This month’s headlines:

• May Day!
• Special Meeting of Members May 11
• Survey: We would like to hear from you and others about the Green Party
• The Policy Working Group resumes
• News from Green MLAs
• Volunteer opportunities
• Green Party news from around the world
• COVID-19 information

May Day!

It’s May Day today, a day to honour the struggles of workers and labour movements. This past year has been a particular struggle for workers in the public sector. Recently the leaders of nine public sector unions in New Brunswick issued a joint statement calling on the government to invest in public services.

“The pandemic has reminded New Brunswickers of the importance of our public services and exposed the cracks and gaps in our public sector, but they come as no surprise to those working in the system. For many years, workers have been calling attention to these weaknesses and vulnerabilities. These same people have demonstrated a willingness to work with the government to help make the necessary improvements,” the union leaders stated.

On April 28, the National Day of Mourning, a day to remember the workers who have died, were injured, or became ill from their job, Green Party Leader David Coon issued a statement urging the government to recognize them by ensuring all workers have access to paid sick days.

Special Meeting of Members - May 11

The Provincial Council invites you to join your fellow members at our Special Meeting of Members (SMM) on Tuesday, May 11 from 7pm to 9:30pm (and May 18 if needed). The purpose to complete the unfinished business of this past AGM: the bylaw and constitution amendments provided to all members on February 17, 2021.

There is no fee to attend the SMM, but we invite you to contribute and renew your membership. (Membership fees are not tax deductible.) Deadline for registration is May 10 at 5pm.

The SMM will be held online, with a phone in option. Simultaneous French/English translation will be provided.

To register for the SMM, you must complete this Zoom registration form. You can also register by calling us at 506-447-8499 and leaving a message with your name and phone number. We will get back to you to complete your registration.

To ensure all interested members can participate efficiently in our meeting, a “practice” session will be offered 30 minutes prior to the meeting to provide guidance in using Zoom features; simply login with your registration link.

Survey: We would like to hear from you and others about the Green Party

Active citizenship is one of the six principles of the Green Party. We often host community meetings to generate dialogue and inform on our values, policies and platform. Today we are reaching out to you as an individual too. We want to know what is important to you and how this impacts your decisions.

We would like to hear from everyone - including keen Green supporters, those unsure of their political stance, those doubtful of the Greens, and others. Please share this link widely so that this survey reaches a wide range of New Brunswickers. Responses to this survey are anonymous. Thank you for your participation!

Click here to start the survey.

Policy Working Group resumes

You may remember that Party members voted on two multi-part resolutions at the 2021 AGM. The first, comprising three elements:

• Green forestry
• Just transition to a green economy
• and Public schools

… was sent back for more study before it could be presented again to members to vote for inclusion in the Green Party of New Brunswick policy manual. The time has come! We are convening a Zoom meeting on Thursday, June 10 at 7:30pm to begin working on these elements.

Please join us if the issues above are ones that you would like to see reflected in Green policy in future. We have a goal to re-examine other issues of concern that did not come to the table at the AGM but which the Policy Working Group has drafted in the past. Please RSVP to: [email protected] with any questions or if you wish to participate. We will be in touch with more details as the date approaches.

News from Green MLAs

Read David Coon’s essay for Earth Day: Time to Restore the Land, Not Ruin It

Our Green MLAs remained busy throughout April. Here are some of their key issues of concern:

Green Party leader calls paid sick days essential to fight against deadly variants

Green Party leader questions where the money is to implement Disability Action Plan

Premier’s cancellation of First Nation Gas Tax Agreements end pretense of reconciliation

Green Health Critic calls on government to allow nurse practitioners to bill Medicare

Green Party leader asks where Social Development’s report on group homes is

Volunteer opportunities 

The Green Party is looking for members to participate in these committees; 

• Engagement (member relations, volunteer engagement, Registered District Associations’ relation & activities development)
• Youth (transversal perspective on engagement, fundraising, policies, growth & development targeted to the 14-30 years old)
• Diversity (transversal perspective on engagement, policies, growth & development targeted toward diversity)
• Fundraising
• Governance

Contact the Green Party office (506-447-8499 or [email protected]) to discuss these opportunities.

Green Party news from around the world

Watch this space: Germany, the biggest economy in Europe, may have a feminist Green chancellor before the end of the year. The German Greens are currently at about 22% in the polls, which puts the party in position to possibly lead the next coalition government. The Green’s candidate for chancellor is Annalena Baerbock, age 40. The Guardianwrites that Baerbock is seen as “a tenacious, down-to-earth centrist with an eye for detail, and an expert on climate change and how to tackle it.

Legislative Assembly and contacting your Green MLA

The members of the Legislative Assembly will return on May 11. In the meantime, they are busy with committee work. If you would like to receive weekly updates of the activities of Green MLAs when the Legislature is in session, subscribe to the e-bulletin, Legislative Week in Review, here.

Through the pandemic, Green MLAs continue to serve the needs of their constituents. Here is the link to the hours and contact details for the constituency offices of David, Megan and Kevin: greencaucusvert.ca/contact-us.

COVID-19 information

For the most up-to-date and accurate information, consult the Government of Canada and Government of New Brunswick's COVID-19 pages.