The Leader Debates: Green Party Email

Here's an email I received from the Green Party of Canada on the Leader Debates issue:
Letter to Green Party Friends and Supporters,

Today's decision by the broadcasting consortium is an inexcusable mistake and a slap in the face to all those who care about democracy and freedom of speech in this country. They have bowed to crass partisan politics from three other federal parties. Elizabeth May deserves to be in the included in the nationally-televised leaders' debates. She has jumped through every hoop that has barred her way and she still is being kept from presenting the Green platform to a national audience by the Conservatives, NDP and Bloc.

The Green party is a truly national party that has run candidates across the country for the past two elections. We have a sitting MP. We had the support of nearly 700,000 Canadians in the last elections and are polling at over one million votes in this election. There is no logical reason why Elizabeth May and the Green Party should be kept out of this important national forum.

No other party has been as successful as the Green Party and still be blocked from public national debates. In 1993 the Reform and Bloc Parties were included in the debates with only one MP and no official party status. Neither ran candidates across the country. There is no precedent for this private decision to exclude the Green party from the leader's public debate. In fact, all the precedents support our inclusion in this public forum. . Partisan politics has kept her out, this is an insult to the Green party and called the fairness of the election into question.

It is so important for Elizabeth May to be present at the debates. The majority of Canadians make their voting decisions based on them. The Green party needs your help to remedy this situation. We need you to write, call and contact the Broadcasting Consortium and tell them they are wrong. Tell them that Canadians deserve to hear the voices of all national leaders.

Most importantly, you should phone, fax or email the party leaders who kept Elizabeth May out of the debate. Make them accountable for this outrageous, antidemocratic act.

Stephen Harper: Conservative Party of Canada Election Headquarters #1204 - 130 Albert Street Ottawa, Ontario, K1P 5G4 Toll free: (866) 808-8407 Phone: (613) 755-2000 Fax at: (613) 755-2001 Email: pm@pm.gc.ca	Jack Layton: Canada's NDP 300 - 279 Laurier West Ottawa, Ontario K1P 5J9 Phone: 613-236-3613 Toll Free: 1-866-525-255 Fax: 613-230-9950 TTY: 1-866-776-7742 Email: Layton.J@parl.gc.ca	Gilles Duceppe: Bloc Québécois 3730, boul. Crémazie Es Montréal (Québec) H2A 1B4 Téléphone : 514 526-30 Télécopieur : 514 526-2868 Email : Duceppe.G@parl.gc.ca
Constituency Office 1600 - 90th Avenue SW Suite A-203 Calgary, Alberta, T2V 5A8 Telephone: (403) 253-7990 Fax: (403) 253-8203	Constituency Office 221 Broadview Avenue Suite 100 (Main Office) Toronto, Ontario; M4M 2G3 Telephone: (416) 405-8914	Constituency Office 1200 Papineau, # 350 Montreal, Québec; H2K 4R5 Telephone: (514) 522-1339 Fax: (514) 522-9899
Hill Office House of Commons Ottawa, Ontario; K1A 0A6 Telephone: (613) 992-4211 Fax: (613) 941-6900	Hill Office House of Commons Ottawa, Ontario, K1A 0A Telephone: (613) 995-7224 Fax: (613) 995-4565	Hill Office House of Commons Ottawa, Ontario, K1A 0A Telephone: (613) 992-6777 Fax: (613) 954-2121

You can visit http://demanddemocraticdebates.ca to sign a petition to pressure the Broadcast consortium to make sure that Green Party leader Elizabeth May is included in the leaders' debates. You can also let the broadcast consortium know of your disagreement by contacting them at:

John Cruikshank, Publisher, CBC news (416) 205-6300

Robert Hurst, President of CTV News 416-332-5000

Troy Reeb, Senior Vice President of News Canwest Global (416) 967-1174

Pierre Dion, President, Groupe TVA Inc. 514-526-9251

Ronald Cohen, National Chair, Canadian Broadcast Standards Council P.O. Box 3265, Station D Ottawa, ON K1P 6H8 613-233-4607

Glenn O'Farrell, President and CEO, Canadian Association of Broadcasters P.O. Box 627, Stn. B Ottawa, ON K1P 5S2 613-233-4035 ext: 326

Talk to everyone you know about this important subject and make sure they get involved in supporting the Green Party's fight. A complaint has been filed to the CRTC and Legal proceedings to overturn the decision have already started. These initiatives can only be strengthened by your support. The Green Party has retained the best lawyer in Canada in this field to represent the party in court. The Green party is legally and politically required to be in these debates.

