Annamie Paul hands in resignation as Green leader, and quits the party
Annamie Paul has formally resigned as leader of the Greens and also handed in her membership card, leaving the future of the party up in the air as it attempts to recover from internal strife and repudiation at the polls.
Paul sent in a resignation letter to the Green Party on Wednesday, which follows her announcement in September of her plans to step down.
The Green leader, the first Black and Jewish woman to lead a major political party in Canada, said a week after the election that leading the Greens had been the worst period of her life — due in part to the shattered glass ceiling.
“I had crawled over that glass, I was spitting up blood but I was determined to be there,” she told reporters on Sept. 27.
The Greens returned only two MPs in the Sept. 20 election and Paul failed to win her Toronto Centre riding, placing fourth in her third run at the Liberal stronghold.
The party’s puny showing at the polls — it won 2.3 per cent of the popular vote versus 6.6 per cent in 2019 — followed a period of infighting and sniping at Paul. She faced slurs by Green Party members on Twitter and claimed the party executive did not do enough to protect or support her.
Earlier this year, Paul drew criticism from a number of Greens, including MPs, for not publicly condemning Israel in stronger terms following a fresh outbreak of fighting between Israel and Hamas in Gaza. At least 230 Palestinians and 12 Israelis were killed in the 11-day war.
In a May 10 tweet, Paul called “for an immediate de-escalation in the violence and a return to dialogue as a means to seeking a peaceful resolution.”
Green Party members are voting on Annamie Paul's leadership — weeks after she said she would quit
The vote is going ahead while Paul and the party negotiate the terms of her exit
Green Party of Canada members have started voting on whether to remove Annamie Paul as party leader — roughly a month after Paul herself announced her resignation.
"Yes, the leadership review is underway," Green Party communications director John Chenery said in an email to CBC.
Voting on Paul's leadership review began yesterday and will end on Nov. 25, the day before the party's next scheduled virtual general meeting. It's the second attempt to eject Paul from the leadership since the summer.
The Green Party of Canada is moving ahead with the leadership vote despite Paul announcing on Sept. 27 that she would be stepping down. The Toronto Star first confirmed party president Lorraine Rekmans launched the leadership review days after the federal election.
Paul personally failed to secure a seat in that election and the Green Party saw its share of the national vote diminish. Such leadership reviews are considered routine and follow an election loss, but the speed with which the party moved to launch the review reportedly caught some of Paul's supporters off-guard.
Paul's departure delayed
According to an email obtained by CBC, Paul first learned of the leadership review on Sept. 26. One day later, Paul announced her resignation — a move that should have made the leadership review moot.
But Paul's departure is moving slower than many in the party expected. She was supposed to leave earlier this month, following exit negotiations with the party.
Paul and the party are negotiating compensation for the legal fees she incurred taking the party's top brass to arbitration to block their last attempt to remove her from the leadership. In July, some on the Greens' federal council attempted to trigger an early leadership review after one of the party's MPs, Jenica Atwin, crossed the floor to the Liberals.
The arbitrator ruled in Paul's favour, telling federal party council members they could not proceed. Unsatisfied with the ruling, the party executive filed a notice of application for leave to appeal in the Ontario Superior Court that argued the arbitrator erred.
One person connected to the party, but not authorized to speak publicly, told CBC News that court application has been withdrawn. The Ontario Superior Court indicates it is still an active case.
It's not known how much compensation Paul is seeking. Green Party sources tell CBC that while the party isn't opposed to paying for Paul's legal fees, it's struggling with fundraising. Last week, the party laid off 11 staffers.
"We have been running large monthly deficits since February of this year, and our financial situation is not sustainable," says an internal party memo from the party's financial arm, the Green Fund.
"These layoffs are vitally important to avoiding insolvency and putting our party on secure financial footing heading into the next election — keeping in mind the minority nature of our current government."
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“Fundamentally undemocratic” to keep People's Party out of leaders' debates
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Racism, transphobia big problems in Green Party, internal report says
Racism, transphobia big problems in Green Party, internal report says
An internal report stated that racism and transphobia are significant problems within the National Green Party that the organization has failed to manage effectively.
“There is systemic racism at the party’s governance level that needs to be addressed, but is not being addressed,” says the party’s Ombudsman and Appeals Committee report, which was released internally in mid-July. But not made public.
The report, a copy of which was obtained, says several complaints about prejudicial behavior within “spaces” involving the Green Party have been submitted through established party procedures. This includes personal space such as election campaigns and events and informal, online spaces associated with the Green Party.
Greens’ Annie Paul asks party officials for ‘space to unite’, tells PM to ‘back off’
“Transphobic and racially prejudiced statements are regularly shared, and a culture that tolerates them is endemic within the party (and within society as a whole),” said the committee’s report. Review the concerns of members about the party.
It said that despite anti-racism efforts to promote diversity and inclusion, the party has received numerous complaints and is unable to deal with them. It doesn’t explain why the installed procedures are not working.
The report noted that party members who initiate complaints about aggressive conduct of other members do not receive consistent answers, and complainants are rarely informed of progress or proposals, if any. .
Although the party organization has dealt with most “open and serious complaints”, it struggles to properly address the more “subtle or minor” complaints.
The report was produced in response to a complaint from a party member based on allegations published in the Toronto Star in April about various Green Party officials, but the 15-page document takes a look at the culture as a whole.
Green leader Annie Paul has been at odds with the Federal Council, a governing body elected by party members. In June, one of the party’s three lawmakers joined the Liberals amid a dispute over Middle East policy.
When Jenika Atwin left the Greens, members of the Federal Council, led by Ms. Paul, initiated a no-confidence vote, and attempted to cancel her party’s membership – a development that ended when Ms. Paul appealed to a arbitrator. Key, which blocked both moves. This dispute is now in the courts. The party has elected a new federal council, including a new president.
The new chairman, Lorraine Reckmans, did not immediately respond when asked for comment on the details of the report’s findings.
When The Granthshala asked Ms Paul for comment, party communications director John Chenery said the leader would not comment on internal documents.
“[Ms. Paul] Green was elected to bring more diversity and inclusion to the party and is committed to doing so,” Mr Chenry said in a statement.
Without providing names or details, the report states that former leadership contenders have participated in sharing transphobic material and “persistently incorrectly, consistently using members’ preferred pronouns when or not talking about them.” “
It said complaints fall under the categories of unintentionally inappropriate conduct due to lack of education or life experience, recklessly offensive conduct due to unintentional prejudice, and intentionally offensive conduct such as abuses and direct and personal attacks.
And it says the system for responding to member complaints about unfair and discriminatory behavior is “structurally flawed.” It is essential that those harmed by the offensive conduct “to do significant self-imposed labor” to make a complaint and follow up on that conduct to address it.
“It does not proceed in a timely manner or continuously notify the complainants about the status of their complaints,” the report said.
The recommendations of the 2019 Diversity and Inclusion Report tackled the issue, but the most recent report says it has not been fixed.
The report also noted that Ms. Paul’s efforts to prioritize these issues had been stalled by the previous Federal Council and the IED. [interim executive director]”
The July report recommends creating an accountability system that includes people taking personal responsibility for their actions. Apart from other recommendations, it also says that the complainants should be given timely advice about the status and consequences of their complaints.
While national party leaders are traveling to Canada, Ms. Paul is campaigning in and around Toronto Center, Mr. Chenery said.
Plans for him to travel to other areas are “under consideration”, he wrote in his statement.
“The Green Party has learned a lot about how to campaign effectively during the pandemic during the 2020 leadership race and by-elections. We will use those tools to directly support the candidates through virtual events.”
In addition to security concerns over the fourth wave of the pandemic, he said traditional campaigning has a huge carbon footprint.
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New Brunswick Green Party Leader David Coon is asked about MP Jenica Atwin joining the Liberal Party
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May in Your House - The Green Party Story
EXCLUSIVE DOCUMENTS: Court documents reveal Green Party Leader Annamie Paul is being sued by her own party
Paul narrowly dodged a leadership review earlier this week as party old guard faithful to former leader Elizabeth May and vocal anti-Israel elements in the party try to maintain their stranglehold on the reigns of power. The party terminated one of Paul's key advisors, Noah Zatzman, after he made comments on social media in response to Green MPs’ posts on the recent Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Zatzman enthusiastically labelled the party “Zionist” and supportive of Israel. The ensuing drama and infighting culminated in Green MP Jenica Atwin defecting to the Liberals, where her anti-Israel sentiments were, evidently, more appropriately reflected. The Green Party has also suspended $250,000 in funding that had been earmarked for Paul's next campaign.
Paul is the only Jewish federal party leader, however she was excluded from active participation in the Liberal government's ongoing anti-Semitism summit. After outcry, Paul was permitted to attend, but only as an observer.
The documents are part of a lawsuit against Paul filed by the Green Party itself and its fundraising arm, the Green Party Fund of Canada. The documents are public and do not appear to be subject to any publication bans.
The lawsuit also undermines the now-shattered narrative that calm has been restored to the party. The documents indicate that the Green Party and the Fund are jointly seeking to overturn an impartial arbitrator's decision, arguing he exceeded his authority in requiring party executives to cancel their non-confidence vote against Paul as well as a review of her party membership.
The documents state that Paul’s employment contract was with the Green fund, a separate legal entity that controls the party finances, as opposed to the party. Therefore, the suit argues that the arbitrator “erred in law” because he had no authority to impose a contract on the party itself.
Paul downplayed the lawsuit outside her Toronto office on Thursday afternoon:
I am not feuding with anyone. There is no infighting going on. This is really a one-sided attack that is focusing attention where it shouldn’t be.
Lawyers for Rebel News gained access to these documents by sending a process server to the courthouse to retrieve them. To support our access to information efforts, please visit www.RebelInvestigates.com
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."
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https://thetyee.ca/News/2021/06/22/Annamie-Paul-Unpacking-Leadership-Threat/
Annamie Paul Is Still ‘Unpacking’ the Threat to Her Leadership
She discusses Green party turmoil, ‘character assassination’ and waging the next election in a Tyee interview.
Federal Green party Leader Annamie Paul says she is still “unpacking” whether to obey a week-old demand from her federal council that she renounce statements slamming Green MPs made by her former top aide.
In the meantime, she has a fine working relationship with her predecessor Elizabeth May and had a good one with MP Jenica Atwin before she crossed the aisle, according to Paul, who says the defection took her by surprise. If she made mistakes that caused the rift, “I definitely want to learn from that.”
Now Paul is determined to steer Greens into an expected fall federal election, she explained in a lengthy interview with The Tyee — one of the last times, she vows, she’ll take questions from any media about threats to her leadership and party unity.
Last week, The Tyee reported that Paul and May held a tense meeting before the party’s federal council considered whether to order a leadership review following Atwin’s defection and the fallout. That article by Michael Harris said that Paul warned May, who stepped down as Green party leader in 2019, that there would be consequences if she did not fully support Paul’s leadership in the council.
Paul called the account “absolutely baseless,” adding that she was not contacted for comment before the story ran. The Tyee stands by the story.
“I invite anyone to offer any proof, any substantiation to the claim that I have done anything but support Elizabeth as an MP in our party,” said Paul. “I defy anyone to find anything but positive statements from me about our relationship, about her commitment and dedication to the Green party, and her ongoing role in the party.”
In a recent story relying on an unnamed source, the National Post reported that May has been unwilling to take direction from Paul as leader and those close to May have been pushing to oust the current Green leader.
Recuperating from knee-replacement surgery, May was unavailable for comment.
For her part, Paul rejected any suggestion that she feels threatened as leader by either May or her Green colleague in the House of Commons, Paul Manly, MP for the B.C. riding of Nanaimo-Ladysmith.
Paul said that in fact May’s encouragement was “the reason” she chose to run for the Green party in the first place and then seek the leadership.
A ‘friction-free relationship’ with Atwin
The crisis facing the Green leader and her party was sparked by Fredericton MP Jenica Atwin’s June 10 departure from the Green caucus to join the governing Liberals.
The Tyee reported that multiple sources said Atwin tried unsuccessfully “to get Paul to listen to her” at a May 26 meeting “attended by several witnesses.”
Paul told The Tyee that the only meeting she recently had with Atwin involved the New Brunswick MP and her two caucus colleagues, along with their chiefs of staff.
“I don’t know who those multiple sources would be,” said the Green leader. “I choose not to believe that our caucus members or that their chiefs of staff would have provided details of a caucus meeting to a journalist.”
“In the time that I worked with Ms. Atwin, we had a friction-free relationship. We worked very closely together on many different projects,” explained Paul, who said the party supported the Fredericton MP’s private member’s bill, C-285, to ban a herbicide, as well as her lead in opposing the federal government’s pursuit of small modular nuclear reactors.
Paul added that she and Atwin co-hosted a virtual town hall Facebook meeting on mental health last month.
“She was very collegial and a great MP to her constituents,” Paul said of her former colleague. “We never exchanged harsh words between us.” When Atwin crossed the floor, it came as a complete surprise, said Paul.
‘The leader is not subordinate to council’
In her interview with The Tyee, Paul also addressed two major issues that emerged from her June 16 news conference in Ottawa, including a motion passed the night before by the Green party’s federal council calling on her to “repudiate” statements by her former senior advisor, Noah Zatzman, for his “attacks” on Green MPs and to “explicitly support” the two that remain in the Greens’ Commons caucus.
At the time, Paul told reporters that she had “not formally received the resolution.” She has since but is still “unpacking it” and has yet to decide on how to respond to it.
“It’s a complex document, which will set a precedent for me and for future leaders of the party,” said Paul, who is also a lawyer. “To my knowledge, this is the first time that anything like this has been proposed.”
The uniqueness is based on the council instructing the party leader to “take a particular action,” which for Paul is problematic since “the leader is not subordinate to or take direction from the council under our constitution.”
Elected by the Green party membership, the federal council’s role is “to govern between general meetings” and “ensure that the party follows Green values and promotes Green policies,” according to the party’s website.
If Paul fails to renounce Zatzman’s comments, a vote of confidence on her leadership would be held on July 20. Should that happen, she said she has “no evidence to the contrary” that May and Manly would support her remaining in the post.
On the day Atwin announced that she had joined the Liberal caucus, May and Manly issued a joint statement in which they said they were “heartbroken at the loss of our dear colleague” and blamed Zatzman for Atwin’s exit.
The two remaining Green MPs also said that “the attack against Ms. Atwin by the Green party leader’s chief spokesperson on May 14 created the conditions that led to this crisis.”
‘I’m a human being. I have a family’
The non-confidence motion considered at the June 15 emergency meeting of the federal council was prompted by a damning letter authored by two council members. It said, “Since her election as leader, Annamie Paul has acted with an autocratic attitude of hostility, superiority and rejection,” and “has attended few council meetings, and when in attendance, has displayed anger in long, repetitive, aggressive monologues and has failed to recognize the value of any ideas except her own.” The letter was signed by Beverly Eert, the council’s Manitoba representative, and Kate Storey, the party fund’s representative. Storey later asked that the letter be “rescinded” in “a spirit of reconciliation.”
Paul, who said in her press conference that such characterizations of her style are racist and sexist, told The Tyee that the Green party’s remaining two MPs were critical of the councillors’ allegations in the letter and an email chain, finding them to be “offensive and inflammatory and also riddled with all kinds of inaccuracies, factual and otherwise.”
“You can’t ask for more than that, and I felt really supported by them when they did that,” said Paul.
“During my time as leader, I have been very committed to modelling the kind of politics that I believe we need more of in Canada and that reflect our values as a party — and the kind of behaviour that I want my children to see,” explained the 48-year-old Paul, who has two sons, ages 17 and 20.
“They’re old enough to be able to follow everything that’s going on, but they’re also young enough so that what they see me do now in this role will affect them forever and give them lessons about how you live your life.
“I try to be honourable at all times, and that means not engaging in gossip and innuendo, and not doing anything that would damage the party.”
She said that stories about her relying on unnamed sources, “without facts to support them,” have been especially hard on her and her family.
“I entered politics eight months ago. I’m a human being. I have a family,” said Paul, noting that her mother, mother-in-law (she is married to international human rights lawyer, Mark Freeman) and one of her sons are “extremely stressed by what has been going on.”
