Green Party of Canada Leader, the Honourable Elizabeth May's response to my earging an Alliance with the NDP and the Liberal Party:
Elizabeth.May@parl.gc.ca
Mar 31 (2 days ago)
Mar 31 (2 days ago)
Dear Shodja,
Thank you for your email. I apologize for the delay in responding. The Green Party is the only party actually urging all opposition parties to cooperate.
We must be more flexible, creative and cooperative to restore the state of democracy in federal politics. There is too much power in the hands of the Harper Conservatives and Prime Minister’s Office. We must work together towards good governance principles to ensure transparency and justice within Parliament and the Government of Canada.
More than any other political party, the Green Party of Canada has demonstrated a willingness to work cooperatively with other political parties for the good of our country. I have long advocated cooperation among the progressive voices in Canada. Sadly, of other political leaders since I became leader of the Green Party, only Stephane Dion was willing to take a stand despite several non-partisan overtures. I have reached out to my colleagues within the Liberal Party of Canada and the NDP to explore these options, but, at least so far, both have refused to entertain the notion of co-operation. I remain hopeful that either Mr. Trudeau or Mr. Mulcair will eventually become more amicable to the idea.
The Green Party membership, through a policy resolution adopted in 2012, ratified by all members in 2013, voted for a policy to cooperate in one election with the commitment any of the parties committed to reforming our voting system, ensuring some form of proportional representation. Our current electoral system does not produce a government that reflects how people have actually voted. The system is perverse. In 2011, the minority of voters elected the majority of seats. Only under First Past the Post could such a result have occurred.
It is for this reason that the Green Party decided not to field a candidate in the Labrador by-election. In 2011, the Conservative candidate was only 79 votes ahead of the incumbent MP, while a majority of voters supported progressive candidates. Our current First Past the Post system again neglected the will of a majority of voters.
Proportional representation ensures that every vote counts. Parliament would reflect how Canadians actually voted. For more information on my ideas regarding PR, please visit the Green Party website: http://www.greenparty.ca/…/vi…/government/democratic-renewal
Indeed, First Past the Post is the main problem underlying the issue of “vote-splitting.” However, a larger problem then “vote splitting” is vote abandoning. The fact that 40% of Canadians no longer vote is a large problem. As for the role of the Green Party, I think it is significant that when I was in the 2008 leader’ debate and the Greens achieved our strongest electoral result, we held the conservatives to a minority. When the other parties succeeded in keeping me out of the debates in 2011, our vote fell dramatically and the Conservatives won a majority of seats.
I will entertain any proposal to cooperate and bring such proposals to the Green Party Federal Council and grassroots. However, the Green Party will present Canadians with a strong team of Green candidates in 2015, with the goal of a Parliamentary caucus in mind.
Thank you again for contacting me.
Sincerely,
Elizabeth May, O.C., M.P.
Member of Parliament for Saanich-Gulf Islands
Leader of the Green Party of Canada
Member of Parliament for Saanich-Gulf Islands
Leader of the Green Party of Canada
From: Shodja Eddin Ziaian [mailto:shodjaeddin@gmail.com] Sent: February 11, 2015 11:30 PMTo: May, Elizabeth - M.P.; Mulcair, Thomas - DéputéSubject: alliance
