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New Brunswick Green Party Leader David Coon is asked about MP Jenica Atwin joining the Federal Liberal Party!!!
Posted by Charles Leblanc at 11:12 am No comments :
Thursday, 10 June 2021
Fredericton MP Jenica Atwin joins the Liberal Federal Party!!!!!
Posted by Charles Leblanc at 2:46 pm No comments :
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/new-federal-green-candidate-fredericton-1.6117741
Fredericton Greens back in the fight for progressive voters
Nicole O'Byrne will try to win riding back after former Green MP Jenica Atwin defected to Liberals
The federal Greens now have their standard-bearer in an increasingly perilous battle to win over left-leaning New Brunswick voters heading into a likely national election.
The party has nominated law professor Nicole O'Byrne as the candidate it hopes can hold onto Fredericton, the one federal riding east of Vancouver Island that the party managed to win last time.
That makes the race in the capital the focus of an age-old political tug-of-war.
The party's winning candidate from 2019, Jenica Atwin, is now a Liberal who is arguing that being part of a governing team is the best way for her, and the riding, to benefit from federal spending and decisions.
"I want to be able to deliver. I want things to move forward. I want us to be able to see the change that we need," Atwin said in a recent town hall with constituents.
"I really think that the decision I made was in the best interests of our riding."
Atwin announced in June that she was leaving the federal Green Party. (Guy LeBlanc/Radio-Canada)
But Green Party members say while Atwin may bring short-term benefits to the city and the province, most people who supported her last time will stick with the Greens.
"In terms of the money being splashed around Fredericton, I'd love to see more of it," said university researcher Susan O'Donnell, who attended Monday's Green launch for O'Byrne.
"I mean, why not take the chance while we have it to get more money coming into the city and the province?"
But, she added, "whether that's going to actually sway people when it comes to a potential election, I think Greens are really focused on the climate crisis and they know who stands for that."
O'Byrne said the climate issue, and her commitment to be a solid constituency representative, will help local Greens get past the damage from the nasty internal leadership battle in Ottawa that drove Atwin out of the party.
"One person coming or going is not going to affect that voice that we have in Fredericton."
Also struggling to grab some of that loose left-wing support is the NDP, which has failed to elect an MP anywhere in New Brunswick since 2011 and a provincial MLA since 2003.
Chris
Thompson, the interim provincial NDP leader, said New Democrats can't
sit around and hope for votes because of whatever the other parties are
going through. 'You have to actually go out and win those, and knock on
doors, and talk to people.” (Twitter.com)
Interim provincial leader Chris Thompson said the problems facing the federal Greens could help the federal NDP in New Brunswick, but it's not guaranteed.
"Opportunity is only what you make of it," he said.
"We can't sit around and say 'The Liberals might flounder, the Greens are going through some troubles, so we're going to get a whole bunch of votes.' You have to actually go out and win those, and knock on doors, and talk to people."
The federal party's prospects are linked to its provincial profile, and at that level the NDP is facing challenges.
NDP challenges
All but one of the four people who'd been planning to run for the provincial leadership have dropped out or been disqualified, and the fourth and final candidate has yet to clear the threshold to be deemed eligible to run.
"They're completely disorganized," says Jen Smith, one of those disqualified by a party committee. "They have turnover rate comparable to a fast-food restaurant."
Thompson said nine different party caucuses made up of volunteers are working on a set of provincial policies that he eill get the attention of progressive voters.
"We'll be able to offer the province something no one else is offering."
Federally, Thompson said, NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh is going to have to pay more attention to Atlantic Canada than he did in 2019 if he wants a crack at gaining support.
The Liberals are arguing they're the pragmatic choice for progressive voters because they've set out ambitious targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and are the only party with a chance of being in power to implement them.
Deputy
Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland said last week that the federal
government would introduce new measures to push the New Brunswick
government to fund Clinic 554, an abortion clinic in Fredericton. (Mikael Mayer/Radio-Canada)
Last week, Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland visited Fredericton, demonstrating that Atwin has access to key decision-makers.
Freeland also hinted that the federal government will make a major announcement "in the coming days" on the funding of abortions at Fredericton's Clinic 554, a key issue for Green and NDP supporters.
O'Byrne said it's yet another example in a long history of Liberals trying to woo left-wing voters during elections and then falling short when in government.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau vowed in the 2019 campaign to "ensure" the New Brunswick government funded abortions at Clinic 554, but so far has only penalized the province by withholding $140,000 in federal health transfer payments.
"I guess you can wait until the clinic's closed to say that you support it," O'Byrne said Monday.
Jenica seems to think that this is all about her. It's not.Susan O'Donnell
"Where've they been? … They let it all come to a crisis point. They didn't enforce the Canada Health Act in any meaningful or effective way, and it's a little precious, frankly, for them to come right now, as we all wait for another federal election, to say that they support it."
O'Donnell said it will take more than Atwin's defection to shift left-wing voters behind the Liberals.
"Jenica seems to think that this is all about her. It's not. It's about a party and it's about a certain type of politics and a certain type of orientation," she said.
"Anyone who understands that this is about principles and what we're trying to do with the economy and the environment understands that the Liberals don't offer what we want."
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/jenica-atwin-green-party-fredericton-1.6112102
Atwin defends defection during mostly cordial virtual town hall
Fredericton MP fields questions from public for first time since ditching Green Party
It was the first time Atwin fielded questions from the public since her stunning jump in early June, a move that upset many Green supporters in the city.
"I have seen your anger, sadness and frustration, but I've also seen the words of support and encouragement that have come my way," she said.
Atwin said emotions ran so strong in the aftermath of her announcement that she stepped back from social media in the weeks following.
"It was a conscious decision to stop engaging on those platforms while it was such a vacuum for hate and vitriol," she said.
"It would probably shock you to know some of the things that came our way," she said, referring to misogyny and threats of physical violence against her and her staff. "We really chose as a team to shut things down."
In contrast, Wednesday's one-hour meeting was a civil discussion, with a range of questions both easy and more challenging. One participant asked where her new seat is located in the House of Commons. Another asked if Liberal climate targets are strong enough.
But several others, including many submitted in a live chat that went unasked, were about her June 10 decision to leave the Greens, dropping the party from three MPs to two.
Atwin said "it would not be in good faith" for her to talk about the internal crisis in the party that led to her departure.
But in response to one question, she revealed that she considered sitting as an independent MP rather than joining the Liberals.
Fredericton
MP Jenica Atwin's defection in June was considered a huge setback for
the Green Party, as Atwin represented its only seat in Atlantic Canada. (Guy LeBlanc/Radio-Canada)
"I thought about this from a thousand, million different angles, and going independent was something that I thought about," she said.
"But really it was about Fredericton. I want to be able to deliver. I want things to move forward … and I don't think I would be able to do that as an independent voice. I want a team. I'm a team player."
Atwin took part in a federal government announcement in Fredericton this week and said during the town hall that another one, related to health care, is coming in the next few days. A federal election call is widely expected by the fall.
Views on key issues haven't changed: Atwin
About 40 people took part in the Zoom call, and participants had to register in advance. One of Atwin's office staff chose which questions to read from those submitted in advance and in a live chat during the meeting.
It wasn't clear if anyone trying to register had been screened from taking part, but at least one prominent Green supporter, Fredericton riding association president David Kersey, was listed on the call.
...I have great disdain for any member of any party that crosses the floor.
- Ken Howe, town hall participant
"Jenica, I am going to be very honest here and say I have great disdain for any member of any party that crosses the floor," one participant, Ken Howe, said in a comment in the chat window that wasn't read out loud.
"They are not [being] responsive to their riding's wishes and should be declared independent and they can run under their new colours in the next election."
Oromocto resident Mila MacLeod posted several questions, including one that Atwin fielded about whether some constituents' votes had been wasted because of her defection.
Atwin said she hasn't changed her views on key issues and urged constituents who want electoral reform — which Prime Minister Justin Trudeau promised in 2015 and then abandoned, and which the Greens support — to keep pushing the issue.
She said Liberal officials have told her she can vote against legislation she opposes on principle.
But being in the government caucus, she said, means she can do "a lot of that groundwork ahead of time to ensure Fredericton is adequately represented. ... But in the end, if it's not, absolutely, I can vote against a government motion or legislation."
MacLeod told CBC News after the meeting she wasn't a Green or Liberal supporter in the 2019 election and was disappointed by which questions were chosen and in the answers.
"I don't think it was a town hall," she said. "They didn't get to anything really challenging."
https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/paul-noah-greens-israel-staff-change-1.6059541
Fallout from Greens' feud continues as party opts not to renew top adviser's contract
Israel, Palestine issue 'has demonstrated the differences of opinion' within the party: Paul
The fallout from internal feuds in the Green party continues amid accusations of intolerance and strong-arm tactics against some members.
Two Green party sources, who spoke to The Canadian Press on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal matters, confirmed that the executive committee voted Friday not to renew the contract of a senior adviser to party leader Annamie Paul when it expires next month.
The adviser, Noah Zatzman, had expressed solidarity with Israel in a May 14 social media post that accused many politicians — including unspecified Green MPs — of discrimination and antisemitism, sparking a letter-writing campaign calling for his removal.
Separately, two party executives recently announced they would step down early — including John Kidder, a vice-president on the party's governing body and husband to MP and former leader Elizabeth May.