“I’m willing to be accountable and to respond and recognize any errors I have made,” said the Green leader. “But the price of being in politics should not be reckless character assassination when you’re just trying to do good public policy.”
Last week, the National Post reported that six of the Green Party of Canada’s 18 federal councillors wanted Paul to step down as party leader (two of whom from Atlantic Canada have resigned).
Before the federal council meeting, more than 650 GPC members called for a special session to take “the first crucial first step in” removing Paul as a leader, according to the Toronto Star, which first reported on discord within Green ranks in April.
‘When I have something to say about an issue, I say it myself’
As the most recent Israeli-Palestinian conflict raged, the party issued a statement on May 10 calling for “an immediate de-escalation in the violence and a return to dialogue as a means to seeking a peaceful solution.”
“Violence and confrontation will not bring resolution, only more suffering,” tweeted Paul as part of that message.
She told The Tyee that statement, as with others, was shared with MPs for their feedback.
However on the day the Green party’s statement on the Middle East situation appeared on Twitter, Manly posted his own comment, comparing the planned removal of Palestinian families in the East Jerusalem neighbourhood of Sheikh Jarrah to “ethnic cleansing.”
And the day after, Atwin called the party’s statement “totally inadequate” and said she stood “with Palestine and condemn the unthinkable air strikes in Gaza,” concluding with the words, “End Apartheid!” in a tweet that has since been removed.
On May 14, Zatzman replied on Facebook, denouncing the “appalling anti-Semitism and discrimination” from “Green MPs.”
At her news conference last week, Paul stressed with reporters that she has never sanctioned any party members “for their views on any foreign policy matter,” but said she also doesn’t “agree with many of the views that have been expressed by our MPs, but they, of course, [are] welcome to express them.”
Atwin, on June 14 after leaving the Greens for the Liberals, issued a statement that her “words regarding the conflict between Palestinians and Israel were intended to send strength and love to peoples” and that she regretted if her “choice of words caused harm to those who are suffering.”
Anti-Semitism, Islamophobia and racism are all “wrong,” Atwin said. “I am looking forward to sitting down with my new colleagues and stakeholders to continue my learning on this matter, and to continue to support a two-state solution.”
Two days later, at her press conference, Paul told reporters that she “never had a conversation about Israel and Palestine, one-on-one, ever,” and “did not know Ms. Atwin was someone who followed Middle Eastern politics closely, to be perfectly honest with you.”
Paul said she believes the Israeli-Palestinian issue was “a completely manufactured reason for leaving” the Greens.
As for Zatzman, who has stepped aside from his senior advisor role prior to the July 4 expiration of his contract with the party, Paul declined to discuss him.
“Noah is a private citizen now. He’s not working with the GPC or my office,” said the Green leader.
She also clarified that Zatzman’s now-infamous Facebook post was not on her behalf.
“The Green party leader has never had spokespeople,” Paul explained. “When I have something to say about an issue, I say it myself.”
Blaming Trudeau
In her Tyee interview, Paul doubled down on another accusation she levelled in the press conference, elaborating on why she blamed Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for undermining her leadership by poaching Atwin.
“By the direct account of his intergovernmental affairs minister, Dominic LeBlanc, he was kept in the loop the entire time and consulted about the approach,” said Paul. “He spoke with Ms. Atwin before she made her decision, and so this was something that was planned, co-ordinated and executed by minister LeBlanc with the total knowledge and sanction of the prime minister.”
In behind-the-scenes details of that arrangement, the Telegraph-Journal reported that former New Brunswick Liberal MP T.J. Harvey told LeBlanc that Atwin was unhappy, and the Fredericton MP confirmed to the Saint John-based daily newspaper what she had shared with friends that party infighting was consuming her.
LeBlanc held three in-person meetings with Atwin, and had a call with Trudeau and with Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland.
Atwin told the Telegraph-Journal that “it wasn’t about [LeBlanc] approaching me, or me approaching him. It was kind of organic.”
During their discussions, LeBlanc said he told Atwin that if she decided to join the Liberal caucus, she “would be in a better position” to pursue projects she wanted to advance in her riding. He also pitched the advantages of having him and the prime minster as caucus colleagues, and how Fredericton would “obviously benefit from government programs and government decisions.”
LeBlanc also told the newspaper that his first meeting with Atwin was on May 20 — after the social-media blowout over comments on the Middle East conflict.
New Brunswick Green leader David Coon told the Telegraph-Journal that Atwin spoke to him about Zatzman’s Facebook post.
Atwin did not respond to an interview request from The Tyee.
However, on CTV’s Question Period, she said that on a Zoom call with Paul, she presented the Green leader with an “ultimatum” on changes Atwin felt were needed for her to stay with the party, and that her departure “had everything to do with... irreconcilable differences.”
The newly minted Liberal MP’s website has yet to be updated to reflect her new political affiliation and still lists her Green party critic duties.
Yet May and Manly want Atwin to return to the fold, as The Tyee reported before Paul’s press conference, and May has said that Paul should apologize to Atwin and try and recruit her back to the Greens.
May and Manly also reportedly asked the federal council at its recent meeting to pass a motion formally asking Atwin to rejoin the Greens.
Paul’s focus, however, is on how the Liberals targeted Fredericton as a way to secure a riding in Atlantic Canada, where she said the party’s polling numbers have been rising since her election as leader.
“They absolutely would have known that proactively seeking to do this would be extremely destabilizing to our party and to my leadership, given the likelihood that we’re going to be in an election in the next couple of months,” said Paul. “It would be something that would require work to repair, particularly in a party as small as ours.”
In the 2019 federal election, the Greens captured 6.4 per cent of the popular vote.
Paul said she is “not seeking any special favours” and acknowledged that partisan loyalties shift. Two years ago, Quebec MP Pierre Nantel was dropped from the NDP caucus after it was revealed he was in talks to join the Greens. He ran as a Green candidate in the 2019 federal election, and lost his seat representing the riding of Longueuil-Saint-Hubert.
But the fact that the Trudeau-led Liberals wooed Atwin deeply rankles Paul. She believes the prime minister should know “how incredibly difficult it is for someone like me to win a role like this — and to break all of the barriers to arrive at this moment.”
Paul noted that she is only the second woman, after May, to lead a federal party over the past 15 years, and that the Liberal Party of Canada has never had a female leader.
Atwin ‘made her choice. It’s very disappointing. I accept that’
It was, Paul said, “a very sad and disappointing day” when she learned that Atwin had joined the Liberals.
“We’re a very small party,” said Paul. “Jenica still is someone who is very respected and quite loved amongst the membership of our party. She’s a very active, hardworking MP, so it was certainly a loss for her to go.”
“Certainly, I would have liked the opportunity, had I known she was in these discussions, to make the case. But she has her reasons and ultimately, this is a very personal decision, so I accept it,” said the Green leader, who has called for a byelection in Fredericton since voters in the 2019 federal election voted for a Green MP.
Still, she conceded that if there were something she “could have done differently or better” regarding her relationship with Atwin, Paul said, “I definitely want to learn from that.”
Atwin’s departure also compounds the uphill battle the Greens will face in gaining seats when Canadians go to the polls — a situation, Paul said, the Liberals promised to address in 2015 when the party’s platform committed to making that year’s election the last under the first-past-the-post system and “the prime minister promised to change the system because he recognized that it was unfair and damaging to our democracy.”
Paul reflected on departures from Trudeau’s Commons team during his first prime ministerial term. Jody Wilson-Raybould and Jane Philpott stepped down from cabinet in protest over his handling of the SNC Lavalin affair and were subsequently tossed from caucus.
May tried to convince both women to join the Green team during the 2019 federal election campaign, but they opted to seek re-election as Independents. Wilson-Raybould held onto her Vancouver-Granville seat; Philpott lost hers to Liberal Helena Jaczek in the Ontario riding of Markham-Stouffville.
In 2018, the Trudeau Liberals experienced their first floor-crossing since forming government in 2015, when Toronto-area MP Leona Alleslev joined the Conservatives.
A year later, the Liberals lost another Ontario MP, Celina Caesar-Chavannes — as Paul highlighted, “the only Black woman in Parliament who felt so out of place with the party that she left the caucus and sat as an Independent.”
The Green leader also remembered the leadership woes the NDP’s Jagmeet Singh experienced when in 2018 several caucus members announced they would not seek re-election — before he won a House seat to represent the B.C. riding of Burnaby South in a 2019 byelection.
Paul said that she has not personally heard from any of the opposition leaders in the Commons.
Official Opposition and Conservative Leader Erin O’Toole, however, reportedly said that he has “great respect” for Paul and finds her “very intelligent” and said that his “interactions with her have been very engaging.”
Paul said she has also not been contacted by Atwin since the latter left the Green caucus.
“Neither I nor the party ever received any formal notice of her decision, either before or after,” said the Green leader, who underscored that something “basic” as a letter would have been expected, “given the importance” of Atwin’s leaving the GPC.
“I don’t know how her office is running. I understand that her chief of staff, [Shannon Carmont], has stepped down,” Paul added.
Carmont did not respond to a request for confirmation from The Tyee, which also learned that she participated in the Greens’ recent federal council meeting.
When asked whether Paul would follow her predecessor and reach out to Atwin directly, the Green leader said that she could not “comment on whatever Elizabeth has done about that.”
“I’m very strict about commenting on anything that’s internal,” said Paul. “It’s so important for me to model the behaviour that I think is important for us to have as a party — one that is disciplined and professional, and where we can have confidence that [what] we speak about in-camera actually stay that way.”
Green federal council meetings are open to the public, she added, but “any future conversation that I have with Ms. Atwin would be between myself and Ms. Atwin, unless we were to agree otherwise. I’m not the kind of person to transmit messages to a former Green through the media.”
Still, Paul acknowledged that Atwin “made her choice and made it clear that [the Liberal party] is where she feels most at home.
“It’s very disappointing, but I accept that,” said the Green leader.
The election battle ahead
Paul is now looking to hers and the party’s future.
She said her campaign platform for the Green leadership was focused on diversity, building on her work with the Canadian Centre for Political Leadership, which she established early in the century to train women and under-represented minorities to run for elected office, along with volunteering with Operation Black Vote Canada and serving on the steering committee for Equal Voice Canada.
Operation Black Vote released a statement last week that said while “trailblazing journeys are never easy, and breaking barriers always comes at a cost,” what Paul has recently experienced is “inexcusable” and “unlike the experiences of her federal counterparts or predecessor in the Green Party of Canada.”
Paul emphasized with The Tyee that she received a strong mandate from Green party members, 70 per cent of whom voted in the leadership election.
On the eighth round of voting, Paul received 12,090 ballots or 54.5 per cent of the vote to become the ninth Green leader on Oct. 3, 2020.
“I ran as who I am,” said Toronto-born Paul, who will make her third attempt at winning the Toronto Centre riding in the next federal election. “I am a woman, I am a woman of colour. I’m a Black person. I’m a Jewish person. All of these things were well known to our members, and they voted for me and my platform.
“Our members are extremely committed to making sure that over time we become the most diverse party in Canadian politics.”
To that end, she explained, the Green party’s “Time to Run” campaign has attracted hundreds of applications from people seeking the party nomination — 67 per cent of whom represent “equity-seeking groups,” including from the BIPOC and LGBTQ+ communities, to people of low-income.
Paul remains hopeful that the federal Greens will be able to weather the hurricane that has ripped through the party.
“If we can unify and rally together as members,” she said, “we can get through this.” ![[Tyee]](https://thetyee.ca/ui/img/ico_fishie.png){kind=small}
Read more: Federal Politics
Struggle for control of Green party heads to court
Wed., July 21, 2021
https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/annamie-paul-green-party-legal-action-1.6111847
Green party takes battle with leader Annamie Paul to court
Party wants to overturn arbitration that cancelled confidence vote, membership review
The Green Party and its associated fund are taking their battle with party leader Annamie Paul to court — ending a tentative truce between Paul and party executives just as a federal election call is expected within weeks.
Court documents show that Paul took action to stop the party from holding a confidence vote on her leadership and reviewing her party membership.
The court documents say the dispute ended up in the hands of an arbitrator, who decided to quash the non-confidence vote scheduled for July 20 and call off the membership review.
In their court filing, the Green Party of Canada Fund and the Green Party of Canada are asking the Ontario Superior Court to quash the arbitration orders that set aside both the non-confidence vote and the leadership review until after the party elects a new federal council on Aug. 19. The filing is also asking for costs.
The party and the fund — which controls the party's purse strings — argue that the arbitrator exceeded his authority in setting aside the confidence vote and the leadership review because Paul's contract was with the fund, not the party's federal council.
They also argue that the arbitration process limited the "activities, decisions and communications of members" in relation to the dispute.
The conflict between Paul and her party hit a crisis point in May when, during an escalation of violence in the Middle East, Paul issued a statement calling for a de-escalation and a return to dialogue.
Fredericton MP Jenica Atwin, who left the Green Party for the Liberals in June, called the statement "totally inadequate." Her departure left the Greens with just two MPs.
Paul's political adviser at the time, Noah Zatzman, said in a May 14 Facebook post that he had experienced antisemitism and discrimination within the party and criticized politicians he said were displaying antisemitism, including Green MPs.
He wrote: "We will work to bring in progressive climate champions who are antifa and pro LGBT and pro indigenous sovereignty and Zionists!!!!!"
Party wants arbitration decisions set aside
The party's federal council told Paul she had to comply with its directive to publicly repudiate Zatzman's comments in order to avoid a confidence vote.
Despite Paul's refusal to admonish Zatzman, the party issued a statement Monday confirming the cancellation of the vote.
On Monday, Paul told reporters in Toronto that she will face a scheduled leadership review after the next federal election, but for now — with an election call expected within weeks — she needs the party's support.
"I want to lead us into the next election," Paul said. "I want to offer my service to our members and to Canada and I'm hoping that those that feel otherwise will wait until a more appropriate time to make a move."
That move appears to have come sooner than Paul may have expected. The court documents argue that "it was the action of Ms. Paul" that prompted the party to review her membership.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/elizabeth-may-speaks-out-unity-call-1.6110163
Elizabeth May tells Greens to 'pull together' before anticipated fall election
May said she has played no role in the Green Party's battles with leader Annamie Paul
Speaking publicly for the first time about her party's internal strife, former Green party leader Elizabeth May is urging those who oppose leader Annamie Paul to strike a truce with her allies before a widely anticipated fall election.
"I fully support the Green Party of Canada, our values and our constitution," she said in a media statement today. "Our leader is Annamie Paul and only our members have authority to call that into question.
"We need to pull together for what appears to be an imminent election campaign."
May's comments came a day after Paul held a press conference in Toronto and urged her opponents within the party to unite behind her for the coming election.
"I want to lead us into the next election. I want to offer my service to our members and to Canada and I'm hoping that those that feel otherwise will wait until a more appropriate time to make a move," Paul said Monday.
The conflict between Paul and elements in her party hit a crisis point in May when, during an escalation of violence in the Middle East, Paul issued a statement calling for de-escalation and a return to dialogue.
Fredericton MP Jenica Atwin, who left the Green party for the Liberals in June, called Paul's statement "totally inadequate." Her departure left the Greens with just two MPs.
Paul's political adviser at the time, Noah Zatzman, said in a May 14 Facebook post that he had experienced antisemitism and discrimination within the party and criticized politicians he said were displaying antisemitism, including Green MPs.
He wrote that he would work to "bring in progressive climate champions who are antifa and pro LGBT and pro indigenous sovereignty and Zionists!!!!!"
Federal council vs. Paul
The party's federal council told Paul she had to publicly repudiate Zatzman's comments in order to avoid a confidence vote. She has refused to do so and the party now seems to have settled into a truce.
Today, May told The Tyee that she believes the failure to address Zatzman's antisemitism claims led directly to Atwin's defection.
"To me, that's deeply shocking that was allowed to happen without him being reprimanded and immediately removed. This was not a grey area. This was a serious transgression for anyone in any leader's office in any party in the history of any democracy that I can think of," May told The Tyee.
"It was deeply unacceptable. That's why we lost Jenica."
In her statement today, May said she was deeply troubled by Atwin's departure and the rest of the party felt the same way — but "the misplaced anger, blame and name-calling that have followed it are doing even more damage than the event itself."
