Green Party leader visits Hamilton

“I want to share some good news with you: 2015 is the year that Stephen Harper’s era ends.” These were the rallying words of federal Green Party leader Elizabeth May during her visit to Hamilton on Friday, March 13. May, the sole Green Member of Parliament, represents the B.C. riding of Saanich-Gulf Islands.

Hosted by the local chapter of the Green Party, the event drew candidates and members from the area, as well as representatives of Hamilton environmental and political organizations who were given the chance to promote their causes before the main talk.

Related: Q & A with Elizabeth May

Upon her arrival, May admitted that she had “absolutely no idea what I’m going to talk about—all I’ve got on my mind is fighting bill C-51.” She spent the majority of the event detailing the various issues surrounding the anti-terrorism bill currently before Parliament.      

May explained that first and foremost, the threat of terrorism has been misrepresented in Canada, using a popular image to make her point.

“You’ve seen this statistic going around on Facebook—more Canadians are at risk of being killed by a moose than by a jihadi. That was true, the moose has no intent. It’s hard to find moose and avoid their radicalization,” she said, noting also that though terrorism is a remote threat, “that doesn’t mean that we don’t take it seriously.”

She explained that she, among others, believes that the bill does not serve its stated purpose.

“Bill C-51 is not an act to deal with terrorism. It is primarily an act to create a secret police.”

Her stance on the bill, since her initial opposition in the House of Commons in early February, has been supported in Parliament by NDP leader Thomas Mulcair, though Liberal leader Justin Trudeau still plans for his party to vote in its favour.

C-51 is highly controversial across Canada, and has earned widespread criticism from even unlikely supporters. As an example, May referred to a National Post article written by media mogul Conrad Black, which claimed that “if we go to sleep in Canada, we will wake up in an unrecognizable despotism.”

“I don’t think I’ve ever agreed with Conrad Black in—well, never is the answer,” she said, earning a laugh from the audience.

A major point of concern for the bill stems from its broad definition of terrorism, which could potentially implicate non-violent civil disobedience, such as recent protests on Burnaby Mountain against Kinder Morgan’s proposed pipeline.

May also encouraged the audience to voice their opposition to C-51 at the national day of action, which took place the following day in cities across Canada and drew large crowds of protestors.

And not only did she want to mobilize supporters for this purpose—May emphasized the challenges that Canada faces that are relevant to the upcoming federal election, currently scheduled for October 2015.

“We are a Westminster system of government, which means in principle that all members of government are equal. It also means that Parliament is supreme,” she explained. “The Prime Minister reports to Parliament, not the other way around. This has been turned on its head in a way that’s dangerous.”

Her goal for the Green Party in the 2015 election is to achieve official party status in the House of Commons, which would require winning a total of 12 seats. Despite having only one seat in the current Parliament, May believes that her vision for committed MPs will inspire voters.

“Greens believe that once you’re elected, you don’t check your brain at the door. Your job is to work for your constituents.”

May wrapped up her talk on an optimistic note, stating her belief that voting Green doesn’t have to mean “splitting the vote.”

“When you’re free from the shackles of the thinking that invades strategic voting and you vote for what you want, you can get almost giddy about it,” she said. “When we say to [people who suppress voters], ‘get the hell out of here, we want our democracy back’ it works. And people come back to the idea that voting has power.”