GPC Federal Council Election and Appointment Rules
As amended by Federal Council in 2021.
Preamble
The GPC Federal Council Election and Appointment Rules are developed in accordance with the core Green values of Participatory Democracy and Respect for Diversity. The intention is to ensure that these values are present in democratic and equitable processes that achieve the election of qualified Councilors who reflect the diversity of Canada.
1. Oversight
1.1 The Federal Council Governance Committee supervises all internal nomination, election and appointment processes during the elections/appointment period, beginning on the date nominations open and ending on the date results are announced.
1.2 Any member of the Governance Committee who has submitted an application for election or appointment to Federal Council is not allowed to participate on the Committee during the elections/appointment period.
1.3 During the elections period, the Governance Committee consists only of voting members. If there are fewer than three voting members, Federal Council appoints additional voting members to reach that minimum. If the Chair of the Governance Committee has submitted an application for election, the remaining Committee members choose an interim Chair.
1.4 During the elections period, the Governance Committee meets weekly. Between meetings, the Committee discusses issues and makes necessary decisions by email. Every effort is made to achieve consensus before reverting to a vote.
1.5 During the elections period, the Governance Committee makes a weekly general report of activities to the Executive.
1.6 The Governance Committee receives election results directly from the online voting company and presents those results to Federal Council.
2. Information
2.1 The opening page of the Party website at http://www.greenparty.ca provides a link to current election/appointment information, including dates for the opening and closing of nominations, opening and closing of voting, announcement of results, and deadline for submission of financial statements.
2.2 Additional information available on the Party website includes Federal Council job descriptions, Federal Council Handbook, Codes of Conduct, Constitution and Bylaws.
3. Communication
3.1 All communication regarding these rules must be submitted in writing to the Governance Committee, either by email to elections@greenparty.ca, by mail to PO Box 997, Station B, Ottawa ON, K1P 5R1 or by courier to 116 Albert St, Suite 812, Ottawa ON, K1P 5G3.
3.2 Phone calls will not be accepted under any circumstances.
4. Eligibility
4.1 Nominees must have been Party members in good standing for a minimum of three months prior to the opening date of nominations and must remain members in good standing throughout the elections/appointment period.
4.2 Nominees must have no outstanding debts to the Party as of the opening date of nominations.
4.3 Nominees must never have initiated legal action against the Party or against its officers when acting in their official capacity.
4.4 Nominees must not have any existing public reputation or published statements that may be damaging to the Party.
4.5 Nominees must not have a criminal record.
4.6 Nominees are allowed to apply for only one Federal Council position. Incumbent Councilors who wish to apply for a different position must announce their resignation prior to the opening of nominations. Their resignation is effective as of the announcement of results.
5. Diversity
5.1 The members of the Party are encouraged to seek qualified nominees from equity-seeking groups as defined by these procedures.
5.2 Equity-seeking groups are groups that identify barriers to equal access, opportunities and resources due to disadvantage and discrimination and actively seek social justice and reparation. For the purposes of these Rules, equity-seeking groups include women, indigenous peoples, persons with disabilities, racialized persons, LGBTQIA2S+ identified individuals, and youth (under 30).
5.3 An equity-seeking candidate is a candidate who identifies as belonging to an equity-seeking group or groups.
6. Application
6.1 The GPC Federal Council Election and Appointment Nomination Application (Appendix A) must be completed without omissions and received by the Governance Committee at elections@greenparty.ca prior to the close of nominations as published on the Party website. Late applications or late revisions will not be accepted under any circumstances.
6.2 A nominee is notified of errors/omissions within 2 days of receipt and is permitted to provide revisions prior to the close of nominations if their application has been received a minimum of 2 days prior to that deadline.
6.3. An application is rejected if it is late, incomplete, or if the applicant is not eligible.
7. Notification
7.1 Within 14 days of receiving a complete nomination application, the Governance Committee notifies the nominee (at the email address provided on the application) of their acceptance or rejection as a candidate.
8. Appointments
8.1 Within 14 days of a Council position becoming vacant, all Federal Councilors are notified, notice of the vacancy, together with application form and deadlines, is posted on the Party website, and all members eligible to apply for the position are sent an email containing a link to the website notice.
8.2 Sections 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 14 of these Rules apply to both election and appointment processes.
8.3 The vacancy is filled no later than 45 days from the close of nominations.
8.4 The Governance Committee considers all acceptable applications and presents to Federal Council a ranked list of applicants. Federal Council appoints an Interim Councilor from that list.
8.5 Appointees and unsuccessful applicants are notified of the appointment by email.
9. Publication of Election Candidates
9.1 Within 2 days of acceptance, a nominated candidate is issued a greenparty.ca email address which will remain in effect until announcement of results. The candidate may also use a personal email address.
