Leading members of the Green Party are considering dropping a lawsuit against their leader that raised tensions between the leaders and Annamie Paul last summer.
Two senior party leaders who were not authorized to speak publicly on the issue said federal council and Green Party of Canada Fund members met over the past week to quash their lawsuit .
Annamie Paul launched an arbitration process last summer concerning her employment contract and the decision of party leaders to oust her in a vote of no confidence, but also to withdraw her membership card, both attempts were interrupted by the independent arbitrator.
In response, several senior leaders filed a legal challenge on behalf of the Green Party against Annamie Paul.
This challenge called into question the arbitrator’s decision.
The disputes have exacerbated the party’s financial woes, which the leading Green members cited when they laid off more than half of their staff this week.
Annamie Paul is also seeking compensation for her legal fees.
Annamie Paul is still leader – a place that gives her some weight in the continuing legal wrangling – after announcing last month that she would step down following her party’s dismal election results in September. Only two green candidates were elected, and his support fell to 2%.
The party presented only 252 candidates out of the country’s 338 seats.
The Green Party declined to comment on the lawsuit. Ms. Paul’s office did not respond to requests for comment from The Canadian Press.
In an email to members obtained by The Canadian Press, Green Party chairwoman Lorraine Rekmans said the party’s finances must find a “lasting position.” That need led to the dismissal of 11 staff members this week, she wrote on Tuesday.
“The decision to lay off so many of our long-time employees was very difficult,” Lorraine Rekmans acknowledged in the statement.
The Greens are facing a “financial crisis,” said John Willson and Corrina Serda, co-chairs of the party fund and treasurers of the Federal Council, which is the Greens’ main governing body. The party has recorded large monthly deficits since February, they said by email.
The party is now refocusing its staff on fundraising as well as “member re-engagement,” and financial and IT support, the co-chairs said as communications and mobilization take a back seat after the Sept. 20 election.
The Greens raised around $ 1.36 million in the first two quarters of 2021, up from around $ 1.2 million in the same period a year earlier – before Ms Paul took the helm in October 2020 – according to the Elections Canada documents.