First Green MP
Parliament has its first Green Party member. Blair Wilson – formerly a Liberal, most recently an independent – represents a riding in Vancouver. He gave his allegiance to the Greens, becoming the first MP to stand for that party.
It’s a huge step for them, but it’s not the way it should be. To me, it’s just a reminder that members can change their colours – it doesn’t prove that the Green party deserves to be in Parliament. That will only happen with an election.
Cheryl
blair said,
August 31, 2008 at 3:59 pm
Why shouldn’t it be that way?
If you run under a party’s banner does that mean you must always toe the line no matter how much you object to your party’s policy on an issue.
Perhaps, it would have been nice if Wilson had decided to list himself as an Independent. But he decided he wanted to be Green.
Let me tell you, it’s not easy being green.
A great philosopher said it best:
It’s not that easy being green;
Having to spend each day the color of the leaves.
When I think it could be nicer being red, or yellow or gold…
or something much more colorful like that.
It’s not easy being green.
It seems you blend in with so many other ord’nary things.
And people tend to pass you over ’cause you’re
not standing out like flashy sparkles in the water
or stars in the sky.
But green’s the color of spring.
And green can be cool and friendly-like.
And green can be big like an ocean, or important like a mountain,
or tall like a tree.
When green is all there is to be
It could make you wonder why, but why wonder why?
Wonder, I am green and it’ll do fine, it’s beautiful!
And I think it’s what I want to be.
The above was written by Kermit DeFrog.
Over the past decade, the Greens have started attracking engineers, thinkers, urban professionals, et. all to the party’s ranks, drawing from disillusioned Conservatives, Liberals and especially NDPers.
They have a number of interesting — some say radical ideas — but I think they are gathering strength, and one day will start winning seats during elections.
The problem is, the majority of Canada’s electorate are locked-in voters, people who will always vote Liberal or always vote Conservative, no matter if the party leader is Mahatma Gandhi or Genghis Khan — and this party loyalty is passed down from father to son and mother to daughter.
An opportunity for change usually comes with disaster or dissilusion.