False Creek Greens

I spent time today writing some overdue thank you cards to all those that donated to, and volunteered on my campaign. I'm once again filled with gratitude for the support I recieved and all that we accomplished.

Folks: if you would like to be looped in to a Slack channel (a chat channel) where a lot of West Coast Green socializing and organizing happens, let me know.

False Creek Greens updated their info in the about section.

False Creek Greens updated their website address.

Hi folks - Instead of archiving or deleting this page, I will be transitioning it to a page to help build the green party in Vancouver False Creek - so that next time the candidate will have a solid base to start organizing from. This is the place for the over 1500 people who voted for me to gather, plan, and build.

I will be inviting the supporters I met in the riding over the course of my campaign that I'm connected to - and please do the same yourself - especially for people that live in the riding. I will also be providing info on how to plug into the broader BC Greens organizing channels soon. But really, the world is our oyster. The more we build and connect over the next few years the stronger we'll be next time around.

As the effects of the climate and ecological crisis worsen, and as housing, education, and urban justice remain important to our wellbeing, we know that we will always need to lift up each other and leaders who embody core the Green values of Participatory Democracy, Sustainability, Social Justice, Respect for Diversity, and Ecological Wisdom, and Non-Violence.

This is my friend Gina at Granville Island! Gina was an great help campaigning and will hopefully stay involved!

I won the student vote in my riding! I am so honoured.

To the young people that put their faith in me: I will always think of you and the generations to come in all that I do. Intergenerational justice is simply a measure of the question: will we as a society *enact* our love for young people by taking radical steps to stabilize the climate strengthen earth's natural life support systems? Or will we just state our love while doing the opposite? Something I think about all the time.

If you're not familiar with the student vote, check this awesome thing out. https://studentvote.ca/results/bc2020

I'd like to extend congratulations to Brenda Bailey for winning Vancouver False Creek. I look forward to seeing her represent this riding with integrity and long term thinking.

Thank you to every one of the people who put their trust in me. I promise you that we will continue to build the movements we need to survive and thrive on this land. Let's keep rising.

I'm taking a break from get-out-the-vote calls to say a very earnest THANK YOU to everyone who has encouraged, volunteered, donated, and voted for me! We have accomplished so much in a very short time.

I want to especially acknowledge Lexa Girard, Laura Sullivan, Emma Pham, Rachel Dian, Grace Grignon, and Aaron Dewitt. This small but mighty team put so much time in to this campaign on 0 notice, out of sheer love and resolve. I am so incredibly grateful and proud to have you as friends.

We do this work with fierce love and rage in our hearts. Because we want our descendants and all our non-human relations to thrive here - forever. Because we want be good ancestors. Because we want to live.

Woodcut and watercolor by Nat Morley. https://www.natmorley.co.uk/

Vote!
If your ID doesn’t have your current address in your riding, bring some mail, or your rental agreement, to show that you live in the riding! Don’t be dissuaded—you got this!

Vote! Polls are open until 8pm! Enjoy the day and stop by your convenient voting location. See elections.bc.ca for details.

When we were asked for comment by the Vancouver Sun about this story, Kelly and I worked hard to send a statement that included our commitment to solutions that are accountable to the community and do decolonizing work. Since it was truncated in the article, here is our full statement about the proposed plan:

As the BC Greens candidates for Mount Pleasant and False Creek, we endorse the Building Community Society’s action plan to provide critical intervention for the DTES’ most vulnerable, including housing and social supports, as well as mental health and addiction treatment. The BCS’ plan includes a coordinated approach between the provincial government and local health providers that will ensure accountability through joint annual reports and shared data tracking. We look forward to learning details on how this action plan will be funded and organized, so that it is truly effective and accountable to the community it is serving, including the Indigenous communities and organizations in the area.

In addition, we call for the continued expansion of harm reduction services including life-saving low-barrier safe drug supplies and overdose prevention sites, as well as a dedicated committee of residents, community leaders, and experts to implement a comprehensive, unified approach to solving multiple crises in the Downtown Eastside, while also holding our governments accountable. Ultimately, we want to see this province invest in a robust social safety net to address the roots of systemic oppression, intergenerational trauma, and colonialism.

B.C. Election 2020: Pushing high overdose deaths and the homelessness crisis onto the campaign trail Should B.C. Election candidates be talking more about last month's 127 fatal overdoses, and the hundreds of people who are unhoused?

