Meeting! Hello Kitchener–Conestoga Green Party members: The Annual General Meeting for the Kitchener-Conestoga federal Electoral District Association and provincial Constituency Assocation is happening!
What: Annual General Meeting of the Kitchener–Conestoga EDA and CA When: Thursday, 6 June 2019 from 7:00pm to 9:00pm Where: Kennedy’s Restaurant Location: 1750 Erbs Road, St. Agatha, Ontario Map
(RSVPs are optional, but will help with reservations)
Current Green Party members in KitCon can vote for, and run for positions on the Executive. Lapsed members (whose membership has expired recently) can renew their membership at the meeting.
These are the executive positions currently held:
Kitchener–Conestoga Green Party of Canada Association
Chief Executive Officer (Bob Jonkman)
Financial Agent (Bryan Izzard)
One or more Members-At-Large (Elisabeth Honek, Laurel Russwurm, Patrick McDonald)
Kitchener–Conestoga Green Party of Ontario Constituency Association
President (Elisabeth Honek)
Chief Financial Officer (Bryan Izzard)
One or more Principal Officers (Laurel Russwurm, David Weber)
Nominations will be made at the AGM; you can nominate yourself.
Mike Schreiner: “It’s time we started taking seriously our sacred responsibility to leave a livable planet for our children and grandchildren.”
On Wednesday February 20th, 2019, Mike Schreiner made history again when he introduced his first Private Member’s Bill in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario.
In the face of climate change, resource extraction and sprawl, Mike’s draft legislation seeks to protect the Paris Galt Moraine, an essential water ecologically sensitive recharge area in the Grand River Watershed which naturally purifies water for the citizens of Guelph and the surrounding area. Bill 71 would amend the province’s Planning Act and Development Charges Act to more strictly regulate development that could jeopardize the moraine’s integrity.
“This is about conserving what nature can do for free, so I cannot think of a more fiscally responsible solution. Failure to act could put the government on the hook for hundreds of millions in water infrastructure, like an expensive pipeline from the Great Lakes.”
—Mike Schreiner.
Mike wrote the draft legislation over a period of months where he consulted with water experts and Ontario stakeholders, including First Nations, municipalities, farmers and MPPs from all parties.
With this important legislation, Mike has demonstrated the Green Party’s core commitment to participatory democracy and consensus based governance by building all-party support, which resulted in the bill’s passage at Second Reading on March 7th, 2019. “I’m glad my colleagues unanimously showed their commitment to Ontario’s water today. Safeguarding water and food-growing farmland should not be partisan issues. Let this be a first step towards all-party collaboration to protect the places we love,” said Schreiner.
“I appealed to good progressive conservative thinking from the past. But it took four different bills over two years before the Oak Ridges Moraine was protected by legislation. With climate change on Ontario’s doorstep, and $1.2 billion in damage last year alone, we must act quicker. I look forward to working on this bill at committee, and this legislation returning to the House for a final vote.”
—Mike Schreiner, First Green legislation passes key vote with all-party support
I tabled the first ever Green legislation in Ontario history, a bill to protect the drinking water supply of nearly 200,000 people in the Guelph region.
And I did it with dozens of water defenders at my side.
It’s time we started taking seriously our sacred responsibility to leave a liveable planet for our children and grandchildren. The Paris Galt Moraine Conservation Act would protect our water from contamination, urban sprawl and reckless resource extraction.
And while the Premier has been threatening to poke holes in the Greenbelt, this legislation would grow the Greenbelt, conserving more farmland and wildlife habitat.
We face an uphill battle. Majority governments don’t pass many opposition bills. So I need your help to write to your MPP and sign my petition urging the government to #ProtectOurWater.
Tell your MPP you support the Paris Galt Moraine Conservation Act! Use the GPO’s handy letter writing tool at ProtectOurWater.cato find your MPP and send them an email.
Spend time with family and friends. Write a poem. Share the love. Have a glass of wine. See a movie. Get some rest. Take a walk. Listen to music. Hug a friend. Read a book.
Do whatever it is you need to do to relax and have a happy holiday!
Ontario’s new “Climate Policy” is passing the buck to us. As with the previous government, ordinary people are encouraged to renovate our homes and buy more fuel efficient cars. But now, the program subsidies that would help us do these things are gone. Even worse, our tax dollars will go into a fund to reward industries who pollute now.
So. People get no help to do our part. Instead, our tax dollars will go to fuel big businesses.
“We were promised a climate strategy, but were given a litter reduction plan.
If this is the government’s response to the dire warnings from the IPCC about the impending climate catastrophe, then they clearly were not listening.
