While Parliament sits idle, the Greens are gearing up for a busy year in St. Paul’s. With regular canvassing, conferences and community events, 2010 has already gotten off to a great start for Debborah Donnelly and the St. Paul’s team. We are eager to continue the momentum with an Annual General Meeting on Sunday March 7th at 5pm at 449 Walmer Rd (see details below). The AGM is a great opportunity to meet our federal candidate Debborah Donnelly in an interactive town-hall format, and we are also pleased to welcome our distinguished guests, Antony Marcil of the Forest Stewardship Council of Canada and Green Party of Ontario leader Mike Schreiner. Appetizers and organic refreshments will be served.

Antony Marcil President, Forest Stewardship Council of Canada After 22 years in industry, Antony Marcil joined the environmental non-profit world in 1985. In 1989, he coined the phrase, Every Day is Earth Day and in 1997, he was named one of the Top 100 Figures in Environment, Sustainable Development and Social Issues by the Geneva-based Earth Times. Today, he heads the Forest Stewardship Council of Canada.

Debborah Donnelly Federal Candidate, St. Paul’s Having served over a decade as a Naval Officer, Debborah Donnelly blazed a new path for women in Canada’s Armed Forces and progressed our nation’s role internationally. An accomplished Egyptian Archaeologist and Emergency Manager in the public service, Debborah brings her years of leadership experience to the Green Party as the candidate for St. Paul’s.

Mike Schreiner Leader, Green Party of Ontario A leading advocate for independent businesses and sustainable communities, Mike Schreiner is well known for his leadership in co-founding the award-winning Local Food Plus organization and brings a proven track record in business and leadership roles to the GPO leadership.

Please RSVP by February 27th by email at stpaulsgreens@greenparty.ca. The event will be held from 5 to 7 PM at 449 Walmer Rd, a short walk from St. Clair West station:

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The following positions on the St. Paul’s Federal Green Party executive are open to nomination and will be chosen at the AGM:

• CEO
• Financial Officer
• Communications Chair
• Membership Chair
• Fundraising Chair
• Organizing Chair
• Member-at-Large

All Green Party of Canada members in good standing who live in St. Paul’s can vote. A membership registration table will be available for renewing lapsed memberships.

…that I reflect on what has been a devastating week in Haiti. While I am tremendously proud of Canada’s efforts to help the people of Haiti and for being so quick to send our DART team, HMCS Athabaskan and HMCS Halifax (amongst so many others) to provide relief efforts, I wonder why we always seem to wait for a tragedy to react. Haiti has needed our help for years. If we had supported them earlier and provided money for infrastructure spending perhaps so many people would not have been killed.

It is the same response that we gave to Afghanistan. The tragedies that were occurring there for years before we intervened post 911 were mostly ignored by our government. At some point we need to stand up and say that it is our responsibility to help the less fortunate before some natural or man-made devastation wakes us out of our stupor.

I send my heartfelt sympathies to the friends and families of those who have been killed in this earthquake. I wish to also express my deep abiding gratitude to all the men and women who have stepped up to provide aid at this time.

Debborah Donnelly

GPC candidate – St. Paul’s

What a wonderful day with new and old friends! Special thanks to Ralph Benmergui and Mike Schreiner for your continued support and sharing your Green views with us in St. Paul’s. I was happy to see so many people come out and share the joyous season with both myself and the GPO candidate Chris Chopik! I’m looking forward to a New Year and working alongside all of you in promoting our Green values.

I just wish we had remembered to bring the cameras out earlier so I could get more photos!

Happy Holidays,

Debborah Donnelly

With the weather getting colder and the days becoming shorter, our thoughts naturally turn inwards. With that in mind, we are delighted to invite you to an intimate afternoon luncheon on Saturday December 12th in support of our incredible new candidate Debborah Donnelly. As the first female Naval Officer in a combat role in Canadian history, and later as an archaeologist and her current role in emergency management, Debborah brings a wealth of real leadership and experience to the position. Come and meet Debborah and learn more about her unique personal story.

