Local Green candidates gave quick introductions, including Calgary Centre’s Natalie Odd and Brett Spencer of Calgary South-East.

Elizabeth May then spoke on a wide variety of subjects, including the Green Party’s steady popularity, vote abandonment, and how Harper’s autocratic style of government puts Canadian democracy in danger.

The following video is an 11 minute summary of Elizabeth May’s entire speech and Q&A session. You can click here to watch extended (53 minute) coverage, or click on the summary video’s “YouTube Annotation Links” as they appear, if you’d like to hear more about one particular topic.

If you’d like to stay up-to-date on Natalie Odd’s campaign, or any other “Calgary Greens” we might feature in the future, you can subscribe to us on YouTube, or subscribe to our audio & video podcasts via iTunes.

Elizabeth May returns to Calgary on July 8th, hosted at La Joie De Vivre (7 PM).

La Joie De Vivre
1008 14 Street SE
Calgary, AB T2G 3K3

Green Party members can attend for free, non-members will be charged $10 at the door. Non-members can (of course) purchase a green party membership for $10 at the event.

We’d appreciate attendees RSVP by emailing Adrian Textor, so we can scale accordingly.

Last year (at La Joie De Vivre), Elizabeth spoke on topics including the economic recovery, Preston Manning, Green candidates and democracy. The topic of hemp production in Canada was brought up by attendee Lisa Kirkman…

…yes that Lisa Kirkman. Her son Noah was finally returned home to Lisa in Canada earlier this month.

Good to hear.

Currently, there’s 10 policy revisions being debated online. Any proposal which receives 20 sponsors (who must Green Party members in good standing) will be addressed at the 2010 Green Party convention in Toronto, August 20th to 22nd.

Policy motions passed at a General Meeting are sent out to Members for a final vote. If more than 50% of the votes cast in a Members’ vote approve of the motion, then it becomes official Party policy.

The Green Party strives for a democracy in which all citizens have the right to express their views, and are able to directly participate in the political decisions which affect their lives. We place great value on the input of our members into all aspects of our Party, including policy development.

Our policy process brings individual members of the party together to consider the needs of their community and their country. The new and innovative ideas of these members are then used to draft policy motions which then make up our party’s official policy. The party’s policy allows the membership to determine the direction of the party because it is the policy which forms the foundation for the platforms we will run on in coming elections.

Do you think Harper has deliberately set out to discourage people from voting?

Absolutely. People thought that Harper had become more popular between the 2006 and 2008 elections but not so: 170,000 fewer people voted for a Conservative candidate in 2008 than in 2006. His larger seat count is a tribute to his ability to discourage people from voting. The 700,000 fewer people voting for the Liberals did so on the basis of attack ads. None of what the attack ads do is to make people like the Conservatives more — it’s a question of framing, first Stephane Dion and now Michael Ignatieff in the worst possible terms based on the most sophisticated marketing genius of the Karl Rove variety.

All of these things add up. The next best option to proportional representation is to figure out how to — through whatever mobilization, viral, citizen grassroots campaign — to say not only am I going to vote, I am going to make sure that I talk to my friends and neighbours who I don’t usually talk to about politics and make sure they vote — not how they’re going to vote just that they vote.

One of the persistent features of progressive Canadian politics is the huge divide between party politics and extra-parliamentary politics. It’s almost unique to Canada that movement groups are so rigidly non-partisan when it comes to elections. How do we deal with that?

Well, one of the things that has to happen is that the Revenue Canada rules around charitable status have to change. Look at the David Suzuki Foundation for instance. David is acknowledged as one of the top 10 Canadians. He made a very strong comment about Harper on the CBC’s George Strombolopoulos show. Now his organization as a result of that is having its charitable tax status threatened. He cannot possibly support the Green Party.

But the fact is that you don’t have to tell people how to vote — you just have to tell people to get out and vote. The call is — “Hey people, look at the numbers. Do you think that all those people who stayed at home in 2008 would have voted for Harper if they’d gotten off their duff to vote?”

Elizabeth May, Deborah Yedlin (Calgary Herald columnist) and Murray Smith (Energy Minister 2001-2005) found some common ground lamenting Alberta’s dependence on coal fired plants and the lack of any clearly stated Canadian energy strategy.

