2020- 2022 Policy Process | Green Party of Canada
Where GPC membership collaborates to develop our policies
G21-B008 Young Greens: Attainable Quorum for Participation
Submitter Name
Young Greens of Canada
Ratification Vote Results: Adopted
Proposal
To replace the current Young Greens of Canada Bylaw 1.5:
“1.5 This bylaw may be amended by a 50% vote of approval with at least 10% of the YGC members voting at a General Meeting of the Party, and shall become effective following a vote of approval of greater than 50% of votes cast by the YGC membership.”
With the following text:
“1.5 This bylaw may be amended by a 50% vote of approval with at least 25 YGC members voting at a General Meeting, and shall become effective following a vote of approval of greater than 50% of votes cast by the YGC membership.”
Objective
The purpose of this proposal is to change the onerous requirement of having 10% of Young Greens present and voting at a BGM to make changes to the YGC bylaws, which would make any future changes to the Bylaws at an in-person convention more feasible and attainable.
Benefit
For the YGC Bylaws to continue to improve and adapt, we need a feasible amendment process. Travel to in-person BGMs is often inaccessible for Young Greens for a variety of reasons. This proposal supports Participatory Democracy by removing the requirement for an unreasonable number of YGs to make the trip.
Supporting Comments from Submitter
It is evident that the current bylaw cannot be expected to be effective. There are approximately 1500 Young Greens, and under the current amendment procedure this means that 150 Young Greens would have to be physically present at an in-person BGM in order to even consider an amendment to the YGC bylaws. The quorum for a General Meeting of the entire party is 50 people, or approximately 0.15% of the total membership. All motions passed at General Meetings are subject to subsequent online confirmation votes, meaning that all Young Greens would still have the opportunity to participate in final decisions on bylaw changes.
Green Value(s)
Participatory Democracy, Respect for Diversity
Relation to Existing Policy
This proposal would rescind and replace Bylaw 1.5 of the Young Greens of Canada Bylaws.
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"It is really hard to roll things back if people object," Catherine Jones noted yesterday with regard to a different complex issue. After a to-and-fro email thread with the sponsor of this proposed amendment, Stuart Hunter ([email protected]), my personal opinion is that Catherine's comment applies to dealing with this amendment, too.
In 2018 the membership of the Young Greens passed YGC Bylaw 1.5. I presume a) that the people who wrote the bylaw knew how hard it would be to make amendments; and b) that the Young Greens who voted for the bylaw trusted their leadership.
In 2018, nobody expected the pandemic would necessitate holding GPC general meetings virtually. In 2018 I knew nothing about the Party's governance but I had the privilege of being friends with Hannah Conover-Arthurs, a neighbour in our riding (Davenport) who was the YG rep for Ontario. I could see lots of people objecting to Stuart's amendment (B008) for many reasons—Stuart himself admits "There is no process or rules etc. for amending YGC Bylaws beyond bylaw 1.5 itself..."—but for me it comes down to respect for the 2018 YGC and those who voted in favour of the YG bylaws.
Nor is it impossible to change bylaw 1.5 legally. True, not many Young Greens show up, even at a virtual GM (like the one we're having at the end of March). Too bad! I'd rather see the YG bylaws stay the same than to bend the rules to make it easier to change them.
As for the intent of Stuart's proposal, changing the bylaw legally (50% approval at a GM with at least 10% of Young Greens voting) is far preferable to letting 25 YG members pass bylaw amendments. Changing your (YG) bylaws SHOULD be hard! Young Greens SHOULD gather in large numbers to debate and vote on bylaw changes. Let's assume the 2018 YGC had that in mind, not that they were too stupid to realize they were creating a problem.
Worst case scenario: B008 is adopted and leads to a coup of the YGC. The YGC has only five members now out of a potential 13—i.e., there are eight vacancies. What if the People's Party of Canada figures out that they can take control of the YGC and stack a YGC meeting to change the bylaws with a strong turn to the right? Do you want 25 people deciding to throw out what the 2018 YGC created?
Politics is sooo exciting.... :)
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