Alberta Greens

2008-10-06T11:50:00.002-06:00

Alberta Greens Response to Auditor General Report

(Calgary Oct 6th, 2008) “The Auditor General’s report throws Alberta’s whole climate change strategy into question. What a boondoggle! We are going to spend $4.7 billion without knowing whether it’s working or not.” said George Read Leader of the Alberta Greens.

The Oct 2008 Alberta Auditor Generals report states. “To date, we have identified planned provincial spending for climate-change costing about 4.7 billion.” And that, “There is no overall reporting to allow Albertans to know how much is being spent to meet climate change goals.”

“We are on the edge of a recession and we need to be diversifying our options and managing our money well, not spending $4.7 billion on a poorly managed boondoggle,” said Read.

The Alberta Greens have a plan to combat climate change by reducing energy demand by improving our transportation structures that would include high speed rail. The party also plans to move Alberta in to more renewable energy like solar, wind and geothermal. Alberta Greens strategies would see investment in diversifying Alberta’s economy and cost savings for Albertans by encouraging energy efficient technologies.

“Albertans are world leaders in energy. Albertans need leadership that embraces that fact,” said Read.

Additional Reading Calgary Herald

2008-09-30T00:22:00.004-06:00

Alberta Greens

There is alot of support pouring into the Alberta Greens website. Comments like the one below by Ron Ayotte really support our grassroots party check out the Alberta Greens website for further comments:

This morning's Calgary Herald wrote up this conflict as a leadership struggle.I suppose it may have been described in those terms to the folks from Wetaskiwin way when they agreed to attend the meeting at Morningside.It would seem likely, from the comments above.If that's the case, Cameron's hopeful and positive comments above may well be prescient. So, for all the well meaning folks from the area who came to Morningside to see the right thing done, here are a few things to think about.Our Party Leader's job has a lot of baggage attached to it including an opinionated membership, and of course the larger Green community. There are Tax Department and Elections Alberta expectations, an individually elected executive, a lengthy constitution, some Key Principles that every action must be measured against, and a Justice and Fairness Committee to ensure those Key Principles are respected. I know, that part sounds naive and idealistic but what do you expect from an organization that has less protection from hostile takeover than my Gardening Club?So the plan as I heard it at the Morningside meeting is to get rid of the baggage. Replace the executive with a hand-picked slate, redo the constitution, and take the party in a different direction from the larger Green movement. It follows that there was little attempt to bring the general membership along this path. Some, busy with the Federal Election, are just now hearing that there has been a problem.So whats left of interest to hijackers?Our Key Principles? Ummm, No. Into the garbage with the constitution. Truth to tell I would have hung around longer for the show if I thought they were actually going to elect a Justice and Fairness Committee. I could have dined out on that story forever. Damn. Someone please tell me they didn't do that.Anyway all that's left worth taking is the relationship with Elections Alberta and the tax people. Our Official Party Status means contributions are partially tax deductibe. A group seeking status in Alberta in 2008 would need 7,050 registered voters to support the application. A lot of work.The thing is these weren't evil people in that Meeting Hall.I don't think anyone, however persuasive, could have got them out on Saturday with "Hey let's go steal thousands of hours of work by hundreds of volunteers, so we don't have to do it." I just can't picture it.Someone with more information help me out with this, but I'm thinking it had to have been presented as a somehow justified attack on George Read and the executive of the party.So my friends, get your heads around this. The Green Party of Alberta and the official party status you're after does not belong to George Read or to the Executive Committee. It belongs to the membership.For better or worse, we are your neighbours. Some of us got together and over the space of many years we built a political vehicle. A Green one.Very few of those from the beginning are still around, people come and go, but the work goes on.We carelessly left it unlocked.It seems that someone with a grievance convinced his friends that the vehicle belongs to a real creep (or creeps) and it would be ok to take it away from them. They share this plan between themselves by e-mail a few days before the meeting by e-mail and then tell us that the hijacking was justified by our executives refusal to hang around and watch them do it. If you think that's a little twisted remember that this vehicle doesn't even have any parts they want, they intend to use the license plate, and discard the rest. They aren't shy about that.Oh yeah, and apparently George Read is bad.
A proud moment.I stopped in for a little while on a room full of Greens on the way home. A room full of people determined to not turn in to the opposition. Grant Neufeld read from the 10 key Values.We are going to be all right.
Ron Ayotte

2008-09-24T22:00:00.003-06:00

2007-2008 Alberta Greens Leader Report

I was asked by Edwin Erickson and Joe Anglin to step down as leader at two separate private meetings earlier this year, following the provincial election.

Maybe it’s time we held a leadership race?

The last year has been the best year in the history of the Alberta Greens and I am proud of the things we’ve accomplished.

• We ran 79 candidates in the 2008 provincial election, just shy of a full slate and a far cry from the 49 candidates we ran in 2004, or the 10 we ran in 2001! This really is the fastest growing political party in North America.
• Since our 2007 AGM we have tripled our membership! To accomplish this we designed and produced professional looking membership books, cleaned up our database and found organizers for Calgary and Edmonton.
• Our popularity climbed from 24,451 votes in 2004 to 43,563 votes in the 2008 spring election! To put this in perspective, in 2001, before I became leader, we received only 2,850 votes, less than 0.3% of the popular vote. This rate of growth is unprecedented! And we did this at a time when every other opposition party lost popularity and support!
• The 2008 spring election also saw us finish in second place in 2 ridings, Lacombe-Ponoka and Drayton Valley-Calmar. As a party we made the decision to throw our support and resources behind these two strong campaigns. Over 40% of the monies transferred to candidates by the party was spent on this beach-head effort. These campaigns received 3,226 votes and 1,970 votes respectively.
• At the beginning of the 2008 provincial election we were the only opposition party that was not in debt. Throughout the campaign we fundraised and spent close to $50,000 and we finished the campaign with a little money in the bank. We were the only opposition party to finish the election without a debt. We really are the only fiscally conservative choice on the ballot.

How do we continue this rapid growth?

The fastest way to increase membership outside of an election is to have a Leadership race.

The Green Party of Canada held a leadership race in 2006 and they increased their membership from 3000 members to 10,000 members! We could do the same.

A leadership race will generate attention for the party between elections when interest is traditionally at its lowest.

We could hold debates around the province throughout the year. The candidates can articulate their vision for the party to the membership and to the press.

We have advocated for fixed election dates in provincial elections and we walk our talk. We have fixed election dates for internal party elections. Anyone can run for the positions that are open and candidates know years in advance when a leadership race will be.

Well, the next leadership contest is scheduled for fall 2009.

Let’s make this year the most exciting year outside an election that the Alberta Greens have ever enjoyed!

I need your help to do this. Since 2003 when I first ran for leader against our past leader David Parker, I have not had my leadership contested. There can’t be a race if you’re the only one running.
But surely with the explosion of growth we’ve experienced there are more names that could be put forward.

So I’m asking you now, who is your leader?

By holding a contested leadership race we will all know that the leader of this party truly has the mandate from the membership to lead it.
The Alberta Greens have now grown to become a real force in the political landscape of this province.

Without a mandate from the membership it will be impossible for any leader to focus that force to achieve the success we’ve all worked so hard towards.

I look forward to seeing you Saturday at the AGM in Morningside where you’ll be able to voice your thoughts on this and the future direction of the party!

Sincerely,

George Read
Leader, Alberta Greens

2008-09-15T17:36:00.006-06:00

Alberta Greens Response to the Education Minister on not hiring drop-outs.

(Calgary Sept 15th, 2008) “The question the education minister should be asking is not whether companies should be hiring high school drop outs, but how this ministry can ensure that the schools are there for the people who need them,” said George Read Leader of the Alberta Greens.

“The department of education has dropped the amounts they collect for schools year over year,” said Read. “They are even proud of it. They brag about it.”

