November 13, 2009 - As of today I am withdrawing my support and involvement in the GPNS. I no longer feel that forming a political party is the right way to influence society, we have moved well beyond political grassroots into social media and consumerism, coupled with the fact that the powers of the provincial government are so limited that I feel the true driving forces for change lie outside of the political system.

I now feel that the very concept of a "Green Party" is no more appropriate or valid than the concept of a "Health Party" or a "Fiscal Responsibility" party. These things are all clearly part of any and all political parties mandates to varying degrees and should be championed within them from their respective political ideologies (right/left/centerist etc.) In short, I do not feel "Green" is a political ideology in itself, and the pursuit of the existence of such a party is effectively a waste of resources and time - ironically more detrimental than good for the environment.

Over the past few months, I have witnessed the GPNS, instead of criticising and influencing government policy on behalf of the environment, remain sadly focussed on self preservation. I think the party members mean well, but the truth of the matter is, there are so many things to keep track of and on top of just to exist as a political party, the GPNS is, in my opinion, a poor use of energy and resources when the same energy could be better put to use in infiltrating and influencing existing political parties, or influencing the public directly via social media, the web, and personal choices. To me, Green is not an "us/them" political ideology. It is an ideology that transcends red, blue, orange etc. Preserving our environment and being globally responsible is in the best interest of all humans, not just leftists or what some perceive as "granola-crunchy hippies". Green should be a non partisan community of enlightened, concerned humans of all political stripes, not a distinct party who "plays in their own sandbox".

Of course, this is only my opinion and I certainly hope that the GPNS can do some good to maintain and influence a community that ultimately helps our environment. For now, I'm convinced the real power lies with voting with your dollars, your choices, your actions, and your voice. Politicians will do and say almost anything to get elected as I've witnessed first hand, but I've also witnessed that once the elections are all over and the pressure is off, they become more human and willing to discuss things, in fact, they often seek out advice on what to do. In the case of NS, politicians ultimately have very little ability to individually affect change because there are so many factors that are just impossible to alter given all the complexity of our great and diverse provice. To really make a difference, we all need to make choices that benefit our world together, and that only happens with open, transparent dialogue and non partisan community building.

I do not regret my experience in politics and I recommend everyone try it in one way or another. My future involvement will likely be non partisan and I will likely always vote for "the person" and not for "the party".

Thanks to all those that supported me during my campaign and I hope to see you all around the community. [link to old site]

Sincerely,

Ryan Cameron