Happy New Year from Kanata--Carleton Greens!
On behalf of your Executive, I would like to thank you for your continued support through 2018 and in particular during the provincial election, in which we elected the first Green Party MPP to Queen’s Park. GPO Leader Mike Schreiner, representing Guelph, joined nine other MPPs and MLAs plus Elizabeth May in representing Green supporters like you from Prince Edward Island to British Columbia.
Climate change is real!
We know that you know that climate change is happening, and every passing year makes it more urgent. Tornadoes in Dunrobin and across the capital region, record-breaking forest fires in central Ontario and extreme weather events from coast to coast to coast should demonstrate to our elected leaders that we must address it immediately, collectively and comprehensively.
We think the next federal election, due in October, will and must be about Canada’s actions to mitigate and adapt. The current government’s approach is insufficient and hypocritical: it kept the Harper government’s GHG reduction targets; continues to subsidize the oil-and-gas industry; and has now bought an aging pipeline. The Conservatives, both provincially and federally, are fighting any price on carbon, and proposing no effective alternative.
But there is hope too: the cost of renewable energy and storage is falling; many people, businesses and countries are taking concrete steps; and Green policies and parties are growing around the world.
Here are three things you can do:
Vote for change: voting Green tells our community, children and country that the status quo is unacceptable. A Green alternative is possible.
Help make change: with a community group, your favourite cause or helping Greens get elected. We’re all in this together and everything you do to help people and planet strengthens us.
Share your climate change concerns and hopes with your friends and family: this isn’t just a Green issue; it’s about acknowledging reality, engaging everyone and encouraging action. It’s not all doom and gloom: there is good news out there that we can all share to inspire action.
Think about why you vote Green, and share that with people in 2019. Personally, I vote Green because our candidates are the political leaders who are most serious about addressing the most serious issues facing humanity.
We have the option to forge and follow a practical route down the mountain of climate change rather than driving off the cliff, which is our current strategy, whether we acknowledge it or not. Decisions now have consequences later. We have the talent, ideas and technology to avoid catastrophic climate change. We just need the will. Let’s restore and heal our world, rather than undermine and destroy it.
Please make a year-end donation.
Election campaigns are expensive: we spend little between them, so rest assured that most of what you donate will be saved for the 2019 campaign. It's more important than ever to elect Greens to Parliament. Remember that you'll get a tax credit for the majority of your donation. So donating $100 will only cost you $25 come tax-time. Better still, add a monthly donation: $10 a month will cost you just $2.50 a month after the tax credit and help us plan for signs, media and support. And if you’ve already donated: thank-you!
Stay Connected.
Finally, please check our website and social media feeds, and join us for our monthly Green Beer event, which is always held on the first Wednesday at D'Arcy McGee's at 655 Terry Fox Drive. This year, we’ll be starting at 7pm.
Thank-you for all you do!
Jason Scott
CEO
Kanata—Carleton Green Party of Canada Federal Electoral District Association