Instead of showing leadership, the government is weakening Ontario’s previous targets and adopting an unproven carbon trust model that is unlikely to reduce emissions. The new Trudeau/Harper targets mean that we will fail to meet the goals set under Paris Climate Agreement.
More importantly we will not meet our obligations to leave a livable planet for our children and grandchildren.
Asking citizens to pay polluters and setting up burdensome new regulations will only cost more and delay action. These will do little to put Ontario on a pathway to being carbon neutral by 2050. Instead, they signal that Ontario is throwing in the towel.
And asking Ontarians to reduce litter in the face a climate crisis is like the US President asking Californians to rake leaves to prevent forest fires.
We should expect better. We must demand a real plan.
Pollution pricing is basic economics. But this government continues to ignore the consensus from scientists, experts and even conservative economists who agree on it. The Premier could embrace the $26 trillion clean economy and put money directly in people’s pockets by adopting the Green Party’s carbon fee and dividend solution.
At the end of the day, we will all pay the price for this irresponsible plan. But in the face of evidence and real solutions, this government has chosen to be on the wrong side of history.”
Although I have issues with the colonial origins of our “Thanksgiving” tradition, the idea of expressing public thanks for that for which we are truly thankful is a good one. It is especially easy to forget such things when so many negative things are ongoing, but to be able to continue to work for a sustainable workable future, it is important not to allow despair to prevail. We can draw strength from reminding ourselves that there is still plenty of good in the world, and by harnessing that good, we can build the future we need for our children, and generations to follow.
In 2018 Canada, I am thankful so many of us have come to understand the necessity of adopting a proportional representation voting system, in spite of Mr. Trudeaus’s attempt to shut the idea of a truly representative democracy back in the closet, as his predecessors have done throughout Canadian history.
So I am very thankful that, instead of allowing this to happen:
the Provinces of BC and PEI are holding electoral reform referenda
the Yukon Territory has undertaken a study of electoral reform
a new government has been elected in Quebec after all opposition parties made a public pact to enact Proportional Representation no matter which formed new government
Ontario struggles under an FPTP extremist government which strips its most populous city in the country of almost half its (already) inadequate municipal representation
New Brunswick again suffers an electoral outcome like that which triggered its previous electoral reform process
Alberta looks down the barrel at the prospect of right wing populism in its already toxic atmosphere of polarization
Canadian provinces are pitted against each other by the federal government
PEI political polling suggests the PEI Greens may form the first Green led government in Canada
As an Ontarian, I don’t care who’s first but we can’t afford not to change. Defenders Of The Status Quo fight so hard because once any jurisdiction in Canada adopts Proportional Representation and the sky doesn’t fall, the rest of us will be able to see with our own eyes that the myths they’ve frightened generations of Canadians with have always been pure misinformation. Once that happens, the rest of the country will fall into Proportional Representation like dominoes. We are surely at a Proportional Representation tipping point.
Even in the unlikely event PR is staved off a little longer, at least Canadians are beginning to understand that even with our existing grotesquely inequitable voting system, we need to stop being bullied into voting ‘strategically’ for lesser evils but instead vote for what we want.
I am thankful that all five Waterloo Region Greens ranked in the top 20% of Ontario Green Party candidates in the 2018 provincial election.
I am thankful that, in spite of staggering odds against, and in the face of the Broadcast Consortium’s exclusion from the Ontario Leadership debates, Mike Schreiner made history this year by winning election as our first Ontario Greens Member of Provincial Parliament.
Bravo Mike!
WRGreens are thankful for our estimable federal and provincial representatives: Mike Schreiner and Elizabeth May.
And so I would like to wish us all a Happy Thanksgiving from everyone at WRgreens!
This year we’re looking forward to having our very first Waterloo Region Greens information booth at KULTRÚN.
The local World Music festival created by Neruda Arts began in Waterloo Square but quickly outgrew the space so they moved to Victoria Park. Kultrún always has a stunning mix of great music from around the world. (That’s where I became a fan of the Jerry Cans last year). Victoria Park has room for two full size stages, one by the Clocktower and the other down by the water. This lets them squeeze in even more music, with stage crews setting up one stage while the music flows on the other. It also keeps the audience moving back and forth, handy for an event dubbed “KW’s largest outdoor dance party.”
Pictured on my mini poster are Eliana Cuevas from the 2014 Jazz Festival and Alysha Brilla performing at this year’s Multicultural Festival. If you haven’t yet been, here’s a taste of what’s in store for you this year:
Cannabis should never have been made illegal, but since it was, the Green Party supports good public policy to rectify the mistakes of the past.