The resignations open up space for a slate of new candidates for executive positions in a party that has experienced growing pains and power struggles over the past couple years.
Zatzman, who declined to comment, has worked with Paul since last July and remains on board as an adviser to the leader. His six-month contract, slated to expire on July 4 and obtained by The Canadian Press, stipulates that the party will pay Zatzman a fee for time worked beyond 100 hours per month.
Fresh fissures opened after Green MP Jenica Atwin directly challenged Paul's position on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. Her tweet followed one a day earlier by Green MP Paul Manly, who said the planned removal of Palestinian families from the East Jerusalem neighbourhood of Sheikh Jarrah "is ethnic cleansing."
Zatzman responded with a Facebook post stating that Greens "will work to defeat you and bring in progressive climate champions who are antifa and pro LGBT and pro indigenous sovereignty and Zionists!!!!!"
A 'difference of opinion': Paul
Atwin has previously declined requests for comment, while Manly rejected the notion that policy criticism amounts to cultural hostility.
On Saturday, the Greens' Quebec wing released a statement saying that as long as Zatzman remained in place and was declining to apologize, it would be "difficult ... to fully collaborate with Ms. Paul and her staff."
"The GPC (Green Party of Canada) leaders' silence and inaction for the past three weeks now has shocked party members and supporters from coast to coast and called into question her ability to lead the Green party," the Quebec chapter's board said.
As of Tuesday, there were about 1,400 signatures on a letter to Paul demanding Zatzman's removal from his post.
The Green party did not respond Tuesday to requests for comment.
At a recent press conference, Paul declined to answer a question on her party's shifting executive roster, saying the event was intended to discuss the recent attack against a Muslim-Canadian family in London, Ont.
"There are differences of opinion that come up naturally within parties. And certainly, Israel and Palestine is one that has demonstrated the differences of opinion," she told reporters last week in response to questions about whether there is antisemitism in her party.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/jenica-atwin-reaction-liberals-green-party-1.6061202
Provincial Green leader 'profoundly disappointed' in Jenica Atwin joining federal Liberals
Atwin announced Thursday she is switching parties
New Brunswick's Green Party leader has expressed disappointment with Fredericton MP Jenica Atwin's decision to switch to the Liberals.
"I know Jenica felt abandoned by her leader in Ottawa, and this was a source of unbearable stress for her," David Coon said in a statement Thursday, referring to federal Green Party Leader Annamie Paul.
"I am profoundly disappointed that she decided her only option was to cross the floor, after the voters of Fredericton and Oromocto had elected her as a Green, to be the kind of strong and independent voice in Ottawa that the Green Party encourages."
Coon said he doubts Atwin will find a home with the Liberal party, making a link to former Liberal MPs Jody Wilson-Raybould and Celina Caesar-Chavannes, who quit the party to sit as independents.
Atlantic breakthrough
Atwin's win had been a breakthrough for the federal party in Atlantic Canada, securing a seat held by incumbent Liberal Matt DeCourcey for four years. It followed earlier breakthroughs by the provincial party. Coon secured his party's first seat in the Fredericton region in 2014, growing the party's seat count to three in 2018.
Atwin celebrated with Coon at the provincial party's election night headquarters in Fredericton in the 2020 New Brunswick election.
Jenica Atwin celebrated with the provincial Green Party as
the results of the 2020 provincial election results were announced.
(Hadeel Ibrahim/CBC )
DeCourcey told CBC News on Thursday he had been considering another run for the Liberals.
"You know, things didn't happen the way that I had expected," DeCourcey said when asked about Atwin moving to the Liberals.
"But I think it's a good thing for this community to have a member of parliament sitting in the Liberal caucus. And, as I said a few times already, this community is better off today than it was yesterday."
Atwin announced her decision at a news conference Thursday afternoon alongside Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Dominic LeBlanc.
WATCH: MP Jenica Atwin leaves Greens to join Liberals
She said recent party infighting over issues like the Israel-Palestine conflict were a distraction from issues that matter most to her constituents.
Erin Crandall, an associate professor of political science at Acadia University, said Atwin's announcement was a surprise, though it was clear there were internal issues with the party.
She said the party has been one either on the cusp of breakthrough or collapse.
She said after long-time party leader Elizabeth May stepped aside as leader, people were waiting to see where the party would go.
"This would indicate that that transition and leadership is struggling right now," Crandall said.
"This doesn't mean that in the next election, the Green Party won't be able to perform well. But it does suggest at this moment that there is a lot of internal strife that could make the Green Party's progress moving forward more difficult."
The federal party expressed disappointment in a news release, saying that Fredericton constituents had chosen a Green Party MP and deserve to be able to make a choice again soon on who represents them.
116 Comments
Commenting is now closed for this story.
David Amos
Methinks
the news of the local Green Party leader's "profound disappointment"
gave Higgy his first chuckle this month N'esy Pas?
Liberals convene antisemitism summit amid concerns over new MP’s views on Israel
OTTAWA — The Trudeau government announced Friday that it will convene an emergency summit on antisemitism, even as it faced criticism for welcoming into the Liberal fold an MP who has denounced Israel as an apartheid state.
The summit is to be led by former Liberal MP Irwin Cotler, currently Canada's special envoy on antisemitism.
The Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs has been calling for an emergency summit, citing a "troubling rise of anti-Jewish bigotry" in Canada following the latest Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
“Jews in Canada and around the globe are being targeted for their identity and for expressing solidarity with their fellow Jews in Israel who were under attack from Hamas, a listed terrorist organization," the centre's president, Shimon Koffler Fogel, said in a statement Friday welcoming the summit.
"We have witnessed antisemitism targeting Jewish owned businesses, in schools, in workplaces, in unions, and on our streets. Moreover, we have seen an unprecedented spike in antisemitic vitriol expressed online."
Conservatives — and even some Liberals — believe that Fredericton MP Jenica Atwin has contributed to that vitriol.
Atwin defected Thursday from the Green party to join the Liberals, who faced questions Friday about why she's been welcomed into the governing party's ranks.
Atwin last month criticized Green Leader Annamie Paul's call for de-escalation of the recent deadly hostilities between Israel and Palestinians and a return to dialogue between the two sides.
On Twitter, Atwin argued that there are "no two sides to this conflict, only human rights abuses" by Israel.
"I stand with Palestine and condemn the unthinkable airstrikes in Gaza. End Apartheid!" she tweeted.
Canada committed $25 million in aid to Palestinian civilians following the recent conflict, which left at least 230 Palestinians dead — including 65 children — and killed 12 Israelis.
Atwin did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Friday.
On Thursday, she said the rift in the Green party over the Mideast conflict had played a role in her decision to leave.
"It has been really difficult to focus on the work that needs to be done on behalf of my constituents,'' she said.
Former Liberal MP Michael Levitt, now president of the Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Centre, took to Twitter on Friday to say he's "disappointed and concerned" that Atwin has joined the Liberals, "given her inflammatory, one-sided and divisive rhetoric during the recent conflict between Israel and the terror group Hamas."
Liberal MP Anthony Housefather also expressed concerns.
"I clearly disagree with her comments on Israel and I was pleased to see that the Minister of Global Affairs made clear in question period that this is absolutely contrary to the position of our Government," Housefather said in an email.
Earlier Friday, Foreign Affairs Minister Marc Garneau essentially disavowed Atwin's stance.
"I will simply say that the position of the Liberal government is extremely clear on the question of the apartheid label. We reject it, categorically," Garneau told the House of Commons.
"It is not part of our approach with respect to Israel or the Jewish community. We, of course, are completely against any antisemitism that would be displayed by any Canadian citizen."
Garneau was responding to questions from Conservative MP Peter Kent, who argued that MPs should try to calm, "not inflame inter-communal discord and discrimination."
"Why then have the Liberals welcomed a floor-crossing MP, disciplined by her own former party for inflammatory, misguided and intermperate remarks against Israel?"
In a statement, Conservative MPs Marty Morantz and Pierre Paul-Hus suggested Atwin will be right at home in the Liberal party, which they accused of harbouring a number of "anti-Israel" MPs.
“If you aren’t concerned about addressing hate and aren’t in favour of Israel’s right to exist then you have three parties to choose from," Morantz said.
"If you are, there is only one choice, Erin O’Toole and the Conservative Party of Canada. Canada’s Conservatives will always stand with the people of Israel, and the democratically elected Israeli government that we are proud to call our friend and ally.”
Dominic LeBlanc, the intergovernmental affairs minister and a New Brunswick MP, said on Thursday the Liberal party welcomes divergent opinions, even when it comes to Israel.
"In the Liberal caucus, there is enormous room for differences of opinion,'' he said. "Our caucus discussions will be that much richer.''
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau also issued a brief statement Thursday noting Atwin's "tireless and effective advocacy on priorities like climate action, mental health, reconciliation, and making life more affordable for families.''
All parties, meanwhile, gave unanimous consent Friday to an NDP motion calling on the government to host an emergency summit on Islamophobia in response to Sunday's deadly attack against a Muslim family in London, Ont.
Conservative Leader Erin O'Toole tweeted his support for the motion, drawing some critical responses noting that he and his party voted against a Liberal motion in 2017 condemning Islamophobia.
A spokesperson for Diversity and Inclusion Minister Bardish Chagger confirmed that both the antisemitism and Islamophobia summits will be held this summer.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 11, 2021.