May said she hadn't spoken out about the internal party strife before now because Paul had asked her not to wade in, fearing that her 13 years at the party's helm could influence the debate too greatly.
May also said that she has not been involved in the party's internal arguments and has no role with the party's federal council or any of the party's subcommittees.
"Rumours have prompted media to continue to ask for clarification if I am playing some role in party matters. I have no role — official or unofficial — in any of the Green Party governing bodies," May said.
CBC's Journalistic Standards and Practices
https://thetyee.ca/Analysis/2021/06/16/Annamie-Paul-Elizabeth-May-Rough-Meeting/
Annamie Paul and Elizabeth May Had a Very Rough Meeting
The besieged Green leader demanded full support from her predecessor or else, according to sources.
Michael Harris Michael Harris, a Tyee contributing editor, is a highly-awarded journalist and documentary maker. Author of Party of One, the bestselling exposé of the Harper government, his investigations have sparked four commissions of inquiry.
Better days: Green party Leader Annamie Paul
between Green party MPs Elizabeth May and Paul Manly in Ottawa last
October. Now Paul faces a vote to oust her, and insiders worry that
could result in accusations of racism and anti-semitism in the party.
Photo: Sean Kilpatrick, the Canadian Press
In a tense meeting of the Green Party of Canada’s national council on Tuesday, it was decided that the leadership of Annamie Paul will be put to a formal review vote on July 20, if the leader does not publicly repudiate statements by a former senior advisor, Noah Zatzman, and “explicitly support” the Green party caucus. As of this morning, no statement has come from the Green leader.
The move comes less than a year after Paul became the first woman of colour to win the leadership of a federal party.*
In the wake of last night’s meeting, two members of the national council resigned, both from the Maritime region. In practical terms, that will make it more difficult to get the necessary three-quarters vote majority on July 20 to recommend ousting the leader under the party’s constitution. Such a vote would be a huge blow to Paul, though the national council cannot unilaterally remove the leader via a vote of no confidence.
Last night’s meeting was preceded by an hour and 45 minute meeting between the leader Paul and former leader Elizabeth May, that did not go well. May was reportedly told that unless she supported the leader 100 per cent at national council, there would be consequences.
May attended only part of the national council meeting and left before the vote was taken.
Sources close to the situation worry that if Paul is removed, it could mire the party in accusations of racism and anti-semitism based on her experiences as leader. That kind of caustic debate on highly-sensitive matters could easily sink any hope the party might have of gaining more seats at the next election, which could come as early as fall.
Under the party’s constitution, Paul had to be provided with the written case in favour of reviewing her leadership. Sources who have seen that document told The Tyee that it was poorly done.
Paul’s troubles began when her former senior advisor Noah Zatzman attacked members of the Green party’s three-person caucus over criticism of Israel’s government, vowing to work to get them defeated. Green MPs Jenica Atwin and Paul Manly had stood up for Palestinian rights after Israel’s evictions of Palestinians in East Jerusalem, and subsequent heavy bombing in Gaza that killed 67 children under the age of 18. Zatzman’s outburst eventually triggered New Brunswick MP Atwin to leave the Green caucus and cross the floor to sit with the Liberals.
Paul’s version of Atwin’s defection is that the dispute over the Israel-Palestine issue was merely a “manufactured” reason to justify something that had been in the works before that policy dispute.
The two remaining members of the Green caucus, Manly and May, have spearheaded an attempt to convince Atwin to return to the Greens. Part of that process would entail an apology from the leader to both Atwin and Manly for the attack they endured from Zatzman. So far, Paul has eschewed that option.
Zatzman, meanwhile, is ending his paid role as advisor to Paul, his contract not renewed.
With speculation mounting that May and Manly could be the next MPs to abandon the Green party, the two MPs recently put out a statement making it clear that they have no intention of leaving the Greens
The principal beneficiary of the very public feud going on in the Green party is the Liberal Party of Canada. It could make it easier for the Liberals to hold Toronto-Centre where Paul is trying to win a seat in Parliament, and gain Atwin’s New Brunswick riding if she can retain the seat as a Liberal.
Should the national council vote by a three-quarter majority on July 20 to review Paul’s leadership, the actual review would be conducted by all Green party members at a general meeting already planned for August.
Should Paul be removed at that time, the Green party would be faced with coming up with an interim leader who could unite the party in short order, and be ready to perform in both the English and French debates should Justin Trudeau call an election.
*Story updated on June 16 at 7:35 a.m. to correct erroneous reporting based on preliminary information coming out of the marathon meeting as vote counts were underway.
*Story updated on June 16 at 9:40 a.m.
to correct that it has been less than a year since Annamie Paul won the
leadership of the federal Green party, not a year and a half.
Read more: Federal Politics
https://thetyee.ca/News/2021/07/20/The-Man-Who-Upended-Canadas-Green-Party/
The Man Who Upended Canada’s Green Party
As Annamie Paul dodges a non-confidence vote, former aide Noah Zatzman scoffs at the idea he put her career in peril.
Annamie Paul was set to face a non-confidence vote today. But the meeting that could have derailed her leadership of the Green Party of Canada was cancelled two days ago.
On Monday, she gave a press conference, pleading for party unity. Sometime next year, after an expected fall election has been waged, she expects to face a leadership review. Until then, she said, “I hope people will continue to support me. I hope I will be given the opportunity to serve.”
Paul has regained some footing as she scrambles to avoid sinking into a pit of intrigue within her own ranks. But how did she find herself on the brink in the first place?
A key figure in the drama is Noah Zatzman, until recently her trusted senior advisor, a little-known political operative who helped Annamie Paul make history as the federal Green party’s first Black and Jewish leader.
Zatzman was the go-to guy who helped facilitate publicity and media contact for Paul when she was elected the ninth leader of the Green Party of Canada on Oct. 3, 2020.
He claims credit for helping Paul run strong in her latest byelection bid, a daunting task, he says, given he’d found a Green party apparatus “in disarray.”
And then, on May 14, Zatzman triggered a crisis for his client when on Facebook he accused “a range of political actors” of “appalling anti-Semitism and discrimination.”
Guilty of such bigotry, he said, were federal NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh, former Green leadership candidate Dimitri Lascaris and “many Liberal NDP and sadly Green MPs.”
“We will not accept an apology after you realize what you’ve done. We will work to defeat you and bring in progressive climate champions who are antifa and pro LGBT and pro indigenous sovereignty and Zionists!!!!!” wrote Zatzman, who is gay.
In response, the Green party’s federal council passed a motion calling on Paul to “repudiate” Zatzman for his “attacks” on Green MPs.
Paul has yet do so, adding fuel to a mounting rebellion within the party’s federal council, which is poised to cut money and staff key to her political success.
While Paul has not yielded to the demand she disown Zatzman’s statements, the man who made them shows no intention of walking them back. He is no longer on the Green payroll. But Zatzman scoffs at the idea that he has placed Paul’s career in peril, and he maintains there is a serious problem of anti-Semitism inside the Greens. “I meant what I said,” he told The Tyee.
Other Green insiders hold him responsible for an existential crisis for the party that once employed him, and say he has never been adequately held accountable. A Jewish aide to MP Paul Manly placed Zatzman in the category of some who manage to be both progressive and aligned with “the most radical right-wing politicians in Israel.” He sharply differed with Zatzman, saying that “criticizing human rights abuses is not anti-Semitism.”
Who is Noah Zatzman, how did he come to play such a key role in the political rise and stumble of Annamie Paul, and what can the controversy surrounding him tell us about fissures running within the Green Party of Canada?
‘I SHOWED UP EVERY DAY’
Zatzman had never met Annamie Paul until July of last year, an introduction made through mutual family friends. Just prior to joining her team, he was doing media relations work for Climate Strike Canada.
The 37-year-old, Halifax-born Toronto resident played a behind-the-scenes role as he had for over a decade, working mainly in the world of public relations and communications.
Between 2011 and 2015, Zatzman served as publicist for Bell Media’s Discovery channel. Afterward, he spent nearly three years in former Ontario Liberal premier Kathleen Wynne’s office as a special assistant and later senior advisor for tour operations.
Before that, Zatzman — an active provincial Liberal — lived in Ottawa between 2008 and 2009 and worked as a special assistant for Ontario Liberal member of Parliament and future industry minister, Navdeep Bains.
Zatzman joined the effort to win Paul a seat in last October’s federal byelection in Toronto Centre. Just three weeks after becoming Green leader, Paul placed a close second behind former CTV broadcaster Marci Ien, who held Toronto Centre for the governing Liberals — a dramatic improvement from Paul’s fourth-place finish in the same riding in the 2019 federal election.
Paul’s byelection campaign was led by Sean Yo, who also ran Ontario Green party Leader Mike Schreiner’s successful 2018 general election bid to become the province’s first Green member of Ontario’s legislature.
Zatzman views his contribution to the October effort the “most important thing” he did for Paul. “The party didn’t know how to run the byelection,” he said. “I spent the first seven days with her in Ottawa doing media — basically a hundred interviews a day.”
“The party gave us no support. The only one who helped us was Rosie Emery, [the party’s press secretary],” said Zatzman.
“I showed up every day at Annamie’s residence in my Toyota and we went around Toronto Centre.”
Zatzman didn’t expect to stick around after the votes were counted, but said he recognized that the party was in “complete disarray” and he decided to stay with Paul and help run her office as a volunteer.
“I ended up dropping all my clients,” he explained. “But Annamie and the party said, ‘You have to eat.’” So this year he entered into a six-month contract, which Zatzman said was set to expire this July.
However, an email sent by Doug Tingey, president of the party’s fund to GPC members, indicated that the federal council’s executive committee passed a motion on June 4 that Zatzman’s contract would not be extended — and that “he was advised to stop working,” Tingey told The Tyee.
Cut loose from the Greens today, Zatzman takes no responsibility for placing Paul’s position within the party in peril.
He said that Paul’s problems originate from both a disgruntled federal council and an attempt by former federal leader Elizabeth May’s “old guard to keep control over the organs of the party.”
“That is completely untrue at every level,” said May in an exclusive interview with The Tyee. “Noah has no basis to say that. He was not on council.”
THE SPLIT ON ISRAEL
The latest round of decades of fighting between Israel and Palestinians started with Palestinian protests in East Jerusalem over Israel’s impending removal of six families from a region annexed by Israel and claimed by Palestinians. The death toll would ultimately include 256 Palestinians (66 of whom were children) and 13 Israelis (including two children). As Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad launched rockets into Israel and Israel waged air strikes on Gaza, the Green party, on May 10, issued a statement calling for “an immediate de-escalation in the violence and a return to dialogue as a means to seeking a peaceful solution.” For some in the party, that did not go far enough in criticizing Israel’s policies and methods.
Green MP Paul Manly, who represents the B.C. riding of Nanaimo-Ladysmith, compared the planned removal of Palestinian families in the East Jerusalem neighbourhood of Sheikh Jarrah to “ethnic cleansing.”
Then-Green Fredericton MP Jenica Atwin, who left the party a month later and joined the Liberal caucus, tweeted that she found the official Green response to the Middle East conflict “totally inadequate.” In the since-removed tweet, Atwin said that “forced evictions must end” and that she stood “with Palestine and condemn[s] the unthinkable air strikes in Gaza,” concluding with the words, “End Apartheid!”
Then came Zatzman’s social media rebuttal vowing to work to defeat MPs in his party and replace them with pro-Israel “Zionists.” Followed in turn by Green federal council demand that Paul disown such statements. And charges that Zatzman’s accusations and Paul’s reticence to disown them had caused Atwin to go.
Paul declined to discuss with The Tyee her relationship with Zatzman, but said that his now-infamous Facebook post was not made on her behalf.
Zatzman makes no apologies for posting his comments.
“I’m very offended by the suggestion that I didn’t have the agency to call out the anti-Semitism,” said Zatzman, noting that he was never “an aide” or “a staffer” in Paul’s office and that he always used his personal Gmail, not a Green party email account, to communicate with journalists.
“My association with Annamie had nothing to do with the Green party. I was a consultant and friend who helped manage her office.”
He said he has not talked with Paul since he stepped aside from his advisory role last month prior to the July 4 expiration of his contract.
However, Zatzman underscored that even if he had been on the Green party staff, he still would have called out the MPs on anti-Semitism.
“There’s an old-school notion on Parliament Hill that only the 338 MPs and the prime minister’s chief of staff have the agency to say anything. I’m sorry. In the U.S. and western Europe, it’s not like that,” he said, adding that he has no regrets about his Facebook post based on Paul’s mantra that “silence emboldens hate.”
“My remarks were supported and shared by the organized Jewish community,” said Zatzman, who added that his name is now being used as a “synonym” or “stand-in” for that community in addressing anti-Semitism and that by extension, the federal council is really asking Paul to “repudiate” the Jewish community as a whole.
“The party is tolerant in so many ways, but not for Jewish people — there is no room for dissent from me.”
His family has strong Jewish roots in Canada. His great uncle Joseph Zatzman was the first Jewish mayor in Canada east of Montreal — in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia from 1964 to 1967. His mother’s family ran Hyman’s Bookstore — a Jewish commercial landmark on Toronto’s Spadina Avenue — from 1926 to 1971.
In terms of his ideology, Zatzman said that as a “liberal” and “left-wing eco-Jew,” most closely aligned with the views of the Israeli Labor Party or the social-democratic and green Israeli party, Meretz, he too shared the “astonishment that international law was being broken at Sheikh Jarrah and the heinousness of [former Israeli prime minister Benjamin] Netanyahu’s administration to impose such a thing on Palestinians.”
However, expressing opposition to that action using such terms as “apartheid” or “ethnic cleansing” is “anti-Semitism,” according to Zatzman, who said he relies on the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s definition of the word, which neither directly mentions “apartheid” nor “ethnic cleansing.”
Zatzman, who said he supports the partition of Palestine, believes it to be difficult for “people who have never been to the region, and who are not Jewish or Arab or Palestinian or Israeli with skin in the game” to fully understand the dynamic playing out among all groups on the ground.
He said he has visited Israel almost every year since he was 17.
‘What is happening in East Jerusalem is ethnic cleansing,’ wrote Ilan Goldenblatt, an aide to Green MP Paul Manly, shown here adjusting the knot on Manly’s tie. At centre is John Kidder, husband of Green MP and former party leader Elizabeth May. Photo supplied.
Zatzman also clarified that he wasn’t calling for Manly’s and Atwin’s defeat during the federal election. “My intent was I wanted to challenge them in their nominations,” said Zatzman, who added that it was his “right” as a Green party member to do so.
But as May pointed out, the two MPs had already been nominated as Green candidates earlier in the year — and furthermore, in a June 1 interview with La Presse, he said that he did not “regret calling Paul Manly and Jenica Atwin anti-Semitic.”
“He said that if in transforming the party to make it more mainstream we lose Jenica Atwin, along the way, oh well, big deal,” said May, the Green MP for the B.C. riding of Saanich-Gulf Islands. “At that point, he was still in the leader’s office — still listed by some media as our chief spokesperson, senior advisor. I don’t know what his official title ever was.”
“To me, that’s deeply shocking that was allowed to happen without him being reprimanded and immediately removed. This was not a grey area. This was a serious transgression for anyone in any leader’s office in any party in the history of any democracy that I can think of,” she said.
“It was deeply unacceptable. That’s why we lost Jenica.”
May raised the Middle East crisis during question period in the House of Commons shortly after Atwin and Manly tweeted their comments and before Zatzman posted his on Facebook. May told The Tyee that she agreed with their positions — not necessarily Atwin’s wording — on the situation facing the Palestinians because those views reflect the party’s policy.
Zatzman said he considers May “a great friend of the Jewish community” and recalled how he was moved to tears nearly four years ago when he and now-former Supreme Court justice Rosalie Abella sat together in the Commons gallery and watched May deliver a highly emotional speech following the federal government’s official apology for Canada’s decision to turn away the MS St. Louis and its 907 German Jewish passengers fleeing the Nazi regime in 1939.
As for the other two MPs, Zatzman said that prior to the social-media skirmish over their “settler-colonialist narrative” on Israel, he was “in touch multiple times a day” with their staff.
“We were friends,” said Zatzman, who told The Tyee that he “begged Jenica to retract” her tweet in text messages he sent to her now-former chief of staff, Shannon Carmont, over the course of two days. He said that he only met Atwin three times over Zoom calls.
