore people’s faith in politics and politicians, and that they now saw a tiny bit of light at the end of the tunnel. I couldn’t wish for greater praise than that.

We’ll post the video as soon as it is edited. Until then, here’s the original text of my speech (minus the laughing, crying, and ad libbing!). Hopefully, it resonates with you as well.

“Let me start by thanking you for joining us here tonight. I feel so blessed to be surrounded by wonderful friends, family and supporters. Thank you to Emil for allowing us to use this beautiful space. And thank you to Adriane Carr and Georges Laraque for lending their support to our local group and my Candidacy. I’ve been joking with friends the last few days that this is my ‘coming out’ party. For the last several months I’ve felt like a stealth candidate. I’ve been developing strategy and quietly making connections in the community and learning what issues are important to the people of Newmarket and Aurora. So this is my debut. One of my clients suggested I wear a white dress but I thought that might be going a little too far. I’ll save that for my wedding.

Speaking of which, I have to thank my fiancé Jordon Davidson for his incredible support and ability to help me find balance. Thank you sweetheart.

Tonight I wanted to answer a couple of questions that I frequently get asked.

The first is ‘Why do I support the Green Party?’: I’ll tell you straight out. It’s Green Values. The Green Party is not just Canadian, it is a global network of people who share a common set of values. Social Justice, Ecological Wisdom, Sustainability, Non-violence, Respect for Diversity, and Participatory Democracy. Every decision, every policy that the Greens put forward is based on these six values. It keeps things simple and it makes it easy to answer questions. If I can speak from these values, then my answer will be authentic and true.

The second question is ‘Why am I running?’: The answer is simple. I care about what happens to humanity. I care deeply about what happens to Jordon’s children and my nephew after I am gone. I care about the quality of life that their grandchildren will have. I want them to be able to drink the water, eat the food, and breathe the air. I want that for them. Like you, I care about my family.

And I care about the global family of humanity. I believe that when we throw our trash ‘away’ we are simply making it someone else’s problem.

When we exploit other areas of the globe to feed our consumption, I believe that we are not only harming our global family, but we are harming ourselves.

When we act in anger, or talk about hate, I believe that we harm ourselves a great deal. One of the six Green Party values is non-violence and I believe that we need to look at the harm that we do to ourselves, as well as to others.

That is why I am running. I want people to have something, and someone, to vote for, and not just to vote against.

This has been an exciting year and I have learned a lot about what it means to be the candidate for the Green Party. I have met fantastic people who are working to build community in this area and to get people engaged. And it has been a privilege to help them as much as I could. And I would like to thank them.

The first person is Liz Jefferson. Starting with indignation at the Harper government’s arrogance in proroguing for a third time, Liz has since created a group called Citizens Engaging Democracy that is dedicated to getting us involved. One of the major successes this year was the inauguration of a Fair Vote chapter for York Region.

The second person is Sue McKee. Seeing the changes that are coming and wanting to be proactive, Sue started a Transition Town group for York Region. The goal is to create local, resilient communities and economies so that people can live, learn, work and play in their own community. It is challenging, exciting and fun work and I am grateful to Sue for the work that she has been doing.

A year ago I did not know either of these women and now I don’t like to imagine my life without them. And though I like to think that I would have joined these groups and taken the steps to get involved without being the Candidate, doubt remains in me.

I think that I needed to make a commitment.

I needed to commit to being the Green Candidate and doing the best job that I could.

I needed to commit to building community and reaching out to people in every way that I could.

I needed to commit. And I have. I have committed to being the best Green Party Candidate and serving you as best I can. I have made that commitment. And I want you to hold me to it.

And I want you to make a commitment as well. That is what tonight is about. If we want to build a strong Green presence in Newmarket-Aurora we need your support.

We need your commitment to get involved. To stay involved even when it is hard. Even when you want to turn away from the harm that is being done to our country, to our community and to our families.

I challenge you to stand up and be counted. To engage with democracy in your community and in your country. We need to change the system so that every vote counts, so that every one is represented.

If we had a fair voting system we would have Conservative MPs from Toronto, Liberal MPs from Alberta and a beautiful Green caucus in the House of Commons.

This is our democracy. This is our country. And it is time to commit to taking it back.

Please lend us your support tonight as we work to build the very best campaign that we can. Thank you very much, again, for your support and your faith in me.”

