Why I Turned Green, And Why You Probably Should, Too
The inspiration behind my cross-Canada ride for climate action was political unity and non-partisan advocacy. In the spirit of that original vision, I have avoided subjecting the readers of this blog to my own political persuasions in Canada’s 42nd general election. But I have a confession: Following the discussions I had with several MPs upon my arrival on Parliament Hill, I found it impossible to remain non-partisan. As anyone who’s tuned into my Twitter account recently will certainly know, I’ve been working for the Green Party since November. Now, on this, perhaps one of the most important election days in Canadian history, I think it’s high time to elucidate my move into the partisan sphere.
After arriving in Ottawa in September 2014, I struggled to get any MPs from Canada’s ‘major parties’ to justify why they wouldn’t agree to forming a coalition after the 2015 election. (For the record, Mulcair now has, albeit with an odd sort of a disclaimer). I wanted NDP MPs to explain why they wouldn’t commit to support a carbon tax implemented under a Liberal minority. I wanted Liberal MPs to explain why they wouldn’t commit to supporting the NPD’s Climate Change Accountability Act, and Conservative MPs to justify missing their own emissions targets. I left those brief meetings in admiration of the personal knowledge and commitment of our many hardworking MPs, but utterly disillusioned by their own parties that seemed to restrict their bright ideas without providing any real solutions.
When I met with Elizabeth May and Bruce Hyer, however, I was challenged to think of a way that they could better their party’s policies on climate or cooperation. I’ve always admired Elizabeth, and attending her election-night celebration in Sidney in 2011 after briefly volunteering on her campaign remains one of the highlights of my life. I didn’t expect that meeting, though, to be as important as my engagements with the other parties. After all, I thought, Greens weren’t forming government: They, too, would need solid climate commitments from other parties before their own policies could ever be realized, wouldn’t they?
Furthermore, I really wanted to believe that the vast majority of MPs were ready and willing to put aside their partisan colours for the greater good. And like David Suzuki, I couldn’t shake the feeling that the Green Party shouldn’t need to exist at all; that sustainability wasn’t a ‘left wing’ or ‘right wing’ value and that reacting to evidence of pending species collapse shouldn’t be the calling card of a single, ‘niche’ party.
Elizabeth set me straight. She explained her ambitions for strategically electing just enough Green MPs in key ridings that the party could hold the balance of power, and effectively force a progressive minority Liberal or NDP government to strengthen its call for emissions reduction and renewable energy. And even if they didn’t hold the balance of power, she explained, a ‘Green Surge’ starting on the West Coast and spreading East would force the other parties to cater to the evident, growing demands for a sustainable economy. Maybe, just maybe, the Green Party really was the best bet for achieving unity for the Climate.
The more I mulled over this idea, the more obvious it became that the Green party might not be a replacement for any existing party but a supplement to the political makeup of Parliament vital for a healthy democracy. And it might not be as alluring as the big deserts, but this political vitamin packs more nutrients per mg than any other party, and it doesn’t taste half-bad.
See, Green MPs will work in the spirit of unity for the most worthy causes I can think of: climate action, equality, respect for First Nations, government transparency, affordable education, and much more. And while it’s important to remain open to solutions from even the most unlikely sources, the time to prioritize political diplomacy over partisan advocacy is dwindling.
Sadly, it seems I’m not the only one that was slow to come around to this realization, which perhaps the smartest activists have carried around with their Green party memberships for years. Some high profile organizations are following my Path of Greatest Resistance to the ‘Green Vision’. Naomi Klein and other personal heroes have effectively recreated the Green Party platform in the LEAP manifesto – without acknowledging the Green Party at all. Strategic voting campaigns are trying to trigger action on climate change by supporting candidates with environmental credentials, without acknowledging that they’d be bound to party whips on troubling directives such as the Liberal’s ‘leave it to the provinces’-approach to carbon pricing, and the NDP’s contradictory concessions to TransCanada and Kinder Morgan.
I can’t help but feel that these ‘strategic’ campaigns, inspired by the very best of intentions, are missing the point. By encouraging prophetic voting (aka ‘strategic voting’) for parties with lesser climate ambitions, and in ridings that the Green Party could actually win - these campaigns are fragmenting the broad support for sustainability in the guise of uniting progressive Canadians. I have to acknowledge that through my journey and advocacy, I determinedly tried to find the best in all parties without recognizing the Green Party as the most direct, noble and realistic path to victory for the greater good. Now, I recognize it as the best chance at changing the proverbial climate of Canadian politics, and addressing the literal climate crisis we all face.
After a few months of interacting with Green colleagues across BC and throughout Canada, familiarizing myself with the party’s fully-costed platform, meeting its diverse West Coast candidates and helping to draft its communications, my alignment with the party has only strengthened. Call it acclimatization to partisan culture, crowd-mentality or peer pressure if you must. I call it turning Green, and it feels great.
Not only is the Green Party an all-issue party, but its broad economic, social and democratic ambitions are smart, pragmatic and progressive. Not only do I feel free, even as a staff member in communications, to acknowledge and celebrate positive policies and wins across the pitch, but so are our candidates encouraged to put their own values and constituents before any party memo.
I’ve never known any of my colleagues to write a script for any candidate, to dictate priorities based on polls, to pander to discernible demographics or to force agreement from our prospective MPs. And I’ve never met another Green who wouldn’t be happy to see an environmentalist win a riding for another party and work with Elizabeth May and others to address the climate crisis.
In other words, I’m proud to be a member of the Green Party, not because I have given up on MPs from other parties, but because it allows me to continue my plea for genuine unity across partisan lines. It strengthens that call by uniting Canadians coast to coast to coast, who share our plight for a democracy that transcends the status quo.
By running in 336 ridings, the Green Party challenges all other parties to put forward candidates with equally strong ethics and respect for democracy, and an equally strong understanding of the issues. Where other parties fail to provide those strong voices, it provides a real alternative for voters.
Our hard work is paying off. Greens are set to elect multiple MPs in BC, plus representatives in Eastern and possibly Atlantic Canada. The party really could hold the balance of power in 2015. And whether it does or not, we can be assured that Elizabeth May will have reinforcements when she returns to Parliament as the only opposition MP to attend another UN Conference of the Parties to draft a plan for salvaging international climate efforts. And in the true spirit of Greens nationwide, we know Elizabeth and company won’t be there to score political points, but to call on other politicians to put down their speaking points, lobbyist briefings, coloured neckties and party pins, and to get to work. Together.
I’m not going to tell you to vote Green. But if you care to know what my personal takeaway was following 5 days of fasting and meeting with MPs, after 5 months of cycling 5,000 kilometers and talking to concerned citizens in every small town, city and highway pit-stop from Victoria to Ottawa…this is it: Stop wishing you could vote for sincere, conscientious, collaborative Canadians who care more about our future than big-P Politics, and start voting for them. They already exist, and they’re called Greens.