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While the national media pundits have been fantasizing about the possibility of a coalition between the remains of the Liberal party and Jack Layton’s frothy orange NDP, the Green party’s unexpected success in getting its leader Elizabeth May elected in Saanich North has opened up a juicy, sizzling, and wholly tantalizing new prospect.

lessons learned: They say that what doesn’t destroy you makes you stronger. Well, I seem to have successfully survived challenging the leader of the Green Party in Saanich-Gulf Islands, so I guess the experience has made me stronger. Among other things, I learned that Elizabeth May‘s leadership has been an unmitigated disaster for Canadian Green politics, from which it may not recover.

formal complaint: Sometimes we either have to do something distasteful, or make a moral or ethical stand. What if that something goes against our principles, or when we see things going on that we believe are not right? Something fishy was definitely going on in Saanich-Gulf Islands. It offended my sense of Green democratic process, and even could be illegal. It was time to blow the whistle.

denial of service: Most of the national media attention focused on my complaint to Elections Canada of possible illegal transfer of funds by the Green Party to the Elizabeth May campaign, which she could use for her nomination. But even more important was the unequal availability of Party services to myself compared to the taxpayer-funded resources it was pouring into promoting the Party leader.

follow the money: Part of my complaint to Elections Canada was that $62,000 had been transferred to the Saanich-Gulf Islands EDA for use by Elizabeth May for pre-writ activities. None of this money was offered to me, even though the Elections Act makes it illegal for a Party to transfer funds to an EDA unless this money is offered to all nomination candidates on an equal basis. How did this money get there?

the green politburo: It took quite a while to make the decision to stand against the leader of the Green Party for nomination as the Green candidate in Saanich-Gulf Islands. I knew that running against such a high-profile person would be difficult and make me very unpopular with many Greens. But the more I looking into what was happening, the more I realised that I had to take a stand. If not now—when?

the challenge: I could publish the entire 6,500-word, nine-page letter with its 43 supporting documents that I sent to Elections Canada in support of my complaint about the unfair actions of the Green Party in Saanich-Gulf Islands—but mercifully, I won’t. Instead, here’s a taste of what I went through; some of the things I learned; and some political questions that my experience raised. It’s a complex tale.

Catharine Johannson, the Green Party’s Political Campaign Director, wrote to Elections Canada in response to my complaint. For those who want the sordid details, here is her letter to the Commissioner and my response to it. Since the time of posting, Elections Canada has acknowledged my complaint.

I am complaining about the actions of the Green Party of Canada in the current nomination contest for the candidacy of the Green Party in Saanich Gulf-Islands. I believe that the Green Party may have acted and could still be acting illegally in these matters, and am asking the Commissioner to investigate my complaint without delay.

Book Review Canadian Green Party leader Elizabeth May has written an interesting but politically disappointing book on the dysfunctional state of Canada’s parliamentary democracy. Although it could be used as a lay-person’s guide to Canada’s Westminster-style politics, May provides no real insight as to how this inauthentic, fractious, and ethically corrupt mess can be cleaned up and genuine democracy attained. She knows the score, but fails to understand the nature of the game.