Ask-The-Contestants!

Thanks Mary Anne!

I have always wanted to better engage our members in grassroots organizing between elections. It is my hope that as co-leaders and with other structural changes, as leader I will be allowed to follow my own ideas and strategies - something I was not permitted from 2006-2019. My instincts and experience before the Green Party (in Sierra Club and other environmental mobilizations) were in community organizing, as set out in my 2006 book, "How to Save the World in your Spare Time" (Key Porter Books).

Jonathan and I both hope to see Earth Day 2023 as a day for local GPC mobilization working with any willing EDAs.

The Australian Greens significantly boosted their votes and seat count through door to door connections well before their last election. And they concentrated in organizing in areas that had experienced serious climate impacts - fires and floods.

Back in 1970, the first Earth Day was organized as a "teach-in."

We want to see Earth Day 2023 as a GPC teach-in opportunity. It can be house by house, block by block, in classrooms or in church halls. The national party will prepare teaching "kits" focusing on the science of climate change, actions our government must take and local tools for resilience. The essence of the message is that the climate emergency is global but the impacts are local. Adaptation is a local challenge. So the kits will include information that each EDA can tailor to local conditions. Communities likely to experience more fires can hold teach-ins on how to "fire smart" your home. Places with risk of heat domes can educate on life-saving tips for how to stay cool and hydrated. The social justice message in Green teach-ins is also key. Get to know your neighbours and make sure the vulnerable are connected and that a neighbourhood group is prepared to check on the homeless and make plans that leave no one behind.

This longer brief from the GPC sets out details of the adaptation agenda. https://elizabethmaymp.ca/green-party-of-canada-submission-to-canadas-national-adaptation-strategy/

I was the primary author of the brief, working with Shadow Cabinet colleagues. It has a fuller description of preparations that can be made locally.

We also want to accentuate climate action- with demands to stop the TMX pipeline, cancel Bay du Nord and ban fracking.

We can all benefit from building local skills, engaging with our membership, doing meaningful work and being better poised for electoral success. We should plan on at least two national mobilizations/year. Earth Day 2023 is just the beginning!