It took me five hours to read the motions, read the discussions, and cast my votes. If you’d like to shorten the process for yourself, and if you trust me, then I am happy to provide you with how I voted, and where I think it is important, my reasons for doing so.

This has been an eye-opening process, I think it is the first time I have ever taken the time to really look at the motions being put forward and by whom. The Green Party is a continually evolving organization, and as with any such process, there are always groups that envision the evolution proceeding in different directions.

I still believe the the GPC is the only place to be, and the only place to put my vote, and I further believe that our exhaustive policy formation process, from the grassroots, gives ordinary members an extraordinary ability to participate in the Party evolution.

I’m sure that I’ve offended just about everyone with at least one of my choices, but in the interests of transparency and accountability I remain willing to be called out on them, and to defend them, or to have my mind changed. I look forward to seeing you at the Convention, on the floor and in the workshops.

If you are not currently a GPC member, and are wondering what on earth I am talking about, you have until July 22nd to become a member, research, and vote on these issues yourself.

Here is the list, starting with Policy Motions:
p02 – Green
p24 – Red
p26 – Green
p27 – Green
p29 – Green
p12 – Red
p13 – Green
p14 – Yellow
p20 – Green
p28 – Green
p15 – Green
p16 – Green
p17 – Yellow
p18 – Yellow
p34 – Yellow
p04 – Green
p08 – Green
p10 – Yellow
p11 – Yellow
p19 – Yellow
p21 – Green
p25 – Red
p31 – Green
p32 – Green
p33 – Yellow
p07 – Green
p09 – Yellow
p22 – Yellow
p23 – Yellow
p30 – Green

Constitution Motions
c01 – Black
c09 – Green
c10 – Black
c11 – Red
c13 – Yellow
c25 – Red
c02 – Green
c03 – Green
c05 – Green
c24 – Yellow
c26 – Yellow
c27 – Yellow
c28 – Green
c12 – Green
c29 – Yellow
c30 – Green

c14 – Green
c15 – Yellow
c16 – Red
c17 – Yellow
c18 – Yellow
c19 – Yellow
c20 – Yellow
c21 – Red
c22 – Red
c23 – Red

To be clear, I have serious issues with this group of Resolutions pertaining to EDAs (c14-c23). Beyond the rather pathetic flaw wherein they refer to EDAs as Riding Associations, and head office as ‘the Party’ (an issue I’ve already taken up with them in the context of their pithy preambles…), these seemingly reasonable motions have the cumulative effect of removing all independence from the EDAs and placing it in the hands of the central office, which, in my experience to date, has been incapable of organizing themselves effectively and should certainly not be put in charge of the entire EDA function as well. As an example, c15 mandates that the selection of candidates will be entirely prescribed by head office, and c16 that every EDA must adopt the Constitution provided by the central Party and that any proposed amendments must be approved by central Party through an undefined process. C14 through c21 would be damaging enough on their own but when combined with c22 and c23, two resolutions which allow central Party to negate the RSA or to completely deregister an EDA for noncompliance, they are unacceptable and need to be defeated. I get that we need to have a reasonable standard of compliance across our EDAs, but these heavy-handed, poorly thought out, and incredibly arrogant motions are not the way to do it. As an example, our EDA could be deregistered if we do not have an ‘acceptable’ Constitution on file with Head Office – with no redress. What if Head Office lost our Constitution? What if we disagreed? What if we simply wanted to keep the Constitution we already have? We would have no choice, and would lose our right to exist, simply because someone (and this is not defined either, by the way) said so. This is incredibly distressing to me.

c04 – Yellow
c07 – Red
c08 – Yellow

Directives
d02 – Black
d11 – Red
d10 – Yellow
d13 – Yellow
d01 – Green
d05 – Red
d09 – Green
d12 – Red
d14 – Red
d03 – Green
d04 – Yellow
d06 – Red
d07 – Green
d08 – Red

bahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!

No really. Thanks to Huffington Post for giving me a great chuckle on this Wednesday afternoon of Bottled Water Week.

The Bottled Water Matters Report video purports to be journalism but is nothing more than a long-form ad for Bottled Water Manufacturers (BWM). Get it! Oh I love their sneakiness.

