Greens keep growing P.E.I. party
AGM held in Cornwall time for celebration and reflection
An Island man impressed by what the Green Party of P.E.I. is doing across the Island showed his allegiance at the party’s AGM last night by becoming a member.
Chris MacGarry, who lives in the Belfast-Murray River district, said the Greens have a lot of fresh ideas he thinks the Island needs.
“The other parties have reached a point of stagnation,” he said during a break. “It’s the same old way we’ve been doing this on this Island for 150 years. It’s not going to work anymore, it’s not going to last.”
MacGarry was one of about 120 people who attended the meeting at the Cornwall Civic Centre.
MacGarry, who admitted his political stripes have never been Green, said he’s been following the party over the last year and was impressed by its progress and its leadership.
“It’s like a breath of fresh air,” he said, adding the party continues to build momentum.
Lynne Lund, the party’s deputy leader, echoed that sentiment,
adding that May 4 was three years to the date that party leader Peter Bevan-Baker won his seat in the legislature.
Anniversaries are as much about look forward as they are looking backwards, she said, adding the party has accomplished a lot in a short amount of time and continues to do so.
“It’s dizzying to look back and look at how far we’ve come and how fast we have been catapulted forward,” she said.
Having started with only a handful of people, the party now has a full shadow cabinet, a provincial council and an office of the third party working behind the scenes, she said.
“Looking forward, I feel really optimistic that no matter when the next election is, we’re going to be in much better shape, and part of that is because we have all of you now.”
When it was his turn to speak, Bevan-Baker said the way he felt winning three years ago was “beyond excitement”, saying he had run and lost nine times previously and was used to “crushing defeats”.
The Green leader said he feels lucky and fortunate to be “doing important work” he loves, although he said he had to develop a bit more thicker skin in his role.
“You have to be resilient, because people are coming at
you,” he said, adding that if he has developed a protective shell, he hopes he hasn’t lost his humanity, sensitivity and empathy towards others.
In addition to celebrating, it was announced that the party is now incorporated. Those attending were told that this puts the Greens in the same legal standing as the other major parties on P.E.I. and allows for the party to get insurance to protect the party and council members at public events and while conducting business for the party in general.
The party also held an election for its provincial council with more than 200 votes cast.