Thank you for volunteering!
Many of you have volunteered for years for the Green Party and other great causes. Thank you for your service to our communities, our country, and our planet!
I’ve been fortunate enough to volunteer on many federal, provincial, and municipal campaigns, for environmental organizations like The Land Conservancy of BC and Habitat Acquisition Trust, for community associations in Ontario and BC, as well as for a variety of justice system organizations. From personal experience, I can say that it’s good for the soul to help others and work on a common cause.
And with the Green Party, we have the privilege of working to stop mass species extinction and save human civilization. What could be better than that? With less than 90 days to go in the leadership campaign, more and more volunteers are stepping up to help us from coast to coast to coast. This newsletter is a chance to say thank you to everyone who is helping out now and all of you who are going to help!
If I haven’t had a chance to work with you yet, I’d love it if you were able to spare a couple of hours (or more, if you wish!) for our campaign. Also, if you have relatives, friends, neighbours, or others who might be interested in helping us out, could you ask them to give us a hand? We certainly have a job for everyone.
To volunteer, please go to our Volunteer page at www.davidmerner.com by clicking here .
VOLUNTEER SPOTLIGHT
Maia is our Online National Tour Coordinator. She is going into her second year of Journalism and Political Science at Carleton University in Ottawa. Maia’s especially interested in climate action and served as the President of her high school’s Eco Council. In 2017, she became a Climate Reality Leader with the Climate Reality Project and she’s deeply committed to clear communication on the climate crisis. A longtime supporter of the Green Party, Maia became our 2019 candidate in her home riding of Ajax, Ontario. During the election, she also worked at the Green Call Centre in Ottawa as a phone canvasser.
“I chose to volunteer for David’s campaign because I truly believe that he is the best candidate to lead the party. I think his ideas about supporting the party at a grassroots level by empowering volunteers on the ground are what the party needs.” Maia said, “Most importantly, David inspires me with his vision and he is not afraid to create space for others to lead as well. He truly walks the walk.”
WHAT’S HAPPENING THIS WEEK
This Saturday , folks on South Vancouver Island are invited to join me for two events:
- At noon, on the steps of the BC legislature, we’ll be demonstrating to defend our Southern Resident Killer Whales. This event is hosted by the Orca Rescue Society. Join us!
- At 15:00, on the sunny southern slopes of Beacon HIll Park near Dallas Road, join us for a gathering on how we can transform our economy, our government, and our future. For detail, click here
On Sunday at 10:30 AM, we are meeting in Sooke BC to discuss the future of our salmon, old growth forests, and planet. For details, click here
Also, join me on Zoom: every Saturday at 11:00 Pacific / 14:00 Eastern, we meet for our weekly chat about our future. We’ll also be Zooming to Ontario and New Brunswick this week. All event details are at www.davidmerner.com by clicking on “Events”.
I would love to see you on Zoom or at our in-person, socially-distanced events. Bring a lawn chair or picnic blanket if you’re joining me on Saturday or Sunday. To register, click on the link below, or go to www.davidmerner.com and click on “Events”. I hope to see you soon!
Saturday, July 11 – 15:00 Pacific
Beacon Hill Park, Victoria, British Columbia – in person
Sunday, July 12 – 10:30 Pacific
Millenium Park, Sooke, British Columbia – in person
Monday, July 13th – 19:00 Eastern
Toronto, University – Rosedale, Ontario – Zoom call
Click here
Thursday, July 16th – 19:00 Atlantic
New Brunswick – Zoom call
Click here
THIS PAST WEEK
Our nationwide Zoom tour continued with stops in Thunder Bay, Guelph, Toronto and Victoria. It’s been a wonderful experience to share ideas with Greens about the future of our country and our planet. The folks I’m seeing on Zoom are hopeful; they want to see the rebirth of our party, new ways of doing politics, and a strong, united team that can take on the climate crisis. For video links to our past events and debates, please go to www.davidmerner.com and click on the “Archive” on our Events page or click here
To hear my interview with the Thunder Bay Net News from this past week, please click here: http://www.netnewsledger.com/2020/07/02/green-party-of-canada-david-merner-leadership-candidate/
TELEPHONE TRAINING SESSION
Join me and the team for a telephone training session on our new CallHub system. Telephone canvassing is critical – it’s the single most important part of our campaign! Please join us on Sunday if you have an hour to spare.
Topic: CallHub Training
Time: Sunday, July 12, 2020; 10:00 Pacific
Zoom Meeting Link:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86744832056?pwd=RnJFZU9YTnFOM1F0UW9PYWVHZlV1dz09
Meeting ID: 867 4483 2056
Password: 140161
THE NEED FOR DEEP CHANGE IN OUR JUSTICE SYSTEM
It’s clear from headlines around the world and it should be clear to everyone who has worked in Canada’s justice system that systemic racism aimed at Indigenous people and Black people in Canada is a serious, ongoing problem not just for our police forces, but for all parts of our justice system. From the under-representation of Indigenous and Black people in our legal and judicial professions, to the over-representation of Indigenous and Black people in our jails, we know we have a serious problem to solve.
My first job in law was in Maskwacis, Alberta at the law firm of Willie Littlechild, an Indigenous lawyer who became a Member of Parliament and one of Canada’s Truth and Reconciliation Commissioners. I also worked in Canada’s justice system for 28 years, first in Ottawa at Canada’s Department of Justice and then in Victoria at the BC Ministry of Attorney General. From that experience and from the sheer weight of the evidence, I know that our justice system fails again and again to live up to one of our core values: equality before the law.
So we have much work to do in Canada to transform our police services, our courts, our legal professions, and all the other parts of our justice system that fall short. With the Black Lives Matter demonstrations and the pandemic, it feels like we could be at a turning point in history and we must seize the opportunity. Now is the time to address these life and death issues.
HOW TO HELP
SOCIAL MEDIA
Follow our campaign on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook to keep up to date with events, Green Party policy, and campaign updates!
Thank you to everyone who is volunteering and everyone who has donated to our campaign. I’m looking forward to meeting you in person over the coming weeks and months!
Sincerely and gratefully,
David