Hi Vivian and Everyone,
ALL fantastic?ideas and views. I agree with the group...you do GREAT WORK, Vivian!? I concur...THANK-YOU for ALL the work that?you do.
Very true...municipalities do play a key role.? I'm a member of the Council of Canadians and we have been trying (multiple times)?to?get the MUN'l gov't - the current Fredericton city council - to declare a climate emergency. ?....and have basically been ignored.? This municipal election is VERY IMPORTANT. ? OUT with the OLD and IN with the NEW, I hope!?
I love the snail mail en mass idea, Patti...ALL the Activists in New Brunswick need more effective tools, as the municipal and provincial governments tend to ignore anyone fighting for?justice (environmental or otherwise), climate?change action, etc....basically, they ignore anyone who is anti-irving (small "i" intentional).
I, too, would appreciate a copy of the template letter.? It sounds like a planned snail mail "attack" is the way to go. Let me/us know how you would like to proceed. ?:O)
Have a great evening and weekend, All,?
Andrea
On Fri, 23 Apr 2021 at 17:33, Patti Chmelyk < patti@...> wrote:
The trick to this, though is to have
dozens arrive every day for several days (the more the better!) - the minions
who have to deal with the paperwork, will start complaining to their bosses.? We
need a critical mass for it to be most effective.? It is not free postage - we
(our issue group paid for the postage)? I'll contribute to such a campaign -
keeping in mind, I'm rich in love not cash LOL
Patti
?
?
Interesting... I don't think I ever got an acknowledgment of my card.
?
I was thrilled to receive a letter of acknowledgement from the PMO,
ackowledging receipt of my Christmas card and assuring me that my views would
receive due consideration.
Signed by some minion, of course.
I was surprised to see that their envelope was run through a postage
meter.? I thought they enjoyed free postage too.
¡°Free¡±, as in paid for by tax payers, that is!
John
?
That's so cool, Patti!!!?
It's possible to send snail mail to the minister:
"20 McGloin Street,
2nd Floor, Fredericton, New Brunswick, E3B 5H1,
attention Local Governance Reform Team," it says on the website. I'll keep
that in mind,?send mine my snail mail and try to encourage the snail mail
option. I don't think it will be practical to distribute pre-printed letters
during a pandemic. FVC did something similar for Christmas: people could sign
up on their website to send a PR card to Justin Trudeau, and FVC sent all those
cards in their names themselves. They delivered all the cards in a truck. But
that's a hell of a lot of work.
?
On Fri, 23 Apr 2021 at 12:49, Patti Chmelyk <patti@...> wrote:
thank you for all you do, Vivian.? i, too, have had my head in
other things - like getting settled in our new NB home; getting our health care
and medication issues settled and cared for; getting to know our new community
and how these municipal elections work; taxes; and switching to retirement
income etc...? I liked the idea of a template letter to Higgs.? Just
a thought/possible suggestion once FairVoting4NB has a critical mass, or want
to launch a campaign:? I was once involved in an environmental fight that
found this worked in our favour and definitely got the attention of the powers
that be.? Snail mail letters have to be dealt with in the government
offices - it takes up a lot of administrative time AND requires a written,
snail-mail response.? So, we (had a small budget) pre-printed several
hundred letters (with the signature lines and return address lines left blank)
and envelopes and stamped the envelopes.? We then each took a bunch of the
letters and brought them out to supporters, family, friends, neighbours -
getting them to each sign the letter adding their address - sealed the signed
letters in front of the signers, and collected all the letters.? We then
would mail a bunch every day over the period of a couple of weeks - ensuring
that several letters arrived every day.? We had the relevant government
department begging us to stop.? BTW, we eventually won - the entire
campaign lasted about a year.?
Anyway - my apologies for being so silent for so long, and so
long-winded today!? I will participate - and appreciate - having a
template letter to send.??
Again, thank you for all you do.
Patti
So my impression
is that nobody?is really interested in a Zoom meeting. That's fine. I
think in any case that what I'd like to do, once I finish reading the green
paper, is write my own email to the Minister. I can then use that as a template
that other people can copy in writing their own email. I'll post about this on
the FB page and group and on Twitter. I hope you'll all send your own emails
too.
I think that
emails from a bunch of people will have more impact than, say, one email with a
bunch of signatures, like we did for the email to?Higgs.
If you think this
is a good plan, we can go with this rather than having a Zoom discussion about
what to do.
I'm hoping that
people won't dismiss this as unimportant just because it's municipal. I've read
that municipalities will be essential in responding to the climate crisis. They
won't be able to respond effectively as long as we continue electing
complacent, status-quo candidates with our terrible electoral system.
If anyone is
wondering how PR can work at the municipal level, let me know and I'll explain.
Great! I'd started
to think nobody would respond. Are you available next week? I've got lots of
free time.
As long as I'm
writing, I may as well attach my latest report on the status of electoral
reform in New Brunswick.
I wrote it last week, but nothing super-interesting has happened since. I still
haven't quite finished the green paper. I've hit a boring stretch. I hope to
get through it soon; certainly before our Zoom call.
Hi
Vivian,
I hope
all is well with you and yours.
I
would be interested in this,?if a?zoom meeting is planned.
Take
care and enjoy your evening,
Hi everyone,
As you may know, I
sent an email to Keith Chiasson about adding provisions for ranked ballots to
his bill concerning changes to the Municipal Elections Act. He's interested.
We've had lively discussions, both by phone and Zoom. I'll be sending more
information on that later.
He let me know
that the government?has released a green paper on municipal reform and is
looking for public input. There's nothing in there on electoral reform in
particular (no surprises there), but that doesn't mean we can't raise the
issue.
Is anyone
interested in having a Zoom meeting about how we can best seize the moment? If
so, let me know your availability.
You can find more
information, read the green paper and watch a video at?
Hoping to hear
from at least some of you,
Land
of the Wabanaki Confederacy: Wolastokuk (Maliseet) and Mi¡¯kmaq
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