Whether it is the soft-ball questions and acquiescent head nodding served up in a style that, unfortunately, reminds me of the recent Google PM interview, or the assertions that plastic bottles can be recycled into medical equipment, beverage containers, or… plastic water bottles this video delivers beautiful nature scenes and enough sweetness to make one gag.

If you want to know about bottled water, check out Tapped or Annie Leonard’s new video. Or you can read a book, try Bottlemania or Blue Gold: The Battle Against Corporate Theft of World’s Water by our very own Maude Barlow.

I am so impressed by Liz McLellan’s efforts to build a community of yard-sharers and her website Hyperlocavore. The general idea is that if a locavore focuses on food grown within 100 miles than a hyperlocavore focuses on food grown with 100 yards. I just had to make sure I preserved this link where I could find it.

It is a great initiative and I totally think we should get something like this going in Newmarket and Aurora. Maybe through the York Region Food Network (YRFN) who already takes care of the food bank and community gardens. Or we could, y’know, just do it up grassroots-style.

I’ll be having my groundbreaking garden-planting party sometime in May. Join my Facebook page if you’d like an invite. Until then, stay warm and dream of fresh, local produce with these yummy titles:
The Edible Garden
Food Inc.
The Omnivore’s Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals
Gaia’s Garden: A Guide To Home-Scale Permaculture
Locavore
Just Food: Where Locavores Get It Wrong and How We Can Truly Eat Responsibly
The Locavore Way: Discover and Enjoy the Pleasures of Locally Grown Food

Thanks to Treehugger for posting the new Annie Leonard video in honour of World Water Day 2010 – The Story of Bottled Water.

Well worth the watching, it lays out the product cycle for water bottles and the idea of Manufactured Demand. Of course, the site seems to be down right now (could it have crashed from too much traffic?), but I’m sure it will be back up soon.

Thanks to Carter for sharing this link with me. Tyler Hamilton at CleanBreak.ca discusses a couple of solar co-ops that are popping up around southern Ontario.

One is Countryside, partnering with ARISE Technologies to start photovoltaic (PV) projects on commercial/industrial rooftops. People who are interested in participating in PV but do not have adequate sites can buy shares in the projects and participate in revenues from the Ontario Power Authority’s (OPA) feed-in tariff program.

Another, on a much smaller scale is the Neighbourhood Unitarian Universalist (NUU) congregation in Toronto installing a PV system on their church roof. Again, they are selling shares.

I think I’ve already mentioned that I have a wee crush on Cathy MacLellan, one of the partners of ARISE (she started it with her husband after they graduated from Waterloo). She is also the Green Party of Canada candidate for K/W and a totally inspiring entrepreneur.

I also happen to love the UUs, my church of choice and one I would love to see in Aurora and/or Newmarket. Social justice is one of their core principles, just as it is for the Green Party.

As for the province’s feed-in tariff program – the Liberals almost got it right. If they can overcome their issues with back-end red tape it could be a really great program and encourage small-scale renewable energy projects all over the province – including here at home.

Anybody feel like starting an energy co-op in Newmarket? Count me in.

Over at The Long View I’m reviewing Tomorrow’s God by Neale Donald Walsch and I’ve just finished the section on ‘saving the Earth’ and becoming stewards. And it really resonated with me – this idea of stewardship.

After attending the GPC Economic Summit this weekend – and having that idea of stewardship percolate through my mind – I’m more convinced than ever that Greens are Stewards.

As NDW puts it, we must be stewards of the Truth, of Each Other, and of our Home (153). And I think Green philosophy matches those ideas very well.

Are we facing a spiritual crisis? I think so. I think we, as a civilization, adopted a belief that some people are worth more than others, that the Other is disposable. And when we made that decision, when we convinced ourselves that some people were worth more than others, that some species were worth more than others – well, when we realize that we are all One – ultimately, we too became disposable.

And I think it is time to change this belief. We are all One. And we are precious. What I do to you I do to myself. And what we do to our Home, we do to ourselves.

It’s nice to be back. After leaving the blogosphere in 2008 (very long story) it turns out that this is where I belong and with a new education and critical perspective (yes, I do mean it *that* way) I am ready to re-engage with the farce that is Canadian democracy these days.

Oh. And I’m the new Green Party of Canada candidate for Newmarket-Aurora.

So let’s see how much trouble I can get in to before the next election.

