Letter to Green Party of Nova Scotia, Boycott of AGM

20 April 2007

Elizabeth Perry
Co-President
Green Party of Nova Scotia
5665 Spring Garden Road
Halifax, NS B3J 3S9

Dear Ms. Perry:

By issuing an invitation to Elizabeth May, Leader of the Green Party of Canada, to address the GPNS AGM, May 4-6, 2007, I can only assume that the GPNS endorses Ms. May’s highly unethical political conduct in Central Nova. I refer, of course, to the unconscionable and undemocratic May-Dion pact of withdrawing the Liberal candidate from Central Nova for the pending Federal election. I consider this action to be an act of electoral theft from the Liberal voters in the riding. I believe the political consequences shall reflect the motives and the action of the May-Dion pact.

Furthermore, if I am a shareholder of Company X, when attending the Company X AGM I do not expect when entering the meeting room to be confronted with the banner and logo of its direct competitor, Company Y, nor to be subjected to an address by the Company Y CEO. Such would be a ludicrous situation.

Until such time as the GPNS shows the conviction, wisdom and courage to forge its own identity with its own political philosophy and mandate, free of its “dysfunctional” co-dependency to the GPC, I am withholding, though not withdrawing, my support of the GPNS, my boycotting of the GPNS AGM inclusive. As such, I request that all motions carrying my name addressing the GPNS Constitution, Bylaws and Policy be pulled from the GPNS AGM Agenda.

As a member in good standing of the GPNS, I shall keep myself apprised of the Party’s development, beginning with the decisions that come out of the AGM.

As my posts to the Party’s policy development forum were by far the most visited and, as a courtesy to the general membership explaining my absence from the AGM, I ask that this letter be distributed to all GPNS members.

Sincerely,

Sebastian E. Ronin

Federal party has sold out on provincial Green parties

An open letter to Central Nova Constituents:

On March 7th, The News published a letter of mine (Interesting to muse what’s behind May’s decision), postulating that Elizabeth May’s decision to run in Central Nova could be the predecessor to her jumping ship to the Liberals and being rewarded for running against Peter MacKay with the Environment Ministry in a future Liberal government.

In light of the May/Dion candidate exchange that has been crafted between the Liberal Party and the Green Party of Canada (GPC), it seems that I was slightly off: rather than Ms. May crossing over by herself, it seems that she will now be taking the entire GPC with her. It will not be much of an amalgamation (one year? two years?), but more like a snack and a burp for the national Liberals.

Prior to this letter, out of courtesy to the Green Party of Nova Scotia (GPNS), I did not identify myself as a member of the GPNS. On political principle, I am not a member of the GPC.

As of March 6, my candidacy to stand for the leadership of the GPNS had been rejected on technical grounds by the GPNS executive. Go figure, eh? The GPNS executive decision is pending legal review, and possible action, on my part.

It would seem to me that the last thing the GPNS executive would want is a leadership candidate addressing the general membership on the following: 1. the GPC has sold provincial Green parties down the river; 2. it is a political imperative for provincial Green parties to own the core Green principles of bioregionalism and decentralization, and; 3. it is imperative for the GPNS to extend the commercial designation of Atlantica into a political designation.

Should one do a search on the GPC web site for the terms “bioregionalism” and “decentralization” the result is a fat zero. I liken it to the Green historical psyche having undergone a lobotomy, the political term for the latter being purge. It is little wonder that a “technical glitch” stands in the way of my leadership candidacy for the GPNS.

The GPNS AGM and policy convention will be held May 4-7 in Kentville.

May oversimplifies some, dodges other issues

(Letter to the Editor, New Glasgow News, April 4, 2007)

Re the interview with Elizabeth May, I would like to raise the following.

To claim that Nova Scotia’s declining tourism industry is directly related to Peter MacKay, as per her comment, “That’s a direct area for which Peter MacKay is responsible in terms of U.S./Canada relations,” is a simplistic response and reveals a serious misunderstanding of the myriad of factors that are contributing to tourism’s decline. Ask any gift shop merchant on Provost Street what is happening with tourism and you will get a more knowledgeable answer.

In responding to the question about bio-regions and decentralization being the two philosophical pillars of Green political conduct, Ms. May performs a neat dodge by not really answering the question, then states, “We need an effective federal government. We're not going to dismantle the federal government in preference to decentralization.” Spoken like a true Liberal! Let’s not forget that if the national Liberals had their way they would be passing legislation, with accompanying monstrous bureaucracies, to accompany Canadians to the bathroom. If you think the rifle registration was a colossal boondoggle, wait until environmental initiatives come along, irrespective of the federal political party sponsoring such initiatives.

Lastly, to cast herself in the tactical light of the late courageous and humble Chuck Cadman is a travesty. To his dying breath, Chuck Cadman represented the wishes of his riding constituency. This is a far cry from treating the Canadian electoral map like a shoe store.

Leadership Candidacy Statement, Green Party of Nova Scotia

The question, "Why do I want to be the Leader of the GPNS?" raises an elusive paradox. When responding to a political obligation, above all others, I believe one does what one “must do” as opposed to what one “wants to do.”

In many ways, I am picking up from where I left off 20 years ago with my resignation from the first Green party founded in the Americas, the Green Party of British Columbia. At the time of my resignation, I sat on the GPBC Executive and was a candidate-elect for the upcoming 1986 provincial election.

It is my belief that:

Ø The liability that the GPNS carries by entering the world of Green politics so late can be inverted to become the Party’s greatest asset.
Ø The GPNS must get back to “Green” basics by embracing the core political doctrines of bioregions and political decentralization.
Ø The GPNS will arrive at political maturity only when the public no longer perceives it to be leftist in nature.

It is in defense of the latter principles and in owning the political potential which they hold that I allow my name to stand for your Leadership.

Should you entrust me with your vote, I shall work diligently in collaboration with the Executive to accomplish the following:

Ø Earn the recognition, respect and trust of the Nova Scotia electorate.
Ø Triple the Party membership.
Ø Work towards winning three to five seats during the next provincial election.

As an exercise in raw democracy, I now leave it up to you, the membership, to put forward a running mate for my candidacy. If no one has stepped forward as a running mate by April 27, 2007, then my nomination evaporates. Should this vision for the future evolution of the GPNS in Atlantica proceed towards a membership vote is now in your hands.

This is the historical era in which we live. We all carry the terrible incentive to see clearly and act accordingly.

Sebastian E. Ronin
Candidate for Leadership
Green Party of Nova Scotia