The days are getting longer and summer is just around the corner in New Brunswick!

We are very excited for the months ahead. We have the wind in our sails as we prepare for the next provincial election and begin building teams to run successful campaigns. More and more New Brunswickers are looking to the Green Party of New Brunswick to lead us through the challenges of our time. Our principles and policies resonate with people across the province, in francophone, anglophone, urban, and rural communities. As electoral pundits recently highlighted, we are the second party for the francophone community based on the last by-elections! 

Our Green MLAs continue to stand up for the issues that matter, from pushing back against the government’s plan to bring fracking to our province, to protecting Policy 713 and LGBTQ2S+ students, to standing up for our teachers and healthcare professionals, and so much more. These are the issues that matter to us, because we are the party that puts people before politics. 

Your support is critical to the success of our party. We have an objective to raise $70,000 by the end of June in order to improve our communication capacity and improve the quality of our work to better represent you and our community. Your donation helps us raise the funds necessary to hire more staff to do that work. If you can chip in, that would be incredible!

Nicolas Jelic

Fundraising chair for the Green party of New Brunswick

 

In This Issue:

• Volunteer Spotlight: Mary Ann Coleman
• Staff Appreciation Spotlight: Betania Bertone
• Upcoming Events
  
  • Solar Open House
• Get Involved
  • Join your local RDA
• MLAs in Action

Volunteer Spotlight 

Mary Ann Coleman

Mary Ann is a long-time Green Party supporter with plenty of experience campaigning and organizing. During the April by-elections, she helped organize phone canvassing to get our message to voters which contributed to the strong second place finish of all three Green candidates in their ridings.

Mary Ann has also been busy building a team of incredible women who all worked together to organize a very successful event in Sussex for the Sussex-Fundy-St Martins AGM last month. Mary Ann was recently elected the president of the Sussex-Fundy-St Martins Registered District Association (RDA), along with Angela Dibblee, Chelsie Nightingale, Emily Nixon, and Mary Mckay-Keith. 

Thank you to Mary Ann Coleman and the all-female RDA executive for your hard work!

 

Staff Appreciation Spotlight 

Betania Bertone

We want to say a very special thank you to outgoing staff member, Betania Bertone, for her exceptional work over the past 5 months. Betania came to Canada from Brazil with her family and worked for us part-time, answering phone calls, emails, helping us through the by-election, organizing our April AGM, and so much more!

Betania recently accepted a job with the Government of New Brunswick, but we were happy to have her with us for the short time she was here. Thank you, Betania!

 

Upcoming Events

Solar Open House

Saturday, June 3, 2023

Carl Duivenvoorden has generously opened up his home for tours of his solar system that powers his electric vehicle and his home as a fundraising event. 

If you’ve ever wanted to learn more about solar power, this is a great opportunity to see a fully-functioning solar-powered home that uses net metering and a back-up battery. Carl will be giving tours every half hour, so feel free to drop in any time between 10am and 3pm this Saturday, June 3.

Register online here

 

Get Involved

It has been a long 3 years since the Covid-19 pandemic forced us apart. This year, however, we are reconnecting, and we’re just getting started. Now is the perfect time to get involved and be part of the energy as we build momentum and organize our campaign teams heading into the next provincial election. 

Get involved locally by joining your registered district association (RDA)

Registered District Associations (RDAs) consist of all the local members who live in a riding. RDAs are the local, on-the-ground roots of our party and they are essential to promoting participatory democracy in our communities. To join your local RDA, you will need to have an active membership, which you can purchase here for a $10 fee. 

You can also get involved by volunteering your time, skills, and ideas. Get in touch with us by signing up to volunteer to be a part of a dedicated team of like-minded people who care about their community and their province.

 

MLAs in Action

David Coon has been busy in the Legislature, criticizing fossil fuel lobbyists for trying to water down clean fuel standards. He also proposed a bill to end new oil and gas exploration and development in New Brunswick in response to Higgs’ blatant disregard for Indigenous rights and climate change. Kevin Arseneau highlighted the importance of the bill as scientists warn the world will likely cross the 1.5°C climate threshold by 2027.

David also attended a public rally at the Legislature last month to protect Policy 713, the policy maintains minimum standards to ensure a safe, inclusive, and welcoming school environment for LGBTQ2S+ students. He also challenged the Minister of Education and Early Childhood Development on the government’s specific issues with the policy. 

Megan Mitton affirmed her support for two-spirit, gay, lesbian, bi, trans, and queer people on the International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia last month. She also continues to call for a rent cap to protect seniors, single mothers, and other vulnerable groups from unreasonable rent increases. Megan stood in the Legislature and asked “where is the urgency from this government on the issues that matter to New Brunswickers?” Issues like healthcare, affordable housing, and wealth inequality that affect people’s day-to-day lives and wellbeing.

Kevin Arseneau has also been advocating for affordable housing for seniors and calling for creative solutions to the housing crisis in New Brunswick. He said that every senior has the right to live and age in dignity. Kevin also asked the Premier if he would support amendments to the Official Languages Act bill to pass it through the Legislature.