Green Party execs battle leader Paul to court

Challenge ruling by arbitrator on confidence vote

• Annamie Paul's leadership of the Green Party is back in question as the party is now seeking to overturn a previously unreported arbitration ruling that allowed Paul to avoid a non-confidence vote.

Paul was set to face a confidence vote Tuesday night, but it was called off over the weekend with the party posting a statement saying the vote and a review into Paul's membership would not go forward during the term of the current board, which expires in August.

The leader appeared before reporters Monday and declined to detail why the vote had been cancelled or if a deal had been struck. She said only that it was time for the party to focus on the campaign.

“Enough is enough and it's important for us to be able to move forward with the certainty we need to win seats in the next election,” she said.

Paul did reveal there were ongoing issues and said cuts to her staff the board imposed had not been reversed and her Toronto Centre campaign was not being funded.

While there was speculation Paul's detractors didn't have the votes for the non-confidence vote and had called it off as a result, court documents obtained by the National Post show the vote was actually suspended by an arbitrator, outside of the party's control.

As leader, Paul has an employment agreement with the Green Party of Canada Fund, the party's fundraising arm which is responsible for spending and employee salaries.

The court documents reveal that Paul's employment agreement requires arbitration during disputes and Paul used that clause to stop the confidence vote and the membership review.

Paul asked an arbitrator to suspend the confidence vote and the membership review and he agreed to do so, ordering the party to hold off on the vote and post a notice online indicating that it had done so.

Elections are underway for the party's board and delaying the vote until August would have meant new members would deal with the issue.

Interim party president Liana Canton Cusmano sent a letter to party members Wednesday, announcing they had filed an application in court, but was vague about what the application entailed.

“The application relates to certain internal proceedings of the federal council and the executive director related to the leader of the party,” she wrote.

In the letter, Cusmano did list the court file number and said members could find it on their own if they wanted to review it.

“We understand that the leader is of the view that the party is bound by certain conditions of confidentiality, which we dispute.”

The party's application argues the arbitrator overstepped in ordering the non-confidence vote to be suspended, because the party's fundraising arm is Paul's employer, not the party itself.

In their submission they argue the arbitrator can't force the party to take any steps, because the party does not have a contract

IF THE BOARD VOTED IT HAD NO CONFIDENCE IN PAUL, SHE WOULD FACE A FULL VOTE ON HER LEADERSHIP NEXT MONTH.

with Paul. Their submission argues a court should scrap the arbitrator's decision, potentially setting up a new confidence vote.

If the board voted it had no confidence in Paul, she would face a full vote on her leadership among members next month, which is when Canadians may be heading to the polls.

While sources have revealed there were long-running tensions in the party, the fight emerged into the public eye after Green MP Jenica Atwin crossed the floor to sit with the Liberals in June.

Before her defection, Atwin denounced a statement from Paul on the Israeli-palestinian conflict as “totally inadequate,” because it called for both sides to de-escalate and reduce violence. Atwin called on Israel to “end apartheid.” Atwin apologized for those remarks after joining the Liberals.

No date has been set for any court hearing. The Post reached out to Paul late Wednesday, but she declined to comment at this time.