Credit: @AnnamiePaul
Toronto lawyer Annamie Paul was Saturday named head of
the Green Party, becoming the first Black woman to lead a national
political party in Canada.
The 47-year-old mother of two, the daughter of immigrants from
the Caribbean, described herself as a “descendant of slaves.”
Paul hailed her victory as a “historic moment” during her speech
after the announcement of the results of the internal ballot in
Ottawa.
“We have done something that has never been done before in
Canadian politics,” said the Jewish lawyer, who has reported being
the victim of anti-Semitic attacks on social media.
“Colonialism has robbed me of my original identity,” Paul added
in her speech, saying she was ready to support indigenous peoples
in particular in their fight against systemic racism within the
police.
She succeeds Elizabeth May, who led the Greens for 13 years
before stepping down at the end of 2019, following a federal
legislative election where her party won only three seats in the
House of Commons.
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Paul said that under her leadership the party would have two
priorities: building a social security net for all Canadians and
tackling “the existential crisis of our time, which is the climate
emergency.”
“This is the chance of a lifetime for us to move towards a more
just, a more resilient society,” she said. “We believe it can
be done.”
To repair the economic ravages of the coronavirus pandemic, Paul
said the government needed to invest in a “green transition” for a
path to the future.
“The choice is yours, if we want different outcomes then we need
to make different choices,” said Paul, who previously worked at the
International Criminal Court.
The new leader of the Greens said she will run in a legislative
by-election in Toronto at the end of October, in the constituency
vacated after the surprise resignation of former Liberal finance
minister Bill Morneau.
AFP
Read more https://swordpress.com.ng/2020/10/04/black-woman-emerges-first-leader-of-canadas-national-party/