On June 14, after leaving the Greens for the Liberals, Atwin issued a statement in which she said her “words regarding the conflict between Palestinians and Israel were intended to send strength and love to peoples” and that she regretted if her “choice of words caused harm to those who are suffering.”
Zatzman wonders why Atwin “said yes to the prime minister, but no to Annamie Paul” about walking back her original remarks. He said that “as a Jewish person” he felt personally offended by “the anti-Semitism that was disseminated.”
At her June 16 news conference in Ottawa, which The Tyee reported on, Paul said that she did “not consider any of our MPs to be anti-Semites — I have said that repeatedly.”
“I have also said that there is a great deal of room for differences of opinion in our party. That is one of our hallmarks. None of the members of our party have ever been sanctioned by me in any way for their views on any foreign-policy matter.”
Atwin has not responded to interview requests; Manly declined an interview.
‘DOES NOAH REPRESENT THEM?’
Paul Manly’s chief of staff, Ilan Goldenblatt, is an Israeli-born Jew who wants to make it clear that “criticizing human rights abuses is not anti-Semitism.”
So clear, in fact, that he gave that title to a post he placed on Manly’s blog.
In it, Goldenblatt noted that he is the son of Montreal Jews who immigrated to Israel (made “Aliya”) in 1972 as Zionists. When he was 17, he went on a high-school trip to Poland to visit the Nazi death camps. Goldenblatt also served in the Israeli Defense Forces, known in Israel by the Hebrew acronym, Tzahal.
He also relied on the same words Manly and Atwin used in their tweets to describe the situation in the occupied Palestinian territories.
“What is happening in East Jerusalem is ethnic cleansing,” wrote Goldenblatt, who moved to Canada in 1998.
He said that in the West Bank, there are roads and tunnels and towns “that are for Jews only.”
“Jews can move freely while Palestinians have to face humiliation and endless delays at checkpoints. Jews can take over land and start building houses immediately, while Palestinians in their own villages can’t get a permit to build on land they own, and regularly have houses demolished by bulldozers backed by armed military escorts. This is indeed apartheid!”
In an exclusive interview with The Tyee, 47-year-old Goldenblatt said that he is Manly’s “main advisor” on Israeli-Palestinian issues.
“I wrote the tweet,” he said of the social-media post that earned Zatzman’s ire.
Goldenblatt said that Zatzman’s reaction to the tweets reflects a position “quite common for Jews who are progressive on Indigenous rights, BIPOC rights, LGBTQ rights — but when it comes to Israel, align with the most radical right-wing politicians in Israel.”
On the latter, he referred to the annual “March of the Flags,” which took place in Jerusalem last month.
“Hundreds of right-wing extremists, waving Israeli flags, run through Muslim neighbourhoods in Jerusalem chanting, ‘Death to Arabs,’ said Goldenblatt, whose mother and other family members still live in his hometown, Haifa, and who once owned a Middle Eastern restaurant in Nanaimo called the Thirsty Camel Café.
“If I were a young Palestinian under Israeli occupation — I don’t think I would join Hamas, because I’m no friend of any fundamentalist organization — but it would be hard to believe in peace,” said Goldenblatt, who also remembers bartending in Tel Aviv in the 1990s when Israelis were targeted with bombs set off in buses and cafes.
He believes that some of Zatzman’s trips to Israel were part of Birthright Israel, an organization that offers Jewish adults, between the ages of 18 and 32, what it describes as “a free, life-changing trip to Israel,” and which Goldenblatt added, received “a ton of funding from [the late] Sheldon Adelson, a very right-wing American Jewish casino magnate who was a huge supporter of Benjamin Netanyahu.”
Zatzman told The Tyee that he led Birthright trips to Israel four times, between 2007 and 2015, but has also visited the country on private trips, as well as was one of the lead political staffers on Wynne’s 2016 business mission to Israel and the West Bank.
Goldenblatt also challenged Zatzman’s claim that he is “representing the Canadian Jewish community.”
The organization Independent Jewish Voices Canada “is critical about the occupation,” said Goldenblatt. “Does Noah represent them?”
“I think he’d be happy if the Green party just ceased to exist because he’s that angry,” he said.
“But I think he had no concept of what would happen when he made that post — and he’s found himself in a Hitchcock movie where things are spinning out of control and he doesn’t know what to do about it.”
Zatzman has not been entirely alone in his accusations of anti-Semitism. Former federal Green president Paul Estrin wrote in the National Post earlier this month that “the party is self-destructing by focusing on Jews and allowing anti-Semitism and discrimination to thrive.”
But within the Greens, Goldenblatt can be added to a number of Zatzman critics, particularly on a Facebook group called Green Party of Canada Supporters.
One of Zatzman’s biggest detractors has been Constantine Kritsonis, a six-time Green Party of Canada candidate and former federal council member, who established the Green supports Facebook group five years ago.
On June 17, he posted a message that he had filed a complaint against Paul’s “MP libeling sock puppet Noah Zatzman” with the Green Party of Canada’s ombuds and appeals committee, an arms-length body from the central party structure.
The committee received two complaints — one of which came from Toronto-based Kritsonis — regarding Zatzman’s comments about the two MPs and which in Kritsonis’s case, called on the party’s federal council to pass a resolution demanding that Zatzman “apologize” or have his Green membership terminated “permanently.”
Zatzman said the committee reached out to him seeking an explanation as to why he accused the MPs of anti-Semitism along with a request for “documentation” to prove his claim. He said he didn’t respond, and provided The Tyee with an email chain between him and committee members Ben Petkau and Sara Golling.
The committee asks included: “On what basis did [he] accuse the two MPs of anti-Semitism?” What attempts has he made “to resolve any concerns [he] might have with” Manly and Atwin? Did he believe he was “the target of anti-Semitic actions or statements” by the Green Party of Canada and its members before he “publicly accused two Green MPs of anti-Semitism”?
In all three cases, Zatzman was asked to provide documentation.
As he told The Tyee, the requests caused him to be incredulous. “Imagine a Black or Indigenous person accuses someone of racism and is asked to prove it,” said Zatzman, who considered filing a complaint with the Ontario Human Rights Commission both against the committee — over its conduct and report, which contained 13 findings and eight recommendations — as well as against the federal council about its motion calling on Paul to repudiate him.
The ombuds committee “doesn’t get to tell Jews what antisemitism is or is not,” he wrote in an email to Golling. “We tell you and we expect you to listen.”
In its initial report, the committee used the term “anti-Jewish” instead of “anti-Semitic” because “Semitic” refers to all “Semitic peoples, including Arabs and Palestinians, [and] not only Jews” — despite the accepted definition that “anti-Semitic” means any form of hostility, prejudice or discrimination directed against Jews.
The committee issued a revised report, using the term “anti-Semitic,” but left intact its conclusions.
Among the group’s findings was that the use of the term “apartheid” to “describe the restrictions placed on the rights of Palestinians is not, in itself, a sign of being anti-Jewish.” (For more on the ombuds committee report, which was retracted, see sidebar.)
THE ELIZABETH MAY FACTOR
On Sunday, CBC reported that the vote of non-confidence was cancelled and a review of Paul’s party membership would not proceed.
Green federal council interim president Liana Canton Cusmano’s bilingual statement had alleged that Paul’s “failure to meet her obligations as leader has caused the defection of a member of our caucus to another party and tangible damage to the party in the form of impairment of the party’s reputation, cancelled memberships, reduced donations and withdrawals of potential candidates for the upcoming general election.”
Green party Leader Annamie Paul between Green
party MPs Elizabeth May and Paul Manly in Ottawa last October. Former
Paul aide Noah Zatzman blames ‘infighting’ tied to May for Paul’s
current troubles, not his charges of anti-Semitism in party ranks.
Photo: Sean Kilpatrick, the Canadian Press.
Before the vote was abruptly cancelled, Cusmano described it as “the most consequential thing that has ever been undertaken at the Green Party of Canada.”
But Paul is hardly out of the woods. The party reportedly is so cash-strapped that the federal council might pull back $250,000 allocated for her election campaign in the federal riding of Toronto Centre. The embattled leader has also temporarily lost staff, which are unionized, including Victoria Galea, her executive assistant.
Zatzman said “infighting” within the party goes back well before he launched his famous tweet, and that Atwin’s departure was because she was “not happy” with the turmoil.
Elizabeth May, he said, was well aware of Atwin’s discontent. In fact, the “infighting” was driven by May and her supporters, Zatzman said.
He said he doesn’t know why May, currently the Green party’s parliamentary leader in the Commons, hasn’t come out fully in support of Paul’s leadership.
“I was over the moon when Annamie won the leadership and have been fully in support of the leader at all times,” countered May, who recently moved with her husband and former federal council vice-president, John Kidder, from Sidney to Saturna Island.
“I have done everything she has asked of me every time,” said May, who was willing to step aside last fall and allow Paul to run in Saanich-Gulf Islands.
In an interview with The Tyee last month, Paul insisted that she would “defy anyone to find anything but positive statements from me” about her relationship with May.
Zatzman conceded that he thinks May “means well” and “wants Annamie to be elected” to the House of Commons — and ultimately wants to serve as Speaker of the House, something which May herself has acknowledged.
She also told The Tyee that she personally donated $1,000 to Paul’s election campaign in Toronto Centre as part of a Zoom fundraising event held on May 14 to mark her 10th anniversary as an MP.
May added that she included Paul in her shadow cabinet as international affairs critic, and believes the “difficulty” she has experienced with the federal council could, in part, be attributed to the fact that most members have not met in person with Paul, who has been forced by the pandemic into virtual gatherings from the time she assumed the leadership last year.
For his part, Zatzman said he loves May and thinks “the world of her,” but believes she is a “pyromaniac politically” and “has not let go” of running the party — ignoring in the process a request, he said, from the leader’s office to “take a very slight step back.”
May rejected that characterization. “When I was leader, I did not run the party — I understood the job was to be the chief spokesperson. Green party leadership is vested in the membership under our constitution, and in between biennial general meetings of the membership, the federal council runs the party.”
May added that she was happy that Paul has been able to gain more control of party communications than she had during her 13 years as leader when she was “on the losing end of more council votes” than those in support of her motions.
And what did May think of Zatzman calling her a political “pyromaniac”?
She laughed. “With friends like Noah, I don’t need any enemies.”
https://twitter.com/DavidRaymondAm1/with_replies
https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/annamie-paul-leadership-vote-cancelled-1.6107481
Vote on Annamie Paul's leadership of Green Party cancelled, sources say
Membership review will also not be initiated, according to sources
The Green Party's governing body, called the federal council, was set to vote on the question Tuesday. But multiple party sources told CBC News on Sunday that it will not go forward.
The sources spoke on condition they not be named because they were not authorized to speak publicly.
The decision to forgo the leadership vote on Tuesday was made after an internal arbitration process, according to one of the sources.
A potential review of Paul's membership in the Green Party, discussed by the council last week, will also not be initiated, according to the sources.
A spokesperson for the Greens said Paul would hold a news conference and make an announcement on Monday.
The vote scheduled for Tuesday was initially prompted by a call from the federal council for Paul to repudiate comments made by her former adviser that were critical of Green MPs' stances on Israel and to show support for her MPs. The council urged Paul to comply with its directive or face a non-confidence vote.
Paul
speaks to reporters about news that New Brunswick MP Jenica Atwin had
left the Green Party to join the Liberals, in Ottawa on June 10. (Justin Tang/The Canadian Press)
As conflict in the Middle East intensified in May, Green Party MPs pushed back against a statement released by Paul that called for de-escalation and a return to dialogue.
Fredericton MP Jenica Atwin, who subsequently left the Green Party for the Liberals in June, called the statement "totally inadequate." Her departure, in which she said the dispute over Israel played a role, left the Greens with just two MPs.
Paul's political adviser at the time, Noah Zatzman, said in a May 14 Facebook post that he had experienced antisemitism and discrimination in the party and criticized politicians he said were displaying antisemitism, including Green MPs. He wrote that the Greens would work to "bring in progressive climate champions who are antifa and pro LGBT and pro indigenous sovereignty and Zionists!!!!!"
Following his post, calls grew for Paul to denounce and remove Zatzman. Members of the party's federal council initially discussed removing her but instead called on the leader to repudiate Zatzman's statements and publicly support Green MPs.
Paul, who does not currently hold a seat in the House of Commons, has said she does not consider any Green MPs to be antisemites and voiced her support for them. She also previously said that she did not believe Atwin's decision to cross the floor was because of disagreements over Israel, calling it "manufactured."
Following her exit from the Greens, Atwin changed her position on Israel, apologizing for her previous comments and shifting to a stance more in line with the Liberals.
Paul has also said the push by some members of the party brass to oust her was driven by racism and sexism. In June, she wrote in a Facebook post: "Often, when people like me are elected or appointed to positions of senior leadership, the rules of the game seem to change: suddenly there needs to be more oversight, more accountability, and swifter and more severe sanctions."
Fredericton MP Jenica Atwin announced last month she would leave the federal Green Party to sit as a Liberal. (Guy LeBlanc/Radio-Canada)
Since the issue first came to national attention, Paul and the federal council have clashed on a number of other fronts. The executives recently fired Paul's office staff, citing financial constraints, and she was at one point muted during a call on the issue. Executives were also considering withholding $250,000 promised for the leader's campaign in Toronto Centre.
Last week, sources told CBC News that the federal council had also discussed a review of Paul's very membership in the Greens, which will now not go ahead.
Sources also told CBC News last week that Paul has sent a cease-and-desist letter to a federal council member. The letter accused a council member of defamation, but no further action was taken. The nature of the alleged comments that prompted the letter are not clear.
If Tuesday's vote had gone forward, 75 per cent of the federal council's membership would have needed to vote no-confidence for it to succeed, at which point it would have been referred to general Green members next month.
The sources told CBC News that Paul was likely to win the vote on Tuesday if it took place.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
CBC's Journalistic Standards and Practices
https://twitter.com/CBCDavid/with_replies?lang=en
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| David Thuton | 613-288-6109 | CBC News, 181 Queen |
https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/annamie-paul-calls-for-party-unity-1.6108884
Green leader Annamie Paul calls for unity, asks foes to stand down until after election
Paul says party has not forwarded her funds to run campaign and fired staff have not been rehired
Green Party Leader Annamie Paul said today that internal challenges to her leadership should wait until after a widely anticipated fall election.
"We see that we have candidates that are ready to get going and none of us need this distraction, so I'm certainly hoping that this is the end of this," Paul told a press conference today.
Until recently, the Green Party's governing body was set to hold a confidence vote on Paul's leadership and to review her membership in the party. CBC News learned over the weekend that the confidence vote has been cancelled and the review of Paul's party membership has been abandoned.
Paul said that she will face a scheduled leadership review after the next federal election. In the meantime, she said, she needs the party's support.
"I hope people will continue to support me. I hope I will be given the opportunity to serve and that's really what this is about," Paul said.
"I want to lead us into the next election. I want to offer my service to our members and to Canada and I'm hoping that those that feel otherwise will wait until a more appropriate time to make a move."
WATCH | Green Party cancels non-confidence vote on Annamie Paul's leadership
![](https://thumbnails.cbc.ca/maven_legacy/thumbnails/461/911/paul-digital_7000kbps_1280x720_1923557443817.jpg?crop=1.777xh:h;*,*&downsize=510px:* 510w")
Green Party cancels non-confidence vote on Annamie Paul’s leadership
2 hours agoThe party issued a statement Monday that confirmed the cancellation of the vote. It said that "no further motions of non-confidence against the leader will be proposed to the current federal council or prior to the next general meeting of the Green Party."
The current federal council will be replaced in mid-August, which means that Paul could still face a threat to her leadership before a fall election. Paul said she is hoping the party will continue to support her in the meantime so it can get back to the business of trying to get Green candidates elected.
Blaming funding constraints, the party executive has fired the staff in Paul's office and has not released any funding to support her riding campaign. Paul said Monday that neither of those decisions has been reversed.
"It was very hard and remained very hard to be stripped of many of the tools that I need to be an effective leader," she said.