It's the last day of the campaign, and I wanted to share again maybe the most important piece we put out there this campaign, written by Ian Fryer and me. Citizens' Assemblies are an essential intervention to upgrade democracy so that it's actually fit for purpose.

I care about this way more than I care about winning - but the thing is that we need people in the streets and Greens in the Legislature to advocate for democratic reform - we've seen that the other parties will not.

It isn't an exaggeration to say that our future could very well depend on process-based solutions including Citizens' Assemblies. In too many cases, when conflict and material scarcity rear up (as they are sure to do in a century of climate and ecological crisis), the result is fascist authoritarianism. We must pre-empt this by doubling down on democracy and strengthening it.

Kreitzman 2020 - The Case for Citizens' Assemblies THE CASE FOR CITIZENS’ ASSEMBLIES Calling on the province of BC to enact participatory, deliberative democracy for climate justice by Ian Fryer & Maayan Kreitzman The BC Green Party (GP) strives for participatory democracy, “in which all citizens have the right to express their views, and are a....

There was great energy today on Commercial and 1st with Bridget Burns, James Marshall, Kelly Tatham and lots of volunteers. SO MANY people I know walked by and chatted with me! (I also had good conversations with people I don't know.) This afternoon definitely made me feel like Vancouver is my home turf.

📰 Informative story in Sun today about a few ridings including . Though I don't love the "vote splitting" framing - after all, our votes don't BELONG to some other party - we have a right to run and earn people's trust and votes. Every movement must start somewhere and grow - and the BC Greens have already shown that we can win seats.

🟢 I'm grateful that so many reject the binary and vote for a new story: of a habitable present and future. As Prof. Kathryn Harrison says at the end: "these are simply voters who like the Green party best".

⌛ Which is not to say that we don't need and deeper democratic reform too - including Citizens Assemblies on 1) our voting system and 2) the existential issue of climate and ecological justice. We need to to be fit for the 21st century.

Split decisions: What 2017 polling station breakdowns in three key B.C. ridings tell us about this election The Liberal, NDP, Green breakdown in every polling station in 2017 in three of the closest races, and what this means for the 2020 election.

When we don't have reliable polls (and we don't) fundraising numbers are an important indicator of momentum. It's exciting to see how Sonia, our candidates, and our platform are resonating so much that so many people are donating their hard-earned money to help elect Greens and build the party.

I've been so grateful for the support my campaign has received. These donations really put wind in our sails and allowed me and my mini-team to run a small but effective campaign over 4 short weeks. https://www.bcgreens.ca/maayan_kreitzman

B.C. Greens continue to break fundraising records in homestretch of campaign The BC Green Party

My youngest volunteer on the campaign trail! Thanks Adara! (and dad !)

This article quotes our statement about overdose prevention and drug policy - but without mentioning our names! So to be clear, myself, Scott Bernstein, Nazanin Moghadami, and Stephanie Hendy are the candidates referenced. We believe in a comprehensive approach to the overdose crisis which includes expanding life-saving harm-reduction services.

Full statement here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1IfZoHkeY2oiZ10sHarIn-Gxsd13VS51mUsY0CY5XpMY/edit

https://www.citynews1130.com/2020/10/21/debate-harm-reduction-drugs-vancouver-bc-election

Harm reduction debate rages on in Vancouver ahead of B.C. election - NEWS 1130 With the news 127 people died of overdoses in B.C. last month, election candidates are being pressed on their commitment to ending the drug crisis.

My youngest volunteer on the campaign trail! Thanks Adara! (and dad Bradley Shende!)

The campaign trail continues! I honestly thought we were done canvassing, but no, my volunteer coordinators Emma and Laura would have none of that.

Yesterday, my opponent, Sam Sullivan, released a campaign video about public safety in False Creek, addressing drugs and homelessness in the riding. In addition to several factual errors and an out of context quote from an expert (for which he is now being criticized) - the video left us wondering: what the hell is Sam Sullivan actually trying to say?

Our response and commitments:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1IfZoHkeY2oiZ10sHarIn-Gxsd13VS51mUsY0CY5XpMY/edit?usp=sharing

Response to Sam Sullivan video SAM SULLIVAN: SAFETY OR AVOIDANCE? Overdose Prevention Sites & Community Safety in Vancouver-False Creek Yesterday, Sam Sullivan, the BC Liberal incumbent in the riding of False Creek, posted a campaign video titled “Let Us Restore Safety To Vancouver False Creek: BC Election 2020”. It left us ....