GPO Leader Mike Schreiner talks about Cannabis in Kitchener
The Green Party is pleased that Canadians will soon be able to access marijuana openly and safely — free from the threat of being criminally charged.
However, many thousands of Canadians who previously smoked or possessed cannabis, but were caught by police, will remain criminals in the eyes of the law. A disproportionate number of racialized Canadians have been charged, and all those convicted face serious obstacles applying for jobs and travelling abroad.
Join us in demanding the Liberal government provide amnesty for all Canadians convicted solely on charges of marijuana possession.
Come out to Victoria Park in Kitchener next weekend and soak up a wide assortment of traditional music and dance,
Afro-Tribal Dancers * Arta- The Romanian Association * COCCC Lion Dance Group * Ensemble Topaz * Filcan Association Of KW * Freedubstar * Gerima Harvey * Grand River Chinese School * Hopa-Tropa, E-Ha-Ha! * Infinite Harmonix * Intensely Irish * Junior Folk Dance Team Of KW Chinese School * Kitchener Musical Band Society * Kw Royal Scottish Country Dance Society * Limelight Dance Crew * Maria Wu Music Education Centre * Martisor * Najda Now Dabke Group * Nepalese Canadian Association Of Waterloo Region * Notbadniks * Rozmaj Ukrainian Dancing * Ruben And Friends * Sakhi Group * Shreya Prasad And Fizaa Luthra * Sombrero Azul, Danzas Y Culturas * Sri Abiramy Dance Academy * Starlite Steelband * Strathyre Highland Dancers * The Imbayakunas * University Of Waterloo Indian Cultural Association (UWICA) * VJ Inamdar * Zespol Goralskie Harnasie
check out the artisans and awesome vendors
7 Rutas * African Craft & Jewelry * Anmol Fashion Inc * Asiri’s Treasures * Beads Plu$ Accessories (Gift Heaven) * Blue Dream- Tie Dye Girl * El Tambache * Fashionable Jewels * Feng’s Creations * Goodview Fashion * Haven Furnishings Ltd. * Henna By Mehdiya * Henna4You * J&T Shades * Jawara Import * Kamila’s Amber * K-W Flags * Los Mayas * Mama Mombasa * Maya Collection * Origins * Portrait For You * Sumak Arts * Tibetan Arts * Treasure Of Tibet
wander through information booths that run the gamut from the arts through philosophy, spirituality, self help, community service, politics and social justice
artist george abraham * City of Kitchener – 2018 Artist in Residence: Sumaira Tazeen * Sexual Assault Support Centre of Waterloo Region * Waterloo Central Railway * Amnesty International Group 9 * Assaulted Women’s Helpline * Bring on the Sunshine * Buddhist Light Internation Association – Waterloo Subchapter * Casa Relief International * Dianetics Foundation *Cameron Cultural Association of Kitchener-Waterloo(CCAKW) * Canadian Blood Services * Canadian Mental Health Association Waterloo Wellington * Carizon Family and Community Services * VRTUCAR * Community Support Connections – Meals on Wheels and More * Conestoga College LINC * Extend-A-Family Waterloo Region * FairVoteCanada -Waterloo Region * Interfaith Grand River * Kitchener Public Library * Kitchener-Waterloo Art Gallery * KW Chapter, Council of Canadians * KW Counselling Services * LINK Picnic Festival * Living Wage Waterloo Region * Lotus Meditation * Save on Energy (IESO) * Shatitsirotha Waterloo Indigenous Student Centre * Society of Ontario Freethinkers * Solidarity Alliance * SPECTRUM – Waterloo Region’s Rainbow Community Space * The AIDS Committee of Cambridge, Kitchener, Waterloo and Area ( ACCKWA) * The Spinal Garage Wellness Centre * Waterloo Public Library * YMCA * Kitchener Centre Conservative E.D.A. * Kitchener Centre Federal Liberal Association * Waterloo Region Green Party * BFM Foundation * Calvary en Espanol * Scientology Volunteer Minister * Christian Arabic Church of Kitchener * Evangel Community Ministries/ Bibles Blessings and Prayer * Falun Dafa Association of Waterloo Region * Gayatri Pariwar Western Ontario * Infinite Light Amitabha Organization of Canada * Islamic Information Center of University of Waterloo (IICUW) * St. Mary Our Lady of Sorrows Roman Catholic Church
and of course don’t forget to sample glorious food from around the world at the annual Multicultural Festival.
The Saturday Night concert features three time Juno nominated Canadian musician with Indo-Tanzanian and European roots. ALYSHA BRILLA & THE BRILLTONES
SATURDAY JUNE 23, 7PM
Sunday afternoon check out the folkie-country JESSIE T