We urge you to act immediately to right this wrong.

PROTECT OUR DEMOCRACY, PLEASE FORWARD THIS TO A FRIEND.

The Leader Debates: Canadian Democracy in Crisis!

We won this one! Grass-roots public pressure forced the other leaders to reverse their stand. Congratulations! See links to news stories at http://cosbeygreen.blogspot.com/2008/09/leader-debates-win-for-grass-roots.html.

---

A Consortium of Canada's leading broadcasting networks announced on Monday 08Sep that Elizabeth May, Leader of the Green Party of Canada, will not be included in the leaders' debates. The Consortium based their decision on the position taken by three political parties who said that they would not participate in the televised leaders debates if the Green Party was included.

Whether or not you support the Green Party, please take this attack on our already beleaguered democratic system seriously!

Already outraged? Click here to jump to my action guide! Or, read on.

Historically, parties that have had less standing than the Green Party of Canada have routinely been included in the Leader debates.

One in every 22 Canadians voters in the last federal election - 660,000 voters - voted Green. The Green Party has ranked third in numerous polls this year. The Green Party has a Member of Parliament, as a result of independent MP Blair Wilson joining the Greens in late August. The Green Party ran a full slate of candidates in the last two federal elections.

The Bloc Québecois was included in the 1988 debates despite having no seats in Parliament, no official recognition from the Speaker and only 75 candidates out of 295 ridings. The Reform Party was included in the 1993 debates despite having won only 276,000 votes and no seats in the previous election, and having only a single Member of Parliament at the time of the debates - as the result of a by-election. Yet the Bloc and the successor to the Reform party are both now sabotaging the democratic process by blocking Elizabeth May and the Green Party from the debates. Incredibly, so is the NDP!

My view:

• The Bloc, the Conservatives, and the NDP are all making a radical attack on Canadian democracy, by attempting to disenfranchise a party that represents over half a million Canadians. This is a direct attack on you, the Canadian voter. These parties do not deserve your vote!
• The media consortium made the wrong decision. They should have called the bluff of these rogue political parties. If any of them had continued obstinate in their position, the media would have been doing a great service to the Canadian public by dramatically highlighting their absence from the debates as an unwillingness to participate in the free democratic process.
  

More: I've posted additional background information, links, and suggested actions in the first 7 comments to this post.

Please comment! Please send your friends a link to this blog entry! Please act to put pressure on these wrong-headed politicians and on the media consortium.

Canada Carbon Tax - VTACC Appeal

Voters Taking Action on Climate Change (VTACC) sent out another email today, calling for action. This is essentially the same information as my last post, (Canada - Campaign for NRTEE Carbon Tax). I suggest you read the VTACC version first, and only go to Canada - Campaign for NRTEE Carbon Tax if you want more background or detail.

From: VTACC <climate_action@yahoo.ca>
Date: 12 January 2008
Subject: We have an opportunity

Hi all,

We need five minutes of your time, and a letter is attached.

Here is the good news:

The National Round Table on the Environment and the Economy has pushed the idea of a carbon tax onto the national stage. The NRTEE states that this is the only realistic way that Canada can reach the government's current goal of a 65% reduction below 2003 levels by 2050.

Without a price on carbon emissions, the National Round Table states that Canada will be unlikely to meet even these goals.

But here is the bad news:

The very next morning the Conservative goverment attempted to silence this recommendation by rejecting this idea entirely. So far, this has worked. They must be congratulating themselves at how easily Canadians can be silenced!

And here is what we are doing about it:

Let's not accept the current federal greenhouse gas plan for non-action, and their flat refusal to consider putting a price on carbon emissions.

If you haven't yet, please take five minutes and express what they need to hear from Canadians.

We have a minority government in Ottawa, and a federal election looming. We may never have a better time to push for real action.

This is not about partisan politics; all parties need to hear that Canadians want real action on carbon emissions.

Together, we can pull this back onto the national stage. But we need your help.