WATCH | 'Without transparency, we don't get to fully move forward,' says former leadership candidate
![](https://thumbnails.cbc.ca/maven_legacy/thumbnails/462/387/kuttner-digital_7000kbps_1280x720_1923562563658.jpg?crop=1.777xh:h;*,*&downsize=510px:* 510w")
'Without transparency, we don't get to fully move forward' | Amita Kuttner
2 hours agoMideast tensions in party
The conflict between Paul and her party hit a crisis point in May when, during an escalation of violence in the Middle East, Paul issued a statement calling for a de-escalation and a return to dialogue.
Fredericton MP Jenica Atwin, who left the Green Party for the Liberals in June, called the statement "totally inadequate." Her departure left the Greens with just two MPs.
Paul's political adviser at the time, Noah Zatzman, said in a May 14 Facebook post that he had experienced antisemitism and discrimination within the party and criticized politicians he said were displaying antisemitism, including Green MPs.
He wrote that the Greens would work to "bring in progressive climate champions who are antifa and pro LGBT and pro indigenous sovereignty and Zionists!!!!!"
The party's federal council told Paul she had to
comply with its directive to publicly repudiate Zatzman's comments to
avoid a confidence vote. She has refused to do so and the party now
seems to have settled into a short-term peace.
"This has been incredibly painful for me and for my family and I want to be upfront about that," Paul told reporters today at a press conference in the riding of Toronto Centre, where she intends to run in the next election.
"It is extremely hard to have your integrity questioned when you value it so much. It's extremely hard to have your commitment to human rights and social justice questioned."
Paul said this conflict with her party has taken a toll on her and her family and that she considered resigning many times over recent weeks.
"The reason that I haven't is because it should not be this difficult," she said. "It should not be this difficult for people of good will, people with experience, to offer it in service to their country.
"There are too many good people that have found it impossible and I simply didn't want to be one of them."
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/green-party-canada-new-brunswick-1.6106618
N.B. Green supporters vying for federal council seat amid party leadership turmoil
4 New Brunswickers running for seat on Green Party federal council, including UNB researcher
Comeau, a former provincial Green candidate, says the party's activist base is showing classic signs of what she calls "the vices of excess," an unwillingness to compromise and focus on the priorities of climate change and a looming election.
"They come from an activist background, and a lot of activism comes from being hard core," Comeau said. "You're having a fight, you're pushing hard, you're really concerned, and sometimes that doesn't lead to the best interpersonal relations.
"They need to scale back and think about what behaviours they're showing the world about Greens, when, in fact, most Greens are very co-operative, very pragmatic, very persevering and committed to what it is that we need to do.
Louise Comeau, a researcher at the University of New Brunswick, is one of four Green Party members vying for a position on the party's national council. (Jacques Poitras/CBC)
Vying for federal council seat
Comeau is running for the province's single seat on the federal council, the national party's governing body.
It's the entity that has been feuding with Paul in the wake of Fredericton MP Jenica Atwin's defection from the Greens to the Liberals.
There have been reports the federal council may withdraw funding set aside for Paul's election campaign in the riding in Toronto Centre and could even revoke her membership in the party.
The vote for a new council is underway and will continue until Aug. 11. In the midst of that election, the current council members were set to vote Tuesday on a review of Paul's leadership.
On Sunday, CBC News reported the review vote has been cancelled and a vote on Paul's membership in the party also will not happen.
Comeau says her job "is to be neutral in terms of whatever happens by the time we get there, if we get there," but she's also defending the current federal council's process.
...they overlooked what should have been signals that we had some challenges potentially with this particular candidat
- Louise Comeau, candidate in Green Party federal council election
"As I understand it … the council and the Green Fund board is acting in accordance with the requirements of the constitution, our bylaws and our rules."
The University of New Brunswick researcher also rejects Paul's argument that some of her critics are motivated by sexism and racism. Paul is the first woman of colour to lead a major national party.
"I would actually argue that what Greens have gotten themselves into is the opposite of racism," Comeau said.
"They were so keen in the leadership race to ensure that we did better on inclusion and diversity that they overlooked what should have been signals that we had some challenges potentially with this particular candidate.
"But we overlooked that because we so wanted to be better at this."
Other candidates in the running
There are three other candidates for New Brunswick's lone seat on the federal council, and Moncton lawyer Carole Chan is running to be party president.
Chan was recently chosen by Paul as a member of the party's shadow cabinet but says she's not taking a public stand on the leadership question.
"I have views as an individual member and as someone who'd like to see the Green Party thrive," Chan said, but she believes that until she's party president and knows more about the situation, she should stay publicly neutral and focus on "good governance" of the party.
Council candidate John Reist says he supports a review of Paul's leadership but he's not running for that reason. "That is not my main concern." He says he wants to give local riding associations more say in the party.
Another candidate, Rebecca Blaevoet, says she decided to run specifically to defend Paul, at least until after the federal election widely expected to be called within months.
"She is the reason I stepped forward, because she is showing a whole lot of courage and tenacity in the face of a whole lot of social media opposition," she said.
"I don't think I would have even thought of running if it weren't for these circumstances that are happening … I don't think a leader, having been in for eight months, if she's in for ten months or twelve months, is catastrophic.
"I'm a bit fed up with the fact they're going so fast with this."
Rebecca Blaevoet says she decided to run specifically to defend Annamie Paul. (Submitted/Rebecca Blaevoet)
Comeau says the uncompromising approach that Greens are showing in the leadership battle should be applied instead to its priority issues.
She pointed out that Canada submitted its latest emissions-reduction plans to the United Nations this week.
"That should be the only thing that we are talking about right now. That's where we actually should be stubborn and that's where we should be more, more persevering in our approach," she said.
"But in the context of interpersonal relationships, that is not what you want to see. You want to be listening to each other. You want to know that truth comes from all sides. We want to be more respectful."
She says it was not healthy for the party to see leaks to the media about federal council meetings.
'That is not good character'
"Reporters are covering the story 20 minutes after a meeting," she said. "There can only be one way that's happening. Let's just stop that. That's not solidarity. That is not good character."
Comeau says Greens have to focus, at least for now, on getting the organization ready for a national election campaign.
"Greens come to it for their values and because they are wanting to play a role as citizens … but the reality is it's a party," she said.
"They should be fixated on the election and not only maintaining our three seats. We have to hold Fredericton and we have to, I think, add a seat or two. So let's get focused and do that."
A fourth New Brunswick candidate for the Green federal council, Delaney Crawford, did not respond to an interview request.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Federal Council - President
Lorraine Rekmans
LorraineRekmans@gmail.com(613) 796-2209
Lorraine Rekmans is a member of the Serpent River First Nation, and is of Anishnabe and French heritage. She served as the Indigenous Affairs Critic for the Green Party of Canada for 12 years, beginning in 2008. She is a five-time federal candidate for the Green Party of Canada, running twice in Algoma Manitoulin Kapuskasing, and three times in Leeds Grenville Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes.
Lorraine is an advocate for environmental and social justice issues through her work in both media and non-governmental organizations. With a background in journalism, and decades of work in the non-profit sector, Lorraine has extensive experience in policy development, government, industry, public affairs and Indigenous communities. She is the former Executive Director of the National Aboriginal Forestry Association. Lorraine is a small business owner with her husband Gerry in Kemptville and currently works as the Editor of the North Grenville Times. She has served as a Board member for the Forest Stewardship Council of Canada, and she has received The Rosalie Bertell Award for outstanding service in the field of environmental health by the International Institute of Concern for Public Health.
As the former Executive Director of the National Aboriginal Forestry
Association (NAFA), Lorraine worked on national and international forest
policy. She helped organize Indigenous
participation at the World
Forestry Congress at Quebec City. Lorraine assisted in writing a number
of international declarations including the Indigenous Peoples
Declaration on
Forestry, which was submitted at the World Forestry Congress, in 2003.
Nominators
Carole Chan
http://www.carolechan.ca
Hello fellow Greens!
Politics is where passion and values are translated into meaningful social action. For it to be successful, parties and governments must be supported by strong governance bodies that provide both strategic guidance and accountability to those who are on the front lines. I am offering my candidacy for the role of President of Federal Council as I believe my experience with organizational change and governance will help Council thrive in that role.
As a mother, a lawyer, and a community-builder, I became an 'active Green' with the inspirational runs of local Greens in recent elections who an empathetic approach to progressive politics. The Green Party of Canada and its counterparts in the provinces, have demonstrated over the years that it can be the right vehicle to harness local talent and integrity to move forward the values that we share in common.
With a snap election around the corner and the urgent need to
continue pursuing the advancement of our shared values, strong internal
organizational governance is key. This can and must be done by healing
rifts and keeping focused on getting more Green MPs in Parliament. New
Brunswick may have lost its sitting Green MP, but as you will see from
the names of those who are supporting my candidacy, we do see a path to
the future and we
want to share that with you.
I look forward to getting to know as many of you virtually in the coming weeks. Thank you for your consideration.
Nominators
Carole Chan
Federal Council - Vice President - English
Lisa Gunderson
(778) 600-0249
http://www.lisagunderson.ca
Known as Dr.Lisa or DrG in her communities, Lisa lives in Saanich, BC with her two sons and partner of 24 years. Lisa is a first generation African-American and Canadian immigrant of Jamaican heritage.
Lisa believes that this is a critical moment for the Green Party of Canada and its future, and we need a Federal Council that can truly listen and work collaboratively for our party’s success.
Lisa has spent decades working for Green values. She created One Love Consulting, which focuses on creating a more equitable and just society. Lisa believes that her skill set as a psychologist, community leader, business woman, and educator is what is needed now.
For many years, Lisa has been an active Green, serving as an equity consultant, pundit, spokesperson for proportional representation, campaign volunteer, riding association member, panelist, and member of the diversity/equity committee. She has also served on local and national boards and advisory committees.
Because Lisa understands her history and the lived experiences of her ancestors, she is incredibly hopeful that positive change and momentum can be achieved. We can foster a sense of collaboration and unity around what brings us together as Greens and provide our members and fellow Canadians a real choice on doing politics differently - from the inside-out.
Please visit Lisa’s website to learn more about her qualifications and how to join her virtually for a meet and greet so you can get to know each other better and Lisa can earn your vote.
Nominators
Federal Council - New Brunswick
Louise Comeau
louise27comeau@gmail.com(506) 238-0355
We are Greens, a movement to create a thriving society built on environmental health, responsibility, social justice, and inclusion. We envision a healthier, safer, more equal world based on our core values of ecological wisdom, social justice, diversity, non-violence, sustainability, and participatory democracy. The world needs Green values, and our Green movement.
We risk through internal strife and conflict losing the focus on core values and beliefs at the moment climate change and biodiversity loss calls for our full attention.
I am standing as a candidate for Federal Council New Brunswick representative because the Green Party of Canada needs to heal, to build trust, and to focus on building our Green movement. I believe New Brunswick Greens, based on our successful provincial experience, have something to offer to that process.
We need strong Federal Council representatives with a disciplined focus on effective and productive governance processes, policy development, communications, and election readiness.
I bring extensive governance, management and policy experience through decades of work with governments, environmental non-government organizations, but also the Federation of Canadian Municipalities. I am a proud New Brunswicker, homesteading here with my wonderful partner Tom Beckley.
I ran in 2011 for the federal Greens in Fredericton, for the New Brunswick Greens in Carleton-York in 2020. I have participated in federal and provincial platform development.
I seek to represent New Brunswick members, to share our perspective, and to bring discipline and focus to Council and GPC processes. I respectfully submit my candidacy and ask for your support.
Nominator
Carole Chan, Janice Harvey, Tom Beckley, David Addleman, Tom McLean, David Kersey
Delaney Crawford
Hello, Greens. I’m Delaney Crawford (she/they), and, after receiving much encouragement from colleagues, I’m running for New Brunswick Representative on Federal Council. I have been the NB Representative on the Young Greens of Canada Council (YGCC) since 2018. In 2020, I was appointed interim Co-Chair of the YGCC and thus Youth Representative of Federal Council. I therefore have 3 years of experience on the YGCC first as a representative and then as a leader, and several months of experience as a member of FC. I have also served on the YGCC and FC Governance Committees and the YGCC Outreach Committee.
Federal Council is in dire need of a culture of respect, listening, and diverse perspectives. I live in Fredericton, NB on the unceded territory of the Wəlastəkwewiyik (Wolastoqey) people. A fresh graduate of St. Thomas University with a BA (with honours and distinction) in Communications and Public Policy and communications team member at United Way of Central NB, I am a comms professional with much to bring to FC; listening is my specialty. Moreover, as an anti-racist, neurodivergent, proud lesbian, and intersectional feminist, I am the youth voice of respect and diversity that FC desperately needs.
Nominators
Rebecca Redmile-Blaevoet
(506) 375-8537
I have been a Green supporter since before I had ever heard that a Green Party existed anywhere. Ecological wisdom and sustainability have always been values I have tried to uphold, so when my husband and I finally had the opportunity to move to a farm in New Brunswick, with space to continue operating our publishing business, it was a tremendous relief, from a sustainability standpoint, not to mention our own quality of life. Since moving here, I have become part of our local Riding Association and am the Policy Working Group chair for the Provincial Green Party. I am a blind woman, so, respect for diversity and social justice are also principles that matter to me on a very personal level. There are many ways we can participate in our democracy, and being involved behind the scenes with Federal Council, in support of a strong leader, is a useful and edifying opportunity for me to put whatever talents I have to the service of others.
Nominators
John Reist
(506) 466-2463
As CEO of New Brunswick Southwest Greens I feel outreach is important for growth of our EDA. We need to keep it Green between elections.
This year we have hosted community talks on ZOOM on the Housing Crisis in Southwest New Brunswick with Paul Manly and David Coon an Guaranteed Livable Income with Jenica Atwin. In July I plan to have a community talk on Local Food and Food Security.
All I want to do is change the world, that shouldn't be that hard.
Nominators
Burt Folkins, Kevin Matthews, Susan Jonah, Tom McLean, David KerseyThomas Trappenberg
Federal Council - Nova Scotia
trappenberg@gmail.com(902) 414-3960
I am a member of the Green Party of Canada since 2004, I led the Green Party of Nova Scotia for the past five years, and I ran in numerous elections since 2006. I am a scientist and a moderate, and I believe in the huge opportunities of a green economy which can solve social issues while addressing the climate crisis. An important part for running this time is to keep this party out of the hands of destructionists who want to polarize this party. Doing politics different has to include honesty, openness, and positivism. Annamie has been elected as leader, and we now need to give her the support to make an impact.
I have previously been on council, and I think it is useful to contribute some of the memories to prevent repeated mistakes. My philosophy as representative is to be a connector between our members in Nova Scotia and the party administration. A main concern of mine is to provide frequent reports about developments. I have encountered many wonderful and honest people in this party, and we need to grow a culture of respect and consider compromises to enable progress.
Please make an effort to vote as there is the possibility of a privately-organized group to polarize the party. A true democracy requires your support, and not voting leaves us vulnerable for minority takeovers. Of course, our grassroot democracy does also mean to voice your ideas for progress. I am looking forward to listen.
Nominators
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/annamie-paul-green-party-politics-infighting-1.6107725
Timeline: Annamie Paul's turbulent tenure as Green Party leader
Paul has blamed infighting, attempts to oust her from leadership on racism, sexism
![](https://thumbnails.cbc.ca/maven_legacy/thumbnails/878/391/green-annamie-paul-invu-160621.jpg?crop=1.777xh:h;*,*&downsize=510px:* 510w")
‘Oldest tropes in the book’: Annamie Paul on racism in politics
1 month agoSince she became leader of the Green Party of Canada last year, Toronto lawyer Annamie Paul has struggled to gain political traction, losing a byelection bid for a seat in the House of Commons and facing unprecedented infighting in the party.
The Greens began Canada's 43rd Parliament with three MPs, the most in party history. Since then, they've lost one MP when the party's first elected representative from Atlantic Canada, Jessica Atwin, crossed the floor to sit with the Liberals.
Atwin said Paul's public statements on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict "played a role" in her decision to leave the Green Party in June.
Since then, Paul has been fending off criticism from within the party and fighting to keep her job. She has accused her critics within the party of opposing her leadership because of racism and sexism.
A former staff member for Global Affairs Canada at the mission to the European Union who is fluent in four languages, Paul was also an adviser at the International Criminal Court before entering electoral politics.