9.2 Following the close of nominations, the name, photo, text and nominators of all candidates are published on the Party website, and members are directed to those pages. Members who have requested paper ballots receive this information by mail.
9.3 Text submitted by candidates is accompanied by a Party disclaimer that the messages represent the views of the candidates only. The Governance Committee reserves the right to delete any statement which is defamatory or contravenes these Rules. Errors in grammar, spelling or translation will not be corrected, and photo quality will not be improved.
10. Campaigning During Elections
10.1 A two week campaign period is scheduled between publication of the election candidates and the start of voting.
10.2 Candidates are not allowed direct access to Party membership lists, due to privacy concerns.
10.3 The Party publishes weekly messages from each candidate. The message can be no longer than 250 words in English or 300 words in French. Candidates may submit the first message within 7 days following the close of nominations and once weekly thereafter.
10.4 Candidates are provided with access to Party digital communication platforms.
10.5 Each candidate is provided with contact information for all Electoral District Associations (EDAs) within their constituency.
10.6 Candidates must obtain written permission from nominators prior to publicly naming them as supporters.
10.7 From three months prior to the opening of nominations until the close of voting, the Party will not use the names or photos of potential incumbent candidates for advertising purposes.
10.8 All member-organized events must offer equal opportunities to all candidates. Publicity for member-organized events may be provided at the discretion of the Executive Director.
11. EDA Involvement During Elections
11.1 EDAs are not allowed to support any one candidate or group of candidates to the exclusion of others.
11.2 EDAs are not allowed to reference any candidate website other than the candidate pages of the official Party website (http://www.greenparty.ca).
11.3 EDAs may support the electoral process by providing opportunities to all candidates for any given position and by encouraging voting.
11.4 To host an event with candidates in attendance, an EDA must notify the Governance Committee at elections@greenparty.ca 2 days in advance of the event, providing evidence that all candidates for the position have been afforded equal opportunity to participate.
11.5 To distribute information about candidates, an EDA must provide information about all candidates for the position in the same message.
11.6 EDAs are responsible for the accuracy of voting information provided to their members. Inaccurate, misleading or incomplete information about the election process is not allowed.
12. Conduct During Elections
12.1 Any member, except staff, members of the Governance Committee and the Leader, may as an individual, nominate, endorse, support or campaign for any candidate or group of candidates, including the dissemination of information on Party-sponsored platforms.
12.2 Members, including Candidates and Party functionaries, are not allowed to make or distribute inaccurate or defamatory statements about a candidate or group of candidates.
12.3 Candidates are not allowed to discuss ongoing Ombuds and Appeals Committee or Code of Conduct reviews during the elections period.
12.4 Candidates are not allowed to publicly allege that an infraction of the election rules has occurred without confirmation of the infraction by the Governance Committee.
12.5 Conflict between candidates is to be resolved as soon as possible. The first step is to address the issue privately in a direct and constructive manner. If resolution cannot be reached, the issue must be taken to the Governance Committee. If the ruling of the Governance Committee is unsatisfactory, the issue can be taken to the Ombuds and Appeals Committee.
12.6 Governance Committee members and Party staff must remain entirely impartial. If a Committee or staff member wants to publicly nominate or endorse a contestant or group of contestants, they must first resign their position.
12.7 Candidates must accept the election results with grace, refraining from negative comment.
13. Voting
13.1 Voting instructions and ballots are emailed/mailed to members at least 30 days prior to the close of voting (election day).
13.2 At least two reminders to vote are emailed/mailed to members during the voting period. The reminders must have the words "vote" and "ballot" clearly featured in the subject line.
13.3 The Governance Committee ensures the fairness, reliability and security of the electronic and paper voting system. Oversight of the opening of paper ballots is provided by a voluntary scrutineer appointed by the Governance Committee.
13.4 The election is conducted by the Instant Runoff vote counting method for single-seat, preferential, ranked ballots. First to achieve a majority is the winner. In case of a tie between the top two contestants, the majority will be determined by adding remaining ballot preferences. If no candidate achieves a majority, a coin is tossed. The specific style of tabulation is determined by Federal Council vote and may not be altered once the nomination period has begun.
13.5 An election cannot be canceled once the nomination period has opened.
13.6 An election cannot be annulled once the voting company has submitted the results.
13.7 The security and reliability of the online voting company must be trusted. The verified results from the voting company are simply received rather than accepted or rejected.
14. Election Finances
14.1 Candidates may spend no more than $1000 on any Provincial or Territorial Representative campaign, including travel and accommodation, and no more than $2000 on any Executive Council campaign.