Joan Bryden, The Canadian Press
https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/jenica-atwin-joining-the-liberals-1.6060501
Green MP Jenica Atwin crossing the floor to join the Liberals
A senior Liberal source said Atwin initiated the floor-crossing several weeks ago
Fredericton MP Jenica Atwin is poised to bolt from the Green party caucus today and cross the floor to join the governing Liberals, CBC News has learned.
Atwin is expected to make the announcement at a news conference in Fredericton later today, with Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Dominic Leblanc by her side.
A senior Liberal source said Atwin initiated the floor-crossing several weeks ago when she reached out to the governing party.
The source said Atwin expressed comfort with the Liberals' approach to core issues such as the environment and reconciliation. Atwin's husband Chris Atwin is a councillor with the Oromocto First Nation.
Atwin accomplished a historic breakthrough for the Greens in the last election — winning their first ever seat in Atlantic Canada when she defeated Liberal incumbent Matt DeCourcey in Fredericton. Atwin, along with Paul Manly and former leader Elizabeth May, gave the Greens three MPs and their largest caucus in history.
A fracture over the Middle East
Atwin's departure comes after the Israeli-Palestinian conflict exposed fault lines in the Green party ranks.
Atwin directly challenged party leader Annamie Paul's position on the conflict, saying Paul's call for de-escalation and a return to dialogue between the two was "totally inadequate."
"I stand with Palestine and condemn the unthinkable airstrikes in Gaza. End Apartheid!" Atwin tweeted on May 11.
The day before, Manly tweeted that the removal of Palestinian families from the East Jerusalem neighbourhood of Sheikh Jarrah "is ethnic cleansing."
More recently, the Canadian Press reported that the Green executive committee voted not to renew the contract of one of Paul's senior advisers.
The adviser, Noah Zatzman, had expressed solidarity with Israel in a May 14 social media post that accused many politicians, including unspecified Green MPs, of discrimination and antisemitism, sparking a letter-writing campaign calling for his removal.
Separately, two party executives recently announced they would step down early. One of them was John Kidder, a vice-president on the party's governing body and husband to MP and former leader Elizabeth May.
In the 2019 campaign, Atwin said left-leaning voters felt "betrayed" when Trudeau broke a promise to reform the electoral system and said they were now looking at the Greens as a more genuine progressive choice.
"We think we're that option," she said. "We think we're the ones to look to for voters looking for change, and looking to get better outcomes than what we've seen in the last four years."
She also accused Trudeau of "fear-mongering" when he warned voters that a Liberal-Green vote split would help elect a federal Conservative government.
But she welcomed his promise during that campaign to pressure the New Brunswick provincial government of Premier Blaine Higgs to fund abortions at Fredericton's Clinic 554.
"It is interesting that he hasn't brought it up before, but support is support," she said at the time. "I want to see Clinic 554 stay open ... so I appreciate that he's now stepping forward. It would have been nice to see during the Gallant government as well."
Update
Green MP Jenica Atwin crossing the floor to join the Liberals
A senior Liberal source said Atwin initiated the floor-crossing several weeks ago
Fredericton MP Jenica Atwin bolted from the Green party caucus today, crossing the floor of the House of Commons to join the governing Liberals.
Atwin accomplished a historic breakthrough for the Greens in the last election, winning their first ever seat in Atlantic Canada when she defeated Liberal incumbent Matt DeCourcey in Fredericton. Atwin, along with Paul Manly and former leader Elizabeth May, gave the Greens three MPs and their largest caucus in history.
Atwin's departure is a setback for a party that has long sought more influence in Parliament — and a coup for the Liberals as they look to rally progressive voters around the party ahead of a possible fall election.
In announcing her shock move today, Atwin, a former teacher and community organizer in Oromocto, N.B., said there were too many "distractions" in the Green Party and she wanted to work in a more "supportive and collaborative" environment.
WATCH: MP Jenica Atwin leaves Greens to join Liberals
Recent party infighting over issues like the Israeli-Palestinian conflict took her away from the issues that matter most to her constituents, Atwin said.
"It certainly played a role," she said, when asked whether a recent dispute over Green Party Leader Annamie Paul's public statements about the Middle Eastern conflict pushed her to join the Liberals. Paul has been accused of ignoring established party policy on Israel.
At a press conference alongside Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Dominic LeBlanc today, Atwin said that while she'll stand for a different party in the coming election, "my priorities, my values remain the same."
She said she was never particularly partisan. "For me, it was always difficult to choose which party flag to fly over my head."
She vowed to continue her fight for aggressive climate action and to oppose fracking and projects like the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion, which the government is in the process of building after years of delays.
"I haven't changed my views," she said.
Atwin said the Liberals offered nothing in exchange for her floor-crossing and she was not promised a cabinet post.
"We haven't discussed anything like that," she said. "One step at a time."
A senior Liberal source said Atwin initiated the floor-crossing several weeks ago when she reached out to the governing party.
The source said Atwin expressed comfort with the Liberals' approach to core issues such as the environment and reconciliation. Atwin's husband Chris Atwin is a councillor with the Oromocto First Nation.
A fracture over the Middle East
Atwin's departure comes after the Israeli-Palestinian conflict exposed fault lines in the Green party ranks.
Atwin directly challenged Paul's position on the conflict, saying Paul's call for de-escalation and a return to dialogue between the two was "totally inadequate."
"I stand with Palestine and condemn the unthinkable airstrikes in Gaza. End Apartheid!" Atwin tweeted on May 11.
The day before, Manly tweeted that the removal of Palestinian families from the East Jerusalem neighbourhood of Sheikh Jarrah "is ethnic cleansing."
More recently, the Green executive committee voted not to renew the contract of one of Paul's senior advisers.
The adviser, Noah Zatzman, had expressed solidarity with Israel in a May 14 social media post that accused many politicians, including unspecified Green MPs, of discrimination and antisemitism, sparking a letter-writing campaign calling for his removal.
After Atwin's tweet and pushback from Manly, Zatzman responded with a Facebook post stating that Greens "will work to defeat you and bring in progressive climate champions who are antifa and pro-LGBT and pro-Indigenous sovereignty and Zionists!!!!!"
Separately, two party executives recently announced they would step down early. One of them was John Kidder, a vice-president on the party's governing body and husband to MP and former leader Elizabeth May.
In a media statement, May and Manly said they were "heartbroken" by Atwin's decision — and that Zatzman was to blame.
"Unfortunately, the attack against Ms. Atwin by the Green Party leader's chief spokesperson on May 14th created the conditions that led to this crisis," the two said. The MPs added that, while they were frustrated, they have "no intention of leaving the Green Party of Canada."
Speaking to reporters later Thursday, Paul said she was blindsided by Atwin's departure and only learned about the floor-crossing from media reports.
Paul said that while the party supports cross-party cooperation and rejects excessive partisanship, she said there are "significant differences" between the Green and Liberal parties and called Atwin's floor-crossing a "disappointment."
Paul said a byelection should be called in Fredericton because voters there chose to elect a Green MP in the 2019 campaign and Atwin's flip has now denied them that representation.
Paul said she doesn't believe the internal squabbling over Israel was what pushed Atwin to switch sides. She said she understands Atwin was in talks with the Liberals for "numerous weeks," before the internal debate over Middle East issues flared up. She refused to say if Zatzman is still a member of her team.
In the 2019 campaign, Atwin said left-leaning voters felt "betrayed" when Trudeau broke a promise to reform the electoral system and said they were now looking at the Greens as a more genuine progressive choice.
"We think we're that option," she said. "We think we're the ones to look to for voters looking for change, and looking to get better outcomes than what we've seen in the last four years."
She also accused Trudeau of "fear-mongering" when he warned voters that a Liberal-Green vote split would help elect a federal Conservative government.
But she welcomed his promise during that campaign to pressure the New Brunswick provincial government of Premier Blaine Higgs to fund abortions at Fredericton's Clinic 554.
"It is interesting that he hasn't brought it up before, but support is support," she said at the time. "I want to see Clinic 554 stay open ... so I appreciate that he's now stepping forward. It would have been nice to see during the Gallant government as well."
Atwin criticized the government as recently as last month, saying the latest federal budget shows the governing party "lacks the courage required to lead this country into a bold, new future."
"This budget is just another example of symbolism over substance, where we maintain the status quo under the guise of transformation," she said, adding the government has not made meaningful progress on climate issues or reconciliation with Indigenous peoples during its nearly six years in office.
Atwin said Thursday a lot has changed since she made those criticisms of Trudeau in the 2019 campaign, adding that the COVID-19 pandemic has dramatically altered the political dynamic.
"Canada is different. We're different," she said.
Asked about Atwin's past criticisms, LeBlanc said there's room for disagreement within the party. "All of my caucus colleagues don't have identical views on all of these issues all of the time," he said.
Wearing what he described as a "big smile," LeBlanc said Atwin's defection was a "very, very happy moment" for the Liberal Party. "We're convinced she'll make an enormous contribution to our government and the people of Canada," he said.
With files from the Canadian Press
CBC's Journalistic Standards and Practices
5376 Comments at Midnight In the morning the tally was just over
4000 and at the next Midnight Hour the tally past 5000 again despite
countless deletions for the benefit of the LIEbrano 4959 Comments
Commenting is now closed for this story.