The first Black and Jewish woman to lead a major Canadian party, Paul was initially hailed by political analysts as a significant threat to the NDP and governing Liberals.
Below is a timeline of some key events Paul has faced since becoming Green Party leader:
Nov. 4, 2019: Elizabeth May steps down as Green Party of Canada leader after 13 years at the helm. She pledges to remain an MP and the party's leader in Parliament.
Oct. 3, 2020: Annamie Paul is elected leader of the Green Party on the eighth round of voting.
WATCH | Greens discuss revoking leader Annamie Paul's party membership:
![](https://thumbnails.cbc.ca/maven_legacy/thumbnails/238/839/yt-nn-greens-paul-membership-150721.jpg?crop=1.777xh:h;*,*&downsize=510px:* 510w")
Greens discuss revoking leader Annamie Paul's party membership
3 days agoOct. 26, 2020: Paul places second in a byelection in Toronto Centre. She also ran there in 2019 and placed a distant fourth. But she improved her share of the vote by 25 percentage points; Liberal Marci Ien won the seat by just more than 2,000 votes. Paul later confirmed she intends to run in Toronto Centre again.
April 2021: The Toronto Star publishes a series of articles airing allegations that Paul faces resistance within the party. The cause of the resistance appears mixed, with sources noting that officials remain committed to Elizabeth May and also that Paul's role as the first elected Black and female Jewish leader is unique. There are also harsh critiques by former party insiders over how the Greens have handled allegations of racism or sexism and diversity outreach issues.
Green
Party Leader Annamie Paul celebrates after winning the party's
leadership vote in in Ottawa on Oct. 3, 2020. Paul succeeded Elizabeth
May, who stepped down last fall after leading the party for 13 years. (Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press)
May 10, 2021: As fighting raged between Israel and Palestinian militants in Gaza, Paul issues a statement calling for a ceasefire and condemning both Palestinian rocket attacks and what appeared to be excessive Israeli military force. Green Party MP Jenica Atwin of Fredericton called the statement "totally inadequate," adding "End Apartheid."
May 14, 2021: Noah Zatzman, who was Paul's senior adviser at the time, takes to Facebook to criticize Green MPs and others on their stances on violence in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories. He tells pro-Palestinian MPs that the party will "work to defeat you," igniting a firestorm within its senior ranks.
WATCH | Green leader says attempt to force her out driven by racism, sexism:
![](https://thumbnails.cbc.ca/maven_legacy/thumbnails/800/263/paul-for-digital_7000kbps_1280x720_1909975619751.jpg?crop=1.777xh:h;*,*&downsize=510px:* 510w")
Green leader says attempt to force her out driven by racism, sexism
1 month agoJune 10, 2021: Atwin leaves the Green Party caucus, crossing the floor of the House of Commons to join the governing Liberals. Atwin said there were too many "distractions" in the Greens and she wanted to work in a more "supportive and collaborative" environment. Recent party infighting over issues such as the Israeli-Palestinian conflict took her away from the issues that matter most to her constituents, she said.
June 16, 2021: Party officials say they will vote on a measure of non-confidence on Paul's leadership on July 20. Paul pledges to stay on as Green Party leader and says attempts to force her out of the top job were being driven by racism and sexism.
Paul is seen during a TV interview in the House of Commons in November 2020. (Justin Tang/The Canadian Press)
June 29, 2021: A motion is tabled at the party's federal council meeting to hold back $250,000 previously earmarked for Paul's next election campaign in Toronto Centre. Party executives cite a dire financial situation for the move.
July 14, 2021: Already facing a challenge to her leadership, Paul also now faces the prospect of losing her party membership, party insiders told CBC News.
July 18, 2021: A vote of non-confidence in Paul's leadership of the Green Party of Canada is cancelled, sources tell CBC News, and a review of her membership in the party will not be initiated.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/green-party-annamie-paul-1.6101869
Greens discuss revoking leader Annamie Paul's membership
Paul’s supporters say revoking the leader’s membership would be unconstitutional and undemocratic
Already facing a challenge to her leadership, Green Party Leader Annamie Paul also now faces the prospect of losing her party membership.
Several sources told CBC News that the party's federal council discussed reviewing Annamie Paul's membership during a meeting late Tuesday night. The sources said they could not confirm whether a formal review has been initiated, as the Toronto Star first reported.
It's not clear what revoking Paul's membership would mean for the status of her leadership. According to the party's rules, the leader must be a member in good standing.
Reacting to the latest news, a senior Green party source who supports Paul called the move illegitimate and undemocratic. Paul still faces a non-confidence vote on her leadership later this month.
CBC has reached out to the party and Paul herself for comment. Party spokesperson Rosie Emery would only confirm that an emergency meeting took place last night.
The 'cease-and-desist' letter
The party's code of conduct states that "the executive director will automatically initiate a membership review if a member initiates legal proceedings against the Party."
As first reported by the Journal de Montreal, Paul's lawyer recently sent a cease-and-desist letter to a federal party council member. The letter accused a council member of defamation but no further action was taken. The nature of the alleged comments that prompted the letter are not clear.
Green Party members who undergo a membership review are allowed 30 days to prepare a defence and have the right to be heard before the party's federal council. A simple majority of federal councillors is all that's required to remove a member, although those ejected have recourse to the party's appeals committee.
Tuesday night's emergency meeting immediately followed a presentation to the membership that showed the party is burning through cash and its expenses are exceeding revenues.
An end-run around the membership?
There are also questions about whether the party will fund Paul's election campaign in the Toronto Centre riding. A motion was tabled at a federal council meeting on June 29 to hold back $250,000 previously earmarked for Paul's own riding campaign.
A senior source in the Green party said some within the party who are unhappy with Paul's leadership are attempting to use a back-door tactic to remove the party's elected leader — something the source said is unconstitutional. The source said it also undermines the legitimacy of the upcoming confidence vote, which was supposed to give party members the final word on Paul's future.
Paul wasn't invited to attend Tuesday night's emergency meeting, although she is a member of the federal council.
Paul is expected to face a non-confidence vote at federal council next Tuesday.
That vote was triggered after Paul failed to comply with a directive from the federal council. That directive ordered Paul to openly condemn the actions of Noah Zatzman, her former political adviser, and show support for her MPs.
Fredericton MP Jenica Atwin split from the federal Green Party to sit as a Liberal. (Guy LeBlanc/Radio-Canada)
In May, New Brunswick MP Jenica Atwin called out Paul's stance on the Middle East conflict on Twitter, calling it "a totally inadequate statement." Atwin then wrote: "Forced evictions must end. I stand with Palestine and condemn the unthinkable airstrikes in Gaza. End Apartheid."
Zatzman took to Facebook to state that he'd experienced "appalling antisemitism and discrimination" within the party and said the Greens would work to "bring in progressive climate champions who are antifa and pro LGBT and pro indigenous sovereignty and Zionists!!!!!" Calls then grew for Paul to condemn and remove Zatzman.
In early June, Atwin announced she would be crossing the floor to join the Liberals, stating differences over the party's stance in the Middle East "certainly played a role." Atwin has since said she regrets her position on the conflict.
Nearly a week later, the party's top brass held an emergency meeting to discuss removing Paul. After the lengthy session, CBC learned Paul survived the attempt.
Instead, federal party council members opted to issue an ultimatum stating that she must publicly support her remaining Green MPs and "repudiate" Zatzman. The consequence of failing to comply would be another no-confidence vote on July 20.
Paul has yet to fully comply with the ultimatum publicly.
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https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/green-party-paul-funding-riding-election-1.6100459
Green Party brass move to block funding for leader Annamie Paul's riding campaign
Party executives say they may not be able to fully fund all candidates
Green Party executives say the organization's dire financial situation means it may not be able to fully fund and support both the riding campaign of leader Annamie Paul and those of other candidates in an election expected later this year.
A motion was tabled at a federal council meeting on June 29 to hold back $250,000 previously earmarked for Paul's campaign in Toronto Centre.
The planned transfer of funds should be rescinded "until the federal council is advised of the Green Party of Canada's financial situation," says the text of the motion, as reported by The Canadian Press. It is set to come to a vote at a meeting of the federal council on July 27.
The proposal to hold funding for Paul's election campaign represents another blow to Paul's status as party leader.
Green executives recently laid off Paul's entire office staff. She is also facing a possible non-confidence vote later this month.
An internal memo, obtained by CBC News, spells out the party's worsening financial situation, warning that it "will have a very significant impact on our ability to provide support to candidates and Electoral District Associations."
The memo, which was sent last week, says party staff who were laid off recently due to the organization's financial plight likely won't be rehired until there is a "major reduction in expenses and increase in revenues."
The Liberal government is widely expected to call an election sometime in the late summer or early fall.
The Green party's spending exceeded its revenues by $105,000 in May and $130,000 in June, according to the memo.
Douglas Tingey, president of the Green Party of Canada Fund — which controls the party's financial operations — would not comment on the specific details, saying they are confidential.
"To the best of my understanding, the party remains committed to support TC (Toronto Centre) in the upcoming election," he wrote in an email late Monday.
Paul, who does not have a seat in the House of Commons, came in second to Liberal Marci Ien in a byelection last fall to replace former finance minister Bill Morneau in the riding, a Liberal stronghold. Paul came in fourth place when she ran there in the 2019 general election.
The move to halt cash flow follows layoffs last week of about half of the Greens' employees, including all of Paul's office staff. It also comes amid internal party feuds — including a dispute over the Israeli-Palestinian conflict that emerged into public view when New Brunswick MP Jenica Atwin defected to the Liberals last month. There are now two Green MPs in the House of Commons, including former leader Elizabeth May.
Fredericton MP Jenica Atwin left the federal Green Party to sit as a Liberal. (Guy LeBlanc/Radio-Canada)
The party, its president and interim executive director have not responded to requests for comment sent Monday.
Paul, who has led the Greens for nine months, faces a non-confidence vote by federal council on July 20. That vote requires three-quarters' support in order to proceed to a party-wide vote the following month at a general meeting, where the grassroots could render judgment on Paul's leadership.
Cash imbalances are also plaguing the party, according to a report released by the fund president last week.
"Our current financial situation is not sustainable," Tingey wrote.
Spending has exceeded revenues since the fund's board of directors was elected in February, the report states. Costs outpaced gross income by $105,000 in May and by $103,000 in June, for example.
- Have an election question for CBC News? Email us: Ask@cbc.ca. Your input helps inform our coverage.
"This is due to financial decisions taken in 2019 and 2020, particularly the decision to retain staffing levels after the 2019 election," he wrote. May stepped down as party leader in November 2019 and named Jo-Ann Roberts as her interim successor. Paul won the leadership in October 2020.
The crunch comes despite a boost in fundraising under Paul's watch. The party pulled in about $677,500 from nearly 8,300 donors in the first quarter of 2021, compared with roughly $577,600 from some 8,200 donors a year earlier, according to Elections Canada figures.
The temporary layoffs last week mark an attempt to reduce staffing costs, which make up 70 per cent of the Greens' budget, the report says.
"The staff layoff decision will have a very significant impact on our ability to provide support to candidates and electoral district associations," it states.
The 906-word report also acknowledges that the cuts will "have an impact on staff diversity, equity and inclusion." The fund's board of directors has been consulting with the union on how to avoid a disproportionate impact on "members of equity-seeking groups," it says.
With files from The Canadian Press
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/prince-edward-island/pei-lanthier-green-party-leadership-1.6100375
Green Party federal council overstepping with leadership challenge, says former member
Current federal council 'holding Annamie Paul to a completely different standard,’ says Darcie Lanthier
"It's quite mind boggling," says Darcie Lanthier.
"I don't think any of it should be happening. I think this current federal council is holding Annamie Paul to a completely different standard than any other previous federal council has held any previous leaders."
The Green Party's governing body will meet on July 20 to vote on a motion of non-confidence, following the issuing of an ultimatum last month. The council is moving to sanction Paul for "failing to openly condemn the actions of Noah Zatzman," Paul's former political adviser, who called out party members online who criticized Paul's position on the Middle East.
The current council has overstepped its authority, said Lanthier. In a normal year the council would have faced elections in the spring but those have been rescheduled for August. Some members have already resigned, and there are currently no members from Atlantic Canada.
Election expected
What makes the timing even worse, said Lanthier, is the possibility of a looming federal election.
"It's a horrible mistake," she said.
"There could be an election called, you know, as soon as a few weeks from now."
Lanthier said she likes what she sees in Paul's leadership.
'The most conspicuous difference is skin colour,' says
Darcie Lanthier of the troubles faced by Annamie Paul. (Adrian Wyld/The
Canadian Press)
"Annamie Paul is doing a lot of really great organizing. I'm just starting now to see her vision for the party shaping up and I think it would be a terrible shame to stop her at this point."
Council should let Paul proceed with the coming election campaign and have a leadership review afterward, said Lanthier, which is the standard laid out in the party's constitution.
Lanthier said as she has considered why Paul is being treated as she is she can only think of one reason.
"The most conspicuous difference is skin colour," she said.
"I hate to say that that's what's happening, but I don't I honestly don't see another excuse for it."
'Unmitigated disaster'
UPEI political scientist Peter McKenna agrees the timing for the leadership controversy could not be worse.
"It's an unmitigated disaster, is what it is," said McKenna.
"We are on the cusp of a federal election this fall. I mean, the party leaders of all the other parties are already out campaigning."
The implications of the controversy go beyond any impact on public opinion of the party, he said. He noted the party is well behind in recruiting candidates, with only about 40 lined up so far.
While he said he has no particular insight into the thinking of the people on the council, he said the fact that the controversy is dragging on for so long does not bode well for Paul's continued leadership.
CBC's Journalistic Standards and Practices
https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/green-party-layoffs-1.6094053
Annamie Paul loses key staffers in Green Party layoffs
Paul is facing a possible non-confidence vote later this month
Green party layoffs are leaving leader Annamie Paul without staff in her office as a feud between Paul and party executives goes on.
Three sources affected by the cuts, who were granted anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly about internal matters, say Green party executive director Dana Taylor sent out the notices today, slashing the paid ranks of the party in half.
The executive recently announced at an all-staff meeting that some 15 layoffs were coming.
That virtual gathering stalled after Taylor clicked Paul's mute button as the leader was speaking against the payroll cut; two other Greens refused to continue until she was unmuted again, according to the same three sources, who were all there.
The sources said the temporary layoffs take effect Friday evening and include no severance packages. They said the laid-off staffers might be asked to return to work if an election kicks off this year, and a refusal would be considered tantamount to resignation.
The cuts have included newer staff who came in since Paul was elected nine months ago. Taylor and the leader's office did not immediately respond to requests for comment Wednesday.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/green-party-layoffs-1.6085961
Annamie Paul faces July 20 non-confidence vote as Green Party lays off staff
Paul is under fire for her defence of former adviser
The Green Party will pursue a vote of non-confidence against its leader, Annamie Paul.
CBC News has obtained a party statement that says the party's governing body will hold a meeting on July 20 to vote on a motion of non-confidence. Interim party president Liana Canton Cusmano read the letter out today to a members' town hall meeting.
The letter says the party's council is moving to sanction Paul for "failing to openly condemn the actions of Noah Zatzman," Paul's former political adviser, who called out party members online who criticized Paul's position on the Middle East.
The move to oust Paul follows a similar attempt more than two weeks ago. On June 15, members of the federal party council instead issued an ultimatum to Paul.
The letter Cusmano read to today's meeting says Paul failed to comply with the terms of that ultimatum and must now face the consequences.
"This vote of non-confidence is important and the most consequential thing that has ever been undertaken at the Green Party of Canada," the letter states. "We do not take this matter or the decision to hold this vote lightly."
For the vote of non-confidence to succeed, 75 per cent of council members will have to vote in favour on July 20. If that happens, Green Party members have the final say at an August 21 general meeting.
Zatzman issued a statement calling today's action "further evidence of an organization whose leadership fosters a culture of systemic antisemitism and discrimination."
"Annamie was elected by a majority of party members to change this, and I have faith that she will," he said.
Layoffs at party headquarters
The Green Party of Canada also announced significant job cuts today, ahead of a widely anticipated election campaign.
According to sources not authorized to speak publicly, the party told employees today that it would be cutting staff positions. One source said up to 15 people could end up being laid off — nearly half the staff complement at party headquarters.
The source said the party's interim executive director Dana Taylor announced the job cuts during a heated and emotional meeting this morning. It's not immediately clear which positions are affected.
The source said that Paul attempted to speak out against the layoffs during the meeting, but her microphone was muted.
Another source said the party's financial situation has worsened since Paul was elected leader in October.
According to Elections Canada's latest fundraising numbers, the party brought in $677,539 under Paul during the last quarter ending in March of this year. That's up from $576,644 from the same quarter in 2020.
CBC reached out to Green Party officials and Paul for comment.
Timeline of the Green Party's internal conflict
Wednesday's latest news comes after weeks of internal fighting within the Greens, which culminated in an attempt to remove Paul earlier this month. Here are the key events in the party's internal conflict so far:
- In May, New Brunswick MP Jenica Atwin called out her party's stance on the Middle East conflict on Twitter, calling it "a totally inadequate statement." Atwin then wrote: "Forced evictions must end. I stand with Palestine and condemn the unthinkable airstrikes in Gaza. End Apartheid."
- Soon after, the leader's then-senior adviser Noah Zatzman took to Facebook to state the Greens "will work to defeat you and bring in progressive climate champions who are antifa and pro LGBT and pro indigenous sovereignty and Zionists!!!!!" Calls soon grew for leader Annamie Paul to condemn and remove Zatzman.
- In early June, Atwin announced she would be crossing the floor to join the Liberals, stating differences over the party's stance in the Middle East "certainly played a role."
- Nearly a week later, the party's top brass held an emergency meeting to discuss removing Paul. After the lengthy session, CBC learned Paul survived the attempt. Instead, federal party council members opted to issue an ultimatum stating that she must publicly support her remaining Green MPs and "repudiate" Zatzman. The consequence of failing to comply would be another no-confidence vote on July 20.
- Paul has yet to comply fully with the ultimatum publicly.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/green-president-ultimatum-1.6085244
Green party president says ultimatum to Annamie Paul still unanswered, putting her job in limbo
Paul has been called on to repudiate a former adviser's remarks about antisemitism
The head of the Greens' governing body said an ultimatum to leader Annamie Paul still stands, leaving her job in limbo as infighting continues to strain the top rungs of the party.
Liana Cusmano, interim president of the party's federal council, said in an interview that a motion passed by the body two weeks ago demanding that Paul repudiate a former adviser's remarks about antisemitism remains in effect.
Cusmano has asked Paul to retract comments to media that suggested she no longer has to go through with the disavowal.
The ultimatum, which also calls on Paul to publicly reconcile with Green MP Paul Manly, states that if council's demands aren't met, it will begin a process that could culminate in a leadership review when grassroots members gather later this summer.
The tensions mark the latest round of internal strife that exploded into public view after Green MP Jenica Atwin crossed the floor to the Liberals earlier this month over views on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as well as broader tussles over power and authority within the party.
Paul's office declined to comment. The federal council, which includes Paul among its 13 voting members, is expected to meet virtually this evening.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/green-party-turmoil-annamie-paul-wherry-1.6068441
A tumultuous week for Annamie Paul's Greens will reverberate across all of federal politics
Paul survived an emergency meeting this week, but could face non-confidence vote in July
The tumult and accusations engulfing Annamie Paul's Greens are most obviously a major problem for the party and its leader — but the unfolding war of words increasingly seems to be a potential setback for Canadian politics.
It was just eight months ago that Paul's victory in the Green leadership race seemed to breathe new life into both the party and the national political scene. Not only was she a fresh and impressive presence for a party that had just gained a new foothold in the House of Commons, Paul was also a Black, Jewish woman — the first Black Canadian elected leader of a major national party.
"This is a historic moment," she said upon winning the leadership.
Leading a major political party is hard and few new leaders, if any, have a perfectly smooth time of it on their first attempt. So some kind of turbulence was inevitable. But Paul's honeymoon has now come to a particularly sudden and explosive end.
The first signs of trouble appeared in April when the Toronto Star reported the Green Party was "riven by internal discord." Worse, one of Paul's supporters suggested the challenges and disagreements she was encountering might be traced to Paul's race, gender and religion.
Then came this month's dispute over the party's position on the conflict between Israel and Palestinians. Two of the party's three MPs, Paul Manly and Jenica Atwin, objected to Paul's statement on the situation. One of Paul's advisers responded by threatening to work to defeat them in the next election. Shortly thereafter, Atwin crossed the floor to the Liberals.
MP
Jenica Atwin speaks to the media shorly after becoming the Green
Party's third MP in October 2019. Atwin joined the governing Liberals
earlier this month. (Keith Minchin/The Canadian Press)
Manly and former leader Elizabeth May publicly blamed that adviser's threat for Atwin's defection, but Paul dismissed that suggestion. Then came a move against Paul within the party and a demand by its federal council that she renounce her adviser's comments.
Which brings us to Paul's appearance before reporters on Wednesday afternoon.
'Institutional gatekeepers'
Apparently intent on showing defiance and resolve, Paul focused on the groundbreaking nature of who she is and her commitment to making the Green Party "the most diverse party in Canadian politics."
But this sort of change, she said, "is often perceived as a threat to the existing institutional gatekeepers." A group of Green officials, she alleged, were opposed to the change she wanted to bring and had tried to force a vote of non-confidence against her on the basis of racist and sexist allegations.
Then she turned her sights on the Liberals and Justin Trudeau. Paul described the Liberal Party's outreach to Atwin as "cynical" and "craven." With his party's involvement in Atwin's switch, Paul said, Trudeau had proven he was not an ally to diverse Canadians and not a feminist. She accused him of pushing "strong, competent, capable" women out of politics and said, "I am one woman that he will not push out of politics."
In the competitive team sport of partisan politics, disaffected MPs sometimes end up switching sides and if Paul wants to sustain a charge that this floor-crossing was uniquely unacceptable she needs to offer a lot more explanation as to why.
Less than two years ago, for instance, May welcomed Pierre Nantel from the NDP, after speaking with him for "some considerable time." Was that wrong?
Former Green Party leader Elizabeth May, right, welcomed NDP MP Pierre Nantel to the Greens in 2019. (Ivanoh Demers/CBC)
Of course, blaming the Liberals for Atwin's decision would also seem to suggest that Atwin lacks her own agency.
What Paul didn't say on Wednesday afternoon was that her adviser was wrong to attack her party's MPs. But that a leader's aides shouldn't publicly pledge to defeat a party's MPs seems like a fairly understandable expectation — even if Paul doesn't agree that Atwin's departure can be traced back to that attack.
Whether Paul has been subject to racist and sexist attacks from within the Greens might be difficult to determine definitively without a full airing of the facts, but it is obviously a charge that deserves to be taken seriously.
It's possible that whoever succeeded May as leader was going to face some kind of challenge wrangling the party. But racism and sexism are well beyond any understandable level of dysfunction.
Those are charges the Green Party must reckon with, even as it is also supposed to be preparing for the possibility of a fall election.
Tough climb to competitiveness
It's possible that the Green Party was never going to be a pivotal factor in the next federal election. It has only ever elected three people to Parliament and is currently polling at 6.5 per cent. Despite some talk after Paul became leader that the Greens would try to challenge the NDP, the odds of that happening grow longer by the day.
But that's not to say that what is going on with the Greens right now is a minor matter.
While she was a one-woman party, May was able to distinguish herself as a relevant voice on a pair of vital issues — climate change and the state of Parliament. Whatever one thought of her proposed solutions, she was forever challenging the other parties to do more or do better.
In those respects, the national debate benefited from the presence of the Greens in the House of Commons. It was a party that could challenge all of the established brands, including the NDP, which likes to think of itself as always being on the leading edge of public policy and social concerns.
Under Paul's leadership, the Greens' next big issue could be diversity.
But in addition to losing a potentially useful force in federal politics, the Green Party falling apart would also matter because of the significance of Paul's history-making turn as leader. If the leadership of the first Black woman to lead a major national party ends in disaster, it would be a setback that has the potential to resonate well beyond the Green Party or the electoral map.
That doesn't mean that the Liberals shouldn't have breakfast with any Green MP who is willing to meet.
But it does mean that what's playing out with the Greens right now is something more than the political drama of a minor party.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/annamie-paul-emergency-meeting-reaction-1.6068280
Green Leader Annamie Paul says attempt to force her out driven by racism, sexism
Paul is still facing a possible no-confidence vote as soon as July 20
Annamie Paul has pledged to stay on as leader of Canada's Green Party and is claiming attempts to force her out of the top job were being driven by racism and sexism.
Paul survived an emergency leadership meeting on Tuesday evening that could have kick-started the process of removing her from the leadership.
Paul told a news conference in Ottawa today that the push to eject her was led by a "small group" of party brass "who are on their way out."
Paul said the allegations made against her during the Tuesday meeting "were so racist, so sexist, that they were immediately disavowed by both our MPs as offensive and inflammatory."
The Green Party's federal council, the organization's governing body, ultimately opted against holding a no-confidence vote during the roughly three-and-a-half-hour emergency meeting.
Paul said the council members who pushed for the vote "did so with no substantive consultation" with other party members.
WATCH: Green Party's Annamie Paul says attempt to force her out driven by racism, sexism:
![](https://thumbnails.cbc.ca/maven_legacy/thumbnails/873/11/green-party-paul-thurton-160621.jpg?crop=1.777xh:h;*,*&downsize=510px:* 510w")
Annamie Paul blames Green Party strife on racism, sexism
14 days ago'Hostility, superiority and rejection'
CBC News obtained a copy of the letter that prompted the meeting, which contains a scathing review of Paul's leadership style.
"Since her election as leader, Annamie Paul has acted with an autocratic attitude of hostility, superiority and rejection, failing to assume her duty to be an active, contributing, respectful, attentive member of Federal Council," the letter reads.
It was written by Beverley Eert, the federal council's Manitoba representative, and Kate Storey, the party fund's representative.
"She has attended few council meetings, and when in attendance, has displayed anger in long, repetitive, aggressive monologues and has failed to recognize the value of any ideas except her own," the letter continues.
The letter also blames Paul for MP Jenica Atwin's defection to the Liberals.
Atwin and Paul have expressed differing views on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which Atwin identified as a factor in her departure earlier this month.
Fredericton
MP Jenica Atwin left the Greens earlier this month to joing the
governing Liberals. Paul's critics say she made no effort to keep Atwin
from leaving. (Guy LeBlanc/Radio-Canada)
Paul instead blamed Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and the Liberals for the upheaval within the Greens. She accused Trudeau of trying to destabilize her party in way that damages the country's only female federal leader.
"To the prime minister, Justin Trudeau, you are no ally and you are no feminist," Paul said.
Storey, the Green council member, later tried to walk back the allegations against Paul in a leaked email in which she asked for the document to be "rescinded."
"In a spirit of reconciliation between Federal Councillors and the GPC Leader, please delete the allegation document," Storey wrote in the email.
Black former MP sees 'problematic' language in letter
Celina Caesar-Chavannes, a former Liberal MP, said the letter has abundant undertones of anti-Black racism and sexism. She said no other federal leader would be subjected to a similar line of attack.
"The whole notion of 'angry Black woman' is baked into this letter," Caesar-Chavannes told CBC News.
"There's so much language in here that is so problematic to be speaking of a leader of a federally recognized political party."
MP
Celina Caesar-Chavannes rises during question period in the House of
Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Friday, May 25, 2018. (Justin Tang/Canadian Press)
While Paul avoided a no-confidence vote during the meeting, party brass adopted a separate motion asking Paul to publicly repudiate one of Paul's former senior advisers, Noah Zatzman, who had accused unnamed Green MPs of antisemitism.
The motion also calls on Paul to "explicitly support" the Green Party caucus.
Paul repeatedly expressed her support for Green MPs Elizabeth May and Paul Manly during the Wednesday news conference, but she did not repudiate Zatzman.
The motion says that if Paul does not comply with the motion, she'll face a vote of non-confidence on July 20.
For more stories about the experiences of Black Canadians — from anti-Black racism to success stories within the Black community — check out Being Black in Canada, a CBC project Black Canadians can be proud of. You can read more stories here.
With files from David Thurton
https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/annamie-paul-leadership-1.6067380
Green Party's Annamie Paul survives emergency meeting over leadership
Party instead asks Paul to publicly repudiate a former senior adviser
The leadership of the Green Party's Annamie Paul is safe — for now — after party brass decided late Tuesday not to kick-start a process that could have ultimately ousted her as leader of the party.
The party's federal council — which is the governing body of the party — held an emergency meeting Tuesday night that lasted more than three-and-a-half hours. Officials were expected to hold a vote on whether to trigger a complex process under the party's constitution that could have declared no-confidence in Paul's leadership.
That vote did not end up taking place, multiple sources with knowledge of the meeting told CBC News.
Instead, sources say, the federal council adopted a separate motion asking Paul to publicly repudiate one of Paul's former senior advisers, Noah Zatzman, who accused many politicians — including unspecified Green MPs — of discrimination and antisemitism in a social media post last month.
The motion also calls for Paul to "explicitly support" the Green Party caucus. If not, the motion says, Paul would face a vote of non-confidence on July 20.
Tuesday night's decision follows a difficult few weeks for the party, which has been ripped apart by internal disputes over the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
As violence in the region escalated, Paul issued a statement calling for a ceasefire and condemning both Palestinian rocket attacks and excessive Israeli military force, an apparent attempt to put forward a moderate position close to that of the Trudeau government.
Fredericton MP Jenica Atwin announced on Thursday that she
is leaving the federal Green Party to sit as a Liberal. (Guy
LeBlanc/Radio-Canada)
Green MP Jenica Atwin — who has since left the Green caucus to join the Liberals — ripped into Paul's statement on Twitter. "It is a totally inadequate statement," Atwin wrote. "Forced evictions must end. I stand with Palestine and condemn the unthinkable airstrikes in Gaza. End Apartheid."
Green MP Paul Manly also took issue with Paul's statement, saying 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!!!!!"
Zatzman is no longer 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.
CBC News reached out to the Green Party, Paul and Zatzman for comment after Tuesday's meeting.
Only Zatzman responded. The former staffer didn't address the events of the last 24 hours. Instead, he issued a statement Wednesday morning that applauded Atwin, who says she now regrets her initial tweet that sparked this latest crisis in the Greens.
"MP Jenica Atwin is to be commended for acknowledging that anti-Semitism has no place in Canadian society and for apologizing for her highly problematic May 11 remarks," Zatzman stated.
Too many 'distractions' in Green Party: Atwin
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.
When Atwin announced last week that she was crossing the floor to join the Liberals, she said there were too many "distractions" in the Green Party and she wanted to work in a more "supportive and collaborative" environment.
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 after Atwin's announcement, Paul said she was blindsided by her departure and only learned about it from media reports.
Paul said that while the party supports cross-party co-operation 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.
She 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.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/process-remove-annamie-paul-active-1.6066430
Green Party council voting on process that could eject Annamie Paul from leadership
Move follows difficult few weeks for party ripped apart by differences over Israeli-Palestinian conflict
The Green Party federal council will vote tonight on whether to kickstart a process that could remove Annamie Paul from the party leadership.
According to party members with knowledge of the issue, the party's federal council will hold a vote on whether to trigger a complex 30-day process under the party's constitution.
If the council votes tonight to launch that process, it will meet again on July 15. If 75 per cent of council members agree at that meeting to let a leadership vote go forward, party members could then vote to remove Paul from office through a motion at an annual general meeting.
One source said the Greens are overdue for such a meeting.
This move follows a difficult few weeks for the party, which has been ripped apart by internal disputes over the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
As violence in the region escalated, Paul issued a statement calling for a ceasefire and condemning both Palestinian rocket attacks and excessive Israeli military force — an apparent attempt to put forward a moderate position close to that of the Trudeau government.
Green MP Jenica Atwin — who has since left the Green caucus to join the Liberals — ripped into Paul's statement on Twitter. "It is a totally inadequate statement," Atwin wrote. "Forced evictions must end. I stand with Palestine and condemn the unthinkable air strikes in Gaza. End Apartheid."
Green MP Jenica Atwin blasted her own leader's statement on Gaza as "totally inadequate". (Twitter)
Green MP Paul Manly also took issue with Paul's statement, saying the planned removal of Palestinian families from the East Jerusalem neighbourhood of Sheikh Jarrah "is ethnic cleansing."
Paul's adviser Noah 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!!!!!"
Zatzman also expressed solidarity with Israel in a May 14 social media post that accused many politicians — including unspecified Green MPs — of discrimination and antisemitism. That inspired a letter-writing campaign calling for his removal.
Zatzman 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.
The Green Party's executive committee has voted not to renew Zatzman's contract once it expires next month.
Too many 'distractions' in Green party: Atwin
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.
When Atwin announced last week that she was crossing the floor to join the Liberals, she said there were too many "distractions" in the Green Party and she wanted to work in a more "supportive and collaborative" environment.
In a media statement, May and B.C. Green MP 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 after Atwin's announcement, Paul said she was blindsided by her departure and only learned about it 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.
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.
CBC News has reached out to Paul's office for comment.
Watch: 'We are disappointed but accept it' — Green Party leader reacts to New Brunswick MP's departure:
![](https://thumbnails.cbc.ca/maven_legacy/thumbnails/640/255/ftrPAULatwindeparturereaxupdate_2500kbps_1280x720_1907644995845.jpg?crop=1.777xh:h;*,*&downsize=510px:* 510w")
Corrections
- This story has been updated from a previous version that incorrectly stated the Green Party’s federal council will be holding a meeting on July 15 to determine the future of Annamie Paul’s leadership of the party. In fact, a vote will be held tonight to determine whether to hold the future meeting to consider a motion of non-confidence.Jun 15, 2021 2:46 PM ET
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
With files from The Canadian Press and CBC News
The Current with Matt Galloway
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://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.
http://charlesotherpersonalitie.blogspot.com/
Friday, 11 June 2021
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/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
![](https://thumbnails.cbc.ca/maven_legacy/thumbnails/570/934/ftrATWINnewliberalMP_2500kbps_1280x720_1907563587718.jpg?crop=1.777xh:h;*,*&downsize=510px:* 510w")
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?
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
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.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
With files from the Canadian Press
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
Content deactivated
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
Content deactivated
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
Content deactivated
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
Content deactivated
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
Content deactivated
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
Content deactivated
"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
Content deactivated
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
Content deactivated
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
Content deactivated
Reply to @Peter Maas: Ponder it awhile. I am sure the light will dawn on Marblehead as it always does
Chris Halford
Content deactivated
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
Content deactivated
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
Content deactivated
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://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/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
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 Pres
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.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
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.
https://davidraymondamos3.blogspot.com/2020/10/toronto-lawyer-annamie-paul-elected.html
Monday, 5 October 2020
Toronto lawyer Annamie Paul elected leader of the federal Green Party
https://www.greenparty.ca/en/party/structure/council
The Green Party is directed by its members, who elect the Federal Council to govern between general meetings and to ensure that the party follows Green values and promotes Green policies. Members are encouraged to contact their Council Representatives with ideas and suggestions.
| Position | Contact |
|---|---|
| Leader | Annamie Paul |
| President | Liana Canton Cusmano (interim) |
| Vice President - English | Vacant |
| Vice President - French | Daniel Green |
| Fund Representative | Kate Storey |
| Alberta | Thana Boonlert |
| Manitoba | Beverley Eert |
| Newfoundland and Labrador | Vacant |
| Ontario | Adrian Currie |
| Saskatchewan | Victor Lau |
| Territories | Gerald Enns |
| British Columbia | Bob MacKie |
| Quebec | Samuel Moisan-Domm |
| New Brunswick | Vacant |
| Prince Edward Island | Vacant |
| Nova Scotia | Vacant |
| Youth Representative | Kiara Nazon |
| Youth Representative | Delaney Crawford |
Non-Voting
| Position | Contact |
|---|---|
| Interim Executive Director |
Dana Taylor dana.taylor@greenparty.ca |
I talked to this dude personally He said he was busy and just laughed at me
https://www.greenparty.ca/en/council/election-2020/candidates/bob-mackie
Bob MacKie
Federal Council - British Columbia
Bob.MacKie@greenparty.ca(250) 537-6312
https://robertbmackie.wixsite.com/bobgpc4bc
GPC National Council - BC Representative
A memory that will always stay with me is receiving a phone call at Moby's Pub on Salt Spring Island from Elizabeth May thanking us just before she went on TV with her acceptance speech as the first Green Member of Parliament in Canada.
My experience of being a past President of the party, EDA organizing
and knocking on doors for many EDAs; will help us to grow the party and
continue to make a difference together. I am not a policy wonk but I am a
proportional representation wonk and on the National Council at Fair
Vote Canada. Other skills are with GVote, running webinars and online
teaching. I commit to listening . . . to meeting with and talking to
party members across BC. That will inform my commitment to initiatives,
but at this point some for your consideration are:
- Establishing a
West Coast Regional office to be shared with Greens from BC and
Vancouver as a test for other Regional Offices across Canada.
-
Improving our grassroots policy development process by being more
inclusive, using online tools and perhaps having regional policy
development meetings.
- Helping EDAs with GVote and other training webinars.
- Find a young person who would be interested in running for BC Representative in 2022 and helping/mentoring them to do so.
- Reaching out to previous Presidents of the Green Party to discuss forming an advisory group.
My son lives in Ottawa so I am there quite often to engage with GPC staff.
Nominators
For more information or to arrange an interview:
Rosie Emery
Press Secretary
613-562-4916x206
https://davidraymondamos3.blogspot.com/2020/10/toronto-lawyer-annamie-paul-elected.html
Monday, 5 October 2020
Toronto lawyer Annamie Paul elected leader of the federal Green Party
---------- Original message ----------
From: David Amos <motomaniac333@gmail.com>
Date: Sun, 4 Oct 2020 14:04:36 -0300
Subject:
Fwd: YO Erin O'Toole I wonder how long your fellow lawyer Maxime
Bernier willl continuue to play as dumb as Bill Morneau
To: jivison@postmedia.com, "Frank.McKenna" <Frank.McKenna@td.com>, "PETER.MACKAY" <PETER.MACKAY@bakermckenzie.com>
Cc: David Amos <david.raymond.amos333@gmail.com>
---------- Original message ----------
From: Newsroom <newsroom@globeandmail.com>
Date: Sun, 4 Oct 2020 15:54:53 +0000
Subject: Automatic reply: Attn Annamie Paul Now you know what CBC and
everybody else knows
To: David Amos <motomaniac333@gmail.com>
Thank you for contacting The Globe and Mail.
If your matter pertains to newspaper delivery or you require technical
support, please contact our Customer Service department at
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This is the correct email address for requests for news coverage and
press releases.
https://davidraymondamos3.blogspot.com/2020/07/dimitri-lascaris-is-lawyer-journalist.html
Saturday, 11 July 2020
Dimitri Lascaris is a lawyer, journalist, and activist based in Montreal, Quebec
https://twitter.com/DavidRayAmos/with_replies
David Raymond Amos @DavidRayAmos
Replying to @dimitrilascaris
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtRq11cFUxxgO6IHz-DGK4A
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9MDR_w16iAQ
Leadership Candidates Discuss Future of Green Party at McGill University
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/tgam/QCL2EWCCHRMBVIBVHFP5357FMI.JPG&description=Racism%2C+transphobia+big+problems+in+Green+Party%2C+internal+report+says){kind=link}
https://www.greenparty.ca/en/statement/2020-06-02/green-party-statement-regarding-dimitri-lascaris
Green Party statement regarding Dimitri Lascaris
“The Leadership Contest Committee heard Mr. Lascaris’s appeal and is satisfied with his response to the concerns raised by the vetting committee,” said Green Party Interim Leader Jo-Ann Roberts. “We commend the committee for its meticulous work in bringing those issues to our attention.
“In a grassroots party dedicated to democratic principles, it was agreed this decision should be entrusted to our members when they vote for a new leader in October.”
# # #
For more information:
Rosie Emery
Press Secretary
613-562-4916 ext, 204
rosie.emery@greenparty.ca
https://twitter.com/
https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/green-party-new-leader-1.5749648
Toronto lawyer Annamie Paul elected leader of the federal Green Party
Paul is the first Black permanent leader of a major federal political party
· CBC News · Posted: Oct 03, 2020 5:00 PM ET
New Green party leader Annamie Paul smiles as she takes questions from
the media in Ottawa, Saturday night. Paul succeeds Elizabeth May, who
stepped down last fall. (Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press)
Green Party members have picked Toronto lawyer Annamie Paul as their next leader, bringing to a close the year-long race to replace Elizabeth May.
Paul, who is Black and Jewish, was the perceived frontrunner heading into the final vote because she had raised the most money — $206,000 — and racked up a number of endorsements from former Green Party candidates.
Paul, who is the first Black permanent leader of a major federal political party in Canada, assumes the leadership of a party that has been closely tied to May for the better part of the last 14 years.
Before handing the job to Paul, May delivered an impassioned plea to Canadians to do more to address the climate crisis, saying the ongoing fight against COVID-19 can't distract from pressing environmental concerns.
Paul, who was born in Canada to Caribbean immigrants, claimed victory with 12,090 votes against her closest competitor, Dimitri Lascaris, another lawyer and a self-described radical and "eco-socialist," who had 10,081 votes after eight rounds of voting.
A party official said 23,877 Green voters cast a ballot in this race — a 69 per cent turnout.
Paul, one of the more moderate candidates who contested this leadership election, ran on a robust environmental agenda that she says will help Canada fight climate change, which she has called "an existential threat to human life."
"You have matched a leader to the challenges of this time. We need to match the party to the needs of this moment. That party is the Green Party of Canada. We are the party for this moment," she said in her victory speech.
"The other parties are simply out of ideas. They are intellectually exhausted. This is a moment that demands daring, courageous leadership and this is something that we simply didn't see in the last speech from the throne," she said. "I only heard empty words."
Watch | 'We are the party for the moment': Annamie Paul wins Green Party leadership
Annamie Paul says in choosing her as leader the Green Party has matched their leader to the challenges of the time. 3:31
Paul running in Oct. 26 byelection
Paul ran under the Green banner in the last federal election but placed a distant fourth to former Liberal finance minister Bill Morneau.
While she didn't win, Paul did manage to grow the Green vote in the solidly Liberal seat.
Paul has already been nominated to run in the Oct. 26 byelection in that riding after Morneau's abrupt resignation. Another Black woman, former television personality Marci Ien, is running for the Liberals.
"I was born in Toronto Centre, my mother taught in the schools in Toronto Centre, my grandmother worked as a frontline service worker in the hospitals of Toronto Centre and broke her back doing it in the process. I will not abandon the residents of Toronto Centre to a Liberal party that has neglected that constituency, that riding for the last 27 years," she said.
"I've had enough of candidates being parachuted into that riding and taking the next train out of town until the next election," she said.
Beyond strengthening the existing federal carbon tax, Paul has called for a carbon border adjustment, a tax on imported goods based on how many emissions were associated with producing those goods in countries abroad.
She has also promised a national ban on fracking — a controversial practice used to unearth oil and gas — and said the country should curb mining, a practice she has called wasteful. She has promised to go further and faster in the push to reduce emissions.
In addition to climate policy, Paul has said she wants to tackle systemic racism in the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), establish a "citizen's assembly" to begin the process of introducing proportional representation in Canada's voting system, implement a guaranteed livable income and a universal pharmacare program, among other progressive policies.
"There is no question that we are facing the two defining challenges of our time: how will we build a complete social safety net that allows every person in Canada to live in dignity and security and how we will tackle the existential crisis of our time, which is the climate emergency," Paul said.
"This is a chance of a lifetime for us to move towards a more just, a more inclusive society. We believe it can be done," she said. "The choice is yours, if we want different outcomes then we need to make different choices."
Eight Green leadership candidates were on the final ballot: (top: L to R) Annamie Paul, David Merner, Amita Kuttner, Glen Murray, (bottom: L to R) Dimitri Lascaris, Meryam Haddad, Andrew West and Dr. Courtney Howard. (Collage/ Green Party of Canada)
Lascaris ran on a platform to push the party to the far left with a plan to defund the police — and "create a society in which the police are unnecessary and can be abolished" — dramatically decrease military spending and implement a wealth "cap" to do away with billionaires in Canada.
Paul also beat six other candidates who were vying for the job — David Merner, Amita Kuttner, Glen Murray, Meryam Haddad, Andrew West and Dr. Courtney Howard — easily the most racially and ideologically diverse group of candidates to compete in a federal leadership race. Howard, a physician from the Northwest Territories, placed third with 5,824 votes.
Because of COVID-19 restrictions, the party held the vote online and the 36,000 Green Party members had a week to cast their ballot for one of the eight contenders.
Historic victory
Paul, a graduate of Princeton University and the University of Ottawa, was the subject of racist and anti-semitic attacks during this campaign.
At a virtual town hall, commenters used the word 'N' several times and referred to her and another candidate as a 'f-ing Jew' in a live chat.
Paul is the first Black permanent leader of a major federal party and only the second Jewish person to hold such a job; former NDP leader David Lewis was the first. Paul has said there needs to better representation of Black, Indigenous and people of colour in Canadian politics.
Paul said her victory was possible because trailblazers like Lewis and Rosemary Brown, the first woman to run for leadership of a federal political party.
Brown, a Jamaica-born Black woman, broke colour barriers when she ran a close second to Ed Broadbent in the 1975 NDP federal leadership campaign.
Paul is fluently bilingual in English and French and she made a direct appeal to Quebecers to back the Green Party.
"We are a national party and we need to win seats right across the country — particularly in Quebec," she said.
Before jumping into federal politics, Paul worked as an advisor at the International Criminal Court in The Hague and as a political officer in Canada's Mission to the European Union in Brussels.
She has also advised a number of international non-governmental organizations, including the Climate Infrastructure Partnership and Higher Education Alliance for Refugees. Before running for the top job, Paul was the party's international affairs critic.
From fringe to mainstream under May
The leadership race was prompted by May's decision to step down as party leader last November.
Since assuming the leadership in August 2006, she has taken the party from the political fringe to the mainstream.
After years of being shut out because of poor polling numbers, May lobbied the broadcast consortium behind the leaders' debates to give the Greens a podium and the chance to pitch a left-wing environmental agenda to voters.
May's inclusion in these well-watched debates helped the party post its best electoral result ever in the 2008 federal election — capturing 6.8 per cent of ballots cast.
But it was her 2011 victory in the B.C. riding of Saanich—Gulf Islands that truly bolstered the party's fortunes, as it gave May a seat in Parliament and a larger platform to advance the Green cause.
Since then, the Greens have won provincial seats in B.C., Ontario and New Brunswick and have formed the official opposition in P.E.I.
May is among Parliament's most ardent critics of oil and gas pipelines and the country's natural resources sector. She has also pushed for universal pharmacare, a guaranteed basic income and more decorum in the Commons.
Until her resignation, she was the longest-serving active leader of a party with seats in either the Commons or a provincial legislature.
In announcing her departure, May said she promised her daughter that the 2019 race would be her last, but she has said she will stay on as an MP and the party's parliamentary leader.
Under May's leadership in that 2019 campaign, the Greens produced a relatively strong showing of 6.55 per cent of the popular vote but failed to win more than a few seats.
Much of the party's support was concentrated on Vancouver Island and other parts of British Columbia.
However, New Brunswick MP Jenica Atwin also bested a Liberal incumbent to win her Fredericton seat, the first federal Green victory in the Maritimes.
At the outset of the last two elections, May has predicted that at least a dozen seats would go to the Green Party, but those results never materialized.
May was also dogged by questions about whether she would allow Green MPs to introduce anti-abortion legislation — she said she wouldn't whip her caucus or forbid MPs from advancing these sort of bills — and faced criticism after the party ran candidates with known anti-abortion views.
For more stories about the experiences of Black Canadians — from anti-Black racism to success stories within the Black community — check out Being Black in Canada, a CBC project Black Canadians can be proud of. You can read more stories here.
About the Author
2448 Comments after much editing On evening of Oct 5th
Comments now down to 2424 at noon Oct 6th
Commenting is now closed for this story. The last tally was 2484
But Paul IS politically correct.
Is she gender neutral?