WRGreens second nomination meeting has filled our slate of 2019 WRGreens candidates. Congratualations!
Cambridge GPC Candidate
Michele Braniff
Kitchener—Conestoga GPC Candidate
Stephanie Goertz
Kitchener South—Hespeler GPC Candidate
David Weber
Mingling
Music
Networking
Candidate Nominees: Cambridge: Michele Braniff, Kitchener—Conestoga: Stephanie Goertz, Kitchener South—Hespeler: Ian Graham, Archie Henderson, David Weber
With all our candidates chosen, our 2019 candidates first official outing was the following Saturday’s pancake flipping team at the 2019 Elmira Maple Syrup Festival.
In 2015 WRGreens only female candidate was Michele Braniff in Cambridge. In 2018 we got closer to gender balance when Stacey Danckert ran in Kitchener Centre provincially. But now, in 2019, we are especially pleased to note the WRGreens gender imbalance now swings the other way, with 3 of our 5 (60%) candidates being women.
THE FULL SLATE
Congratulations to all our 2019 candidates!
David Weber Michele Braniff Stephanie Goertz Kirsten Wright Mike Morrice Kitchener South—Hespeler • Cambridge • Kitchener—Conestoga • Waterloo • Kitchener Centre
Mike Schreiner: “It’s time we started taking seriously our sacred responsibility to leave a livable planet for our children and grandchildren.”
On Wednesday February 20th, 2019, Mike Schreiner made history again when he introduced his first Private Member’s Bill in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario.
In the face of climate change, resource extraction and sprawl, Mike’s draft legislation seeks to protect the Paris Galt Moraine, an essential water ecologically sensitive recharge area in the Grand River Watershed which naturally purifies water for the citizens of Guelph and the surrounding area. Bill 71 would amend the province’s Planning Act and Development Charges Act to more strictly regulate development that could jeopardize the moraine’s integrity.
“This is about conserving what nature can do for free, so I cannot think of a more fiscally responsible solution. Failure to act could put the government on the hook for hundreds of millions in water infrastructure, like an expensive pipeline from the Great Lakes.”
—Mike Schreiner.
Mike wrote the draft legislation over a period of months where he consulted with water experts and Ontario stakeholders, including First Nations, municipalities, farmers and MPPs from all parties.
With this important legislation, Mike has demonstrated the Green Party’s core commitment to participatory democracy and consensus based governance by building all-party support, which resulted in the bill’s passage at Second Reading on March 7th, 2019. “I’m glad my colleagues unanimously showed their commitment to Ontario’s water today. Safeguarding water and food-growing farmland should not be partisan issues. Let this be a first step towards all-party collaboration to protect the places we love,” said Schreiner.
“I appealed to good progressive conservative thinking from the past. But it took four different bills over two years before the Oak Ridges Moraine was protected by legislation. With climate change on Ontario’s doorstep, and $1.2 billion in damage last year alone, we must act quicker. I look forward to working on this bill at committee, and this legislation returning to the House for a final vote.”
—Mike Schreiner, First Green legislation passes key vote with all-party support
Candidate Nominee Bob Jonkman poses with his son at the WRGreens PreNomination Social
Bob Jonkman has championed Proportional Representation since he volunteered for Fair Vote Canada in the 2007 referendum. As an Executive Member of the very active Fair Vote Waterloo Region Chapter, Bob came to believe electoral reform could best be accomplished by entering politics. He ran for office federally in 2015 and provincially in 2018 as the Green Party candidate in Kitchener—Conestoga.
Working with local social justice organizations has helped foster Bob’s commitment to achieving the goals of equity and inclusion. His community service includes work with the WRNonviolence Day In The Park, KWPeace, and as an active member of the Social Development Council of Waterloo Region. Bob has volunteered with the PTA, worked to save Victoria Glen Park from development, fought the placement of a biogas mega plant in downtown Elmira, and served on the Elmira BioFuel Citizens’ Committee. In his spare time Bob enjoys participating at CKMS-FM, the local community radio station where he is on the Board of Directors.
Bob’s digital community service includes organizing and giving presentations at computer user group meetings. As a long time member of the Free Software community, Bob encourages the use of software that respects computer users’ freedom. He’s a strong advocate for transparent government and freely available Open Data in government and business, balanced with protection of personal privacy through cryptography and safe online practices.
Professionally, Bob is a small business owner providing computer consulting, technical support and training to large and small Ontario businesses.
Born in the Netherlands and raised in Burlington, Ontario, Bob and Laurel chose to move to Elmira to raise their son twenty years ago.
Bob’s commitment to the Green Party is rooted in shared values that have inspired his work to enact positive change for a stronger democracy and a sustainable future.