Hosted by JazzFM radio host, former CBC journalist and Senior Advisor to the Green Party of Canada Ralph Benmergui, we will also be welcoming our special guest Mike Schreiner, the new leader of the Green Party of Ontario – now is your chance to meet Mike and hear his vision for building a stronger provincial Green movement!

The afternoon will also be a chance to reflect on our achievements in 2009. After hosting party leader Elizabeth May in March at our AGM, in the spring our members unanimously elected our strongest candidate ever in Debborah Donnelly. In September we were suddenly thrust into a rare provincial by-election, and thanks to a strong community volunteer effort for our candidate Chris Chopik, we are now stronger than we have ever been! The last few months saw us hold community events such as our post-Hallowe’en park cleanup in Oriole Park and the Beltline Trail, and Debborah has been canvassing the riding with other Green volunteers. This time between elections is the most critical of all – by being better prepared for the upcoming spring election, we can build upon our past results and have even greater success.

Please RSVP by December 5th by email to stpaulsgreens@greenparty.ca or by phone at 416-804-4536.

In London, Ontario the Green Party of Ontario elected it’s new leader for the first time in 16 years! Outgoing leader Frank de Jong was present and graceful as new GPO leader Mike Schreiner was announced. It was a wonderful weekend full of networking, policy discussion and the announcement of our new provincial leader.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Toronto – On Tuesday November 10th, Debborah Donnelly, federal Green Party candidate for St. Paul’s, will join Green Party of Canada leader Elizabeth May and other prominent guests at the True Patriot Love Inaugural Tribute Gala in Support of the Canadian Military Families Fund.

St. Paul’s Green Party candidate Debborah Donnelly is an especially appropriate guest for the evening’s events. With more than a decade of experience as a Canadian Naval Officer, Debborah has a deep understanding of the issues and challenges facing military personnel and their families. She has continued her direct service to the community through her role as Lead, Emergency Risk Management with the Ontario Public Sector.

The True Patriot Love Inaugural Tribute Gala is designed to provide financial support to the Canadian Military Families Fund. It is one of many programs conducted by the Foundation which raises money for programs with the aim of improving the well-being and morale of Canadian military personnel and their families.

The Gala will begin at 5:30 p.m. on November 10th in the Metro Toronto Convention Centre (South Building) at 222 Bremner Blvd. in Toronto. Dinner will be served at 7:00 p.m., and dress attire is black tie optional/ mess kit with miniatures. Scheduled guests for this year’s events include Retired General Rick Hillier, Don Cherry, the Right Honourable Paul Martin, Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty, and many more.

For more information:

True Patriot Love Foundation

www.truepatriotlovefoundation.com

This was a great day! We cleaned up a significant amount of refuse in and around the park and had an excellent opportunity to speak to our neighbours.

Among the more interesting items we found:
- An old work glove covered in slugs
- An umbrella
- Two nail polish jars
- An entire box of a realtor’s unused fridge magnets
- Shower curtain rod
- An entire bag of whiskey bottles
- A coconut, possibly from a tiki party

And of course bags of halloween candy wrapers, plastic cigarette wrappers and cigarette boxes, and far, far too many plastic bags.

St. Paul’s Greens are going to be out in the community this coming Sunday Nov. 1st, from 12-2pm, to do a post-Halloween cleanup of Oriole Park and the adjoining Beltline trail.

We’re asking Green Party supporters who live in the area to consider taking an hour or two to come out and show their pride in the local parks and trails by lending us a hand in the cleanup effort. We’ll supply garbage bags and hot chocolate, and you supply a little muscle power!

Debborah Donnelly, our federal candidate, and members of the St. Paul’s Greens will all be pitching in. When we’re done, we’ll relax with some hot chocolate, and then spend some time introducing the neighbours to Debborah.

The park is just south of Chaplin Crescent on the west side of Davisville subway station:

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If you’re interested in helping out, please send us an email at stpaulsgreens@greenparty.ca

October 24th, 2009 – Queen’s Park, Toronto