And in case you are tongue-tied, attached below is a template of a possible letter:

Here are the addresses. Write one letter, and cc a copy of it to the others!

bairdj@parl.gc.ca
pm@pm.gc.ca
dions@parl.gc.ca
layton.j@parl.gc.ca
McGuinty.D@parl.gc.ca
leader@greenparty.ca

You can find your own MP at http://tinyurl.com/3dg9g3

Should John Baird be congratulating himself? You decide.

Please take the five minutes right now, and send us a copy!

Thank you all for taking action,
VTACC
Voters Taking Action on Climate Change


John Baird, M.P.
House of Commons
Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0A6

January 8, 2008
Your name and address here

Dear Mr. Baird,
I am very disappointed in how quickly you rejected the notion of a Carbon Tax – as recently recommended by the National Round Table on the Environment and the Economy.

To react so quickly appears to show an unwillingness to consider the knowledge and research of others. Given the brief time you have been entrusted with the responsibility of Environment Minister one would hope for more deliberation.

Please reconsider your position, and I would encourage you to more openly discuss this important idea with Canadians.

Like so many others, I strongly support putting a price on carbon emissions as a key means for Canada is to achieve significant reductions in greenhouse gas emissions. It is clear that the atmosphere can no longer be used as a free dumping ground by individuals or corporations.

Sincerely,


cc: Prime Minister Stephen Harper
cc: Stephane Dion, Lead of the Opposition
cc: David McGuinty, Liberal Environment critic
cc: Jack Layton, Leader of the NDP
cc: Elizabeth May, Leader of the Green Party

Canada - Campaign for NRTEE Carbon Tax

See newer (and shorter) post first: Canada Carbon Tax - VTACC Appeal. Return here if you want more background or detail.

Folks, we saw a big win for democracy and for climate sanity in Bali last month, thanks to all of you, and to coordinators of the mass outcry - especially Avaaz.org. (See my 21Dec post for background on this.)

Now we have an even bigger job ahead of us: keeping our "leaders" on the path!

Right now, Canadians need a massive demonstration of popular support for the recent report from the National Round Table on Environment and Economy (NRTEE), and in particular for the NRTEE recommendation for a carbon tax.

Read on! Take action, as suggested below. Tell all your friends! We need a massive show of public support for carbon pricing!

Background:

The NRTEE is an independent advisory panel commissioned over a year ago by the federal government to study ways Canada can make major, long-term cuts to the country's greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. It issued its report on 07 Jan 2008.

The report concludes that the only way to make truly deep cuts in GHG emissions is to start charging for carbon emissions as soon as possible. Once a price is established, the panel recommends that Canada adopt a carbon tax and/or a cap-and-trade system based on that price.

Adopting the NRTEE recommendations will not ensure an level of pricing consistent with a 2-degree cap on global warming. However, the main thing at present is to get carbon pricing implemented. Further action can be launched afterwards if needed - as it almost certainly will be!

Here are some places to go for more background:
CBC coverage, 07Jan
Canadian Press coverage, 07Jan
David Suzuki Foundation statement
Green Party of Canada statement
Voters Taking Action on Climate Change - BC Carbon Tax Campaign
(VTACC has begun a national email campaign based on the NRTEE report, but has not yet posted that information on their web site at the time of this writing.)
CBC backgrounder on carbon tax, June 2006
CBC backgrounder on carbon trading, November 2006
National Round Table web site

Take Action:

Email your democratic representatives at the federal level, regardless of party. Phone them if you prefer. Or do both. Tell them you support the NRTEE recommendations, particularly as regards putting a price on carbon emissions. Ask them where they stand.

