(Ottawa) The Green Party is laying off half of its staff as authorities seek to cut training costs faced with persistent financial and political problems.
Three senior party officials, who requested anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly on internal matters, said on Tuesday that the Green Party was temporarily and now laying off a dozen employees.
The sources say that party director Dana Taylor was meeting individually with each of the affected employees on Tuesday to share the news.
A bit like the party had done last June, the layoffs affect the staff of the office of the resigning leader, Annamie Paul, as well as the communications and mobilization services.
Mme Paul, who announced his upcoming resignation last month, would have had no say in the layoffs. According to sources, she remains leader as she negotiates with the authorities a reimbursement of the legal fees she incurred in opposing the party leaders this year.
“Mme Paul had no say in the layoffs and was unaware of the recent staff cuts until they started to be announced this morning, ”the party spokesman said on Tuesday, John Chenery.
Annamie Paul’s office did not respond to a request for comment.
In addition to financial woes, the Greens face serious soul-searching after last month’s federal election, where the party retained two seats in the House of Commons but saw its share of the popular vote drop to 2.3%, compared to 6.5% in the 2019 poll.
The disappointing results also ended a year marked by bitter senior leadership power struggles and the defection to the Liberals of New Brunswick MP Jenica Atwin.
The conflictual dynamic manifested itself over the weekend, when the Federal Council made up of 16 party members as well as its five-member executive council – Annamie Paul sits on both bodies – took part in several meetings at which the leader n was not invited, according to sources.
The virtual meetings, which included a discussion of the impending layoffs, were partially open to all Green members who saw accusations made over the treatment of Mr.me Paul by the party, resulting in an apology from the new president Lorraine Rekmans.
The legal wrangling has further exacerbated the Greens’ cash flow imbalance.
During the summer, Annamie Paul launched an arbitration related to her employment contract and the desire of the leaders of the party to oust her by a vote of no confidence and a suspension of her membership card. An independent arbitrator quashed both proceedings.
In response, several senior officials filed a legal challenge on behalf of the political party against Mr.me Paul who questioned the arbitrator’s decision as tensions between the two sides peaked.
Tuesday’s cuts look like déjà vu for Greens who have seen financial woes lead to layoffs and a lack of campaign funding for Mme Paul in Toronto Center last summer.
Former Green Party of Canada Fund President Doug Tingey mentioned in a July report that “the current financial situation is unsustainable.”
He told members of the Federal Council in July that the Greens would have about $ 300,000 in the bank if an election were called next month – the campaign started on August 15 – compared to $ 1.9 million when the 2019 election was called. and 3 million when the gloves were thrown away in 2015, according to two sources.
The relatively small sum did not take into account an election loan of around 1.3 million, nor the $ 150,000 in wage subsidies that entered the party coffers in late July, sources said.
The lack of liquidity also arises despite an increase in funds raised during at least part of Mr.me Paul, although party officials also said funding was cut off during the campaign after months of public uproar.
The Greens raised about 1.4 million in the first two quarters of 2021, compared to about 1.2 million in the same period a year earlier, according to Elections Canada documents.