It's Not Easy ...

What's wrong with this picture? *Answer below.

None of my readers will be surprised that, given the chance and the other choices, I most commonly vote for the Green Party.

That choice was complicated by the recent epic collapse of the party's public image, its internecine squabbles, the painful transition of its new leader into and then out of the role. 

I've seen two insider reports on what happened, both in the Toronto Star, one written by Elizabeth May, the former leader of the Greens and one by Jeff Wheeldon, a former international affairs critic for the Greens. May's argument was that, given the party's "grassroots up" governance model, the I-resigned-on-television-not-in-real-life leader Annamie Paul's top-down approach didn't fit all that well. Wheeldon argued that Paul's leadership style was only part of the problem. According to him, the grassroots wasn't pulling its weight, so there was no counterbalance to Paul's mis-steps as a leader. 

Sure. Whatever. I wasn't there, so I don't know. 

As a voter, I think about my values and who, among the parties, most represents them. I usually vote Green because I believe in what they profess is their vision: an equitable, sustainable, low-carbon society. I never expect them to form a government, but I do expect them to be a loud and compelling voice in opposition.

Mike Schreiner, for example, is the sole Green member of the Ontario provincial legislature. He can be relied upon, much more than Andrea Horvath, the leader of the Ontario NDP, to hit the nail of everything that's wrong with the Ford government on the head, especially from the perspective of how it's not equitable, not sustainable and not low-carbon.

The Greens should fight the other parties, not each other. But, Wheeldon suggests infighting is just part of being Green. He says, "a grassroots party is vulnerable to being influenced by anyone seeking a platform. That explains why we seem to be the favoured party for both Zionists and anti-Zionists at the same time." 

I think he means "infiltrated" not "influenced."

In any event, I am grateful for the effective opposition of the Greens to date, so that no other national party, not even the Conservatives, dared run in the past election without a climate change proposal. 

If they can loose their grips on one another's throats and reclaim their defining issues, the Greens could again be relevant in Canadian national politics. I'll look forward to that day.

In the meantime, I live in Annamie Paul's former riding. I had the opportunity to vote for her three times ... and I did, twice.

Thanks for reading!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Karen

*All along Jarvis street, practically every water hydrant on the east side of the road has been set to release water into the storm sewers, so the water runs right into the lake. It has something to do with work the city's doing. All are set up as this one: a copper pipe sending water onto freshly applied asphalt. Here's the thing about fresh asphalt. Exposed to sun and running water, it leaches thousands of toxic compounds into the environment. Sheesh.

On the other hand ...

Mount Currie idyll: Annikka's garden from the screen porch.