http://www.greenparty.ca/
OTTAWA – Green Party leader Elizabeth May is welcoming MP Blair Wilson to the Green Party as the first Green Member of Parliament in Canada. Mr. Wilson, MP for West Vancouver—Sunshine Coast—Sea to Sky Country, will serve in the Green Party Shadow Cabinet.
"Today we make history," said Ms. May. "I am grateful for Mr. Wilson's principled belief that the Green Party deserves a voice in Parliament and for his firm commitment to democracy. With a Green MP sitting in the House of Commons, it will now be impossible to exclude the Green Party from the televised leaders' debates in the next election."I am also pleased that Mr. Wilson has agreed to join our Shadow Cabinet as Immigration Critic. As a past member of the House of Commons Immigration Committee, he is well-qualified for this role and brings expertise to this position that will prove invaluable to the Green Party."
Mr. Wilson has served as an Independent MP since autumn of 2007.
"Not only do I embrace the policies of my new party, I will feel that all my past difficulties are justified if, by my actions, I can make a real difference by ensuring Elizabeth May is included in the leaders' debates," said Mr. Wilson. "There is a democracy deficit in Canadian politics and this is one step in restoring effective democracy in Canada.
"Democracy is threatened when legitimate national leaders are barred from what is arguably the single most important political event in an election – the televised debates. It is shocking that the Green Party was excluded from the debates in the past, but by joining the Green Party, I can help guarantee that this travesty will not be repeated in the next election.
"More now than ever before, it is critical that the voice of the Green Party is heard. I am looking forward to working hard as Canada's first Green MP."
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http://www.thestar.com/News/Canada/article/488157
Greens woo independent MP, May now in leaders' debates
MP Blair Wilson joins the Green party as federal electon looms
August 30, 2008
BRUCE CAMPION-SMITH
OTTAWA BUREAU CHIEF, Toronto Star
OTTAWA–The Green Party has wooed Independent MP Blair Wilson to its ranks, giving the party its first politician in the House of Commons and as a result, a spot in the televised election debates.
Because the party now has a MP, Green Party Leader Elizabeth May will be entitled to participate in the televised leaders’ debates in the election that is expected to be called within days.
“Today we make history,” May said in a news release.
“I am grateful for Mr. Wilson’s principled belief that the Green Party deserves a voice in Parliament and for his firm commitment to democracy. With a Green MP sitting in the House of Commons, it will now be impossible to exclude the Green Party from the televised leaders’ debates in the next election.
Wilson, the MP for West Vancouver—Sunshine Coast—Sea to Sky Country, left the Liberal Party under a cloud after questions were raised about his personal finances. He has sat as an independent MP since the fall of 2007.
The move is a stunning strategic victory for May, who stands to gain important nationwide exposure in the French and English debates – which Wilson suggested motivated his move to the Green Party.
“Democracy is threatened when legitimate national leaders are barred from what is arguably the single most important political event in an election – the televised debates,” Wilson said in the release issued by the Green Party.
“It is shocking that the Green Party was excluded from the debates in the past, but by joining the Green Party, I can help guarantee that this travesty will not be repeated in the next election,” he said.
“More now than ever before, it is critical that the voice of the Green Party is heard. I am looking forward to working hard as Canada’s first Green MP.”
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http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20080830.wgreenparty30/BNStory/National/home?cid=al_gam_mostview
Green Party announces its first member of Parliament
The Canadian Press
August 30, 2008 at 12:37 PM EDT
OTTAWA — The Green Party has gained it's first ever federal member of Parliament — even before an anticipated fall election call.
Green party Leader Elizabeth May introduced Independent MP Blair Wilson — a former Liberal first elected in 2006 — as a Green MP at a news conference Saturday morning in the capital.
Ms. May characterized the move as an historic moment, and said it provides her fledgling party with an entry into the mainstream media election debates.
