Canada Green Party Drops 'Ten Key Values'

This actually happened back in 2002, but we need to document it thoroughly, as I believe it serves as a good model for the U.S. Green Party.

To clarify, it seems the Green Party of Canada (GPC) adopted only a form of the Ten Key Values of the Green Party of the United States (GPUS). The wiki says this:

The GPC had originally adopted a form of the Ten Key Values originally authored by the United States Green Party.

The wiki then goes on to talk about how the Ten Key Values were unceremoniously dropped from the platform - it's implied, to be gentle, I suppose:

The August 2002 Convention adopted the Six Principles of the Charter of the Global Greens, as stated by the Global Greens Conference held in Canberra, Australia in 2001. These principles are the only ones included in the GPC constitution.

I'm not necessarily in the mood to be gentle, seeing as how rudely I've been treated by so many Greens since introducing them to this thing called 'reality'. I don't want the Ten Key Values 'dropped' from the GPUS platform, I want them 'ripped out...with extreme prejudice'.

The GPC dropping their form of the Ten Key Values is old news to Canadian Greens, but most American Greens have no clue. We need to work more closely with Green Parties all over the world.

I think the Green Party of Canada (GPC) dropping the Ten Key Values - and with them, 'Feminism' - might have been a major boon for the party. Certainly the party is going through a dramatic expansion, but the exact cause is not necessarily so easy to target.

It's a little tough to tell what was going on - was it Ten Key Values that the GPC adopted, more or fewer, and were they the same? I don't have the original GPC Constitution - that might hold the answers. The GPC 2004 Platform document lists ten (and, not surprisingly, they replaced 'Feminism' with 'Gender Balance'), but as we'll see below it seems as if only eight of the original Ten Key Values were actually adopted.

The 2002 national convention is where the GPC did 'the switch' - adopting the six principles of the Global Greens in place of their form of the Ten Key Values. From the 2002 GPC national convention minutes, we have:

Resolution G02-c2 - Global Greens

Sponsored by: Dwayne Collard
Supported by: Helen Riley, Ted Alexander, John Grogan, Charles Campbell, Jason Kennedy-Crummey, Paul Connor

WHEREAS ARTICLE 3 of the Canadian Greens Constitution declares the party Basis of Unity as being “To enhance the effectiveness of the Global Green Movement in creating a Green Society by providing an evolving social and political structure that embraces, includes and supports Green Values and offers itself as a voice for the broader Green Movement.”

BE IT RESOLVED THAT the Canadian Greens Constitution be amended by replacing:
ARTICLE 5 Values
The values upon which the Canadian Greens base themselves are:
1. Non-Violence And Military Disarmament;
2. Ecologically Sustainable Economy;
3. Preservation And Restoration Of Ecosystem Diversity;
4. Eco-Feminism;
5. Cultural And Multi-Racial Diversity;
6. Consensual Decision Making Process;
7. De-Centralized Decision Making;
8. Wholistic Community Through Personal And Global Responsibility.

Activities, policies, and statements made on behalf of the party must be consistent with the values.
See following Appendix A for roots of each value.

WITH the following statement of principles from the Charter of the Global Greens:
ARTICLE 5 - Principles
The policies of the Canadian Greens, in agreement with the Charter of the Global Greens, are founded upon the principles of: Ecological Wisdom; Social Justice; Participatory Democracy; Non-violence; Sustainability; Respect for Diversity.

Activities, policies, and statements made on behalf of the party must be consistent with the values.
See following Appendix A for the Charter of the Global Greens.

BE IT ALSO RESOLVED THAT
the current Appendix A and Appendix B of the Canadian Greens Constitution be replaced with a new Appendix A containing the principles of the Charter of the Global Greens, (Canberra 2001).

Straw vote: 26 green, 0 reds, 6 yellow. Motion passed

Friendly amendment: correction on point 2 change “sustenabilité” to “durabilité” on the French version. (Jean-Claude Balu). Accepted.

Friendly amendment – Steve Kisby
Motion: that Appendix A and Appendix B of the Canadian Greens Constitution be replaced with a new Appendix A containing the principles of the Charter of the Global Greens, (Canberra 2001).

Vote: 27 green, 3 red, 4 yellow
Motion passed

Please contact me if you'd like to help me grow the Green Party of the United States.