The Alberta government website states that 2008 “… marks the 15th straight year that the education property tax mill rate has been lowered or frozen. In fact, since assuming responsibility for school property taxes, the province has cut school property tax rates by 47.2 per cent.” – Government of Alberta Education website http://education.alberta.ca/admin/funding/tax.aspx

The report on the state of our schools shows a bleak picture of run down schools with neglected repairs. In 2007, twenty nine percent of all schools in Alberta have components that are reaching the end of their lifecycle and require additional expenditure for renewal or refurbishment. http://www.infrastructure.alberta.ca/Content/Publications/production/annualreport.pdf pg 50

“An educated work force drives a green economy. The Alberta Green Party would adequately fund our schools rather than side stepping the problem and bragging about our ability to short the education system money,” said George Read Leader of the Alberta Greens.

2008-09-12T16:51:00.009-06:00

Reusable Signs

The Alberta Greens and the Green Party of Canada are the only political parties in Alberta that have reusable signs.

A number of people have asked why we do not have candidate's names on our signs. The main reason is so that we can reuse the signs. There is a space on the signs, beside the word, elect for a sticker to be applied to the sign for a candidate’s name. If you have a Green Party of Canada sign or an Alberta Greens sign, you can put them up in this election. Please let your candidates know so that they can keep track of that sign.

The Alberta Greens have a link on our website so that people can find the Green Party of Canada website. We have done this in the last three elections for the federal party and they have returned the favour during the provincial election.

I am proud to be part of a party that walks its talk. Just say no to dumpsters full of election signs on the way to the landfill and a YES! to reusable signs some of which are as old as 1990 when the Alberta Greens were formed.

George Read

Leader, Alberta Greens

2008-09-09T01:37:00.001-06:00

Voting in Alberta

The federal election is on and Alberta is unique among Canada’s provinces in that it is the only province where people vote the same way federally as they do provincially.

Success for the Green Party in the federal election will have a lot of impact on the next provincial election, so it is really important that the Alberta Greens help the federal party to do well.

The Green Party message in Alberta needs to speak to Albertans. We need to let Albertans know that the Green Party is working to ensure they have jobs for the long term. We are the only political party that is talking about transforming Alberta from an oil province to an energy province and this is critical for Alberta’s long term success and prosperity.

What is Alberta going to be like without oil? Is it going to be like Newfoundland without cod? We need to start capitalizing on some of Alberta’s renewable resources. We have great sunshine for solar power, good wind profiles for wind power and the largest concentration of expertise in geology to make geothermal work. The only thing we lack to create long term jobs in energy in Alberta is the political will.

The only way we are going to get that political will is by pulling together.

Realizing the way Albertans vote, we need to work with the people of Alberta to get where we need to go.

Please help me spread the message “Green means jobs” in Alberta this federal election.

George Read
Leader, Alberta Greens

2008-07-15T09:38:00.001-06:00

Press Release - Premiers Conference

Water Issues and the Alberta Oil Sands.

(Calgary Tuesday July 15, 2008) George Read, Leader of the Alberta Green Party said, “The oil sands use a tremendous amount of water and the premiers need to be asking Alberta some hard questions about water management,” in response to Ed Stelmach spending two billion on carbon capture and storage just in time for the Quebec City Premiers Conference.

“Carbon capture and storage is not green enough to cover over the water issues.” said Read. “Expanding the oil sands means expanding Alberta’s water use and if I was a premier who was down stream I would be asking Ed Stelmach some questions about the water supply.”

The oil sands consume as much water every year as the city of Calgary; that is the equivalent of filling the Saddledome with water everyday. The oil sands processing sends less than 10% of that water back to the Athabasca river.

Water that is not returned to the river ends up in tailings ponds. Tailings ponds cover over 50 square kilometers and will expand as oil sand production increases. Currently no single reclamation option has been developed that is capable of handling the projected volumes in a manner that is technically, environmentally and economically viable (1). Mr. Stelmach has stated that oil sands production will triple in the next eight years(2).

“Alberta is on the verge of a water shortage. The Alberta Greens policy states that any sensible development of the oil sands must take into account the water usage,” said Read.

1) Information taken from the Pembina Report Troubled Waters
2) http://premier.alberta.ca/speeches/speeches-2008-Jan-16-AB_Enterprise.cfm

2008-06-30T17:48:00.004-06:00

On a sunny Saturday afternoon Alberta Green Party leader George Read attended the Alberta Greens first ever summer BBQ July 28th in Edworthy Park “We often think about politics as something distant and far away. Really politics is about community and friendships. It is about caring for the planet and the people around you,” said Read.

Alberta boasted the lowest voter turnout in Canada at 41% in the last provincial election. The Alberta Greens have a plan to connect with the average voter this summer.

“We are making politics fun, again.” Said Read

Summer BBQ’s have a long political history in Canada but this was the first time the Alberta Greens have ever had one. There are a number of BBQ’s planned for this summer as the Alberta Greens kick-off a grassroots push. “We are planning to connect with Albertans by coming to them in person at the community level,” said Read. “BBQ’s are just the start.”

The event was well attended. The Edworthy BBQ was jointly hosted by the Alberta Greens and the Green Party of Canada Calgary Center EDA. The weather was beautiful. People played horseshoes and badminton. Green Party notables like Kevin Colton, the former Federal Organizer for the Green Party of Canada roasted hot dogs on the BBQ.

When asked why more people don’t vote Read said, “Mostly because they have not had a chance to connect with a community of people that gives it meaning. It is too abstract. That is why we are meeting people on their own terms.”

2008-04-14T17:18:00.000-06:00

Media Release - Alberta Green Challenge Elections Act

(Calgary, Apr 14, 2008) The Alberta Greens have sent a letter to the Attorney General Alison Redford asking her to change the Alberta Elections Act by Sept 10th,2008, if not the party will proceed with legal action.

“Ed Stelmach was elected by only 20% of Albertans,” said Read. “Obviously, when only 40% of voters turn out something is seriously wrong with our democracy,” said Alberta Greens leader, George Read.

The constitutional challenge, to go ahead this fall unless the government amends the Act, says section 62(2) interferes with the rights of candidates and supporters of small political parties to participate in elections and therefore contravenes the electoral fairness required by section 3 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

Read said the provision, which denies the return of half a candidates deposit unless they receive at least half as many votes as are received by the candidate who is elected, cost the Alberta Greens a significant amount of money that it could otherwise use to promote its positions to the voters.

Both the Canadian government and the Ontario government have been forced to change similar provisions in their Election Acts because they were struck down by the courts. “We hope that the Attorney General will do the right thing for democracy,” said Read.

2007-12-31T18:06:00.001-06:00

New Year’s Eve

New Year’s Eve is always a time to reflect on the events of the past year. 2007 was a whale of a year for the Alberta Greens. I ran in a by-election in Calgary Elbow and had a third place finish. We are the third party in Calgary. Jennifer Wigmore ran in the Drumheller-Stettler by-election. This was the first time we ran in Drumheller-Stettler so Jennifer was a historic ground breaking candidate for us.

Blog Interview from the campaign
http://www.green-canada.com/2007/11/interview-with-.html

Interviews from Greener politics
http://www.greenerpolitics.com/category/on-locaton/canada/prairie-politics/

We changed Election Readiness Coordinators. Edwin Erickson our candidate in Drayton-Valley Calmar stepped down to focus on his local campaign. Before Edwin stepped back, he crossed the province and turned up some high quality candidates like Glen Argan in Edmonton Millcreek and Joe Anglin in Lacombe Ponoka.

Glen Argan
http://www.glenargan.ca/

Edwin Erickson
http://www.greenpress.ca/

Joe Anglin
http://www.albertagreens.ca/blog/edwin_erickson/2007/03/22/candidate_announcement_for_lacombe_ponoka

Joe Anglin worked tirelessly to make the public aware of the government spying on the public. He also worked to bring Bill 46 in to the public eye and make people aware that our democracy is in danger. The Alberta Greens supported this initiative 100%, putting money into advertisements to raise awareness on the Bill 46 issue and working cooperatively with other opposition parties.

http://www.killbill46.ca/

Midge Lambert was elected as our Election Readiness coordinator at our AGM in October. Midge has already set up a new toll free line for the Alberta Greens: 1-888-476-8683. She has traveled the province from Peace River to Medicine Hat to look for candidates.

Anticipating an election call early in 2008, the Alberta Greens are ramping up our preparations. We look forward to another record-breaking year.