"With a Green MP sitting in the House of Commons, it will now be impossible to exclude the Green party from the televised leaders' debates in the next election," said Ms. May.
Mr. Wilson said he approached the Green party about possible representation only within the past week and "the sun and the moon and stars all lined up," to get him aboard.
The party's 1.5 million votes in the 2006 election, combined with continued strong national polling numbers near 10 per cent and federal by-election results that have placed Green candidates ahead of other mainstream party contenders all point to a legitimate political entity, said Ms. May.
"We've established ourselves as a party that cannot be described as fringe."
But whether Mr. Wilson ever enters the House of Commons as a Green party MP will likely be determined by voters in his riding of West Vancouver-Sunshine Coast-Sea to Sky Country later this autumn.
That's no sure thing.
The Vancouver MP resigned from the Liberal caucus last fall after allegations of spending irregularities in his 2006 campaign.
Elections Canada finally cleared Mr. Wilson this summer of any improprieties following an eight-month investigation, and Ms. May said he shared "deep and detailed" financial information with the Green party over the past week that proves his innocence.
Mr. Wilson is also contemplating a defamation suit against family members following an ugly financial dispute.
Mr. Wilson won his Vancouver seat, which had been held by Conservative party stalwart John Reynolds, in a tough three-way fight with the Tories and NDP after Mr. Reynolds' retired from politics and did not run in 2006.
"Not only do I embrace the policies of my new party, I will feel that all my past difficulties are justified if, by my actions, I can make a real difference by ensuring Elizabeth May is included in the leaders' debates," Mr. Wilson said in a statement.
"There is a democracy deficit in Canadian politics and this is one step in restoring effective democracy in Canada".
Prime Minister Stephen Harper is widely expected to dissolve Parliament next week before the fall sitting resumes, sending Canadians to the polls for a vote in mid-October.
Mr. Harper was to meet with NDP Leader Jack Layton later Saturday, ostensibly in a bid to seek opposition support for the Conservative government's fall legislative agenda.
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http://www.canada.com/topics/news/story.html?id=894abdff-f3fd-4fce-a53b-56c6e17061e3
Saturday » August 30 » 2008
Greens land former Liberal as first MP
Mike De Souza
Canwest News Service
Saturday, August 30, 2008
OTTAWA -- The federal Green party has landed its first member of Parliament.
Blair Wilson, an embattled former Liberal MP who was expelled from his party's caucus last year over allegations of improper spending, announced on Saturday that he was joining the team of Green Leader Elizabeth May.
"I am extremely happy and proud to be able to join Elizabeth and the Green party and do something so positive for two core values that my family and I_deeply believe in," said Wilson. "One of those obviously is protecting the environment and the other one is advancing the cause of democracy."
Wilson, who has sat as an independent MP for the past year, has said that a recent Elections Canada investigation cleared him of any serious wrongdoing.
"Not only do I embrace the policies of my new party, I will feel that all my past difficulties are justified if, by my actions, I can make a real difference by ensuring Elizabeth May is included in the leaders' debates," said Wilson. "There is a democracy deficit in Canadian politics and this is one step in restoring effective democracy in Canada."
May called it a historic day for her party and said it would ensure that she could participate in the leaders' debates in the next election campaign.
"It should not have been a question that required the kinds of efforts we have made to secure my participation in the debates," said May. "We have established ourselves as a party that cannot be described as fringe. We are a party whose ideas and policies are now in the mainstream."
Prime Minister Stephen Harper is expected over the next few days to ask the Governor General to dissolve Parliament and start a general election campaign that would see Canadians heading to the polls in mid-October.
Harper has argued that Parliament is deadlocked and cannot function properly unless the opposition parties make compromises and agree to work with the government.
He is scheduled to meet with NDP Leader Jack Layton to discuss the situation later on Saturday. But on Friday, following a meeting with Harper, Bloc Quebecois Leader Gilles Duceppe said he was convinced that the prime minister was intent on calling an election.
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