Natalie Odd, a plethora of Green candidates, Green volunteers and oil patch executives enjoyed the evening immensely. We believe this recap would be of interest to every Calgarian wondering how “the other side” views the oil sands. (You might be surprised.)

A healthy tree stores about 13 pounds of carbon each year (forestmanagement.enr.gov.nt.ca). Also, the shade and wind protection provided by a conveniently placed tree will conserve energy use within the home.

All in all, planting a tree this month is a great reason to both socialize and improve the environment in our community. Check your local garden centres for discount prices on stock!

by Erin Kornichuk

The fact that these consultations are being held is a small victory for those wishing to move forward on copyright reform. One of the most leveled criticisms of Ottawa’s earlier attempt at a copyright bill, Bill C-61, was that there was a lack of stakeholder input. -Elizabeth May

Canadians can respond to specific questions on copyright reform:

1. How do Canada’s copyright laws affect you? How should existing laws be modernized?
2. Based on Canadian values and interests, how should copyright changes be made in order to withstand the test of time?
3. What sorts of copyright changes do you believe would best foster innovation and creativity in Canada?
4. What sorts of copyright changes do you believe would best foster competition and investment in Canada?
5. What kinds of changes would best position Canada as a leader in the global, digital economy?

Online town halls are being held, and podcasts of earlier round tables are posted for review.

Many Canadian Green Party members are technically savvy, as we know it is innovation in technology and market based incentives which will spur Canada’s economic growth. Key to economic prosperity is a copyright policy which fosters innovation with a balance between financial incentives (the temporary monopoly granted to copyright holders), and access to public resources (when a copyright expires, and fair-use rights).

A thriving information commons is one that yields sustainable artistic innovation. User rights must be defined and extended through a flexible fair-dealing mechanism. Current laws on Crown copyright and public domain must be reformed to build a healthy information commons. Protection and compensation for creators must be ensured through a statutory-damages provision based on reasonably demonstrated loss. -Elizabeth May

What can you do to help ensure Canada avoids another C-61 fiasco?

Participate in Canada’s copyright consultations.

Volunteer your time to help elect Green Members of Parliament. (Oh you might have seen that one coming!) Green MPs such as Calgary Centre’s Natalie Odd will join NDP’s Charlie Angus in protecting Canadians from the danger of one-sided, innovation stifling, lobbyist driven copyright “reform” bills.

The entertainment industry is adjusting to online distribution models, and the sudden ability to meet the demands of niche markets. Defending the status quo on copyright, or worse, allowing lobbyists for outgoing distribution models to use copyright to stifle innovation, will result in fewer of the emerging businesses being profitable Canadian ones. Smart copyright legislation will put us ahead of the pack.

The most common question we’re asked this morning? “Aren’t you guys dead?”

We’re tabling for the morning shift here at Marda Gras (on 33rd Ave SW in Marda Loop), and it is indeed a fine day to be outside.

The “dead” party we are being asked about is the provincial green party. Natalie Odd is a Federal Green Party candidate for the riding of Calgary-Centre. The two organizations do not have anything to do with each other. It is certainly helpful for us to learn not everyone is aware of this fact. They have always been different parties, with different constitutions.

And offered up by Alvin Shier of Canmore, “Your riding offices should have phone numbers that can be found in the phone book.”

We then picked up our Natalie Odd brochure, and sure enough… no phone number. As Alvin points out, not everyone uses a computer as their primary means of communication. We’ll get on that and update our materials once we’ve got a Calgary number.

If you’re attending Marda Gras, be sure to stop by and say hello. We’re looking for feedback, and happy to talk politics.

This turned out to be an interesting example of how Elizabeth and Victoria Cate team up on communication. Victoria Cate was monitoring Elizabeth’s Twitter account, and alerted her mom to the tweets. Elizabeth says the point to communicate is that she is flipping pancakes, not watching calf roping or any of the events which would distress an animal, that Calgary Stampede has community events which are distinct from the sporting events. Those posting to Twitter were not making a distinction between the two.

Victoria Cate was able to respond to the concerned “Twitter followers” within 15 minutes of their first tweet of concern.

A tech savvy daughter. Who knew?

Elizabeth May is still very approachable, kind, and considerate. You too can see her in action and meet her in person October 2nd, 2009.
- Adrian Textor, Calgary Centre Green Party CEO