Both the Green Party of Canada and the Conservative Party of Canada are in the middle of searching for new leaders. Former Green Party leader Elizabeth May stepped down in November 2019, and former Conservative leader Andrew Scheer resigned on December 12 2019, but will continue to lead the party until a new replacement is found.
With the Green Party leadership debate set for the fall, the Charlatan sat down with Annamie Paul for a virtual discussion on some of the key issues facing Canadians across the country.
The road to leadership
Paul is the daughter of two Caribbean parents who moved to Canada in the early 1960s.
In 2000, Paul founded the Canadian Center for Political Leadership (CCPL) and managed the organization until 2005. The CCPL aims to provide political training for racial minorities and Indigenous peoples. She said she was inspired to found the institute because she knows there are many challenges members of marginalized groups face in Canadian politics.
One issue that has plagued the Green Party is the lack of diversity amongst its members.
“The Green Party is the least diverse of all major parties,” Paul said. “I really do believe that the majority of the members recognize that and want to make a change.”
According to a study conducted by the Institute on Research and Public Policy on Canadian political party diversity, the Green Party of Canada was second to last in diversity amongst members for both the 2015 and 2019 federal elections—Bloc Quebecois ranked last in both elections.
“[I can address low representation] because of my lived experience and because I am a woman of colour, but also because I have the professional experience to transform institutions that struggle with this issue,” Paul said.
While Paul explained that people of colour shouldn’t have to bear the issue of underrepresentation alone, they do play integral roles in reshaping the narrative.
“I don’t necessarily believe that it is the responsibility of those of us who find ourselves in marginalized communities or communities who are discriminated against to educate,” she said. “It’s not our obligation, but it’s in our interest.”
Indigenous issues
Paul said she is “honoured” to be endorsed by several members of Indigenous communities, including Racelle Kooy, the Green Party candidate for 2019 in Victoria, BC.
“[I’ve] tried to shine as much light as I can from my very humble platforms on Indigenous peoples and the issues of Indigenous peoples in Canada,” she said.
The federal Keystone XL and Coastal GasLink pipeline project which cuts through Wet’suwet’en land has been the source of major tension between Indigenous peoples and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government—an issue on Paul’s mind.
“The Liberal government promised self-determination and what Indigenous peoples got in return were pipelines that they don’t want on their unceded territories,” Paul said.
The government promised last month that there would be an action plan on MMIWG (Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls), but according to Paul, there is no plan.
“I understand that these things cost money, but you can’t build a foundation of an honourable society on a continued legacy of colonialism and anti-Indigenous discrimination,” she said.
Annamie said she plans to adopt the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) and abolish the Indian Act. The Canadian government in 2016 adopted UNDRIP, however, UNDRIP does not have recognition in Canadian law. North West Territories and British Columbia are the only two governments to put it into law at a provincial level.
Paul said that these changes must be “led by Indigenous peoples and nobody else.”
The environment
Climate change is a central issue on the Green Party’s agenda. The Paris Agreement—aimed at maintaining the global temperature below 2 degrees Celsius by limiting greenhouse gas emission—was created in order to help mitigate rising global temperatures and its subsequent effects.
Paul said she believes that the agreement and its targets are “obsolete, even if we meet those targets, it’s not enough.”
“It’s very disappointing to me to see that the Liberals, NDP and of course the Conservative, none of them are setting targets that are nearly ambitious enough,” she added.
Paul said she wants to see greenhouse emissions decreased by 60 per cent in the next decade and net-zero emission by 2030.
Paul added that to achieve this goal, she would like to see the Green Party increase the carbon tax introduced by the Liberal government in 2019 which could include costs of up to $10 per tonne annually. She added new technologies such as carbon sequestration could provide cheaper options in the future to avoid hitting the highest predictions for carbon tax prices.
Race relations in Canada
The death of George Floyd in Minneapolis at the hands of a police officer prompted hundreds of thousands of people to take to the streets throughout the world and in Canada. Protests in Canada not only highlighted police brutality against Black people in Canada but also highlighted systematic abuse from law enforcement against Indigenous peoples.
In the month of June alone, three people have died after wellness checks conducted by federal and provincial police. Paul said that this must stop.
“We clearly need to get police out of wellness.”
The Green Party is currently advocating for policies including a national database on police use of force. Paul added that these new policies also include data disaggregated by race, which she claims would be used to gather information on the “criminal justice systems, levels of incarceration, rates of incarceration and so forth” to create positive solutions to racial injustices.
According to an investigation conducted by Corrections Canada, Indigenous peoples account for 30 per cent of Canada’s incarceration rate. However, they only account for 5 per cent of the national population.
Guaranteed liveable income
On March 25, the Prime Minister’s Office as well as the Department of Finance announced that they would table legislation in the House for emergency benefits for Canadians—known as the Canadian Emergency Response Benefit (CERB). As of June 28, CERB has received 18.76 million applications totalling over $53.53 billion dollars.
The Green Party wants to see CERB a permanent benefit, which they would call the Guaranteed Liveable Income. Paul did not clarify where this funding would come from.
“The Green Party has indicated some of the elements that they consider to be important, but we have not proposed a model,” Paul said. “This is something that involves every level of government, that would require consultation, almost certainly compromise and cooperation.”
Paul said $2,000 per month may not be enough for Canadians living in cities with high housing costs.
According to rental.ca’s monthly rental report, the average cost of a one-bedroom rental in Toronto is $2,063—Toronto is ranked the most expensive place to rent a one-bedroom apartment.
“We want to make sure that whatever system we have is one that is adjustable to reflect the realities of that part of the country,” she said.
What’s next?
With two major leadership races underway, Canadians across the country are waiting to see who the next leader of both the Green Party and the Conservative Party will be.
Paul stressed that she wants to see action in support of racialized communities and those in need of assistance.
“The time has come for the implementation of these excellent recommendations that have been made with very intensive community support and community consultation,” Paul said.
“The time now is for action, time for listening is over.”
Featured image provided by Annamie Paul’s leadership campaign.