George Read
Leader, Alberta Greens

2007-12-05T10:50:00.000-06:00

The Promise of Geothermal

The Alberta Greens believe that the province of Alberta needs to move from being just an oil province to an being an energy province. We have everything that we need to be in the energy business, and the major oil companies are already repositioning themselves as energy companies. One area that Alberta could excel in is geothermal energy.

We know that the center of the Earth is molten and holds a tremendous amount of heat. By drilling down into the ground we can set up a heat pump that will pump heat from the earth to heat a building. The same process, using condensers in the same way that a refrigerator does, can be used to cool buildings instead of using air conditioning.

http://www.geo-exchange.ca/
http://www.geothermal.ca/what-is-geothermal/

The Alberta Greens believe that with the number of geologists and rigs in Alberta, geothermal is a natural addition to our energy options. We have a chance to become a center for excellence in a technology that has been shown to be a major player in supporting low carbon emission technology like that in Iceland.

http://www.canada.com/calgaryherald/news/story.html?id=3d78a730-2ce4-46bc-859d-1ca6384efffd

Alberta is already starting to embrace geothermal energy. The Alberta Association of Municipal Districts and Counties building is heated by geothermal energy, and in Rocky Mountain House the local swimming pool is run on geothermal heat. A number of companies in Alberta are already working with this technology. It is all about the choices that we make: economic prosperity and environmental sustainability go hand in hand.

George Read
Leader, Alberta Greens

2007-12-03T15:11:00.000-06:00

The Alberta Greens believe that democracy in Alberta is in trouble. We believe that the only way we are going to protect the rights of Albertans is to elect Green Party MLAs.

The Alberta Greens believe in grassroots democracy. Debate should be allowed to run its course. Debate is healthy and allows all sides a chance to air their views on an issue. Closure is a procedure where debate is cut short in the legislature and a vote is called. The history of the Alberta legislature is that under Peter Lougheed closure was only invoked once. Ralph Klein invoked closure 21 times from 1993 to 1997.

http://pubs.pembina.org/reports/33.Voter%20Participation.pdf

Ed Stelmach just invoked closure on the Bill 46 issue. The debate over land owners’ rights and the state of democracy in Alberta will be ended by the premier. That is both ironic and sad.

http://www.edmontonsun.com/News/Alberta/2007/11/30/4696929-sun.html

The Alberta Greens believe that the EUB needs to be restructured. We believe that Albertans should be able to vote for the people on the board. Our policy calls for districts to be set up based on watershed areas so that local people can be involved in decisions that affect them. Openness, transparency and democracy are all about allowing people to vote and be heard.

George Read
Leader, Alberta Greens

For more background on Bill 46 see

Blogs
http://www.albertagreens.ca/blog/edwin_erickson/2007/10/29/energy_minister_out_of_touch

http://www.albertagreens.ca/blog/george_read/2007/10/01/media_release_bill_46

External Websites
http://www.killbill46.ca

2007-04-13T22:54:00.000-06:00

Red Deer Gala

I just returned from the “It Isn’t Easy Being Green” Gala in Red Deer.

The Lindsay Thurber Comprehensive High School Students’ Council organized the Gala. It was an amazing evening and I was truly inspired by the young people who had put together a fundraiser, in their words, “helping in the fight against global warming.” The students had organized not only an impressive line up of speakers, but also a silent auction and dinner. The evening included music by the LTCHS jazz ensemble and was put together with a mind to green ideas like recyclable packaging for silent auction gifts.

To me a hero is an ordinary person who steps up to do what is right.

The Students’ Council at Lindsay Thurber are all hero’s to me. People who put there time and effort into something they care about simply because it is the right thing to do. I am inspired that this can happen in Alberta and I believe that there will be many more good things to come in Red Deer.

We know that we have all the tools and technology necessary to take action on Climate Change. What we are missing is the political will.

Tonight I saw young people stepping up to provide some of that political will. Thank you I am encouraged and filled with hope.

George Read
Leader, Green Party of Alberta

2007-04-01T22:50:00.000-06:00

George Read to run in Calgary Elbow

I will be running in the Calgary Elbow by-election! This will be a critical election for the Green Party of Alberta. I need your help to make it a success.

Come out to the Apr 22^nd Climate Change Carnival at the Lakeview Community Hall: 6110-34^thAve SW Calgary. This will be a fun event with a life sized ice sculpture of a polar bear, games, prizes and fun. This event will kick off the Calgary Elbow campaign.

There has never been a better time to be Green in Alberta. The political winds are shifting and Albertans are beginning to believe in a sustainable future for Alberta. When I think about the possibilities available to this province, I get excited. We can have a high-speed rail line from Calgary to Edmonton. I have seen the Oct 2004 Van Horne institute study that shows that not only is a high-speed rail line possible, it is affordable. Link to study

http://www.vanhorne.info/Reports/HSR%20Full%20Report%20%2810%206%202004%29.pdf

Economic prosperity and environmental sustainability go hand in hand.

Calgary Elbow will set the stage for the Green Party in Alberta. This is going to be an opportunity for the Green Party to talk about making Alberta into an energy province. We all know that Alberta is an oil province and the Green Party supports Alberta continuing to produce oil. But even the oil companies are shifting to different forms of energy! Look at Shell Solar http://www.shell.com/home/Framework?siteId=shellsolar and BP Hydrogen http://www.vanhorne.info/Reports/HSR%20Full%20Report%20%2810%206%202004%29.pdf

We believe that the province of Alberta needs to change the laws to allow Albertans the right to put solar panels on their roofs and sell electricity back onto the grid. This is a practice that is common in Europe, but illegal in Alberta even now that electricity is “deregulated”.

We also want to talk about support for wind power. Our current government is allowing a cap on wind power that is blocking up to 6 billion dollars in investment. Look at this article; http://www.wind-watch.org/news/2006/10/20/a-heavy-blow-for-wind-power-2/ Alberta needs to remove this cap! We as a society need to support and promote investment in renewable energy.

We need to get the message out there that economic prosperity and environmental sustainability go hand in hand.

Calgary Elbow will also be a time to talk about what health care in a Green society will look like. A simple solution like funding midwives and other caregivers can take the pressure off of our existing facilities. In a Green province, preventative medicine will be as important as bricks and mortar hospitals, doctors and nurses. My grandmother always told me that a stitch in time saves nine. If we can offer Albertans more ways to access medicine, and if we can expand the options for keeping people healthy, we can all live healthier, less stressful, longer lives.

We are also going to get a chance to talk about solutions to the affordable housing crisis in this province. Affordable housing affects us all. Limiting the number of affordable housing units limits the number of people who can come to the city. The Green Party has always supported plans to increase urban density. Increasing urban density does not mean overcrowding. It means more walkable communities. It means better transit. It means places where people can know their neighbours. It means taking the LRT home from work and being able to pick up some fresh fruit and vegetables at a local market during the walk home, secure in the knowledge that your house is not taking up any new farmland.

The election in Calgary Elbow is going to be a great opportunity for the Green Party to present some of our plan for the future to Albertans. I need your help to let people know that I am running for MLA in Calgary Elbow. Please support this campaign with time or money today.

George Read

Leader, Green Party of Alberta

2007-02-17T02:19:00.000-06:00

Conservation can be more effective than new production

The United States through improvements in energy efficiency has managed to save more energy yearly than their total yearly nuclear output.

We need to reconsider the direction we are moving in. We need to take the cap off windpower and stop pushing nuclear. We need work on energy improvements before building new capacity.

Reference is Page 4 for the statement at the top

http://www.fypower.org/pdf/CEC_EE_and_Climate_Change.pdf

2007-02-11T15:49:00.000-06:00

Health Care in the land of Plenty

Alberta in 2006 had a record year for oil royalties. The government of Alberta has more money than it has ever had but we are short of doctors and we do not have enough money for hospitals. This does not make any sense to me. The government of Alberta is aware that we have an aging population and that we are going to need more doctors not less.

It is time that we lowered the tuitions for people going into medical school in Alberta and refunded their student loans if they stay in the province to work. We also need to give our doctors a raise the coincides with inflation.

