October has been an exciting month for the Green Party of New Brunswick.

David Coon's 10-year leader's tour and celebration has given our members all over the province an injection of energy to plan and fund-raise, looking ahead to the election in two years.

My own RDA, Carleton 45, has held three events  since the end of August: a canoe trip down the Wolastoq/St. John; a corn boil, and a book reading event. We have some plans in the works for the winter. The idea is to work together to boost the visibility of the riding. We won't find a strong candidate if we don't have a strong team of Greens to back them, will we? 

Now is the time to start thinking about the election.

Now is the time to pull together as a riding association.

Now is the time to plan and fundraise, so that when election time comes, our communities will know us as the party with the answers.

Many hands make light work.

What skill can we bring to our RDA?

Together we can generate the spark we need to draw in new members and invigorate those who have been labouring quietly for a green New Brunswick.

Rebecca Blaevoet

VP English, Green Party of New Brunswick

Official Representative, Carleton, Riding 45

In this issue:

• Provincial Council Corner
• Volunteer Spotlight: Leslie Chandler
• Get Involved:
  • Leader’s Quarterly Update (Online) - November 9
  • Focus on RDAs - Zoom event (Online) - November 23
  • Help us find our new Executive Director
  • Volunteer for GPNB
  • Working group on Tax reform and Green New Deal
• Green MLAs in action

Provincial Council Corner

Our party continues to grow and put down roots in New Brunswick communities. With this growth comes new opportunities - we are looking for a new Executive Director. So, if you are interested or know someone who might be, please spread the word.

We are moving from our current office in Fredericton to a larger, more welcoming space. Same address but different floor. Come see our new office and say hello to Kaely.

In addition to our search for an Executive Director, we are continuing our work to:

• Get ready for the next provincial election.
• Prepare for upcoming by-elections in Dieppe, Bathurst East-Nepisguit-Saint Isidore, Restigouche-Chaleur. 
• Organize our riding associations (RDAs).

Regarding the upcoming elections, we finished 2nd in Restigouche-Chaleur (28%) and surpassed 15% in Dieppe. We also have momentum in Bathurst East with many new members. So, please donate and volunteer for these ridings because we definitely have opportunities and maybe even some surprises. 

Nicolas Jelic

President, Green Party of New Brunswick

 

Volunteer Spotlight : Leslie Chandler

Leslie Chandler’s enthusiasm as a Green Party supporter and volunteer is absolutely contagious. A forever New Democrat and former teacher, Leslie switched to the Greens in 2014, both provincially and federally, and has never looked back.

The best way for me to deal with the anxiety of the age we find ourselves in is to be involved where my AVB’s align politically - with the Green Party of NB!! AVB’s is a term my Mum coined decades ago – attitudes, values and beliefs!! I am retired now and this is a high priority for me. A key reason why I want to continue to be active is because of the great support I receive from the staff; they make it easy to be empowered to contribute here and there as time and energy permit.

Leslie has jumped into a number of roles in her volunteer work. She helped the Moncton Area Greens organize the Zoom event with the PEI Green Official Opposition, which she described as exhilarating! She has also become familiar with G-Vote, which she used to make phone calls to support Chad Duplessie's campaign in Miramichi in June.

Leslie is someone who cares so deeply about the Greens, that she is an ambassador for the party in her community and online, she is a vocal supporter of the Green platform and MLAs, and is constantly searching for “wizard Greens” to step up as candidates.

If this isn’t dedication, we don’t know what is! Here’s Leslie in her own words:

I am obsessed with the 2024 provincial election coming up in roughly 690 days because I want to see a huge breakthrough of Greens elected, at last!

There is so much at stake, we need tax reform to deal with MULTIPLE CRISES facing NB in healthcare, affordable housing, social services, climate action, education and to establish credibility with Indigenous communities, to bring about energy democracy, proportional representation and revitalize the small business sector! Every phone call, every door to door canvass visit made at election time, data assist gathered, candidate suggestion, and donation contributed WILL get us there!

