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Please consider printing a 2-sided hard copy and giving it to someone that might be interested in the SGI Greens.
Sections cover Events, General Interest, and On Being Green.
Links to back issues, subscribe/unsubscribe, and join the SGI Greens are at the end.
The Campaign to Re-elect Elizabeth May
has already begun (unofficially)!
Think of the B.C. Election on October 19 as practice for the federal election that could happen soon, and must happen no later than October 2025. With a conservative tide aiming to sweep the nation, keeping Saanich North and the Islands Green was vital to Elizabeth’s prospects. Many SGI members helped the Rob Botterell campaign to keep SGI Green – THANKS!
SGI Greens (Green Party of Canada) news and events:
An election could happen soon.
Let’s get ready! Let’s keep SGI Green!
Let’s re-elect Elizabeth May to the House of Commons!
Please consider being ready to volunteer and donate.
No SGI Greens events are planned for the remainder of this year.
- We recommend participating in the BC Environmental Film Festival in December. This festival began in 2021 and was held online during the pandemic. SGI Greens are collaborating with the organizers to bring one or more of this year’s films, and related expert panelists, to the Star Cinema. We plan to have an event in January or February.
- Our Executive Committee meets monthly and posts meeting minutes on our website.
- Ballots for the Green Party of Canada’s Federal Council election are coming soon. Look for them in your emails. Remind yourself and other SGI members that voting runs from 3 pm EDT on Halloween until 3 pm EST on November 14.
- A Special General Meeting of the Green Party of Canada will be held online on November 16 and 17. Look for the email with registration details sent on October 24.
BC Greens news and events: (because we’re friends)
- Rob Botterell was elected with 36% of the vote in Saanich North and the Islands. Jeremy Valeriote was elected with 38% of the vote in West Vancouver-Sea to Sky.
- The provincial election also had some disappointments for the BC Greens. None of the candidates in the other three ridings that overlap parts of the SGI area were elected:
Saanich South (Ned Taylor)
Oak Bay-Gordon Head (Dr. Lisa Gunderson)
Victoria-Swan Lake (Christina Winter)
- BC Greens Leader Sonia Furstenau’s loss in Victoria-Beacon Hill saddened many Greens. Fortunately, she decided to stay on as Leader and mentor Rob and Jeremy in their challenging new appointments as MLAs.
Community Information:
November – various dates
The folks at Creatively United have an excellent online calendar of local events.
Attend online: The 2024 British Columbia Environmental Film Festival (BCEFF) is a celebration of impactful films that inspire change and promote sustainability. Watch groundbreaking films highlighting environmental challenges and solutions. Be part of the conversation on climate action, biodiversity, and sustainability. Support filmmakers advocating for a greener future!
Green Party members get an exclusive 20% discount on all festival passes!
Discount Code: GREEN2024
Offer Ends: December 10th
Festival Dates: December 1-31
Significant Changes in 2024:
The SGI EDA’s activities stay largely the same from one year to the next: we hold a community event on Earth Day, march in local parades, show appreciation for members at the Summer Picnic, promote the Green Party of Canada and our candidate/MP at the Saanich Fair, and hold the required Annual General Meeting. In 2024, two existing programs saw significant changes.
Grade 12 Student Scholarships
These scholarships are an important form of outreach to the community. They raise awareness of the Green Party and hopefully inspire some students to consider what the Party is about: caring for the environment, fair treatment of all people, and better ways to do politics. In the past, we gave one scholarship of $500 at each of the seven high schools, with teachers selecting a deserving student.
This year we asked students to compete by providing a 200-word essay describing one or two of the six Green principles, what it means to them, and how they put it into practice in their school or wider community. The number of students that rose to the challenge was modest, but the essays contributed were excellent, even inspiring. We also increased the scholarship to $1000, bringing it more in line with other scholarships. We expect that more students will compete next year.
The W̱SÁNEĆ Leadership School was approached to suggest that the scholarship could be introduced. While no scholarship resulted this year, we intend to continue reaching out to the school and its students.
At the AGM on October 26, members expressed interest in seeing the names of this year’s winners, and it was decided to provide the students’ names in this newsletter and by email to all SGI members:
Gulf Islands Secondary School SD 64 Winner: Meredith Boyd
Parkland Secondary School SD 63 Winner: Huan Zhang
Stelly’s Secondary SD63 Winner: Lily MacGregor
Claremont Secondary School SD63 Winner: Shivantika Shegar
Ecole Reynolds Secondary School SD61 Winner: Mahum Ahmed
Mount Douglas Secondary School SD61 Winner: Sapphira Skuter
Lambrick Park Secondary School SD61 Winner: Sonja Prael
UVic Greens
During the pandemic years, 2020-2022, many university student clubs quit operating. In 2023, we identified and supported a small group of students. We encouraged them with a grant of $500, but on UVic Clubs Days the level of support and student interest was modest.
In 2024, the UVic Clubs Days were much busier and far more students got involved in the UVic Greens. The club elected a larger Executive and is actively planning a variety of events and activities.
AGM 2024:
The SGI EDA’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) was held on October 26, at the Central Saanich Seniors’ Centre in Brentwood Bay. Just 29 current (voting) members attended, of whom six were online.
Tom Niemann, CEO, welcomed members and about half a dozen guests, one of whom later signed up as a new member.
Rainbow Eyes, the Deputy Leader of the GPC, gave a thoughtful land acknowledgement.
After the agenda and minutes of the previous AGM were approved, Jennifer Kennedy, our Financial Agent, summarized the EDA’s balance sheet and profit and loss for the year ending on December 31, 2023. Our assets are over $121,000 and net income was almost $14,000.
Elizabeth May, SGI’s MP and Leader of the GPC, attended online, as she was in Vancouver to be near her daughter who was expecting to give birth at any time. She provided updates on the political climate and activities in Ottawa, and then fielded questions from the floor and online.
Tom Niemann gave his CEO Report, summarizing activities over the past year and emphasizing that “nothing happens without volunteers, donors and teamwork!”
Changes to the EDA’s Executive Committee were next on the agenda:
Mary Leslie has finished her 3-year term. She was thanked for her work and commitment to ensuring success for our scholarships program for Grade 12 students, the Summer Picnic for SGI members, and the promotion of Elizabeth May and the GPC at the Saanich Fair.
Members that are continuing for one or more years include, from left to right:
Jennifer Kennedy
(elected for a second 3-year term),
Tom Niemann,
Debra Kelly,
Helena Murray-Hill,
Jim Deas,
Elizabeth May (non-voting member), and Shelagh Levey.
Four new members were elected by secret ballot, increasing the number of voting members from seven during the last year to ten in the next year. Having a larger group is expected to be helpful in the busy election year ahead.
Ryder Bergerud
Janice Henshaw
Stuart Mackinnon
Robin Roberts
Published by the Saanich-Gulf Islands Electoral District Association of the Green Party of Canada.
Please send feedback and contributions to this newsletter to sgiedanews@gmail.com.
Saanich-Gulf Island Greens publish two newsletters:
- The monthly SGI Greens Newsletter
- The weekly Good Sunday Morning — Elizabeth May’s perspective
Current and back issues of both are at https://sgi.edagreens.ca/news-events/. To subscribe to one or both newsletters, go to sgigreenparty.ca/signup_2020. Click here to unsubscribe from one or both newsletters.
We acknowledge and respect the W̱SÁNEĆ Peoples, on whose territory we live. The SGI EDA aims to work with them towards a meaningful and mutually beneficial reconciliation.