George Read
Leader, Green Party of Alberta

2007-02-08T00:26:00.000-06:00

Oil Sands the Great Conundrum

Alberta has a huge resource in the Oil Sands but their development under the current Steam Assisted Gravity Drainage SAGD system can result in a lot of environmental damage.

The major concern is the cumulative impacts of access roads, seismic lines, core holes, well pads, gas supply lines, power lines, oil pipelines, water supply lines and waste water disposal wells. These developments fragment the forest impacting animal populations and reducing timber harvests. The use of water for steam also results in depletion of freshwater reserves, acidification of the landscape and regional ground water contamination.

Oil sand development will impact 138,000 km2. This is 21% of Alberta’s landmass. We have to mitigate these effects. It would be nice to simply stop the production of oil but our society is dependent on it so we will have to develop it. If we are going to develop it then we need to make a plan to do it.

It has been shown that if forestry companies and oil companies plan together they can reduce the number of roads by 34% and the number of cleared areas by 16%. The government of Alberta needs to take advantage of these ideas. We need to stop issuing leases until there is a provincial land use plan that includes protected areas for wildlife, cumulative impact limits to reduce forest fragmentation, integrated land management plans to reduce our impacts and oil companies need to be held to using the best practices.

Aside for SAGD there are also solvent based methods of oil sand extraction and really promising are electrical heating methods of oil extraction. The oil sands are a non-renewable resource. We will only get one chance to develop them

George Read

Leader, Green Party of Alberta

2007-02-04T18:34:00.000-06:00

Make-overs

The Green Party of Alberta has grown a lot since I started this blog back in 2004. You will notice that with this post the color scheme on the blog site has changed. I am also looking for a volunteer portrait photographer to take some pictures of me so that I will have them for this blog and campaign brochures.

There will be more to come. We are just getting started.

George Read
Leader, Green Party of Alberta

2006-09-20T23:36:00.000-06:00

It has been eternity since I posted here and I may again but at the moment. I am keeping pretty busy posting at www.albertagreens.ca. Come on over and check out those posts.

I am also due to appear on the GPC website as a regular blogger. I will let you know if that comes up.

George

2005-02-23T16:30:00.000-06:00

Simple
The pattern for success as a political party is simple. We just have to convince people we are right. It does not take that much. One person at a time. You go out everyday and speak to one person and convince them that maybe just maybe it would be better if we did not poison the planet and destroy the future. Maybe just maybe we should consider changing our ways. Not all of them and maybe not even right away but let us begin. If we all did that then something magical would happen. People would begin to change and soon the world would be a better place to live. It is all so simple. We just have to try.

George

2005-02-11T11:24:00.000-06:00

The Real Work Begins
The Vancouver campaign is just about to get off to s roaring start. I am excited about it. I have never seen so many latent resources.

George

2005-02-10T13:10:00.000-06:00

Report from the BC election

The BC campaign is underway we are quickly nominating candidates out here and with that we are swinging into election high gear. The campaign looks like it will have to be a grassroots campaign as the press is starting to sell a story that involves a two party race. Luckily for the Green Party we are a grassroots organization and we can campaign effectively outside the regular media channels. Building the grassroots will become the theme for the BC election and possibly even the mission here for the next four years.

It is an exciting time to be Green.

George in Gibsons

2005-02-07T23:59:00.000-06:00

Vision, Hope, Compassion, Honesty

These are the four words that I have been saying to candidates since I began finding people to run. This is how the Green Party campaigns. We present a vision for the future. It is a vision of hope. We are compassionate in our campaigning. We are concerned for people. Above all we are honest. These are values but they are not part of the ten key values of the Global Greens they are instead the way we campaign.

That is what I am doing today in BC; I am campaigning to bring hope for the election. It is beginning. They are starting to believe.

2005-02-06T13:54:00.000-06:00

Community

I just finished reading Joe Trippi’s book The Revolution will not be Televised and he is talking about the importance of Blog’s in developing community. Joe Trippi was the campaign manager for Howard Dean and arguably the first manager of an internet political campaign. One of the things that he feels is critical to a successful Blog is a comments section so that the person who is writing can get feedback immediately.

This will be my first post with a comments field mainly because I just discovered how to turn it on. If it does not work I will try again on the next post.
George

2005-02-05T15:27:00.000-06:00

So it begins again, I spent yestarday and today in Golden BC talking to people and telling them the same things I always say. Do not vote for the lesser of two evils vote for something good. I am as always amazed how people can vote for political parties who have not done what they wanted on the basis that they are not as bad as the other option. Madness.

You know what madness is? It is doing the same thing again and again expecting a different resulty.

The revolution moves on we continue the work one person at a time. I have inspired and educated. I will keep at it until we have succeeded.

George

2005-02-04T13:36:00.000-06:00

The revolution moves forward. We are campaigning on two fronts now. We are building the party in Alberta by searching for candidates and preparing to run in the Federal Election. We are also campaigning in BC to support the BC Green Party in the upcoming May 17th provincial election.

This is a huge opportunity for party in Alberta to look over the hill and see what it will be like to campaign in Alberta in 2007. We are also working to develop a strategy to fundraise the money we will need to run in 2007. You can donate to the Alberta 2007 campaign here.

Ralph Klien approved the Grizzly Bear Hunt. Showing again that our conservative government does not understand the threatened state of the Alberta Grizzly Bear population. Grizzly bears can't vote but I can.

George Read

2005-01-04T23:30:00.000-06:00

New Year, New Plan

It has been over a year now since I became leader of the Green Party of Alberta and looking back it has been a good year. We have just taken some time off to rest and relax and now we are back at it looking forward to the build-up to the next federal and provincial elections.

This time of the year is always one of the most fun times of the year for me because it is a time to plan. A time to organize and a time to prepare for another year of fun. I used to do alot of gardening and this was always the time of the year when the seed catalogs arrived. When the day timers were filled with planting dates to start seeds indoors and with dates to set things out in the garden.

I guess right now that is where the party is at we are going to be planting the seeds that will bear fruit in the future. We have the books out and we are planning. Dreaming of how the garden will look in the spring and summer. Dreaming of how Alberta will look with a Green government.

Happy sowing

George

2004-12-02T01:44:00.000-06:00

The way forward
The 2004 provincial election has given the Green Party in Alberta a solid footing. We now need to continue to grow and change. It is an exciting time because there are lots of things to do to get the work going on.

The Green Party of Alberta website http://www.albertagreens.ca will carry all the information on the January meetings of 2005. 2005 will be a historic year because it will be Alberta's 100th anniversary. It will also be a historic year because it will mark the beginning of a new phase in the Green Party of Alberta. People will look back on 2005 and say that was when it started.

Exciting changes are coming just watch our smoke.

George Read
Leader, Green Party of Alberta

2004-12-01T11:21:00.000-06:00

Long time
It has beeen a long time since I posted but we have been fighting a provincial election and that has taken most of my time. We did well. We obtained 4.82% in the ridings we ran in and we are established as the third party in Calgary. The revolution is on.

George Read
Leader, Green Party of Alberta

2004-09-01T21:44:00.000-06:00

National Convention
The Green Party of Canada just finished their national convention. It was am uplifting time to be Green over 180 members were on hand in Alberta to work on policy and direction. We heard from David Suzuki and we enjoyed one of the few sunny weekends Calgary had to offer this year. It was exciting to have people from all over Canada come together in one place to be Green. The sense of common values and shared identity is something wonderful.

The Green party really is about diversity of voices, inclusiveness and decentralization and we saw this at the convention. We saw a group of people who worked together to agree on a vision of how to be Green. We saw growing pains as people new to the party learned about Green process and about allowing everyone to have their say. We heard from voices that are hard to hear like a professeur on military policy and the Canadian International Development Agency.

We made peace with our own people repealing the Seal Hunt policy put forward in 2002 and changing it to a more reasonable one in line with our values.

All in all the convention was a time when it was good to be Green.

It's never easy being Green but at least for a few sunny days in Alberta flush with election success and new found friends it is indeed good to be Green.

George

PS If we can do it here, we can do it anywhere. The winds of change are blowing.

2004-08-25T07:44:00.000-06:00

Convention 2004
We are fast approching the Green Party national convention. The convention will be held just West of Calgary at Kamp Kiwanis. Kamp Kiwanis is at the intersection of highway 8 and Highway 22. The convention will start Thursday evening Aug 26th. The cost to attend is $90 or $30 per day. The convention will end on Sunday night.

