Editorial: Quebec Green Party dead wrong on BDS

We don’t hear much from the Parti Vert du Québec, but we received a press release informing the world that it supports BDS – the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions campaign “against Israel’s occupation.” In the 2014 election, Green Party candidates in Quebec won a total of 23,163 votes, a 20 per cent decrease in its proportion of the total vote compared to the previous election. With this plank in its platform, we expect the Green Party will see a further drop in support.

The Quebec Green Party and its leader Alex Tyrrell back the Green Party of Canada position supporting BDS. National leader Elizabeth May has said she is troubled by this and suggested that she might resign – a move the Quebec party labeled as “blackmail.” The national Greens have convened a special membership meeting in Calgary December 3 and 4 to revisit BDS.

What is the Quebec Green Party’s stand on human rights violations in Saudi Arabia, or China? Where is its policy on mass arrests in Turkey? What is its policy on radical Islamic terrorism? How about the Russian occupation of Crimea? Why is the party coming out with selective outrage on Israel?

BDS does nothing to advance the cause of peace and negotiation toward a two-state solution. Why are we not hearing more from the Quebec Green Party on the pipeline protest in North Dakota or local environmental issues? It appears the Quebec Green Party is more concerned with showing how “progressive” it is by taking sides in the complex dynamics of the Middle East – a move we believe will be of no help in its pitiful attempt to influence public affairs in Quebec.

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