What is going on with the Green Party?
Facebook posts, MPs switching parties, a power struggle and more — we have you covered with the update on the Green Party of Canada.
Hey there, and welcome to the 40th issue (WOW) of The Supplement, a newsletter that fills in the gaps of your other news intake. This is Sam, one-third of the Supplement team!
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This week, we’re tackling this question: What is going on with the Green Party?
TL;DR: The federal Green Party has been embroiled in infighting since May, when it released a tepid statement about Israel’s forced expulsion of families from Sheikh Jarrah. Since then, one of just three elected MPs has moved to the Liberal Party, citing the “totally inadequate” statement; an advisor to relatively new leader Annamie Paul posted about rampant anti-Semitism in the party, drawing ire from the Greens’ federal council; and Paul herself narrowly avoided a vote of non-confidence for refusing to denounce the post.
Annamie Paul, who was elected last October and is the first Black and Jewish leader of the federal Green Party, has found herself at the centre of growing divisions within her party in recent weeks. Here’s a (mostly chronological) overview.
In early May, Israel moved to forcibly expel six families from the Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood, reigniting the international dialogue over Israel and Palestine. A short statement from the Green Party on May 10 called for “an immediate de-escalation in the violence and a return to dialogue as a means to seeking a peaceful solution.”
But for some members of the party, that did not do enough to address the human rights violations and ethnic discrimination. Jenica Atwin, the MP for Fredericton, New Brunswick and the first Green to find victory outside BC, called the statement “totally inadequate” and departed the Green Party a month later to join the Liberal caucus. This leaves the Greens with just two MPs.
Enter 37-year-old Noah Zatzman, Paul’s senior advisor, who has mostly handled her PR and communications since they met last July and largely credits himself with her leap to second place in last fall’s federal byelection. He was mainly a behind-the-scenes figure until May 14, when he fired off a passionate Facebook post accusing various political actors — including federal NDP leader Jagmeet Singh and “sadly Green MPs,” among others — of “appalling anti-Semitism and discrimination.” He vowed to fill the party with pro-Israel “Zionists” (his words, not ours).
Soon after, the federal council of the Green Party passed a motion asking Paul to disown Zatzman’s words, which she hadn't done yet (though she has said the post was not made on her behalf). The alternative, the council said, was to face a vote of confidence: a motion that would determine if her party no longer consents to her as their leader, typically called under extreme circumstances. Some blame Zatzman for sowing seeds of divisiveness in the party, while he has said he doesn’t regret his words at all, and stands by them. He has stepped aside from his advisory role.
“To me, that’s deeply shocking that was allowed to happen without him being reprimanded and immediately removed,” said Elizabeth May, MP for the Saanich-Gulf Islands riding in BC, in an interview with The Tyee. “This was not a grey area.”
On Wednesday, July 21, Paul was supposed to face that confidence vote. But it was cancelled with no explanation on Monday, just after she gave a press conference pleading for party unity. May is also urging her fellow party members to strike a truce before a potential fall election, but other than that, the 13-year former party leader says she is not involved.
The effects of this on Paul are likely to outlast this news cycle. The Green federal council might pull back $250,000 allocated for her next election campaign — they say they are strapped for cash — and sometime next year she is expected to face a performance review. The party also filed an application with the Ontario Superior Court on Wednesday to try and overturn the arbitration that cancelled the vote of confidence, letting us know that this fight is not over.
Here’s someone to follow: My positive manifestation has come to fruition! MEL Magazine, the alternative men’s health and culture pub formerly owned/sponsored by the Dollar Shave Club, went dormant for several months after that financial relationship ended — and I feared the worst. Now, it’s back and better than ever with a new owner and the same tongue-in-cheek mentality as ever.
Here’s a story to check out: Rebecca Gao really spoke straight to my heart with this thoughtful piece on not coming out of the pandemic new and improved — a funny indictment of terms and mentalities like the ridiculous “coronapreneur.” She writes that “Since the rest of the world was held at a selfie-length distance, I learned more about the type of person I am when I am not influenced by others.” Preach.