It will be an exciting time. Not only will Jim Harris our national leader be there but we will have Frank De Jong leader of the Ontario Greens and Adrian Carr leader of the BC Greens. David Suzuki will be speaking Sunday morning at 10:00. It is exciting that we can do this in the heart of Alberta.

If you have a chance to come out you should. I will see you there.

George Read
Leader of the Alberta Greens

2004-08-15T23:11:00.000-06:00

Provincial Candidates

Credibility has always been the big stumbling block for the Alberta Greens. In the federal election we managed to acheive a fair amount of credibility by running 308 candidates.

Calgary was one of the hot spots of Green Party success in Canada. We know that if we can run 83 candidates in the provincial election this fall we have a good chance of see even better success. We cannot make the changes we want without the people to stand up and be counted. If you are interested in becoming a candidate there will be meetings in Calgary Sept 8th and Edmonton on Sept 11th. Please contact me and get involved.

George Read
Leader Alberta Greens

2004-07-11T22:51:00.000-06:00

Light the Fires and Kick the Tires
It is the last day of vacation after the federal election and we are back to work tomorrow. We will be beginning the push to get a full slate for the provincial election in Alberta.

Anyone who is interested in helping please send me an e-mail with your contact info.

The things that need to be done immediately:

1) Work on the federal convention in August
2) Find 83 candidates
3) Organize the provincial leader tour
4) Review and issue a platform.

If you are interested in helping out there has never been a better time to get involved.

"The only thing that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good people to do nothing." Edmund Burke.

2004-06-24T17:10:00.000-06:00

The start of the Provincial Election
It has been a long run and many of us are very tired. And it is the most difficult when we are tired to talk about hope for the future. But now is the time to talk about hope. We have seen tremendous growth in the party. In Alberta we are polling at 10% of the decided vote. We need to keep talking about hope. People need to know that there is a chance to move ahead to change the political landscape in Canada to make the major parties re-think the way they do politics and the importance they put on Green issues.

More importantly, we need to tell people that this is not over for the Green party. We are not folding up shop at the end of the federal election. We are taking that momentum and we are moving into a provincial election. We are already on the provincial campaign trail. We are already building for the provincial election.

We are here. We are Green. We are not going away!

2004-06-20T12:34:00.000-06:00

Community

We are starting to see the beginnings of Green community in Alberta. We are not like Martin's team or Ralph's team. We are a community of people who beleive and we are working together as a family to pull this thing together. We are not superstars. We are just people who are trying to do the right thing and we are doing it. People are hearing our message. They are beginning to beleive.

They are not believing because we are fancy or high powered. They are not beleiving because we have nice brochures or eloquent candidates. They are beleiving because clean air, pure water and safe food to eat are simply common sense things that we have got to have.

We will keep campaigning until we have acheived the changes that we seek. We are here. We are Green. Get used to it.

2004-06-14T06:32:00.001-06:00

Beauty
I spent yesterday campaigning. Most of the time I was out delivering flyers for the federal election. It rained on and off all day and in the evening a rainbow came out over the neighbourhood. We often think of the mountains as beautiful or the sunrise as beautiful; well, yesterday afternoon in suburbia was a thing of beauty.

We are doing the work and at least I am enjoying it.

2004-06-12T17:28:00.000-06:00

Vote early, Vote often

The advanced polls for the Federal election will be open Jun 18, 19 and 21. If you are like me and you are already a decided voter or if you will be away on Jun 28th you should vote now.

It is important to vote. Even if you are not going to vote for the Green party get in there and vote so I know how many people disagree with me.

This federal election there is the added bonus that whichever party you vote for gets $1.75 for each vote cast. Please make sure the money is spent on the people you want it spent on. If you leave it with the government they will only use it for something you do not want anyway. So make your vote count.

If you have never voted before it is not hard you can get yourself on the voters list ahead of time by calling the returning officer in your riding. You can also just show up at the polling booth with an id that shows where you live and you will be able to vote.

If you are like me a long time decided voter consider helping others who are not. Democracy only works if people pay attention and are involved.

Vote Early, Vote often.

Vote Green!

2004-06-10T21:35:00.000-06:00

Green Party At 10% in Alberta

The poll on the front page of the Globe and Mail today shows the Green Party at 10% in Alberta. We are only running at 7% nationally but in Alberta we have reached 10%. This is a banner day for the Green party to be so well recieved.

2004-06-07T13:03:00.000-06:00

Full Slate in Alberta
I just learned that the last candidate was registered and approved by elections Canada. For the first time ever the Green Party of Canada has a full slate of candidates in Alberta. We have filled all 28 ridings and every single person in Alberta will have a chance to vote Green. Over a full year of work has gone into getting the Green Party to this point.

The world is watching its time to shine.

George

2004-06-05T10:42:00.000-06:00

Federal election
The federal election is off to a flying start. We are at 27 out of 28 candidates registered in the province of Alberta. I myself will be a candidate in the election. I am campaigning to put Green issues on the ballot.

The last week has been hectic but we have seen the difference in the Green Party approach. We have come together as a family to help each other. We have door knocked and put up signs. We are being successful as we have never been successful before and this is only the warm-up.

We will be doing this all again early next year for the provincial election. The provincial election period is only 28 days and we will have to work harder and faster than we have in the federal. I know this seems difficult but we are already planning to do that.

Jim Harris leader of the Federal Green Party points out " A rising tide lifts all ships." The tide is coming in for the Alberta Greens. The boat is starting to float.

Now is the time to get on board if you want to be a provincial candidate please contact me.

George Read

2004-05-23T14:47:00.000-06:00

Splat
I was watching the Federal Election coverage at 11:00 and I noticed that the old industrial parties have all come out discussing how politicians have failed. The mud is flying and many of the campaigns look like they are going to be very negative.

The Green Party wants to talk about a positive message. We have a vision for Canada. We have a vision for Alberta. We want sustainability in our lifetime. We want a country where there is no waste, where everything is recycled. We want an energy policy that will transition us away from conventional petroleum and take us to sustainable energy. We want clean air, pure water and safe food to eat. We are ready to campaign on a message of hope that these things can be achieved.

If you are disillusioned with the political process and disgusted with the lack of answers to important questions. Please support the Green Party. We need your help in this critical election.

If you are already helping us. Thank-you your hard work is paying off we are making headway. Please call the television stations and ask them to include Green coverage. We are the Cinderella team in this campaign and a message of hope can win if enough people support it.

2004-05-22T20:23:00.000-06:00

Federal Election
The federal election is off to an excellent start. The candidates are working very hard right now to get people interested and involved. The Green Party in Alberta will not be particularily active for the next month as we help and cheer on our friends in the federal party.

The Green Party of Canada is making history right now. We are the first truly new party to enter the political scene in a lot of years. We will be battling voter apathy at every turn. We need to make sure people are involved. The weather is nice the birds are singing what a great time to put up signs and deliver flyers.

2004-05-20T21:57:00.000-06:00

Darryl Sutter
The flames won in 6 games again last night and I was thinking about how that team has come together. The flames all through the regular season were blocking out 7 games and calling them a play-off series. They were practicing for the play-offs all year. This mental preparation has obviously allowed them to overcome the obstacles in the play-offs and to continue to win.

We as Greens need to begin to work that way. We need to set our minds on how will we behave in the election and then we need to begin campaigning now. We need to look at everyday as a campaign day until it becomes second nature.

Go Greens Go

Believe

2004-05-17T23:05:00.000-06:00

14%
We were polling at 14% in Alberta last weekend. At first I could not believe it but then I realized that we have done an incredible job of improving the standing of the party and getting people involved.

I want to say Thank-you to all the good people who are giving to the party to make this happen. You know who you are.

"Never doubt the capacity of a small group of determined people to change the world in fact it is the only thing that ever has" Margaret Mead

2004-05-14T22:44:00.000-06:00

Duckies & Bunnies
So I had some thoughts today. The first one is that the blog is going to be a little less formal. I have been trying to put things in that will talk about the Green party from a who we are perspective. I think now there are going to be more things about what I thought today. On that note today a Mother duck and her goslings stopped traffic on memorial drive. I was late for a meeting but the duck did not care.