Who to contact:
Your MP
The Prime Minister The Right Honourable Stephen Harper (pm@pm.gc.ca or Harper.S@parl.gc.ca)
Minister of the Environment The Honourable John Baird (Baird.J@parl.gc.ca)
Minister of Finance The Honourable Jim Flaherty (Flaherty.J@parl.gc.ca)
Leader of the Opposition The Honourable Stéphane Dion (DionS@parl.gc.ca)
Leader of the New Democratic Party The Honourable Jack Layton (Layton.J@parl.gc.ca)
Leader of the Green Party of Canada Elizabeth May (leader@greenparty.ca)

As a time-saver, you can send a single email addressed to your MP or the Prime Minister, or the Environment Minister, and cc as many others as you choose. Add your MP to the following list, and copy/paste as appropriate:
pm@pm.gc.ca, Baird.J@parl.gc.ca, Flaherty.J@parl.gc.ca, DionS@parl.gc.ca, Layton.J@parl.gc.ca, leader@greenparty.ca


What to say:

Here's a suggested email, the body of the message courtesy of VTACC.org:

Subject: Support for NRTEE Carbon Tax Recommendation

The Honourable John Baird, P.C., M.P., Minister of the Environment
House of Commons
Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0A6

<current date>, 2008

<Your name and address here>

Dear Minister,

I am very disappointed in how quickly you rejected the notion of a Carbon Tax – as recently recommended by the National Round Table on the Environment and the Economy.

To react so quickly appears to show an unwillingness to consider the knowledge and research of others. Given the brief time you have been entrusted with the responsibility of Environment Minister one would hope for more deliberation.

Please reconsider your position, and I would encourage you to more openly discuss this important idea with Canadians.

Like so many others, I strongly support putting a price on carbon emissions as a key means for Canada is to achieve significant reductions in greenhouse gas emissions. It is clear that the atmosphere can no longer be used as a free dumping ground by individuals or corporations.

Sincerely,

<your name>

cc: The Right Honourable Stephen Harper, P.C., M.P., Prime Minister of Canada
cc: The Honourable Jim Flaherty, P.C., M.P., Minister of Finance
cc: The Honourable Stéphane Dion, P.C., M.P., Leader of the Opposition
cc: The Honourable Jack Layton, P.C., M.P., Leader of the New Democratic Party
cc: Ms. Elizabeth May, Leader of the Green Party of Canada

Make sure your cc list in the text body matches you cc list of email addresses.

Or, use the following guidelines:

Tell your representative that you support the NRTEE recommendations on carbon tax.

Let him/her know you think this is an urgent issue.

Ask him/her to take action.

Ask for a reply.

Include your name and address, and optionally other contact information.

Keep it short, and polite.

Do it fast. There are no points for polished prose. Now is much better than later. Your letter will be counted, not studied and critiqued. Copy any or all or the sample letters below, as is, or integrated with your own words. (These are not great letters, but they're adequate. If you improve on them, please add your letter as a comment to this post.)

Here's a letter that went to a Conservative MP:

Subject: Support for NRTEE Carbon Tax Recommendation

Dear :

I urge you to support the recommendations of the National Round Table on Environment and Economy, especially regarding the carbon tax. I understand that the Government opposes a carbon tax at this time, but I am hopeful that further consideration of the NRTEE report and assessment of public opinion will lead to a reversal of this stand in the near future. I hope you will consider this urgent matter seriously, and do what you can to promote further consideration within the Government.

I would be happy to hear your thoughts on the matter.

Here's a letter that went to a Liberal MP, with a bit more expectation of a sympathetic reception:

Subject: Environment, Economy and a carbon tax

Dear ,

Please represent me by supporting the recommendations of the National Round Table on Environment and Economy, especially regarding the carbon tax.

I can think of no other way to get our GHG emissions reduced. Obviously I'm in very good company as neither could the National Round Table on Environment and Economy.

It is time Canada took the "bull by the horns" on climate change and showed the world that we can be good global citizens.

An early reply would be appreciated.

Thanks.

Share your letters and ideas!

If you send a letter you would like to share as a sample, or if you have additional suggestions or information that would help make this campaign more effective, please add a comment to this post, or email me at rcosbey@gmail.com.

Tell your friends!

Ask everyone you know to visit this page and take action on this urgent issue. Only a massive show of support will win the day.

Green Activists Turn Tide in Bali

Wow! It looks as if I might be spared having to explain to my grandchildren why my country blocked efforts to avoid a global holocaust! At the last minute, thanks to some heroic efforts by green activists and millions of supporters around the world, Canada agreed to targets for greenhouse gas emissions. Don't think for a minute that we will stay on course without a great deal of continuing public pressure, but at the moment, we have cause for celebration!

If you haven't already heard all about what happened in Bali, I urge you to check out the Avaaz report. There's also a good news article posted on the German indymedia.org site.

