WAP Welcomes Ms. May to Ottawa

Good morning Elizabeth!

Congratulations on being the first Green MP to hit Ottawa!

Also for being one of the first woman party leader!

We, as women, are thrilled to have you come to Ottawa. One voice that speaks truthfully, with focus and integrity, is all we need to start reversing the awful trend we are now in.

WAP/PAF offers you our support in Ottawa. Just let us know!

Esther Matharu
www.womensallianceparty.ca




Dear Esther,

Thank you so much for your kind, supportive words. On May 2nd, we made history and proved that Canadians wanted change. I am honoured to thank you as Canada’s first elected Green Party Member of Parliament.

There is no way to thank all of the people who made this historic win possible. Across the country, Green Party candidates worked hard in their ridings, canvassing, attending debates, and articulating the Green vision for Canada. In my own riding of Saanich-Gulf Islands, we had a team of 2000 volunteers working on the ground to deliver our message. It has been incredibly inspiring to see people join me, whether at 6AM in the pouring rain to wave at morning commuters, or to go door-to-door canvassing with me, or joining me at the all-candidates debates. Without our team of dedicated volunteers, this win would not have been possible.

With my election, the people of Saanich-Gulf Islands have committed to rejecting the politics of cynicism and fear, and have embraced the politics of hope and cooperation. We need to bring respect back to the House of Commons.

Our work has just begun, and now I am going to need your help to prove that one Green MP with a different approach can remain free from hyper-partisanship and cynicism brought to the House by Canada’s old-line parties.

One MP, free from negative politics can make a difference, and I promise you that I will never shirk from speaking truth to power, nor will I embrace the politics of spin.

Thank you again for your support,

Elizabeth May, O.C.

MP Elect for Saanich-Gulf Islands

Leader

Green Party of Canada

greenparty.ca

1-866-868-3447

Oh Canada, What Have We Done?

Prime minister Stephen Harper – Canada's own George Bush – during a 2008 speech in Ottawa. Photograph: Chris Wattie/REUTERS

Canada's Cold New Dawn

by Heather Mallick

published in The Guardian London

Canada woke up to an election shock this morning. It was a self-inflicted jolt, and all the more painful for that. After three minority governments in seven years – all following inconclusive, forgettable elections that never gave the Conservatives the solid majority they were sweating for – a man of the hard right named Stephen Harper finally has his win.

He triumphed over Michael Ignatieff – known to the British as a fine writer, historian and BBC talking head – who had returned to Canada to lead the Liberals, often described as the country's traditional party of government. Instead, Ignatieff got whacked, and the left-leaning New Democratic party did very well indeed, astonishing even themselves. To put this in British terms, the Liberals (New Labour) were humiliated, the New Democrats (the Liberal Democrats) came in a powerful second and a Canadian version of George W Bush, minus the warmth and intellect, is now prime minister.

What happens now is the full-scale Americanisation of Canada, hinted at over the past seven years by Harper – he fired people who talked too loudly about this – but not acted upon because Canadians have always valued their distinctiveness from the angry country in decline south of the border.

Please read rest of the article here:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/may/03/canada-stephen-harper-american-politics