A kind man got out of his car and herded the duck off the road. As I was sitting there waiting I was thinking, who are we doing this for anyway? Who will stand for those who cannot speak for themselves?

Today I am in it for the ducks.

George

2004-05-10T16:30:00.000-06:00

Education / Innovation

The Green Party will invest in education. The only way a society can increase its output and use the same resources is through new methods. The education level of the people determines how productive they can be. We want to work smarter and not harder.

The last era of industrialization was characterized by the use of brute force. We have moved beyond that. We are now able to make things using only half the resources we used just a few years ago. This has been done through research and innovation. If we want a Green economy we are going to have to have an educated work force. We are going to have to have money for research.

People will also need to be educated in different methods of doing things. I was up at Aurum Lodge on the weekend and they are 75% sustainable energy. They were telling me that one of the major problems in building the lodge was finding tradesmen who knew how to install sustainable energy. They had no problem finding companies that made the parts but we did not have the people here in Alberta to put the job into practice.

The Green Party will ensure that there is education for people to become sustainable. Research to improve the existing sustainable technologies and incentives to bring cutting edge people to Alberta to help us improve. This is the third part of the plan. It is not third in priority it is third because it will we be the third initiative that Albertans see a result from.

We have the technology to make the change we just need to train the people to bring it here. We need to work smarter not harder.

2004-05-05T22:17:00.000-06:00

Carrot and Stick / Green Tax Shift

Once we have measurements in place and we know where the problems are, we need to begin correcting them as quickly as possible. This will be done through a carrot and stick approach. The Green Party often calls this a Green Tax Shift. It is not true taxation. Taxation is something that never goes away. This is a system of rewards and penalties. The penalties will take the form of polluter pay policies where polluting businesses will be charged for the damages they are doing and the clean up required. The carrot or rewards will take many forms like low interest loans, tax credits and even some capital investment.

Both the rewards and penalties will be structured so that they will be phased out. There will be no money collected on a polluter pay system when there are no more polluters. There will be no additional incentive to transition to a sustainable technology if all of the technology is sustainable.

This is a necessary step but it is also part of the just transition. We need to start to make changes immediately but that change needs to be managed. There need to be ways for people to move from where they are now to where they need to be.

2004-05-03T19:49:00.000-06:00

Measurement
Measurement is about having a road map for success. It is not enough to want to change to a sustainable society. We have to know where we are going. We have to know the things that are good and the things we want changed. A lot of work has been done on measuring our society. Currently the government uses and indicator called the GDP or Gross Domestic Product. The way this indicator works is that it totals up all the money spent in society and if the amount goes up we say that it is good and if the amount goes down we say that is bad.

So if we spend a lot of money on pollution clean up then the GDP goes up and the conservative government says they are doing a good job. In Alberta we have a lot of money passing through the province but it is not going into the hands of the people. GDP is up but our quality of life is not. The GDP represents profit over people.

There are other indicators like the GPI or Genuine Progress Indicator. The GPI measures the economic, social and environmental factors in society. Good things like money in your pocket and untouched wilderness are considered positive and poverty or pollution clean-up are considered negative. The Pembina institute has done a GPI indicator that can be found at Sustainability Trends. If we look at this indicator we can see that Alberta has been getting progressively worse since about 1980.

The Conservative government has managed to pay off the economic debt at the expense of increased social and environmental costs. We have eliminated one debt and created 2 more. This is not real progress.

We need to turn this around. The Green party would put into place a GPI indicator. This would allow us to determine if things are actually getting better. The GPI represents people over profit.

2004-05-02T21:39:00.000-06:00

Just Transition

I am constantly getting asked, "How are you going to change to a sustainable economy?"

The plan is very simple. We have a 5 point plan to change Alberta to a sustainable society. The 5 points are as follows:

1) Measurement
2) Carrot and Stick / Green Tax Shift
3) Education / Innovation
4) Community based economic development
5) Cradle to cradle

Over the next few days I am going to write about each of these in detail but at this point I would just like to say that the plan is a "just transition". We will be moving to a sustainable economy over a period of years and we will be doing this with as little disruption as possible. It has to be done. We know that oil production in the Western Basin has peaked. We know that conventional oil is on the way out. We need to begin building a new Alberta right now.

The Green party has a plan to begin this move. We have a vision for a sustainable Alberta. I hope that you will work with me to build it.

2004-04-29T23:16:00.000-06:00

Election?

It looks like the pundits are saying there will be a Federal election right away. I myself am not so sure. They always seem to call these things when they are the least convenient so possibly it will happen on May 9th like they are predicting.

The Green Party in Alberta will benefit either way. We will benefit if an election is called. It will free up resources to move on with campaigning in the provincial next spring. We will benefit if the election is not called. It will give us more time to continue to build our political machinery.

In any case we have a more active wide spread Green movement than we have ever had in Alberta. Everyday we get bigger and better organized. I would like to thank the people who have worked so hard to make this a reality. The strength of the Green Party is people.

Thanks for moving us ahead. Keep up the good work.

2004-04-28T22:51:00.000-06:00

Campaign Trail

I was on the campaign trail the last few days with Jim Harris, Leader of the Green Party of Canada so it has been pretty hectic. We were in Calgary, Red Deer and Edmonton and we had a lot of fun. We talked to a lot of people about the Green Party.

Jim told me that 30% of the Green parties vote in the B.C. election came from people who would not have voted for anyone else. Another 30% came from parties on the right and 40% came from parties on the left. This to me is great news. It means that we are pulling votes from across the spectrum but not only that we are bringing people back into the democratic process. If all I do in this election is give people something to vote for, something to believe in, then I will feel good about what I have done.

I believe we are doing more than that though. I believe we are articulating a plan for a just transition to a sustainable society. I am in Drumheller tomorrow at the civic building downtown at 7:00 PM. If you are in Drumheller and can make it come out.

2004-04-23T21:07:00.000-06:00

On Hope

I have been told that Environmentalists are a negative bunch. I understand that the majority of conversations that environmentalists have are about how things are not going very well. We tend to talk about how we are cutting down the rainforests or poisoning the water and the air.

The Green Party is about the light of hope. I had to speak at an Earth Day event last night so I did a little research on Earth Day. An American Senator who wanted to raise the profile of environmental issues started Earth Day. He had only a little bit of money and the help of dedicated students, who worked mostly for free. The task was monumental and they felt as they neared Apr 22, 1970 that the first Earth Day would not be what they wanted it to be.

People however pulled together and groups right across the United States had teach-ins and tree plantings and many other events. These events were grassroots driven showing that people matter more than profit.

Last night that was the real message of Earth Day. It was just like the first Earth Day. We are over- taxed, under funded and right in the middle of preparing for an election. We still took time out to celebrate Earth Day. I saw people give their time and money to have a celebration for the Earth. Musicians like DJ Kraus, Luke, Lisa and Pat, Hex and DJ Geordy donated their skills. In keeping with a long time Green Party slogan of “Think Global, Drink Local” we served locally brewed Wild Rose beer. Wild Rose also sponsored the event. We danced until late in the night listening to African drums and celebrating the joy of the Earth. We raised the profile of environmental issues. We did it for the second year in a row.

People over profit.

Hope.

2004-04-20T23:14:00.000-06:00

Green Party Convention, Bi-annual General Meeting, Green Gathering

The Federal Green Party Convention will be in Calgary this year. This is the first time in 4 years that it has been in the West. More specifically it will be at Camp Kiwanis just East of Calgary on Aug 26 through 29th. It looks like the fee will be $195 which will include accommodations and meals.

The camp is 140 acres of trees right on the Elbow River. So the Green Party will be out in the wilderness as is fitting. I attended the federal convention in Montreal and it was one of the most important things I have done as a green.

We are not about politics as usual. What strengthens the Green Party and makes us different is the sense of community and shared struggle that we get from things like national conventions. If you have ever felt you are just a voice in the wilderness and that no one else is working on or caring about any of this, you should come to the Green Party convention. Come out and meet some of the people who are working from coast-to-coast on making the world a better place.