Thank you for everything, Leslie! Your dedication to the Green Party of NB is inspiring!

Get involved!

New event! Leader’s Quarterly Update (Online)

Wednesday, November 9, 7pm

This will be our first-ever Leader's Quarterly Update with David Coon. Get the insider's scoop on what is happening at the Legislative Assembly this fall session and what your 3 Green MLAs are working for.

**This event will open to current members, to check on the status of your membership email Kaely at [email protected]. 

Renew your membership HERE.

Register for the Zoom event HERE.

 

Elect a Green MLA in your riding in 2024 - Focus on RDAs!  (Online)

Wednesday, November 23, 7pm-8:30 pm

We are steadily ramping up election preparation. That involves developing RDAs NOW in order to have strong local campaigns in 2024.  Whether you are thinking of being the candidate or want to work behind the scenes to elect a Green MLA in your riding, this is the meeting for you. We will focus on Registered District Associations (RDAs), why they matter and how to get them going in your community. (This is a continuation of last month’s Zoom event, but attendance at the first event is absolutely NOT REQUIRED.)

**This training is being offered to current Green Party NB members. To check on your membership status please email Kaely at [email protected].

Register for this Zoom event HERE.

 

Help us find our new Executive Director!

The Green Party of New Brunswick is actively seeking a new Executive Director. Do you know someone with strong leadership and organizational skills, and Green values they would like to put to action? Spread the word!

See job description and apply HERE.

 

Volunteer for GPNB!

We are looking for volunteers to make phone calls for our year-end fundraising campaign. Please reach out to Kaely at [email protected].

 

Working Group on Tax Reform and our Green New Deal

We are looking for enthusiastic people to discuss and develop our policies around tax (yes - as Leslie said earlier - Tax reform too) and economic opportunities (aka our Green New Deal). Please contact [email protected] to start debating and construct our policies.

 

And, of course, you can…

MLAs in action

Green MLAs have been back at the Legislature for the Fall session.  David Coon stood to respond to the throne speech, saying that Premier Higgs’ speech contains no hope for resolving the healthcare crisis, the climate crisis, the affordable housing crisis, or the affordability crisis. David’s speech is powerful and is really worth a listen.

David, Megan and Kevin spent the month trying to get answers from the government on French Immersion, the privatization of healthcare services, a rent cap extension, and their plans to revive fracking in the province.

After the throne speech didn’t mention an extension of the rent cap, David asked new Housing Minister Jill Green if she plans to extend it before another wave of New Brunswickers forced out of their homes by unaffordable rent increases.

The caucus spoke a number of times on the topic of healthcare. 

Megan talked about the need to invest in preventative health care in order to decrease risk factors, including making sure that people have enough food to eat, can afford their medical supplies, and have somewhere safe to live.

After an ER doctor at the Chalmers Hospital spoke out about having to work a weekend shift with only 2 nurses on staff, David said that we need real solutions, such as paying nurses more to retain them. 

Moreover on healthcare, David responded to a new bill this week that facilitates the creation of private surgical facilities. David said that this will only beggar our public hospitals for the current surgical staff. Kevin also spoke out against the erosion of our public healthcare system, towards privatization.

As the premier continues to move to get rid of French Immersion, Megan asked him why he is denying French Immersion learning to all future Anglophone students? Kevin also questioned language equality by pointing out the lack of action by the Higgs government on the review of the Official Languages Act.

Kevin reiterated a clear message to the Premier about shale gas development: people in Kent County say frack off. He called for policies where future generations will collectively have access to our renewable resources, and not lose their resilience for the sake of a buck. Megan questioned the Minister of the Natural Resources about how their government can justify fracking, given what we know about the climate crisis.

Follow what David, Megan and Kevin are up to in the Legislature by subscribing to the Legislative Week in Review. (Sent only when the Legislature is in session.) And subscribe to the Green Caucus YouTube channel.