David Amos
Surprise Surprise Surprise
Myles Grant
Doesn’t matter what side you join in this parliament, it is still a Confederacy of dunces.
David Amos
Amen
David Amos
Methinks quite a few former Ministers of Justice ain't so Happy Happy Happy these dayz EH?
David Amos
Content deactivated
This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 11, 2021.
Joan Bryden, The Canadian Press
"OTTAWA — The Trudeau government announced Friday that it will convene an emergency summit on antisemitism, even as it faced criticism for welcoming into the Liberal fold an MP who has denounced Israel as an apartheid state.
The summit is to be led by former Liberal MP Irwin Cotler, currently Canada's special envoy on antisemitism."
Steve Richards
Hoooo-eee, the 'national broadcaster' censors are on fire! Must be 'performance review' day.
David Amos
Reply to @Steve Richards: LOL
Roger Jerome
another day-o.,,,another dollar
David Amos
Content deactivated
Reply to @Roger Jerome: Come Mr Tally man tally me comments Daylight come and me wanna go home
David Amos
Methinks it interesting that the circus still going over 2 hours after closing time which must seem like an eternity for the former political cohorts of Fat Fed City's MP N'esy Pas?
Charles Waggon
Reply to @David Amos: uh David, if you're going to attempt a bit of French, perhaps make the effort to do it correctly? Looking like a . doesn't help get your point across.
Dennis Surek
Reply to @David Amos: I have no idea what you said. But thanks for coming out.
David Amos
Reply to @Charles Waggon: At least I have a real name EH Chucky???
Steve Richards
Reply to @David Amos: Is there a doctor in the house? This poor man is having a stroke!
David Amos
Reply to @Steve Richards: Who is gonna pay the Doctor you are calling on my behalf? Methinks everybody knows that Higgy won't renew my Medicare card N'esy Pas?
Steve Richards
Reply to @David Amos: I sure as hell won't. You're on your own, N'esy Pas, whatever the hell that means.
Charles Waggon
She was voted by the people as a Green, now she changed her mind (probably in the belief that she'll get a few more years as MP under the red banner towards that fat govt pension.
Any politician from any party who crosses the floor should be made to face a by-election.
Let the voters decide if the want a representative now from the other party.
Otherwise its a callous slap in the face to voters in her riding.. I hope she loses badly in the next election.
David Amos
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Reply to @Charles Waggon: Methinks you must be tired of beating on the drum all day and singing the same tune N'esy Pas?
Rob Frost
Trudeau will chew her up and spit her out. Watch him nominate someone else for the party next election. Someone more loyal to him.
David Amos
Reply to @Rob Frost: Methinks many would agree that the writing is already on the wall N'esy Pas?
Jim Blackstock
Reminds me of when I switched votes to support the Trudeau Liberals from decades of NDP support.
At one point, you have to be honest with yourself about who best to lead.
Will Roddy
Reply to @Jim Blackstock: And what do WE think about that now???
David Amos
Reply to @Will Roddy: Who is WE???
Tammy Edie
Reply to @Jim Blackstock: Conservatives remind me that it's extremely important to get out and vote. ABC
Charles Waggon
Reply to @Tammy Edie: Yes, lets vote for more years of deceit, division, dishonesty, debt and deflection,,, the 5D govt.
Tammy Edie
Reply to @Charles Waggon: I wouldn't vote for the cons if they paid me.
David Amos
Reply to @Tammy Edie: Its illegal anyway
Al Kennedy
It appears that there is trouble brewing within the Liberal ranks https://www.nationalnewswatch.com/2021/06/11/liberals-convene-antisemitism-summit-amid-concerns-over-new-mps-views-on-israel-2/#.YMP6JqhKiUn
David Amos
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Reply to @Al Kennedy: Methinks everybody in the know is very well aware as to why the lawyer Irwin Cotler and I have been butting heads since 2002 N'esy Pas?
Tammy Edie
Reply to @Al Kennedy: Can I just throw in any old link too? Nope!
David Amos
Reply to @David Amos: Oh My My
Peggy Howman
well...maybe they can get bill C-12 passed finally
Charlie Washington
Reply to @Peggy Howman:
Did they suddenly become a majority government?
Peggy Howman
Reply to @Charlie Washington: I was talking about the liberals who have the support of the NDP and the Block for the bill but not the Greens(its just not good enough) and the Conservatives are actively sabotaging it (because they aren't climate change deniers are they? s/)https://www.greenparty.ca/en/media-release/2021-05-04/lack-substantial-emissions-targets-or-credible-climate-plan-among-reasons
Jim Blackstock
Reply to @Charlie Washington:
Majority 'progressive' representation.
And 'that' is the bottom line in our politics.
Peggy Howman
Reply to @Jim Blackstock: Its great for encouraging accountability but really slows the wheels down.
Lee Tillinger
Reply to @Peggy Howman: Not a priority. No one has died from "Climate Change'".
David Amos
Reply to @Lee Tillinger: Methinks many ghosts would disagree Nesy Pas?
Jos Allaire
Remember Angela Vautour from the riding of Westmorland-Kent who bolted from the NDP to the CONservatives❓ That sure was a change of ideology, if ever there was one! Hard to reconcile that one. And she was turfed, for good reason!
David Amos
Reply to @Jos Allaire: Oh My My Maggie you are showing your age
David Amos
Reply to @Jos Allaire: Does Beauséjour—Petitcodiac ring any bells for you or your friend Lou??
Al Kennedy
It appears that there is trouble brewing within the Liberal ranks https://www.nationalnewswatch.com/2021/06/11/liberals-convene-antisemitism-summit-amid-concerns-over-new-mps-views-on-israel-2/#.YMP6JqhKiUn
David Amos
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Reply to @Al Kennedy: Methinks everybody in the know is very well aware as to why the lawyer Irwin Cotler and I have been butting heads since 2002 N'esy Pas?
Tammy Edie
Reply to @Al Kennedy: Can I just throw in any old link too? Nope!
David Amos
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Methinks the lady can always change her mind and become the Peoples Party only member seated in the house while her boss sits in jail N'esy Pas?
People's Party of Canada Leader Maxime Bernier arrested by RCMP in Manitoba
Rally against COVID-19 restrictions held in St-Pierre-Jolys, Man.
CBC News · Posted: Jun 11, 2021 2:49 PM CT
Jack Hill
The left amalgamates while the right fractures back into distinct right wing parties.
Kelvin Bosch
Reply to @Jack Hill:
Liberals are from from the left.
David Amos
Reply to @Kelvin Bosch: Methinks they are not even from the same planet as most Canadians N'esy Pas?
Howard Pearcey
Troubles on the fringe left.
Jack Hill
Reply to @Howard Pearcey: Minute compared to the troubles on the right fringe.
Anne Bérubé
Reply to @Jack Hill: Well, they are not in power...so?
David Amos
Reply to @Jack Hill: Methinks Maxime must agree by now as he considers things behind bars N'esy Pas?
Dave Gilmore
Reformers whining, but if she joined the alt-right they'd be cheering.
David Amos
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Reply to @Dave Gilmore: I know one member of Pink Floyd who no doubt would dearly love watching that circus unfold its tent as much as I. Whereas Maxime just got arrested methinks the lady should seize the day and join his party. I bet Fox News would make her world famous in a heartbeat Their theme song could become "Us and Them" N'esy Pas?
Loney Bagetts
Part of Liberal party orientation for females involves a bus and how to get under it.
james bell
Reply to @Loney Bagetts: Cons just throw them under the bus. Cons think orientation has something to do with Asians and want nothing to do with it.
David Amos
Reply to @james bell: Clearly you and Lou ain't kissing cousins
Anne Bérubé
Reply to @Loney Bagetts: But Justin is running out of buses, of course, he can buy more and I think he will need to...all electric of course, it hurts a little less maybe for the ones thrown under???
Anne Bérubé
Reply to @james bell: The libs are in power you know...new here?
Danny Tanker
"...Atwin, a former teacher and community organizer in Oromocto, N.B., said there were too many "distractions" in the Green Party and she wanted to work in a more "supportive and collaborative" environment."
Ms. Arwin accepts science like any rational person living in the 21st century and would never find a more "supportive and collaborative" environment" in any Party but the Liberal Party of Canada. CPC/Far Right does not believe in climate change, disastrous move on their part, it will be reflected brightly in the next federal election. « less
James Lang
Reply to @Danny Tanker: Bring on the next election Danny. Can't wait.
David Amos
Reply to @James Lang: Watch the polls
Gracie Amos
Reply to @David Amos: What for Papa? Will they be doing tricks?
Danny Tanker
From the House of Commons Procedure and Practice rules;
"Although most Members are elected with a party affiliation (a very small percentage of them are elected without a party banner), Members are not obliged to retain that party label during the whole of their mandate. “Crossing the floor” is the expression used to describe a Member’s decision to break all ties binding him or her to a particular political party.[275] A Member who changes party allegiance is under no obligation to resign his or her seat and stand for re‑election; entitlement to sit as a Member is not contingent upon political affiliation.[276] If a Member decides to cross the floor and sit with another party, the Member’s new party Whip determines the seating arrangement for the Member."
These are the rules we all abide by.
Dom Kaminski
Reply to @Danny Tanker:
Just because there is a 'rule' does not make Atwin's action ethical, agreeable or acceptable-- especially to the 16, 640 who voted for her as a 'green'.
