April Newsletter 2022
Spring is upon us and energy is buzzing! This week, I delivered my first-ever State of the Province address, I hope you’ll have a listen here.
I have been hearing from Greens all over the province who are eager to get local events off the ground, support the two by-elections coming up in June, and re-connect with fellow Greens at our Annual General Meeting next week.
We also have three new regional mobilizers starting on the ground this week, so if you have an idea you want to get off the ground but don’t know where to start, they are the people to call.
I hope we can connect soon, either canvassing together for one of the two by-elections or at our AGM.
David Coon
Leader, New Brunswick Green Party
In this issue:
- Provincial Council Corner - Note from Nicolas Jelic
- Volunteer Spotlight: Dave Wagner
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Get Involved:
- Meet your new regional organizers
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By-elections:
- Introducing Chad Duplessie for Miramichi Bay-Neguac
- Recruiting a Candidate for Southwest Miramichi-Bay du Vin
- AGM - 8 Days away
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Green MLAs in action
- 2022-23 Provincial Budget
- Housing Rent Cap
- Bill 75 - Amendment to the Mining Act
- David Coon’s State of the Province Address
- GPNB Press releases for March 2022
Provincial Council Corner
A note from our President - Nicolas Jelic:
We hope to see you on April 9 for our Annual General Meeting. Beforehand you will receive the President, ED and Treasurer report so that you can prepare your questions for the day of the AGM. If you haven't already done so, please don't forget to register and exercise your right to vote by electing your representatives to the provincial council by April 7.
Nicolas Jelic
President, New Brunswick Green Party
Volunteer Spotlight
Dave Wagner
Dave Wagner grew up in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, and lived in Winnipeg, Edmonton and eSwatini before moving to Fredericton in 2004. His wife Carolyn, has also been an active Green volunteer as RDA president for Fredericton-South and volunteer coordinator for a federal campaign. Their children are grown and live with their partners in Kitchener/Waterloo.
Dave is a professor and serves as Associate Dean in the Faculty of Education at UNB. His research is on socio-cultural aspects of the teaching and learning of mathematics (the significance of cultural and language diversity in mathematics learning, the connection of mathematics to social and environmental crises). He is active internationally in his field, among some of his roles you’ll find him as the co-editor-in-chief of a major journal and participates in conference leadership.
Dave started volunteering for the New Brunswick Green Party by canvassing. Today, his main role within the party is called “Official Representative” which is the person responsible for the party to follow all the rules. Most of the rules are financial (e.g., he signs your donation receipts). Other roles you’ll find Dave in are the vetting committee and the fundraising committee. In the past Dave has also served on the governance committee and in the policy working group.
As a volunteer, Dave is motivated by how the NB Green Party takes the climate crisis and social responsibility seriously. He feels no other party can be depended on to do that.
“I see that environmental and social crises feed each other. Social responsibility is good for the environment and vice-versa.”
As an introvert, Dave was surprised to enjoy canvassing, he believes it resonated with him because it’s actually more about listening.
“I love listening to the experiences and concerns of people in my community.”
Dave enjoys the Vetting committee because he gets to know the wonderful people who commit themselves to run for office under the Green banner. In the fundraising committee - Dave admits he does not look forward to asking for money but he addresses it as ‘necessary’.
“I do not look forward to asking for money, but I have found that people are happy to give to the Green party because of the important work done by our MLAs and because they see how much more is possible with more MLAs.”
We want to thank Dave for all his leadership and support along with the hard work and commitment to the party over the years. Your actions as a volunteer have helped the party develop into what it is today.
If you would like to get involved, sign up to volunteer HERE
If you would like to join any of the committees - please email Kaely at [email protected].
Get Involved!
Meet the regional organizers
We are thrilled to introduce our new regional mobilizers, they will be the point of contact for local people who are looking to get their Green ideas off the ground in their local areas. Each mobilizer will be working closely with current Registered District Associations (RDAs), working to set up RDAs where they don’t yet exist, and help build capacity, because the next election is only two years away!
Addison Fach - Fundy: [email protected]
JD LeJeune - Fredericton-Central: [email protected]
Diani Blanco - South East/Sud Est: [email protected]
North / Nord - to be announced shortly!!
By-election in Miramichi Bay-Neguac
We were thrilled to announce Chad Duplessie as the Green candidate for this riding on March 17.
Donate to Chad’s campaign here.
The easiest way to help Chad in his campaign is to like his Facebook page and amplify his messages by liking, commenting and sharing his posts.
By-election in Southwest Miramichi-Bay du Vin
We are actively recruiting a candidate in this riding. It includes Blackville, Doaktown, Upper Miramichi and stretches all the way back over to Baie Sainte Anne. Click here to see the full riding map. If you know someone who would be a good fit, please let us know!
AGM
The Annual General Meeting (AGM) is 8 days away!
Saturday, April 9, 2022
LAST DAY TO REGISTER IS THURSDAY, APRIL 7, 2022
More info on the AGM and Provincial Council elections HERE
MLAs in Action
2022-2023 Budget
In March, the Higgs government put forward their 2022-2023 budget. While we did see quite a few Green ideas show up, it is clear that this conservative government doesn’t understand the issues. For example, why $6.3 million towards construction of new affordable housing? Less than 40 units - by very generous estimates - will not be nearly enough to help the 5000 families currently on the waitlist.
Housing Rent Cap
The Greens saw the massive problem of rising rents and had tabled a bill in May 2021 that would have legislated rent caps. The Higgs government voted down the Green bill last spring, but their budget did include a 3.8% rent cap for 2022, though it was clearly an afterthought and is not even enforceable at this point. It will do little to provide relief for New Brunswick tenants as is.
Listen to your MLAs respond to the budget speech here: David Coon, Kevin Arseneau, Megan Mitton.
Bill 75- Amendment to the Mining Act
Another big issue this month was Bill 75, the amendment to the Mining Act that would allow mining prospectors unlimited access to all private property in the province. The three Green MLAs successfully stopped the bill at third reading by sending it to the Law Amendments committee - one of the only committees in NB that allows the MLAs to call subject matter witnesses. This buys everyone time to learn about the bill and write to their MLA imploring them to vote against it.
Watch the video HERE
David Coon's State of the Province Address
Green Party Leader, David Coon, delivered his first-ever State of the Province address this week, just a day before Premier Higgs released his. This 20 minute journey across the province is inspired by the creative New Brunswickers who are forging the path to build a province that puts the well-being of our families, friends and neighbours at the heart of it all. David discusses what the government needs to do to remove the barriers that are standing in the way of real, transformative change.
Watch the video HERE