14.2 The Party does not administer contributions and expenses on behalf of candidates, but candidates are required to report to the Party any contribution over $20, including in-kind donations. Contributions to internal election campaigns do not qualify for an official receipt for income tax purposes.
14.3 Within seven days of the close of voting, all candidates must submit a Candidate's Financial Declaration and Report (Appendix B). Failure to submit this report on time will result in disqualification.
14.4 The Party takes no responsibility for debts incurred by candidates' campaigns.
15. Questions and Complaints
15.1 All questions regarding the elections/appointment process should be directed to the Governance Committee. See Section 3.
15.2 Any member who is dissatisfied with any aspect of the elections/appointment process as outlined in these Rules may file a complaint with the Governance Committee. See Section 3.
15.3 All complaints must be submitted in writing to the Governance Committee using the GPC Federal Council Election and Appointment Complaint form (Appendix C). Written complaints in any other form and verbal complaints will not be accepted.
15.4 Anonymous complaints will not be accepted, and anonymity will not be granted.
15.5 Complaints are acknowledged within 24 hours of reaching the Governance Committee and will be addressed within seven days.
15.6 Complaints that refer to issues not encompassed by these Rules will be acknowledged but not addressed. A list of those issues will, however, be retained for possible inclusion in the next version of the Rules.
Appendix A: GPC Federal Council Election and Appointment Nomination Application
We respect your privacy. Information that you provide in the "Eligibility" section will not be stored in our database, and will be handled only by authorized election officials.
(The online version has drop down menus, text boxes, radio buttons and word counters where applicable.)
Position Sought:
First Name:
Last Name:
Address:
Email Address:
Phone Number:
Eligibility Questions
Do you currently have any outstanding debts to the GPC? yes / no
Have you ever initiated legal action against the GPC or its officers when acting in their official capacity? yes / no
Do you have any existing public reputation or published statements that may be damaging to the Party? yes / no
Do you have a criminal record? yes / no
Candidate Profile for Publication
Public Email:
Public Website:
Public Phone:
Volunteer Slack Username:
Candidate Photo:
Please send a high resolution digital photo by email. Your application is not complete until this photo has been received.
Candidate Statement:
Please attach a statement for publication on the GPC website. Maximum 250 words in English, 300 words in French. Your application is not complete without this statement.
Nominators
Please provide written confirmation for each nominator: signature, email or screenshot. Minimum 20 nominators for executive positions, 5 for provincial/territorial representatives. Your application is not complete without the correct number of nominators. If your nominators are found not to be members in good standing, you must provide alternates.
Confirmation Questions
I am a Green Party of Canada member and have been for three months or more. yes / no
I give the GPC permission to disclose the information included in my Contestant profile and certify that the information provided above is correct. yes / no
I have read and agree to abide by the GPC Federal Council Election and Appointment Rules. yes / no
Signature:
Date:
Appendix B: Candidate's Financial Declaration and Report
(The online version has drop down menus, text boxes, radio buttons and word counters where applicable.)
First Name:
Last Name:
Submission Date:
Position:
Position Type: Representative / Executive
Reporting Expenses and Contributions
Candidates may spend no more than $1000 on any Provincial or Territorial Representative campaign, including travel and accommodation, and no more than $2000 on any Executive Council campaign. Young Greens are not allowed to incur campaign expenses.
All expenses associated with the candidate's election effort must be reported using the form below. Rental vehicle expenses include the rental, fuel and insurance associated with the rental. Private vehicle expenses are to be calculated at $0.35/km. All contributions over $20, including in-kind donations, must be reported using the form below.
Declaration
I, __________________________________, declare that these forms are an accurate record of all campaign expenses I incurred during the 2021 Federal Council election, and of all contributions received in support of my campaign. I further declare that my campaign expenses did not exceed the limit for the position I sought.
Signature:
Date:
GPC Candidate Declaration of Campaign Expenses
Number:
Date:
Expense Details:
Amount:
GPC Candidate Declaration of Campaign Contributions
Number:
Date:
Name:
Address:
Phone:
Email:
Amount:
Appendix C: GPC Federal Council Election and Appointment Complaint Form
(The online version has drop down menus, text boxes, radio buttons and word counters where applicable.)
First Name:
Last Name:
Address:
Email Address:
Phone Number:
I allege that the following section(s) of the GPC Federal Council Election and Appointment Rules have been contravened (e.g. Section 10.4):
Date(s) of the alleged contravention of the Rules:
Candidate(s), member(s) or Party functionary(s) involved in the alleged contravention:
Description of the alleged contravention of the Rules:
Signature:
Date: