Friday, December 15, 2017

Have the Greens Gone AWOL?



She used to be a firebrand, holding the government's feet to the fire, a burr under their saddle. but you don't hear much from Green Party leader, Elizabeth May, these days.

That led me to check out the latest at the party's web site. I wanted to see how the platform reflected the current state of the country under the Trudeau government. What a letdown.

I first went to the "sustainable economy" section to read this:

Canada is teetering on a recession for the second time since Stephen Harper became prime minister. His ill-advised political pledge to eliminate the deficit he created, just in time for this election, is now risking a deepening recession.

Two years and they haven't updated their platform on their own web site?  So I checked out another section, "a Canada that works together." Same bogeyman.

The Harper Conservatives have skewed and weakened the Canadian economy, focusing solely on higher polluting industries, instead of on creating good, stable, high-paying jobs. They have failed our communities by slashing funding to critical public services, instead subsidizing foreign multinational corporations and providing tax cuts to the wealthiest few. They have granted special privileges to foreign corporations and made us subservient to the interests of foreign investors. They have failed to unite us in the face of conflict and uncertainty, instead cynically opting to divide our nation for partisan gain. They have failed to act in the face of an ever-growing climate crisis, instead gambling our future on more pipelines, more fracking, and risky tankers on our coasts.

I went through the whole platform. Not a single reference to our current government or our current prime minister. No criticisms or even mention of the current government's policies. Zilch, nada, nothing.

I think Elizabeth May and her party have gone AWOL. There's nothing there. Certainly nothing to rally behind or vote for.


13 comments:

  1. Curious, isn't it? At a time when we really do need alternate strategies what we get is the status quo or silence.

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  2. I emailed them. They responded saying they'll remove the Harper references. Apparently they've been planning on doing it. Sounds like BS to me.

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  3. She doesn't seem too keen on leading the party:

    It’s becoming increasingly likely May will face off against the other federal party leaders, as leader of the Green Party in the 2019 election. May is currently the only member of the Green Party with a seat in the House of Commons. She is planning on running again in her Saanich-Gulf Islands riding, but said, if another Green Party MP is elected to Parliament before the next general election, and they are interested in leading the party, she’d be open to stepping aside.

    I guess that BDS fiasco got to her. Still, a two-year-old website is an embarrassment for a party that purports to be a credible federal party.

    Cap

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  4. Seems obvious that May and her party have given up the good fight, Mound.

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  5. I have empathy for her. Sue Riley called her the 'hardest working MP on the Hill' and, for a number of years, she was that and more. She certainly had more energy than most and a good deal more than I could have mustered. Yet the Green guns do seem to have fallen silent other than the odd press release. With the NDP in disarray and the Libs incapable of meeting the environmental challenges of the day there doesn't seem to be any party willing to lead on climate change.

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  6. Funding was cut off by Harper

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  7. There could be many reasons for Liz may to fall from the headlines.
    It could be personal issues it could be political fatigue.
    It goes without saying that the Greens have never had the ear of mainstream news media.
    One can only bang ones head against the wall in frustration for so long before insanity occurs.
    The Greens platform requires an amount of sacrifice.
    With tightening wallets and multiyear credit debt the world's voters are slaves to the system.
    Save your ass or save the environment?
    My guess is that those that champion Black Friday have more influence than those that promote back garden veggies and recycling.

    I think back to the most attended convention our city ( Nanaimo BC) ever had, held by the Council of Canadians.
    The occasion brought the facility to capacity( 1000 PERSONS); just under one thousand attendees.
    NOT a mention in the press nada..
    At a later date when Christy Clark held a conference of about three hundred and fifty people the convention held the headline of the local news..

    The Greens have gone mute?
    Check the Common Sense Canadian!!

    Eventually when the mirage of our well being collapses with uncontrollable debt and environmental degradation , which go hand in hand, the populous will take to the streets as they have throughout history.

    TB

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  8. TB, that may indeed be our fate - to take to the streets.

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  9. We could perhaps arrange a protest against Shaw Cable for excessive rates and sneak in an anti government anti capitalism rally?

    Might work!!

    TB

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  10. I have noticed the main stream media doesn't cover progressive protests in Ottawa. I think it is an obligation that CBC do so. Makes me knish my teeth. I hear nothing about the appointment of the new people to the CBC management board.

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  11. Elizabeth May is on the radio now.

    "Elizabeth May on the political year that was... and her wish for 2018"

    http://www.cbc.ca/radio/thehouse/is-ottawa-heading-for-another-military-procurement-disaster-1.4448141/elizabeth-may-on-the-political-year-that-was-and-her-wish-for-2018-1.4452348

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  12. It well know among, some New Democracts for a long time that the Greens were just front for the Liberal Party under Elizabeth May, they use Elizabeth May to attack the NDP undermining their vote, but she rarely goes after Liberals and in fact builds close relationships with Liberal Leaders. With the Liberals, in power her work is done, there is little for Emay to do.

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  13. Anyong: Elizabeth May was interviewed this morning on CBC's "The House". The program will be repeated tonight at 12:00 midnight.

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