We always say think globally act locally. It is nice to meet some of the people who are acting in the other locals on our behalf.

The other reason you should think about coming is that if the Green Party can have a big convention in the heart of red neck, Kyoto hating Alberta well then maybe just maybe things are starting to change.

2004-04-18T22:05:00.000-06:00

Almost There

I just finished the run through the federal Medicine Hat riding on Saturday. We were in Brooks, Medicine Hat and Taber. One of the people in Medicine Hat offered to run as a federal candidate. That puts us at 27 out of 28 ridings filled.

I am ecstatic. We are very close to achieving the goal of a full slate of federal candidates for Alberta. The federal election is the first act in a three act play. We will be building the party through the Federal election. We will be consolidating and regrouping right after. Then we will be pushing to make a strong showing in the provincial. Getting 28 candidates for 28 federal ridings puts us in a strong position to push for 83 candidates in the provincial election.

I have begun to take names of people who would like to be provincial candidates. To be a provincial candidate you need to:

1. Be able to vote in Alberta
2. Be a member of the party,
3. Have a $500 deposit,
4. Find 25 signatures from people who live in your riding
5. A chief agent to do your books.

If you are interested please send me an e-mail my contact info is in the top right.

If we can do it in Alberta we can do it anywhere.

2004-04-17T09:17:00.000-06:00

Campus Greens

The Campus Greens are a youth orgaization that promotes a climate of activism and politics on Campus. The Green Party currently has no minimum age and young people can join the party and vote on party decisions just the same as anyone else. The Campus Greens exist to address the specific needs of students who are interested in politics on Campuses.

Currently the only functioning Campus Greens group is the on at the University of Calgary. That group has been very active this year. They have brought in speakers including Percy Schmeiser, Federal Green Party Leader Jim Harris
, Alberta Leader George Read, and Conservative Leadership hopeful David Orchard.

The Campus Greens have also been involved in the preparations for the upcoming Federal election. Two of our candidates Morgan Duford and Danielle Roberts are members of the Campus Greens.

The Campus Greens are very important to the party. The Green Party is very concerned about voter apathy among young people. It is hard to become involved and interested in politics if it in no way relates to you or your peer group. The Campus Greens help to bridge that gap. More importantly they make the political process fun. Politics is not about a bunch of old white guys sitting in a back room. It is about people who are passionate about the issues. It is about having a good time, meeting new people who have similar values and working for things that are important.

We need to get more Campus Greens groups going in Alberta. We will be having a founding meeting at the U of A in the fall. We would like to start a group on any campus, high school, college or University where people are interested. If you are interested send me a note. My e-mail is in the top right.

George

2004-04-16T22:13:00.000-06:00

You can’t feed the world

I was out last night at a Green Party meeting and I heard someone say “You can’t feed the world with organic farming.” I have heard this a few times. I do not believe it.

For starters, I do not want to feed the world I only want to feed Alberta. I think this is really important. The Green Party believes in local production for local consumption. In an economy run on full cost accounting shipping food is not economically viable. The costs in environmental and social impacts out weigh the benefits of low dollar cost production. If you do not believe me, just look at the huge social and environmental costs in Banana Republics.

Banana Republic is a term that I use and I realise that not a lot of people know what it means. A Banana Republic is a country that has exchanges rights to its resources for money and military support. On the face of it this does not seem so bad but in practice what happens is a corporation purchases the land of subsistence farmers. It then plants these areas with crops that have no local food value like bananas or coffee. These crops have a high market value in the first world. The company will then pay the local people less than subsistence wages to work in the fields. Usually with no concern for the pesticides and herbicides they use. The price of food in the local area rises because there is less farmland in production and the local people slowly starve in a serf type of condition they cannot climb out of. Usually the corporation is backed by the military of the country and will put down any complaints by the local people.

This is one of the things we are working against. How do we stop it. We grow food locally. We pay a fair price for it. If we trade for goods we cannot get we promote Fair Trade. For example Fair Trade Coffee

The second part of the argument I have heard is that we cannot produce enough food to feed us locally. I do know that Cuba went to organic farming almost overnight when the Soviet Union collapsed and stopped shipping them chemical fertilizers and pesticides. All the recent reports I have tell me that Cubans are not starving. I think that if it is possible for Cuba to feed itself then Alberta with a much thinner population should be able to do it too.

2004-04-14T22:03:00.000-06:00

Earth Day

We are having another Earth Day event in Calgary. It is going to be Apr 22nd at 8:00 at Crump Manor 1046 18th Ave SE Calgary. This is the theatre where the Green Fools play. It is just south of 9th Ave under the railroad tracks. It is the second building on the right but you have to park ahead further down on the left.

It will hopefully be a good event as Hex is going to play and they are a really fun African drumming act. It should prove to be a good time. As always I am not sure who is going to show-up. Very few posters have gone out. Very few people have been told and it may just be yours truly, some great bands and a keg of local beer. If this happens oh well.

Earth Day is a funny time for the green movement. We as the Green Party want to participate in Earth Day. We want to celebrate what it means to be Green. We believe that the Earth is a wonderful place and we want to preserve it, work with it and spend time making it better.

The green movement is not so sure about us. They do not know if they want to have politicians involved in an activist event. They do not want to bring partisan politics into a time when everyone should be caring for the Earth and working to make it better.

To me caring for the Earth and working to make it better is what my partisan politics are all about. I say instead of shutting out the politicians lets bring them in. Maybe if we reach out and include these people in what we are doing. They will sympathise a little bit more with what we are trying to achieve.

Politicians are just people. They are people who saw things that needed changing and decided that they would dedicate time and energy to try and make the world a better place. The ones in the Green party right now are regular people who have decided that nothing is going to change if they do not stand up and change it. People who have said, “There is no use in complaining, if there are problems lets get them fixed.”

Isn’t that what Earth Day is all about. Regular people pitching in to make some change in the world. So come out and celebrate with me. It's been a long year since last year. We’ve had some good successes and a few failures but we are still here. We are bigger, stronger and more committed than ever.

I hope you can come because it just won’t be the same without you.

2004-04-13T22:39:00.000-06:00

Youth Voting

The Green Party has strong support among young voters. Our highest polling percentages are among people 18-34 years old. Unfortunately this is the group with the lowest voter turnout. If you are one of those people who have never voted. I am asking you to consider showing up and supporting.

The most common statement I hear is I do not know how. Well here are the links:

The Provincial website: http://www.electionsalberta.ab.ca/Student%20Information.pdf

The Federal website: http://www.elections.ca/content_youth.asp?section=yth&dir=bas/faq&document=index&lang=e&textonly=false

I also hear from people that they do not know anything about politics or that they are not political. I guess I believe everyone is political. If you have an opinion you are political. What I hear people saying that they do not have stake in this political contest. The quality of your life will be directly affected by the choices your politicians make to safe guard your health and the envirionment.

There are some disturbing things going on right now. People are looking to commodify water, patent your genetics and ensure your food is nothing by genetically modified organisms. Just to name a few of the nasty agendas in progress right now by corporate and political interests. Many of these issues are complex and we could spend a lifetime getting to understand the answers to any particular one of them. There is no point in complaining we know what the problems are what we need to do now is roll up our sleeves and go to work changing things.

If you are one of the 18-34 year old people who do not participate in the political process consider having a political discussion today about the Green Party. If you start talking to people about it you will be surprised how quickly you learn. Come out the a Green Party meeting see the links on the right. Check out the websites in this post on how to vote and show up to vote. The majority of life is showing up.

2004-04-12T17:37:00.000-06:00

Apr 12th
What have you got against profit?

Micheal Moore in his movie The Big One talks about the question “What have you got against profit?” The answer is nothing but that is not the system. The system is democracy.

Power belongs to the people. The system for change is not about money. I have heard over and over that you cannot do it without money. Money helps but what we really need is people. We need people to volunteer their time. People to come out and help. People to talk to their friends and neighbours about what is going on. People to organize a coffee discussion for the Green Party.

In the United States during the 2000 election Ralph Nader raised 5 million dollars from house parties. Little $25 donations from millions of people went towards his campaign. Howard Dean just recently pulled off a similar miracle though www.meet-up.com. The magic was the people. Regular people were willing to put in their little bit and get something rolling.

It is about good people standing up to do what is right. It is about people stepping forward and saying I am willing to work for something better than this.

It is not about a faceless corporation with deep pockets keeping us down. Corporations do not vote. People do. Who makes up those corporations? We do.

“….the people you are after are the people you depend on. We cook your meals, we haul your trash, we connect your calls, we drive your ambulances, we guard you while you sleep.” Tyler Durden Fight Club

I have heard that I am a consumer, a stakeholder, and a shareholder and that my position in society is determined by wealth. My dollar votes are what will decide our future. I do not believe their propaganda. I believe that I am a person. I believe that I have a worth of my own that goes far beyond money. I am not for sale.

If we want to change then we can and we will and no amount of money will stop us. Just look at the people of Bolivia who stood-up to their government and their military to nationalise their water.

In the Alberta Green Party ordinary people are doing this kind of work everyday. People who work full time and give up some of their free-time to make the world a better place. The magic is the people. The system is democracy. The time for change is now.

If you want to be part of the magic send me an e-mail politics_of_ecology@yahoo.ca. Tell me how you want to help.

George

2004-04-11T11:20:00.000-06:00

Democratic Deficit
Voter turnout in Canada is at an all time low. Depending on the part of the country you are in 40 to 60 percent of people do not vote. We are in real danger of losing our democracy because only a few people are making the decisions for the rest of us.

Why is voter turnout so low?

I believe voter turnout is low because people are not involved in the political process. I think that people do not identify with the issues that are being argued by the traditional parties. The first-past-the-post (FPTP) system of electing our governments does not accurately translate votes into seats. This can lead to people saying “Why bother? The people I vote for never win.”

Electoral Reform

Groups like Fair Vote Canada are pushing to change the electoral system in Canada. The Green party supports the work of Fair Vote Canada and we believe that a level playing field is necessary for Democracy to be effective.

Grassroots Democracy

If the only time you are involved in Democracy is the 10 seconds you are in the voting booth, that is all the Democracy you are going to get.

People have a negative view of politics and politicians in general. The strange part for me is that we are all political animals. We are all involved in politics whether it is at the office, the church or the local pub. Politics is simply about convincing people that they should agree with your view.

The Green Party believes in grassroots democracy. We believe in taking the political discussion back to regular people. If people are informed if they are interested they will have an opinion. The Political process ends in the polling booth. It begins in discussions with friends and family about what our society should be like. I challenge everyone who reads this to go out this week and have a political discussion about the Green Party. Talk to your neighbours and friends. You can start it by telling them that the Green Party leader has a new Blog or anyway you want.

We will move this thing forward. We are the thin edge of the wedge and the voice of a new tomorrow.

George

2004-04-10T10:17:00.000-06:00

Why can't we just advance the Green Agenda through a traditional party?

Right and Left politics

The Green Party believes that Right-Left politics are over. The German Greens have a saying we are not right we an not left we are forward. The traditional parties are arguing about how to distribute goods. Their core argument is whether goods should be distributed through market forces (capitalism) or through government control (communism). The Greens feel the discussion is over the majority of countries in the world have decided that a market economy with some government intervention is best. The Green Party agrees.

This makes us fundamentally different from the the traditional parties because we are not looking at how to distribute goods. We want to talk about how we increase the education level of the populace so we can produce goods locally. We also want to increase the number of goods available to people by increasing the amount of recycling. Not shallow recycling like blue boxes but deep recycling where the manufacturing of products is changed so that companies can take the goods they produce back at the end of their life cycle ending waste. The German Greens have already passed laws to do this.

An interesting part of your question is that I have been asked the same question by conservatives. David Orchard an organic farmer from Saskatchewan made a bid to take over the Progressive Conservative party. His plan was to green the Conservatives. When the Alliance merged with the PC’s Orchards plan failed. I told his people when they approached me “A leopard does not change its spots.” The (pick your old line party) may be trying to reposition themselves as more green but as long as they are mired in the tradition of right left politics they will never be able to actually make the change.

New Ideas

There is a lack of vision among the old line parties. When was the last time you heard one of them talk about their vision of the future. They don’t do it because for the most part they do not have one. They may be interested in holding the line on health care or bettering education or lowering taxes but they do not have a vision for the future. The Green Party does.

Our vision
The Green Party has a vision for the future that derives from 10 key value. These values were agreed to by Green parties in 70 countries and a Charter was signed in Canberra, Australia in 2001. Global Greens Charter

The Green Party believes in :

Sustainability
Decentralization
Gender equity
Non-violence
Community Based Economics
Social Justice
Grassroots Democracy
Ecological Wisdom
Personal & Global responsibility
Respect for Diversity

The old line parties all agree that the question is: How do we distribute scarce resources to satisfy unlimited wants? The Green Party has been rethinking the question and we believe that it should read: How do we locally produce through education and recycling enough resources to satisfy limited wants? This is our mission.

We want a planet were the inputs of processes equal the outputs. William McDounagh talks about this concept in his book Cradle to Cradle. His term for it is waste = food. How do we make the waste of one process the food for the next. This deep change in how society is structured is one of the things we are pushing for. We believe in a sustainable future. That is the core of who we are, for the other parties it is only window dressing.

How are we doing.

The Green Party unlike the other parties does better every time we go to the polls.

Ontario
We have just run 102 out or 103 candidates and increased our vote from 0.8% in the last election to 2.8% in this one. That is a 100,000 vote increase.

Manitoba
We fielded 9 candidates this election our last total was 6. The leader of the Manitoba party received 20% of the vote in his riding.

Saskatchewan
We ran 27 candidates up from 16 last election. In every case we run more candidates and get more votes.

Canada
Because of the upcoming federal election Ipsos Reid has been tracking results fairly regularily. The Mar 23rd poll show us at 5% across the country and 7% in Alberta!

The old line parties have had many years on us. The CCF which became the NDP was founded in 1932 and has had 70 some years to get going. There have been Conservatives and Liberals in Canada since there was a Canada. The Green party has only had 20 years at the national level and 14 years in Alberta. We are just in our infancy. Are they more popular or are they just well known?

Changes to the Federal Funding Laws

The Federal government just recently passed the Election Act (Bill C-24). This bill will have a major impact on the political landscape in Canada and the Green Party has the most to gain. The Election Act has reduced the amount that corporations and unions can donate to political parties from an unlimited amount to $1000 per year per party. This will impact the old line parties funding at the federal level. The bill also states that any party which receives 2% of the vote will receive funding from the federal government. The Green party which is mainly a volunteer party run mostly with donations from individuals would have for the first time in its history the money for real infrastructure. This will not affect us provincially except that a rising tide lifts all ships.

Who votes Green

The average age of people who belong to the traditional political parties in Canada is 59. The Green Party by contrast has an average age of aproximately 35. The leader of the Saskatchewan Greens is 26. 9% of the 18-34 year old people in Canada support the Green party. In BC where the party is well known 28% of 18 - 34 year olds support the Green Party Our big challenge is that this is also the group where 75% of them don’t vote.

The Green party is working through groups like the Campus Greens to talk to these people and ask them to support. More people did not vote in the last election than voted for the winning party.

After the Ralph Nader presidential bid in 2000 an analysis was done of his votes and it was found that the majority of his votes came from people who did not previously vote. Ralph Nader raised almost 5 million dollars by having house parties and getting small $10 and $20 donations. It was the non-voters and the youth that drove Ralph Nader’s campaign.

So to finish you should support the Green party because we believe in sustainability it is not just window dressing. The old line parties maybe entrenched but their party is made up of 59 year old people who are mired in a right / left political discussion that is not relevant in today’s society.

We are the thin edge of the wedge. We are the voice of the future.

George Read
Leader of the Alberta Greens

2004-04-09T23:29:00.000-06:00

The Right / Left debate is over. The age old argument between communism and capitalism has come to a close and we stand on the edge of a new political era in politics. A new beginning.

The majority of countries in the world have decided that a capitalist economy with some government intervention is the way to go. The Green party has declared itself. We are not left or right we are forward.

We are asking what we want now. What does the new era of politics look like?