Hi folks, the election is fast approaching. You have three ways to vote right now:

📨Mail-In Ballot - Please note that these now must be dropped off in-person at your local District Electoral Office or polling location until 8pm on Saturday, October 24th.
⏰Advance Voting is also a great option and is open until 8pm on Wednesday, October 21st.
🗳️ Election Day is on October 24th, 8am - 8pm.

For advance voting, find the nearest location using this link: https://wheretovote.elections.bc.ca/ and take a look at the map below for locations in False Creek.

Door knocking today in the South bank of False Creek with Nancy, Riyad, Isaac, and Aaron was fun. One person said they voted for me yesterday and gave me fancy chocolate which we all shared at the end!!

Now we move into the last stage of the campaign, getting out the vote.

Miranda Dick, daughter of Secwepemc hereditary leader and spokesperson, and three supporters were arrested this morning at the TMX drill site in Mission Flats.

Two of the women arrested are dear friends from XR Vancouver. I just got off the phone with one of them after 7 hours in jail. It is powerful to witness them showing up in support of Secwepemc women on their front line, following proper protocol in the protection of land and water.

This pipeline is ecocide, and it's a violation of Indigenous rights. It will take peaceful direct action on a bigger scale to stop this. Time for us settlers to witness these actions and get ready to follow.

I've been spending lots of time out and about with some stalwart volunteers this week. THANK YOU for doing the unglamorous work of connecting with voters in False Creek in person and representing me so generously.

We've had some weird interactions (like one woman that told me that the Greens would make the whole city into a park) but we also have some really cool ones (like a social work student/restaurant worker we met in a mail room that wanted to volunteer right away!).

❤ to Laura, Emma, Riyad, Aaron, Isaac, Gina, Alex, and Syd!

One of the coolest things we’ve done this campaign is translate our message into Farsi! False Creek, look for me in your most recent issue of Dan Magazine!
@ Vancouver - Unceeded Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh Territory

Protection is illegal in Canada. This is one of the front lines in BC right now - hear from the people who were arrested yesterday in their own words. A contingent of the rebel family from Vancouver went to support this week. You can be one of them if you have time and can be pretty self sufficient. Please amplify and follow the below page.

Take heart! We've got the momentum right now to make a difference.

Some promising polling from Angus Reid.

Op-ed written by 15 Vancouver area Green candidates including me!

B.C. Green Party: We need diverse Green voices in power to help heal society and halt our planet’s breakdown Oct 15, 2020 - The following commentary was received for publication from the British Columbia Green Party on behalf of 15 of its candidates for the upcoming provincial election in Vancouver and on the North Shore.

Please amplify, and follow the page. Indigenous elders, hereditary leaders, land and water protectors are being arrested today. For taking care of all of us, as TMX drills under the Thompson River. Ecocide is legal in Canada. Protection is illegal. How fu**ed up is that.

Meet your candidates!
Part 2 of 2
regram from @ Vancouver - Unceeded Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh Territory

Meet your candidates!
Part 1 of 2
regram from @ Vancouver - Unceeded Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh Territory

Thanks to S.U.C.C.E.S.S. and CIJA for inviting me to their town hall.

However, I need to share a point of information: in 1.5 hours, neither of my opponents (NDP environment minister George Heyman, and Liberal MLA Michael Lee) mentioned the climate or ecological crisis ONCE. This soft denialism will cost lives, and is totally unacceptable and frankly scary.

We all exist within living systems - whether some people want to talk about it or not.

"Polite" discourse obscures that denial+delay of the NDP and Liberals SHOULD scare the living daylight out of anyone under the age of 50. They talk as if there's no tomorrow.

- Unceeded Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh Territory

Another episode of Kelly Tatham's cool podcast Climate Change in the Multiverse, this time with Sonia Furstenau! I was listening as I went grocery shopping yesterday and was very surprised when they started saying nice things about me on the pod 😲. But regardless of that you should listen if you want to get to know Sonia in a more personal way. ❤

https://rss.com/podcasts/climatechangeinthemultiverse/83520/

A New Story of Politics with Sonia Furstenau | RSS.com Podcasting Sonia Furstenau, leader of the BC Green Party, talks about why she stepped into public service, staying calm and grounded in the face of political game playing, reconciling with Colonialism, and the weighty responsibility of shaping our future.