A big thank you to all the volunteers who came out to help clean up Sir Winston Churchill Park this Saturday! In just over two hours we were able to clean the park from top to bottom, even parts of the garbage-strewn ravine under Spadina Road.

As always, there was plenty of the typical trash like candy wrappers, cigarette cartons, plastic bags, and the ever-present little flecks of styrofoam everywhere. There were also some more surprising (and disgusting) items. The football-shaped Dr. Pepper can was probably left in a snowbank over the winter and froze, which would explain the bulging ends, but it still had to be handled with care. Under the Spadina bridge was a filthy stash of old beer bottles, little ziploc baggies full of mouldy green things and (ugh) condom wrappers. Then there were the two tires. Yes, two tires – one with plenty of tread left on it!

We will be doing another park cleanup this fall. To be added to our mailing list, or for more information, email us at stpaulsgreens@greenparty.ca.

Thank you also to our friends from the Eglinton-Lawrence Greens who came to help out! They will be holding their own park cleanup at Memorial Park (see map) at Eglinton & Bathurst on Saturday April 24th from 10AM-12PM.

Spring is here, which means it’s once again time for a park clean-up event with the St. Paul’s Greens!

Last fall’s post-Halloween cleanup at Oriole Park was a great success – eight of us collected over 10 full bags of garbage in just two hours while meeting many new faces in the riding. With your help, we can do even better this spring!

This year we will be cleaning up Sir Winston Churchill Park at St. Clair and Spadina. We will be meeting at the north entrance of the park at St. Clair on Saturday April 17th at 12:30PM (see map below):

View larger map

Come and join us for an hour or two, meet federal candidate Debborah Donnelly, and do your part to keep our city neat and tidy. Coffee and snacks will be served when we’re done!

We look forward to seeing you there! In case of rain, the cleanup will be held on Sunday April 18th at 12:30PM.

The Green Living Show, running from April 23-25th at the Direct Energy Centre, is the largest green consumer show in Canada. We will be there with a booth this year! Come on down, say hi to folks from the St. Paul’s Greens and the Green Party of Ontario, and check out the best that Canada’s green farmers, entrepreneurs and businesses have to offer in solutions for a healthy and sustainable lifestyle.

If you’re able to help us staff the booth for a 2-hour period on any of the dates, please drop us a line at stpaulsgreens@greenparty.ca.

Thank you to everyone who came to our AGM on March 7th. Antony Marcil of the Forest Stewardship Council of Canada, and GPO leader Mike Schreiner offered their expertise in brief speeches. Many new and old Green Party supporters had the chance to ask questions and mingle with the newly elected executive. I would like to thank our CEO, Glen MacDonald, John Taranu our Organizing Chair and our Financial Agent, Bill Pegg, for volunteering to continue in their positions. I would also like to welcome Robb Barnes as our Media Chair, and Adrian Currie who will take on the position of Volunteer Chair.

Debborah Donnelly, St. Paul’s Candidate

If you’re interested in viewing other photos check out Debborah’s facebook page!

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:

View Larger Map

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.