Thanks to everyone for showing their faith in nominating me. I’ll be doing my best to make it interesting and not let you down.

Canada has twice been awarded the daily Fossil award by the Climate Action Network this week in Bali.

Understandable. Our government has embarrassed us in front of the world with their false concern about climate change. From one side they speak of Canada’s commitments while from the other they work to sabotage the attempts by the rest of the world to actually do something. To do something now. Before 2020. Before the next election cycle. Our national short-sightedness is disheartening, to say the least.

Here is a link to sign a petition specifically for Harper and newspapers across Canada. Please sign and add your name to the (hopefully) huge list of people in Canada who actually care about our global reputation, not to mention the relatively minor issue of the catastrophic damage being caused by climate change.

I am stunned that people still vote conservative.

But I guess what really upsets me most is what the conservative position says about the character of Canadians. Are we really a nation that gives up so easily? My understanding is that when the Harper government took power they were faced with a difficult decision on what to do about Kyoto. After years of neglect by the Liberal governments – who pretended to care while doing basically nothing – it looked almost impossible for Canada to meet its commitments under the Kyoto agreement. I appreciate that.

But instead of saying “Gee, Canada’s international reputation is on the line – we had better buckle down and do some pretty amazing things here to do the best we can to meet our national commitments. But it’s okay, we know that Canadians are totally amazing and we can come together as a country and do what needs to be done.”

They said, “Gee, Canada’s international reputation is on the line – we had better back out of a legally binding agreement and postpone taking any action until long after our government’s term will be over. That way we won’t have to do anything and we’ll be able to blame it on the Liberals.”

Shame on them. And shame on us for letting them get away with it.

I believe that Canadians can do amazing things and that we can help lead the world – but we certainly won’t with the government we have now.

It is time for a different type of politics.

A few more sites of interest:

David Suzuki (the Nature of Things) calls the government’s spin on climate change “humiliating” and “ludicrous”.

The former editor-in-chief of CBC news discusses the damage done by Canada’s climate policy to our international reputation.

This is a report from CTV on Canada’s performance (or lack of) at the conference so far.

The Fossil of the Day Award site.

GAB got me thinking about the idea of a national vision and how we don’t seem to have one, or at least not one that has captured my fancy.

What is a Vision? Here is one answer from Susan Ward at About.com, adapted for politics:

“What you are doing when creating a vision statement is articulating your dreams and hopes for your country. It reminds you of what you are trying to build.

While a vision statement doesn’t tell you how you’re going to get there, it does set the direction for your planning. That’s why it’s important when crafting a vision statement to let your imagination go and dare to dream – and why it’s important that a vision statement captures your passion.”

I have a personal Vision Statement and it has created the space for me to go back to school with the aim of heading off to Law School. One year ago, I didn’t know what I wanted to do and if I had not sat down and thought very hard, brainstormed very creatively and dreamed a little I would still be slogging away, my life much the same, sinking slowly ever deeper in debt and knowing that something was amiss but not knowing what it was.

My Vision has wrought massive change in my life, I am moving in a month, I’ve gone back to school, and I’ve had to re-evaluate my volunteer commitments.

The point is that creating and believing in a Vision creates massive change but it acts as a support and guiding light to inspire you forward. The change becomes empowering instead of frightening.

I too wonder when we will see a politician of great vision in this country. One who can give the rest of us something better to aim for than ‘resource whore’.

The Green Party has Vision 2020:

The Green Party holds a positive Vision of Canada, now and into the future.

We will strive to support a society where the pressure to make a living does not crowd out having a life; where having more does not supplant being more.

In our Green Vision, Canadians enjoy a higher quality of life, experiencing health and wellness, education and meaningful work, prosperity and economic success supported by ecological health.

In our vision of Canada, ability or disability, economic, racial, or cultural backgrounds do not preclude individuals from contributing to and benefiting from a prosperous Canada.

Canadian communities – urban and rural – thrive in our Green Vision, including communities dependent on fisheries, forestry and agriculture.

Canada plays a positive role in the world, working cooperatively with governments, North and South, to ensure equity, global security and peace.”

While I buy into the Green Part Vision, it seems a little long to me. I’d like to see a one-sentence Vision Statement, something short and snappy. Personally, I vote for Bhutan’s Gross National Happiness.