Excitement in the Green community is at an all time high: the Green movement is growing. You may already be part of it without even realizing it! Every conversation you have about our communities, economies, and environment builds the impetus toward change. We’re seeing an appetite for a green future beyond anything we’ve seen in past elections… and this one hasn’t even begun!
WTGreens are growing a people-powered movement in Waterloo Region to elect our first Green MPs!
You’re invited to our 2019 WRGreens Candidate preNomination Social Thursday, January 31st
7:00 – 9:00pm
at Fresh Ground ~ 256 King St E, Kitchener
People from all parties and backgrounds are invited to come find out how we will make the community, economy, and environment our priority.
WRGreens believe our only credible path toward a healthy and robust future for our region and our country is decisive action: we need to start electing Green MPs. We have all the tools and solutions. All we need do is choose to act together. Be part of the solution by joining the first wave of this movement as we build toward the October election!
Come meet Waterloo Region’s Green Party candidate nominees
So far we have half a dozen declared candidate nominees for Kitchener Centre, and we may have contested nominations in all 5 ridings! This is your chance to find out what our potential Waterloo Region Greens candidates are working for, and why they’ve committed to running under the Green banner in 2019! If you are interested in throwing your hat in the ring (or know someone else who might be) for the riding of
Our first combined nomination meeting will take place on March 6th, when GPC members of the Kitchener Centre and Waterloo EDAs will choose their candidates. Then In April, we’ll host the combined meeting for Kitchener South–Hespeler, Kitchener–Conestoga, and Cambridge candidates.
If you’re not a member yet, before you can vote for the next Green Party Candidate in your riding, you’ll need to join the party. You can purchase your $10 membership online before the preNomination Social, or you can wait and do it at the event.
Whether you’re a GPC member or a friend, this will be a great opportunity to grab a coffee, listen to music, and get to know each other. Families are welcome.
We need 2019 to be the year Canadians fill Parliament with MPs with both the political will and commitment to make effective Climate policy. The climate change clock is ticking, and we can no longer afford to hope protests will mobilize the Canadian government against Climate Change.
We can’t keep waiting for other political parties to do what needs doing.
We don’t have the luxury of time in which we help elect other party MPs in hopes they will do the right thing, only to watch as they do what the party tells them to do instead.
We have no choice but to elect more Green MPs to send to Parliament to ensure that we have a Parliament prepared to meet Climate Change head on.
We need all the help we can get to send Greens to Ottawa to work with Elizabeth May. We all know what an amazing job Elizabeth May is doing now… just imagine how much more effective she’ll be with more MPs to help!
And with an unfair political system in which most voters aren’t engaged, the sad fact is financial donations are incredibly important. Donations allow us to reach out beyond you– and the Green community of Canadians who understand what is happening– and help reach new voters we can encourage to vote.
Donations allow us to afford information tables at local festivals and fairs, which help raise the Green profile enormously. They can help pay for our own events, like film screenings or education nights, as well as buying the materials to make buttons at our button making events, as well as paying for literature to hand out at them.
And, if we’ve got money in the bank, our candidates can have their election signs in in hand when the writ is drawn, so we can hit the ground running. During the election, donations can buy election signs and literature and ads in our local newspapers. Most people have no idea how much Greens manage on a shoestring budget. And every little bit helps.
We have been lucky to be able to attract and field an excellent slate of Candidates here in Waterloo Region, and we’re planning on doing it again in the New Year. (Watch this space for information about the 2019 nominations.
If you can afford to make a donation to the Green Party, now is the time. Any donation made before December 31st will count as a 2018 donation. Then, if you’re able to donate again in 2019 you’ll be donating under the 2019 donation limit.
2018 FEDERAL GREEN PARTY CONTRIBUTION LIMITS
Effective January 1, 2018
The following limits apply to the total amount of Green Party of Canada donations you will make in 2018. (If you’ve already donated, be sure you don’t exceed your allowed limit.)
Only Canadian citizens or permanent residents may make political contributions, donating up to:
$1,575 per year, to the Green Party of Canada, and another
$1,575 per year in total between your local Green Electoral District Association(s), Nomination Contestant(s) and Candidate campaigns
$3,150 total maximum allowed contribution
(Note: anything you donated to the Green Party of Ontario does not apply here.)
TAX CREDITS
All Canadians with a taxable income will receive a generous tax credit when they donate to the Green Party.
The sum of all your political contributions determines the size of your reduction in taxes payable.
Donations
between $ 0 and $400 75% cent refund
between $400 and $750 $300 plus 50 per cent of any amount over $400
more than $750 gives you $475 plus 33 1/3 per cent of any amount over $750 up to a maximum of $650 per year
If you make a $400 donation today, you’ll get a $300 tax credit when you file your income tax next year.
Donate to your local Green Party of Canada Electoral District Association:
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