Archive for Participatory democracy

Come out and join the Green contingent marching in Pride this Sunday.  Celebrate the Green Party’s long support for gay rights.  We were the first party to support same-sex marriage and the first to have an openly gay leader.  We continue to advocate for gay rights and equal treatment.  Meet us by 12 noon at the latest on Bloor Street at Ted Rogers way.  We will have new campaign t-shirts available to wear or purchase.  Bring water, comfortable walking shoes, skimpy clothes, green body paint, water guns and noisemakers.  Be prepared to get wet.   Have fun!

Pride Parade 2010
Sunday, 2010 July 4, 11:45 am
Bloor Street at Ted Rogers Way

If you arrive late or cannot find us, call Rebecca at 905-999-5479

I was locked inside College Park for an hour this afternoon after rioters smashed the windows there.  There were about 200 frustrated and fearful people with me, including some cranky children and a tearful young teen who just wanted to get home.  What the perpetrators accomplished was to anger a lot of people and justify the massive police presence that until this point had just seemed like an embarrassing exaggeration.     Read more »

I have been watching in horror as events have been unfolding in Thailand.  The world should have insisted that the Thai government exercise restraint as tensions escalated over the weekend.  It is outrageous to respond to a largely peaceful protest by sending in the army to break it up.  Instead we stood by as dozens of civilians were gunned down.     Read more »

However you start, loving animals or human rights, saving children from the ravages of war or poverty, we all find the same big picture: humans run the planet for better or worse. We must have a process that makes good decisions.     Read more »

It has been many years since I’ve had a moment of true pride in my government but yesterday I had such a moment.     Read more »

“I’ve got an idea — let’s play hide and seek!” Mary Travers spoke, as I recall, on the 33-rpm vinyl record by Peter, Paul and Mary called “Peter, Paul and Mommy”, an anthology of some of my favourite children’s songs. Songs I love.

Well, I have an idea: let’s save humanity so that many more generations of children will sing children’s songs. Not an original idea but let’s stay with it.     Read more »

I’m being a sore loser today.  I helped Andrew James this morning at the Danforth clean-up event.  We didn’t win.     Read more »

A few days ago, I attended the meeting about the new streetcar yards at Leslie and Lakeshore and the route the new cars are expected to take.  As with most public consultations these days, the format was pre-determined to minimize disruption, opposition and effective input.  It’s a veneer of public accountability masking a process that’s alienating and distant.     Read more »

On Thursday, March 11, WATERFRONToronto held an open house to discuss their proposed new soil recycling facility on the Portlands.  I’m cautiously supportive of this one, with some reservations.

The good news is that all the soil in question is already on the Portlands.  The other good news is that it’s being cleaned up from its current toxic state in order to enable more human uses of the Portlands area.  This includes making way for the Don Mouth revitalization project that’s really kind of inspired.     Read more »

Public Consultations into the New Streetcar Yards at Leslie/Lakeshore
Thursday, 2010 April 8, 6:30-9pm
Fire Academy, 895 Eastern Ave

On Tuesday, March 9, I was invited to help out and listen in to a meeting where Leslieville residents got together to begin forming an association.  The issue that galvanized the community into action was the proposed new streetcar yards at Leslie and Lakeshore on the Ashbridges Bay Treatment Plant site.  It was a packed hall and strong opinions were voiced from many angles.

The plan is to have almost 100 streetcars leave the new site every morning between 5 and 7 am and slowly spread throughout the city, way up to St. Clair, downtown to King Street, and all along Queen, College/Carlton/Gerrard, Dundas, Spadina and so on.  The Connaught and Roncesvalles yards will also be maintained, though the Connaught yards will have to be changed to accommodate the new design.  The streetcars will be four times the length of the current non-articulated models, or double the length of the articulated designs on the street today.     Read more »

You are invited to attend the Toronto-Danforth Federal Green Party Association and the Green Party of Ontario’s Toronto Danforth Constituency Associations’s 2009 Annual General Meetings.

Thursday, 2010 January 28, 7 pm (1 hour)
Pape Public Library, 701 Pape Ave (south of Danforth)

All members, supporters and the public are welcome.     Read more »

Registration is now open for the Green Party of Ontario leadership contest and annual policy convention.  You can find a detailed agenda here.

Fri – Sun, 2009 Nov 13 – 15
London, Ontario

It was my friend William who first pointed it out to me.  The eligible voters who are declaring their intention not to vote in this election are coming from a most unlikely group.  We expect a good percentage of newly eligible voters to declare a lack of interest in politics.  But there are huge numbers of seniors now saying they are so confused or disgusted with politics that they don’t know how to vote and intend not to.  I’m hearing this more and more.  And seniors are generally regarded as the most reliable voter group by age.     Read more »

Green Party of Ontario Summer Summit
Friday – Sunday, 2009 August 21 – 23
Peter and Patti Ellis’ Farm
4615, 10th Line RR 2, Beeton, ON

Follow the link above for more all the official and up-to-date information about the event.

I get asked a lot about the garbage strike.  While there’s not a lot I can do to settle a municipal labour dispute as an aspiring MP, and people recognize this, as a Green MP I could do rather a lot to help Toronto achieve its stated goal of zero waste, which would make a garbage strike a lot less unpleasant.     Read more »