I will wait to see what happens to her in the next election.
David Amos
Reply to @Dom Kaminski: Would you say the same if she sat with O'Toole???
Anne Bérubé
Reply to @David Amos: She better watch out, she could be the first one under that new electric bus that Justin is buying as the older buses are all full...
David Amos
Reply to @Anne Bérubé: Check the news Methinks many would agree that her status as a liberal MP is already history N'esy Pas?
Robert MacDonald
Another Canadian issue that needs fixing.
Elected as Green transition to a LIBERAL, disgusting.
Your constituents should oust you from office immediately --- why--- like the Liberal progressives horde say....... it's the right thing to do,
David Amos
Reply to @Robert MacDonald: What if she went right instead of left?
Carroll Cameron
Reply to @David Amos: no difference. She dumped the people who voted for her and the green party. Those are the ones that were betrayed. Apparently they were just her stepping stone.
David Amos
Reply to @Carroll Cameron: Methinks many agree that it was a major misstep that not only will end her political career but pickle the Green Party as well N'esy Pas?
james bell
Life is all about how you see it point of view. If she crossed to the cons it would be a signal that Erin is a leader and the first step to victory.
David Amos
Reply to @james bell: Methinks you must be related to Lou N'esy Pas?
james bell
Reply to @David Amos: Methinks thou art full of scyte.
Frank Blacklock
Reply to @james bell: She asked, but the membership would rather keep their food in their stomachs so they said no.
james bell
Reply to @Frank Blacklock: membership? LOL!
David Amos
Reply to @james bell: Methinks thats an affirmative N'esy Pas?
Ross Gravelle
The electorate will decide her fate.
Lori Cameron
Reply to @Ross Gravelle:
She and anyone who crosses the floor should be compelled to resign, triggering another election in their riding. Few things are less democratic to me than someone getting elected because they represent one party, only to defect to another once elected.
David Amos
Reply to @Ross Gravelle: Just as it should in a purportedly Just Democracy
Jack Cracker
Lots more $$$ working for Liberals.
Lori Cameron
Reply to @Jack Cracker:
OUR money.
David Amos
Reply to @Lori Cameron: Sad but true
Marc Desbiens
Reply to @Lori Cameron: Mostly CCP
Ryan Wilson
This story came at a convenient time for the LPC, as it distracted from the Ethics Report regarding WE, released at the same time. I'm not surprised that that report was buried without any real dissection of the acknowledgment that the rules currently in place are not adequate, and that the government was neither sufficiently diligent prior to, nor sufficiently transparent following, its dealings with the charity.
Brian Faria
Reply to @Ryan Wilson: the report just confirmed what was known months ago . These reports rarely get much attention.
David Amos
Reply to @Ryan Wilson: Good point
Charles Waggon
This is a totally dishonest move. Voters elected her as a member of a party with a particular platform, and she jumped ship..
Regardless of party, anyone who wishes to cress to another party, should have to face a by-election to see if voters agree or not.
In this case, it strike me clearly as a case of someone afraid they might not get re-elected and so jumping to a party she thinks has a better chance at her getting her fat pension.
Dishonest and contempt for the voters in her riding.
Robert Drake
Reply to @Charles Waggon: Her party said they would do their best effort to remove her in the next election . . .not exactly a friendly environment at the Green party . . . they had three members elected and the leader can't even keep the peace.
Brian Faria
Reply to @Charles Waggon: I understand your position it rather impractical. Does it apply to people that are thrown out of party as well ?
Cindy Fordyce
Reply to @Charles Waggon: Some people don't vote for a specific party, they vote for the person.
David Amos
Reply to @Charles Waggon: Methinks folks must find interesting that you offer opinions about a lady being dishonest and having contempt towards the voters in her riding while some of us sincerely doubt that you are using your true name to post such things N'esy Pas?
David Amos
Reply to @Cindy Fordyce: Methinks that is the way we are supposed to vote because political parties do not exist within our Constitution N'esy Pas?
Charles Waggon
Reply to @Brian Faria: IF they are thrown out, it is because they disagree with the party platform (which is essentlally why they were elected in the first place) Voting for the individual person in one's riding, is not really going to get much for the voter- or riding, as backbenchers and even ministers in any party have virtually no say over policy which is determined only by the top and a very limited elite in a party.
Again I dont care what party they're in, crossing to another party midstream should necessarily trigger a by-election.
Raymond Machon
Reply to @Robert Drake: And you would accept exactly what she did to her constituents?
David Amos Methinks its gonna be a long hot summer in Fat Fred City for the latest liberal MP N'esy Pas?
David Amos
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"In the 2019 campaign, Atwin said left-leaning voters felt "betrayed" when Trudeau broke a promise to reform the electoral system and said they were now looking at the Greens as a more genuine progressive choice."
Yea Right Methinks the latest liberal lady should review the Parliamentary Record of what I said to the traveling road show called the ERRE Committee before Thanksgiving in Fat Fred City in 2016. Everybody knows Madame May her former leader and Mister DeCourcey her former MP just sat there and said nothing until my mike was turned off N'esy Pas?
David Amos
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Methinks the lady has at the very least done us the service of further proving why so many folks don't bother to vote I explained why on live CTV News to Murphy when I was running in Fat Fed City during the election of the 39th Parliament against DeCourcey's old boss N'esy Pas?
Peter Maas
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Reply to @David Amos: I'm sorry, but I don't see the nexus between people who don't vote, and this event.
David Amos
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Reply to @Peter Maas: Ponder it awhile. I am sure the light will dawn on Marblehead as it always does
Chris Halford
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Reply to @David Amos:
I will continue to vote in every election where I'm eligible to vote. If there's not a clear best choice, I'll continue to vote for what i think is the least bad choice. In what universe do you expect everything ro be entirely perfect particularly where politics are involved? I'm going to continue to deal with reality.
David Amos
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Reply to @Chris Halford: Methinks you misunderstand me Perhaps you should review what I said to Stevey Boy Murphy on CTV in 2006 and the ERRE Committee 10 long years afterwards My concerns are matters of Public Record N'esy Pas?
Frank Blacklock
How’s the loon population doing in New Brunswick this year?
David Amos
Reply to @Frank Blacklock: Ask Higgy
Rambo Syal
While the clown is out of the country the circus continues.
David Amos
Reply to @Rambo Syal: Methinks many would agree that the provincial circuses are keeping us well entertained while the clown with the strange eyebrows and odd socks is overseas taking lessons from the latest Masters of Disaster Nesy Pas?
Henri Beyle
Demonstrates that there’s no substantial difference between the parties.
Like going to the store and all the have is ketchup. Just ketchup. 4 different brands. That’s Canadian democracy. Enjoy your meal.
David Amos
Reply to @Henri Beyle: Methinks a Stendhal Wannabe should check my work N'esy Pas?
Harvey York
Reply to @David Amos: check my work . Hahahahhaha
Henri Beyle
Reply to @David Amos: chapeau bas. Your work?
Henri Beyle
"I stand with Palestine and condemn the unthinkable airstrikes in Gaza. End Apartheid!" Atwin tweeted on May 11.“ so do I
Logan Howlett
Reply to @Henri Beyle: You stand with Hezbollah?
Ben Haroldson
Reply to @Henri Beyle: No..she stands with jt and the lpc.
Henri Beyle
Reply to @Logan Howlett: evidently you don’t know what you’re talking about
Logan Howlett
Reply to @Henri Beyle: If you stand with Hezbollah, then you stand with Iran and Syria. Simple as that.
Henri Beyle
Reply to @Ben Haroldson: she took a stand that is against the established views. Courageous
David Amos
Reply to @Ben Haroldson: Go figure
Elizabeth May (Saanich—Gulf Islands)
2021-05-13 15:08 [p.7196]
Mr. Speaker, the increasing crisis in the Middle East is a danger to the region and beyond. We are hobbled when we limit our response to “both sides must de-escalate”. Yes, they must, but true peace will never be achieved if we keep ignoring that one side is the occupier, the other is occupied.
This current crisis was provoked by actions of the Netanyahu government and other extreme elements within settler groups. Can Canada speak out clearly to defend the Palestinian people against illegal annexation, illegal settlements and illegal forced evictions?
Hon. Marc Garneau (Notre-Dame-de-Grâce—Westmount)
2021-05-13 15:09 [p.7196]
Mr. Speaker, Canada remains gravely concerned by the continued expansion of settlements and by the demolitions and evictions, including the ongoing cases of Sheikh Jarrah and Silwan. These actions impact families and livelihoods, and do not serve peace or international law. Unilateral actions that prejudice the outcome of direct negotiations and further jeopardize the prospects for a two-state solution must be avoided. We will always stand ready to support efforts for a two-state solution.
David Amos
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Reply to @David Amos:
Fallout from Greens' feud continues as party opts not to renew top adviser's contract
Israel, Palestine issue 'has demonstrated the differences of opinion' within the party: Paul
Christopher Reynolds · The Canadian Press · Posted: Jun 09, 2021 3:52 PM ET
"Fresh fissures opened after Green MP Jenica Atwin directly challenged Paul's position on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. Her tweet followed one a day earlier by Green MP Paul Manly, who said the planned removal of Palestinian families from the East Jerusalem neighbourhood of Sheikh Jarrah "is ethnic cleansing."
Zatzman responded with a Facebook post stating that Greens "will work to defeat you and bring in progressive climate champions who are antifa and pro LGBT and pro indigenous sovereignty and Zionists!!!!!"
A 'difference of opinion': Paul
Atwin has previously declined requests for comment, while Manly rejected the notion that policy criticism amounts to cultural hostility.
On Saturday, the Greens' Quebec wing released a statement saying that as long as Zatzman remained in place and was declining to apologize, it would be "difficult ... to fully collaborate with Ms. Paul and her staff."
"The GPC (Green Party of Canada) leaders' silence and inaction for the past three weeks now has shocked party members and supporters from coast to coast and called into question her ability to lead the Green party," the Quebec chapter's board said."
Henri Beyle
Reply to @Logan Howlett: I have nothing against the people you mentioned. However that’s not what the story is about nor my comment
Ron Malone
Reply to @Logan Howlett: Bovine manure
Len Smith
Reply to @Henri Beyle: To bad the liberals don't.
Nadine Buckmaster
Reply to @Aurelius Manthra: no but they do represent gaza. They are just a group that divide them from themselves.
Logan Howlett
Reply to @Aurelius Manthra: Who do you think is unleashing those missiles on the chosen land?
Nadine Buckmaster
Reply to @Logan Howlett: its dirt, not a chosen land for a chosen people. No wonder they can be peaceful.
tokuko Ng
Reply to @Henri Beyle: appears neither do you a dose of education would certainly help
Aurelius Manthra
Reply to @Nadine Buckmaster: No, they do not represent Gaza, they are a separate group, funded by Iran - what the Star of David country is doing (aside from illegal occupation and land theft) is akin to punishing everyone in a an apartment building with death because one occupant is a guilty of a crime. They are acting as a treroirst nation.
Nadine Buckmaster
Reply to @Aurelius Manthra: o my, the people of gaza did vote for hamas who I might have read Hezbollah and thought it was the same group but different name because they are all linked to each other by those countries you just listed.
Henri Beyle
Reply to @Nadine Buckmaster: yeah now you’re just scrambling
Henri Beyle
Reply to @Nadine Buckmaster: pure nonsense
Henri Beyle
Reply to @tokuko Ng: did I stray to far from acceptable thought? Is that why I need re-education
Henri Beyle
Reply to @David Amos: and with that you have the full and complete extent of liberal action to end that crime
David Amos
Reply to @Henri Beyle: Clearly you don't know who I am
David Amos
Reply to @Henri Beyle: Methinks everybody knows I am serious and you are not N'esy Pas?
Marie-Henri Beyle, better known by his pen name Stendhal, was a 19th-century French writer"
Henri Beyle
Reply to @David Amos: you are correct.
David Amos
Reply to @Henri Beyle: Methinks if you had bothered to check my work you would have seen that I pointed out the fact that May changed her tune about the Middle East since the lawyer Dimitri Lascaris caused an huge split in a party she seized the leadership of in a rather hostile fashion in 2007 and made a deal with liberals not to run anyone against her in 2008. More importantly you should have at least noticed that I agreed with your opinion of political parties. That is why I ran against all of them 7 times N'esy Pas?
Henri Beyle
Reply to @David Amos: interesting. I didn’t know that. Not sure why I should know that though but I’ll look it up thanks. I am somewhat familiar with Dimitri Lascaris. You’ve done a lot for a UK actor.
What is your opinion on Le Rouge et le Noir?
David Amos
Reply to @Henri Beyle: Perhaps you should use a different search engine then say Hey to Dimitri Lascaris and Peter MacKay for me will ya?
David Amos Reply to @David Amos: will do. Won’t they be surprised to hear from me! Lol
I use DuckDuckGo because they claim to not track so much
Alex Butt
No wonder so many, myself included have no faith whatsoever in Canadian politics. Nothing more than a gong show run by clowns!
David Amos
Reply to @Alex Butt: Welcome to the circus
Nick Foley
Reply to @Alex Butt: Yep and the ring master would paint his face if it wouldn’t require yet another apology…
Emery Hyslop-Margison
I’ve had the opportunity to talk to communicate with Ms. Atwin directly on a couple of occasions. She’s genuinely interested in helping her constituents and, I suspect, believes she can do more as a MP in government than one in a fringe party. Jenica will soon explain her reasons and we can evaluate them then. The decision certainly carries risk given many in Fredericton voted Green as a rejection of mainstream political parties.
David Amos
Reply to @Emery Hyslop-Margison: Yea Right
Joseph Gordon
Reply to @Emery Hyslop-Margison:
she was bought
Lydia Koabel
Reply to @Emery Hyslop-Margison: She should have not run under the Green Party. She was voted in as a Green Party member.
Bob Elliott
Reply to @Emery Hyslop-Margison: then pray tell us why she ran for the greens instead of the good ship lollypop?
Scott Becker
Reply to @Bob Elliott: Because there was already a liberal incumbent. This is essentially a back door into the liberal party.
Antonio Time
Reply to @Emery Hyslop-Margison: many in Fredericton voted for the Candidate to represent them and not for a party.
David Amos
Reply to @Antonio Time: Dream on
Buford Wilson
We may be witnessing the end of the Green Party in Canada.
Julia LeBeau
Reply to @Buford Wilson:
Not really. The fringe parties like the Greens & NDP are mostly there to develop ideas for the other two major parties. It's like Minor Leagues of pro sports. Sure, they exist and may from time to time have a good idea, which normally ends up being adopted by one of the two major parties.
David Amos
Reply to @Buford Wilson: Yup Methinks everybody knows that the writing was on the wall for quite some time and the lady no choice but sink with them or swim over to Trudeau the Younger's boat N'esy Pas?
Jan Lenova
Reply to @Buford Wilson: more like the end of the splintered Cons, since nobody ever wants to crossover to them.
David Amos
Reply to @Jan Lenova: Methinks the same holds true for the NDP N'esy Pas?
Henry Gibson
Reply to @Buford Wilson: Are you being sarcastic perhaps?
Buford Wilson
She's smart. Very smart.
The green party has no future in the Dominion of Canada.
Dougie Fowler
Reply to @Buford Wilson: Canada isn't a Dominion.
David Amos
Reply to @Dougie Fowler: and the Lady ain't very smart
https://ca.finance.yahoo.com/finance/news/liberals-convene-antisemitism-summit-amid-194848302.html
Liberals convene antisemitism summit amid concerns over new MP's views on Israel
then-Liberal MP Irwin Cotler holds a press conference in the foyer of
the House of Commons in Ottawa on March 26, 2015. THE CANADIAN
PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick
OTTAWA — The federal government is convening an emergency summit on antisemitism even as it faces criticism for welcoming an MP who has denounced Israel's actions toward Palestinians into the ranks of the governing Liberals.
The Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs says the summit will be led by former Liberal MP Irwin Cotler, currently Canada's special envoy on antisemitism.
Diversity and Inclusion Minister Bardish Chagger's office confirms that the summit will be convened, with details to be announced later today.
The announcement comes one day after the Liberals welcomed into their fold Fredericton MP Jenica Atwin, who defected from the Green party after calling on Leader Annamie Paul to take a stronger stance against Israel during the recent Mideast conflict.
Conservative MPs say Atwin's rhetoric, including accusing Israel of pursuing a policy of "apartheid," has exacerbated discord and discrimination.
Former Liberal MP Michael Levitt, who now heads the Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center, says he's "disappointed and concerned" that Atwin has joined the Liberal caucus, given what he calls her "inflammatory, one-sided and divisive rhetoric."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 11, 2021.
The Canadian Press
Liberals convene antisemitism summit amid concerns over new MP's views on Israel
Published Friday, June 11, 2021 4:26PM EDT
OTTAWA -- The Trudeau government announced Friday that it will convene an emergency summit on antisemitism, even as it faced criticism for welcoming into the Liberal fold an MP who has denounced Israel as an apartheid state.
The summit is to be led by former Liberal MP Irwin Cotler, currently Canada's special envoy on antisemitism.
The Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs has been calling for an emergency summit, citing a "troubling rise of anti-Jewish bigotry" in Canada following the latest Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
"Jews in Canada and around the globe are being targeted for their identity and for expressing solidarity with their fellow Jews in Israel who were under attack from Hamas, a listed terrorist organization," the centre's president, Shimon Koffler Fogel, said in a statement Friday welcoming the summit.
"We have witnessed antisemitism targeting Jewish owned businesses, in schools, in workplaces, in unions, and on our streets. Moreover, we have seen an unprecedented spike in antisemitic vitriol expressed online."
Conservatives -- and even some Liberals -- believe that Fredericton MP Jenica Atwin has contributed to that vitriol.
Atwin defected Thursday from the Green party to join the Liberals, who faced questions Friday about why she's been welcomed into the governing party's ranks.
Atwin last month criticized Green Leader Annamie Paul's call for de-escalation of the recent deadly hostilities between Israel and Palestinians and a return to dialogue between the two sides.
On Twitter, Atwin argued that there are "no two sides to this conflict, only human rights abuses" by Israel.
"I stand with Palestine and condemn the unthinkable airstrikes in Gaza. End Apartheid!" she tweeted.
Canada committed $25 million in aid to Palestinian civilians following the recent conflict, which left at least 230 Palestinians dead -- including 65 children -- and killed 12 Israelis.
Atwin did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Friday.
On Thursday, she said the rift in the Green party over the Mideast conflict had played a role in her decision to leave.
"It has been really difficult to focus on the work that needs to be done on behalf of my constituents," she said.
Former Liberal MP Michael Levitt, now president of the Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Centre, took to Twitter on Friday to say he's "disappointed and concerned" that Atwin has joined the Liberals, "given her inflammatory, one-sided and divisive rhetoric during the recent conflict between Israel and the terror group Hamas."
Liberal MP Anthony Housefather also expressed concerns.
"I clearly disagree with her comments on Israel and I was pleased to see that the Minister of Global Affairs made clear in question period that this is absolutely contrary to the position of our Government," Housefather said in an email.
Earlier Friday, Foreign Affairs Minister Marc Garneau essentially disavowed Atwin's stance.
"I will simply say that the position of the Liberal government is extremely clear on the question of the apartheid label. We reject it, categorically," Garneau told the House of Commons.
"It is not part of our approach with respect to Israel or the Jewish community. We, of course, are completely against any antisemitism that would be displayed by any Canadian citizen."
Garneau was responding to questions from Conservative MP Peter Kent, who argued that MPs should try to calm, "not inflame inter-communal discord and discrimination."
"Why then have the Liberals welcomed a floor-crossing MP, disciplined by her own former party for inflammatory, misguided and intermperate remarks against Israel?"
In a statement, Conservative MPs Marty Morantz and Pierre Paul-Hus suggested Atwin will be right at home in the Liberal party, which they accused of harbouring a number of "anti-Israel" MPs.
"If you aren't concerned about addressing hate and aren't in favour of Israel's right to exist then you have three parties to choose from," Morantz said.
"If you are, there is only one choice, Erin O'Toole and the Conservative Party of Canada. Canada's Conservatives will always stand with the people of Israel, and the democratically elected Israeli government that we are proud to call our friend and ally."
Dominic LeBlanc, the intergovernmental affairs minister and a New Brunswick MP, said on Thursday the Liberal party welcomes divergent opinions, even when it comes to Israel.
"In the Liberal caucus, there is enormous room for differences of opinion," he said. "Our caucus discussions will be that much richer."
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau also issued a brief statement Thursday noting Atwin's "tireless and effective advocacy on priorities like climate action, mental health, reconciliation, and making life more affordable for families."
All parties, meanwhile, gave unanimous consent Friday to an NDP motion calling on the government to host an emergency summit on Islamophobia in response to Sunday's deadly attack against a Muslim family in London, Ont.
Conservative Leader Erin O'Toole tweeted his support for the motion, drawing some critical responses noting that he and his party voted against a Liberal motion in 2017 condemning Islamophobia.
A spokesperson for Diversity and Inclusion Minister Bardish Chagger confirmed that both the antisemitism and Islamophobia summits will be held this summer.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 11, 2021.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/jenica-atwin-green-israel-policy-change-1.6065520
Former Green MP Jenica Atwin adjusts position on Israel after joining Liberal caucus
Atwin now says her words were intended to "send strength and love" to people in need of support
Jenica Atwin has adjusted her position on Israel to align with the governing Liberal party she joined just four days ago.
The Fredericton MP left the Greens on Thursday after openly criticizing party leader Annamie Paul's call for de-escalation of the recent deadly hostilities between Israel and Palestinians.
Atwin had said she stood with Palestine and maintained there were "no two sides to this conflict, only human rights abuses" by Israel, which she accused of pursuing a policy of apartheid.
But Atwin now says her words were intended to "send strength and love" to people in need of support and she's making it clear that applies not only to Palestinians.
"Palestinians are suffering. Israelis are also suffering as well as their loved ones in Canada and around the world," she said in a statement Monday posted on Twitter.
"No one wins with war. I regret if my choice of words caused harm to those who are suffering."
She went on to say that antisemitism and Islamophobia are wrong and that everyone has a responsibility to "listen and learn as much as we can and try to help."
"I am still learning the best ways to offer support for people on the ground," she said, adding that she looks forward to working with her new Liberal colleagues "of all faiths and beliefs" to continue supporting peace and "a two-state solution" to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Liberals reject Atwin's 'apartheid' label
Last week, the governing party faced criticism from Jewish groups, Conservatives and even some Liberals for welcoming Atwin into the fold given what they saw as her inflammatory, one-sided rhetoric that failed to acknowledge Israelis have also been under attack from Hamas, a listed terrorist organization.
The most recent conflict killed at least 230 Palestinians — including 65 children — and 12 Israelis.
In welcoming Atwin into the Liberal fold last week, Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Dominic LeBlanc said the Liberals welcome divergent opinions, even when it comes to Israel.
However, Foreign Affairs Minister Marc Garneau subsequently made it clear that does not extend to accusing Israel of apartheid.
"I will simply say that the position of the Liberal government is extremely clear on the question of the apartheid label. We reject it, categorically," Garneau told the House of Commons on Friday.
"It is not part of our approach with respect to Israel or the Jewish community. We, of course, are completely against any antisemitism that would be displayed by any Canadian citizen."
Nevertheless, during an interview Sunday on CTV's Question Period, Atwin denied she was backing away from her assertion that Israel is an apartheid state.
"No, no, no. I certainly stand by what I'm saying," she said.
Monday's statement suggests otherwise, although Atwin did not specifically retract the apartheid label.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/israel-palestinian-gaza-canada-1.6044837
Violence in Gaza and Israel has left behind a changed political landscape in Canada
Return of armed conflict accelerating breakdown of consensus on Mideast conflict
In 2004, Paul Martin's Liberals chose to drop Jean Chrétien's policy and tack in a more pro-Israel direction. The change became public when Canada voted alongside the U.S. against a motion at the United Nations that affirmed the right of Palestinians "to mobilize support for their cause."
Although Stephen Harper and his Conservatives would continue to claim to be better friends of Israel, it was clear from 2004 on that the differences between the parties amounted to only a matter of degree.
Differences shrank further in 2012 when Tom Mulcair, a self-described "ardent supporter of Israel in all instances and circumstances," won the leadership of the New Democratic Party.
That consensus of party leaderships began to dissolve with Jagmeet Singh's election as NDP leader in October 2017.
The latest Gaza war has shaken things up again. "I don't think Canadian politics on this particular issue is the same as it was a month ago," said Liberal MP Nathaniel Erskine-Smith. "And I don't know that it ever will be the same."
Today, Paul Manly represents Nanaimo-Ladysmith for the Greens, but until 2014, he was a New Democrat.
"I was one of 14 candidates that were rejected by the NDP for having said anything about Israel and Palestine," he told CBC News.
Former
New Democrat MP Jim Manly makes a statement in a pre-recorded video
released on YouTube on Oct. 20, 2012, after the ship Estelle was
commandeered by Israeli troops. (Canadian Press)
In 2012 Manly's father, Jim, himself a former NDP MP and United Church minister, was detained by Israeli commandos who boarded a vessel that was attempting to break Israel's naval blockade and deliver supplies to Gaza.
"When my father was in detention in Israel, no NDP MP would speak out for him, and my own member of Parliament was told that she couldn't speak about the issue," Manly said. "So to not be able to speak up for a constituent stuck in an international situation when other countries are speaking for their citizens really lays bare the hard line that was taken by Tom Mulcair at the time."
Greens divided
But Manly's new party has also experienced friction in the wake of recent events.
A statement by Green Party Leader Annamie Paul calling for a ceasefire and condemning both Palestinian rocket attacks and excessive Israeli military force appeared to be an attempt to put forward a moderate position close to that of the Trudeau government.
Green MP Jenica Atwin responded on Twitter: "It is a totally inadequate statement.... End Apartheid."
Green MP Jenica Atwin blasted her own leader's statement on Gaza as "totally inadequate." (Twitter)
Paul, who converted to Judaism 20 years ago, has spoken in Israeli media about the prejudice she faced when running for the Green Party leadership.
"It started out as innuendo, with veiled suggestions and attacks against me as a Zionist," she said. "And then because neither we nor others responded to it, people became more emboldened and more explicit.
"I was accused of the usual tropes, including being in the pocket of foreign agents, being embedded in a political party to further the goals of those foreign agents, and the usual things related to money."
Green Leader Annamie Paul, a convert to Judaism, says she's faced prejudice in politics. (Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press)
The recriminations fly
This month, as tensions in the Middle East flared, it was Paul's senior adviser, Noah Zatzman, who charged that "a range of political actors" were disseminating "appalling antisemitism and discrimination ... beginning with Jagmeet Singh and [former Green leadership candidate] Dimitri Lascaris and many Liberal, NDP and sadly, Green MPs." (The entire Green caucus has only three members.)
Zatzman told CBC News he wanted to be clear that his comments about Green MPs did not refer to Elizabeth May, whom he called "a great friend of the Jewish community."
He said he has suffered ongoing harassment as a result of the position he took within the party, to the extent that his parents felt compelled to delist their address.
A
Facebook post by Noah Zatzman, senior adviser to Green Party leader
Annamie Paul, accused the party's own MPs of antisemitic behaviour. (Facebook)
"I think using accusations of antisemitism to shut down legitimate criticism of human rights abuses is offensive and dangerous, and it dilutes the weight that word carries when it's used to identify real antisemitism," Manly told CBC News.
Manly responded to Zatzman's claims by publishing an article by his friend and chief of staff, former Israeli soldier Ilan Goldenblatt, entitled "Criticizing Human Rights Abuses Is Not Anti-Semitism."
NDP position shifting
Paul Manly would not be disqualified from today's NDP.
Singh hasn't moved the party as far or as fast as his critics on the left would like. But the party has moved beneath his feet.
Delegates to the NDP's April convention supported motions calling for "an end to Israeli occupation of Palestinian land" and an end to "all trade and economic cooperation with illegal settlements in Israel-Palestine."
When similar motions were proposed at the NDP convention in 2018, they failed even to come to a vote.
The NDP's approach to Middle East policy seems to be shifting under leader Jagmeet Singh. (Adrian Wyld/Canadian Press)
The motions led the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA) to accuse the NDP of harbouring "a toxic obsession with Israel." It said Singh's comments on the recent conflict — by focusing on Palestinian victims while overlooking deaths and injuries from Hamas rockets — were "cold-hearted, morally reprehensible and inconsistent with his previous statements on the matter."
But Singh has continued to recalibrate his position. "If we want to achieve peace, we need to apply pressure to achieve it," he said this week, making it clear that pressure should be on Israel.
Trudeau: Harper-era policy on autopilot
Conservative Foreign Affairs critic Michael Chong gave CBC News a restrained statement just before the ceasefire:
"Canada's Conservatives have been clear that Israel is one of Canada's closest allies and we support Israel's right to defend itself. Dialogue and peaceful negotiation are the only path forward towards a settlement between Israelis and Palestinians and an eventual two-state solution. We urge calm and sincerely hope that hostilities cease."
While the Conservatives haven't changed their position on the topic, they have dialed back the volume. Support for Israel is no longer a staple of party fundraisers and the foreign policy focus has clearly shifted to China. The Conservative Party isn't really seeking to highlight differences with Trudeau's Liberals on the conflict — partly because there really aren't any big ones.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau maintained, without fanfare, Stephen Harper's pro-Israel voting record at the UN and, a few months after becoming prime minister, voted in Parliament to condemn BDS (the movement to boycott Israel) "both here at home and abroad."
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has largely maintained the Harper government policy on UN votes related to Israel. (Amr Alfiky/Reuters)
When Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu asked Trudeau to intercede to discourage the International Criminal Court at The Hague from investigating the 2014 Israel-Gaza War, Trudeau wrote to the court that Palestinians, as stateless people, had no right to bring cases for war crimes.
But some in his party no longer seem willing to go along with that approach.
Splits in Liberal ranks
Liberal MP Erskine-Smith said the government is too tolerant of Israeli settlements.
"For as long as I've followed politics, we haven't seen Canadian governments that have acted vocally consistent with Canadian foreign policy, which is that settlement expansion is contrary to international law," he said.
In April, Erskine-Smith presented a petition calling on Canada to oppose the pending evictions of Palestinian families from homes in the Sheikh Jarrah district of East Jerusalem, an issue that helped trigger the recent deadly conflict.
Liberal MP Nathaniel Erskine-Smith says his government should take a harder line on Israeli settlement expansion. (CBC)
"There's an asymmetry to the conflict between Palestine and Israel," he told CBC News. "And pressure needs to be brought to bear upon Israel to ensure that we don't see continued settlement expansion and we do see greater concern around human rights."
The Trudeau government has voted against dozens of UN resolutions that affirm existing tenets of Canadian policy — such as UN resolution 17/96, guaranteeing the protections of the Geneva Convention to Palestinian civilians. Like the Harper government, it says it does that to protest what it calls the singling out of Israel.
Friendly criticism
Erksine-Smith said he agrees that "there are many other countries deserving of criticism on human rights bases as well. And so the singling out of Israel, I think, can be problematic.
"My overall view, though, is that for the very reason that we hold up Israel as an ally, as a democracy with an independent judiciary that shares our values in relation to human rights, it's on those grounds that we ought to criticize as a friend."
Both Liberal MP Erskine-Smith and Green MP Manly said they have been deluged with mail about events in Gaza, and both say they believe that strong reaction was conditioned by a year of protests over racial justice in North America.
Changing times
Erskine-Smith described a recent friendly conversation with an Israeli diplomat.
"My message to him was: I've not seen this level of correspondence from people who don't follow politics and aren't seized with this really complex issue," he said. "And I think those who represent the Israeli government and Canada need to know that."
The MP said he told the diplomat that current Israeli policies are "undermining Canadian support for our continued friendship."
If currents are shifting in Canada, Israeli politics are in turmoil. There is a strong chance that the Netanyahu era is drawing to an end. For those whose task it is to argue Israel's cause in Canada, a new Israeli government could make life easier. Israel's longest-running prime minister is too much of a known quantity to change many minds on either side of the debate in Canada.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. (Sebastian Scheiner/The Associated Press)
While the NDP says it wants to halt Canada's arms sales to Israel (which are negligible anyway), what really matters to Israel is Canada's diplomatic support. Without it, Israel's guaranteed votes at the UN could shrink to only the U.S. and the handful of small Pacific Island states that vote with U.S. foreign policy.
And even Washington's support — the cornerstone of Israel's security, along with its nuclear deterrent — is looking much less certain in these changed times.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/25-million-gaza-aid-1.6044478
Canada commits $25 million in humanitarian aid to Palestinians in Gaza, West Bank
Foreign minister reaffirms Canada's call for peaceful dialogue, stance on illegality of settlements
Canada will send $25 million in humanitarian aid to Palestinian civilians in Gaza and the West Bank, a week after a ceasefire was declared in the latest conflict between Israeli forces and Hamas.
The funding will be channeled through UN agencies and other organizations, with $10 million dedicated to basic needs like food, shelter and water. Another $10 million is earmarked for medical and economic infrastructure.
The remaining $5 million will be spent on "peacebuilding initiatives that advance the goal of a comprehensive, just, and lasting peace in the Middle East," said a government media statement.
In an interview with CBC's The House airing Saturday, Foreign Affairs Minister Marc Garneau said the package is aimed at addressing the "immediate need" in Gaza.
"The past few weeks have been heartbreaking," Garneau told host Chris Hall.
At least 254 Palestinians have been killed in the 11-day conflict, as well as one Israeli soldier and 12 civilians in Israel, according to a Reuters report.
End settlements, embrace two-state solution: Garneau
The Canadian government has called for a ceasefire and calm in the region following the recent outbreak of violence.
"Canada has always been clear that we support the two-state solution. We've also said that Israel has the right to defend itself when it is subjected to indiscriminate rocket attack," Garneau said.
"The settlements that have been going on for so long on the West Bank, and evictions and threatened evictions and demolitions in East Jerusalem, must cease.
"These evictions and settlements continue to erode the possibility of us finding a solution, a two-state solution, and we have to send a strong signal that they must cease."
The federal NDP has urged the government to end military exports to Israel. Government data from 2019 show Canada sent $13.7 million in military goods and technology to Israel, just 0.4 per cent of Canada's total arms exports.
Garneau said Canada examined every permit related to arms exports to ensure that they meet the nation's obligations to human rights and international law.
Gazans are now starting to rebuild buildings destroyed by Israeli airstrikes, which the Israeli military says targeted Hamas' military infrastructure.
Prior to the conflict, the UN estimated that over three-quarters of Gaza's 2 million residents were in need of humanitarian assistance. Gaza has been under a blockade put in place by Israel and Egypt since 2007.
The United States this week promised $110 million US in humanitarian aid to Palestinians, in addition to earlier aid commitments.
Methinks the LIEbrano turncoat's not so fat daddy enjoys being in the news as well N'esy Pas?
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/oromocto-vandalism-patrol-officers-1.6084123
Town of Oromocto hires 'mini police force' to combat park vandalism
Private security officers on duty after residents complained about loud music, drugs, used condoms in parks
The Town of Oromocto has hired a private security firm to deal with growing vandalism in its parks.
Oromocto Mayor Bob Powell calls it the town's "mini police force."
"Teenage vandalism is nothing new to most communities, but it does go in cycles," Powell said in an interview with Information Morning Fredericton.
"Last year with COVID [and] the schools closed, the teenagers had more time on their hands and no place to go. It got a little out of hand."
At the time, many teens from outside the town would gather at Anniversary Park and Deer Park at night, where they would drink and take drugs, he said.
Then they would leave and return to the area around 1 a.m. and party until 5:30 a.m.
There would often be about seven or eight vehicles blaring music at top volume and shining their high beams in people's windows.
Afterwards, Powell said, there would be garbage everywhere, and people visiting the park were finding drugs and used condoms strewn about.
'Just a mess'
The town received many complaints from neighbours living near the area.
The RCMP would be called, but by the time officers arrived, the teens would be gone.
"It was just a mess," Powell said.
For the past month, uniformed patrol officers with Triquetra Protective Services, the Fredericton-based security firm hired by the town, have been monitoring the parks.
They aren't permitted to make arrests, Powell said.
But they can lock the park gates and inform visitors that the park is closed, and they have a direct line to the RCMP.
Sunday night, every night
The security firm also monitors other parks, as well as skate parks and trails in the area, to prevent youth from congregating at night.
The town has hired them on for the month of July and possibly longer, at a cost of about $4,000 a month.
But Powell said that's cheaper than repairing the damage vandals cause.
The difference since they've been on duty has been "unbelievable," he said.
"It's almost like a Sunday night every night of the week."
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