Green Party of Nova Scotia

Building a Sustainable Future Together

NS Green Party Leader Calls for a Halt to Street Checks

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – November 15, 2017

“Can’t we be leaders for once?”

(Halifax) The Leader of the Green Party of Nova Scotia has joined the call for a moratorium on street checks.

“Within the Police Act, the Minister of Justice has the ability to regulate this practice. It’s time to stop it,” said Thomas Trappenberg. “Ontario has already done it. Can’t we in Nova Scotia be leaders for once?”

The practice has been demonstrated in Halifax Regional Municipality to unfairly target and penalize members of the African Nova Scotian community.

“The police chief in Halifax claims to see benefit from this practice,” said Trappenberg. “I suggest the benefits do not outweigh the harm.” Social justice is one of the key principles of the Green Party.

A former police officer, Robyn Ivy Atwell, recently circulated a letter calling for a moratorium on street checks. In it, she noted:

“There’s a resonance in the arguments of those who see the current practice of street checks as a violation of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, which call for the freedom of association and equality. Yet as a group, the African Nova Scotian community suffers a more sinister breach of our Charter Rights. Section 12 says, “Everyone has the right not to be subjected to any cruel and unusual treatment or punishment”. Racialized street checks function as a form of unusual punishment for the charge of being Black.”

The Green Party of Nova Scotia calls on Stephen MacNeil’s government to act now to stop this unfair process.

Six regional representatives now in place, presidents confirmed

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Last night’s Special General Meeting hosted sixteen members at Saint Mary’s University in Halifax.

The interim co-Presidents were confirmed in their roles, meaning Charlene Boyce will serve as female co-president until the 2018 AGM and Anthony L. Edmonds will serve as the male co-president until the 2019 AGM.

The proposed By-Law changes were approved. That is:

  • Definitions for “General Meetings” were clarified. No substantial change, but the change clarified where “Special” general meetings were meant and where “Annual” general meetings were meant.
  • Quorum for Executive Meetings was simplified (now 50%).
  • Regional Divisions were revised as per below (the revision reduced the number of divisions, captured some areas that were omitted in the past due to district boundaries being redrawn, and evened out the number of districts in a division).


Regional Representatives were elected. These people will be tasked with beginning to organize division meetings and build our grassroots network “scaffold”. If you are in any of these divisions and want to connect to become engaged at some level, contact gpns@greenpartyns.ca and we will connect you! Here they are:

  • Bedford Basin – Charlene Boyce
  • Dartmouth – June Trenholm
  • Halifax – Ashley Morton
  • Fundy Shore – Jenn Kang
  • Minas Basin – Sam Webber
  • South Shore – Harry Ward

In some cases, a regional rep is someone who also has another position. At a Regional Division meeting, another rep and policy reps may be chosen.

We did not have any attendees from the Strait of Canso (Pictou, Guysborough, Antigonish, Inverness, Richmond) or Cabot Strait (CBRM, Victoria) regions. We are actively seeking Green members who would like to represent the Members in those regions on the Executive. Is this you? Send us a message and we’ll let you know your next step! gpns@greenpartyns.ca

An Executive meeting was held directly after the SGM, at which a General Secretary, Ashley Morton, and a Membership Secretary, Jenn Kang, were elected from amongst the Regional Reps. Many thanks to past Membership Secretary, Terry Kelleher, who remains an active member, engaged in community outreach. There has never been a better opportunity to get involved. We are building the Green Party that Nova Scotia needs — that the future needs. Whether you’re interested in generating policy, positions, doing fundraising, administration, or helping us build our party on the ground, the Green Party of Nova Scotia needs you.

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Green Party of Nova Scotia seeks Regional Representatives and Treasurer

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Nova Scotia needs a strong Green Party. If you agree, please join now. We are in an active building phase and looking for dedicated people who are committed to Green Party values.

The Green Party of Nova Scotia strongly encourages members from around the province to attend or send proxy to the upcoming Special General Meeting. We aim to identify regional representatives (chosen by the members in that particular region) to help us build the party across this province. For more information about the Regional Representative role, click here.

The Green Party of Nova Scotia is actively seeking a new treasurer. This volunteer role is essential in maintaining the sustainability and transparency valued by the party. If you have an strong commitment to the values of the Green Party, and experience in accounting, bookkeeping or financial tracking, please contact us. We’d love to meet you and help determine if this is the right fit for you. Find a position description here. 

