Collaborative Proposal Creation
Create, improve and sponsor proposals in a respectful, fully bilingual environment. Grow proposals in the "Hothouse", for promotion to the "Workshop", to become official GPC policy.
Amend the definition of Leader (Article 7.1.2) as follows:
7.1.2 Leader: Chief co-spokespersons for the Green Party of Canada.
Add the following to Bylaw 2.1.3:
2.1.3.3 Two Chief co-spokespersons, one woman and one male or gender non-conforming, shall be elected separately.
2.1.3.4 The two Chief co-spokespersons shall share one vote on Federal Council and on the Executive Council.
2.1.3.5 Candidates for Chief co-spokespersons must have been Members of the Party in good standing for at least three (3) months prior to the start of the Chief co-spokesperson Contest.
Amend Bylaw 2.1.5.5 to replace “unless our leader becomes prime minister” with “unless the Party forms or is part of the government of Canada” and to replace “Leader” with “Chief co-spokespersons”, such that it reads as follows:
2.1.5.5 Within six months of a Federal General Election, unless the Party forms or is part of the government of Canada, a Chief co-spokespersons Review, where all Members in good standing may vote, shall be held. The date of the Chief co-spokespersons Review vote will be set by Federal Council and may coincide with a General Meeting. The Chief co-spokespersons' terms shall end if Members in good standing do not pass a resolution endorsing each Chief co-spokesperson by at least sixty percent (60%).
Add the following to Bylaw 2.6:
2.6.2 The President is the member filed Leader pursuant to the Canada Elections Act (all decisions taken in this context must emanate from Federal Council).
In the Constitution & Bylaws, replace every other instance of ‘Leader’ by ‘Chief co-spokesperson’ or ‘Chief co-spokespersons’, whichever applies to the context.
In the Constitution & Bylaws, replace ‘Leadership Contest’ with ‘Chief co-spokesperson Contest’.
Type of Proposal
A constitutional amendment to change the constitution or bylaws
Objective / Benefit
Instead of having a single ‘Leader’, the Green Party of Canada would have two Chief co-spokespersons elected in separate membership votes.
Some benefits would be to leverage the distinctive strengths of the two Chief co-spokespersons, to widen the appeal of the Green Party amongst different demographics and to share the workload associated with this role.
If your proposal replaces an existing policy or policies, which one does it replace?
N/A
List any supporting evidence for your proposal
The Co-spokespersons model already exists for Québec Solidaire and it's a great success (12 seats provincially). It also exists in many Green parties around the world that have much more electoral success than the GPC.
Does this proposal affect any particular group and what efforts have been made to consult with the group or groups?
A new co-spokesperson election would be required for the male or gender non-conforming Co-spokesperson within 6 months of the approval of this proposal in an all member vote.
It is important to state that this proposal does NOT add new responsibilities and powers to the Co-spokespersons.
Jurisdiction: Is this proposal under federal jurisdiction?
No
Please indicate the language the proposal is being submitted in.
English
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Message from the Shepherds' team:
Four different constitutional amendment proposals attempting to address the subject of co-leadership and its place in our governance were received during the ongoing proposal cycle. This is a reflection of the high level of interest among the membership in exploring the co-leadership question, a model that other Green Parties have embraced.
The four proposals have in common that they all seek to formally open the door for electing two co-leaders or co-spokespersons with equal standing as the primary spokespersons for the Party. However, the proposals also differ in several key aspects, notably in how the Party would proceed in the event that vacancies occur in these elected positions. Attempts to consolidate them into one have not been successful as there are conflicting views on some aspects.
The [email protected] team has requested that these four proposals be scheduled consecutively on the GM agenda and debated as a group. We encourage you to read them carefully, discuss them, and provide online feedback to the submitters during the next 60 days, in addition to considering any amendments you would like to see.
If you are interested in participating in an online workshop to contribute further to this discussion, please let us know by contacting [email protected]
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