The highlights:

- US and Canada team up to undermine the talks. US blocks summit consensus. When Kyoto treaty countries try to move ahead without the US, they are blocked by Canada.

- Global community of green activists, led by Avaaz, organize massive action: petitions, ad campaigns, marches, phoning campaigns. At the summit, Avaaz members bring protest inside the conference: only march allowed inside the venue; largest climate petition in history; daily press conferences; "fossil awards" for the worst countries in the negotiations; constant lobbying of officials.

- In the final hours, Canada backs down completely, allowing Kyoto countries to agree to strong 2020 targets on carbon emissions. US team now entirely isolated and actually booed by the world's diplomats, agrees to call for "deep cuts" and "reference" the 2020 targets.

- Much work remains to achieve new global climate change treaty by 2009, but we're on our way - and we won't turn back!

Canada in Bali: Crime Against Humanity?

Do you ever wonder how it felt to be a post-war German, having to explain to your children how "you" could have let the holocaust happen? I'm afraid we North Americans are going to find out, first hand.

Too strong an analogy? Well, that depends on what you believe about the causes and potential impact of climate change. The apparent scientific consensus suggests that inaction on climate change will be tantamount to genocide, with entire island nations set to disappear under the waves, to name only one predicted effect. Is there uncertainty about that? Well, some people seem to think so. Was there uncertainty about what Hitler was doing? Absolutely. We actually have much better advance insights into what greenhouse gase (GHG) emissions are doing than we ever had about the Nazi program. The holocaust was only clear in hindsight, and even now has its fringe deniers. In hindsight, later this century, I suspect we're not going to look one iota better than the post-war Germans did in the mid-twentieth century.

I know everybody and his dog attacked Elizabeth May for making a similar analogy, but I fail to find any substance to the criticisms. The analogy is a perfectly good one, from a rational-logical point of view.

This rather depressing meditation is sparked by Canada's and the US' abysmal performance in Bali. Canada, the US, and Japan are clearly today's global "bad guys", attempting to block progress on a further climate-change agreement. You can't have missed this in the news, but if you want some references, here are a few sites to visit:
The Globe and Mail Dec 12 "Canada killing European effort to cut emissions"
The Globe and Mail Dec 11 "Canada facing wave of climate criticism"
TheStar.com - CP video Dec 10 "Canada assailed at Bali climate talks"
TheStar.com Dec 2 "Climate change critics fear Canada's Influence"
TheStar.com Dec 12 Letters to the editor
David Suzuki Foundation - Bali Blog
Avaaz.org
Climate Action Network (Issue 8, Page 2 is a good starting place.)
Stop Climate Chaos Coalition - Canada
Greenpeace Climate Weblog
Sierra Club

Bush Perpetrating Climate Hoax, Says House Committee

It seems that many people believe that there is no scientific consensus that the global warming we are currently experiencing is caused by human activity and greenhouse gases. They believe this is a hoax perpetrated by people with a political axe to grind, and they include the IPCC in this category. I would simply discount this as a fringe phenomenon, if I didn't have more than one friend in this category.

In any case, if there's hoaxing going on, at least some of it seems to be working in the other direction. The US House of Representatives Committee on Oversight and Government Reform has just released a report finding that "the Bush Administration has engaged in a systematic effort to manipulate climate change science and mislead policymakers and the public about the dangers of global warming."

The report goes on to say: "White House officials and political appointees in the agencies censored congressional testimony on the causes and impacts of global warming, controlled media access to government climate scientists, and edited federal scientific reports to inject unwarranted uncertainty into discussions of climate change and to minimize the threat to the environment and the economy."

I should look at some of the unbelievers' materials to see whether they can be easily refuted - although that may not be the most effective way to direct my energies on the climate issue. In the mean time, there are two things that keep me moving forward:

1. Ulterior motives for discounting the need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions are easy to find! (Oil industry interests would be sufficient all by themselves.) But I have trouble envisaging any possible ulterior motive for a systematic, world-wide "conspiracy" to lay false blame on human activity.

2. If there is doubt, I would rather take appropriate precautions instead of gambling my children's inheritance of a habitable planet on the hopes that the current apparent scientific consensus is wrong.