For more information about these roles, the Special General Meeting or the Green Party, please contact us at gpns@greenpartyns.ca.

Green Party Condemns McNeil Government for Ignoring Evidence and Jeopardizing Ocean Health

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For Immediate Release – June 28, 2017

(HALIFAX) – The Green Party of Nova Scotia rejects the position taken by the McNeil government on marine protected areas and calls for the government to  support expanding ocean protection in marine waters surrounding Nova Scotia.

“The McNeil government is ignoring scientific evidence and jeopardizing the health of our oceans,” says Green Party Marine Affairs expert Martin Willison. In 1995, Willison co-edited Marine Protected Areas and Sustainable Fisheries: Proceedings of the Symposium on Marine Protected Areas.

“Even in 1995, the science was clear. Establishing marine protected areas is a necessary component of an overall ocean health strategy. Furthermore, scientific studies have repeatedly shown that setting aside marine areas does not diminish fisheries but enhances them by increasing fish stocks.”

Although the province has no jurisdiction in this regard, the federal government’s Department of Fisheries and Oceans is influenced by calls from provincial governments. Written statements opposing the expansion of marine protected areas in marine waters have been  issued by three provincial ministers in Nova Scotia’s Liberal government: Energy ministers Samson in 2016 and MacLellan in 2017,  and Fisheries minister Colwell in 2017.

Canada has committed to protecting 5% of Canadian marine waters by the end of 2017, with a goal of reaching 10% by 2020. Currently about 2.5% of Nova Scotian marine waters are recognized as protected.

Dr. WIllison says, “Protecting only 2.5% is woefully inadequate. The government cannot claim to take an evidence-based approach to environmental management while ignoring evidence.”

Willison notes that while marine protected areas may exclude petroleum exploration and development, this has not been the case in practice. Nevertheless, he says, sensitive marine areas (such as those rich in corals or whales) should not be put at risk by industrial development.

The Green Party of Nova Scotia supports the efforts of the Department of Fisheries and Oceans to expand ocean protection in marine waters around Nova Scotia and supports the goal of doubling the total area protected under legislation by end of 2017.

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Thank you, Nova Scotia!

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Election day has passed, and the Green Party of Nova Scotia has a lot to be proud of at the moment! We may not have taken a seat, thanks to our first past the post system, but we’ve smashed some records this time around:

  • GPNS ran 32 candidates and received 11,128 votes. This is more than the number of votes we received with a full slate in 2009 (9,636) or 2006 (9,411).

  • For the first time, we received 5% of the vote in a riding.   And we did it thirteen times.  In a proportional electoral system, 5% is a common threshold for recognition as it prevents splinter groups from forming.

  • Our percentage of the vote across the 32 ridings in which we ran was 4.5%. Our previous high was 2.78%.

  • In a proportionally representative electoral system, we would have two seats to represent these 11,128 voters.  Of course, in a proportionally representative system, many more voters could have cast their ballots our way.

A major party focus of this past election was to forge a sustainable team of people willing to work or to train as organizers and campaigners for a positive future.  We intend to continue to build our capacity, and we will remain active between elections.

We have been building our reputation through personal contact, social media presence, and broadcast media.  We hope that one day, some of the leader debates will be open to the leaders of all officially registered  parties who already have seats in the house.  

Following are some inspiring words from Tyler Colbourne, our candidate for Dartmouth North. We couldn’t agree more.  

“11000 out of 396500 votes in this election were for Green candidates. That is 11,000 votes for a more sustainable and fair government. That is 11,000 votes for better representation towards justice, sustainability, and evidence-based approaches to policy. That is 11,000 votes for Green values.

A small village voted for Greens in this election and a small village can do a lot. Over the next four years we can do more and our small village can grow, because our small village is part of a larger international community of Greens who want fairer representation, action towards non-violent policies, sustainable action and planning, and justice.

A global movement of Greens is what separates us from other parties and ideologies in Canada. We are more than just a one party issue. We are a collection of people worldwide who believe in a better today and expect a better tomorrow. I look forward to doing more for our province, country, and international Green community.”   – Tyler Colbourne, Green Party of NS Candidate for Dartmouth North

Thank you, Nova Scotia.

Thomas Trappenberg, Leader
Jessica Alexander, Deputy Leader