GREEN PARTY MAKES HISTORY WITH FIRST MP

UNCLAS OTTAWA 001162 SIPDIS SENSITIVE E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV PREL SENV PINR CA SUBJECT: GREEN PARTY MAKES HISTORY WITH FIRST MP ¶1. The Green Party landed its first Member of Parliament on August ¶30. Sitting Independent MP Blair Wilson formally joined the party and said he will run under the Green banner in a Canadian federal election that local analysts expect to be called within days. Wilson's recruitment marks a first for the Green movement in North America and underlines the rise of climate change and the environment as mainstream electoral issues. His switch bolsters Green Party leader Elizabeth May's demands to be included in nationally televised leaders' debates during the likely coming federal election campaign. A FIRST IN NORTH AMERICA -------------- ¶2. Blair Wilson is the first sitting Green Party member of any federal legislature in North America. Greens leader May hailed his recruitment as historic. She said that having a federal MP means the party can no longer be described as fringe. Green ideas and policies are now in the mainstream of public debate, she said. Climate change and the environment will be significant issues in the federal election, according to polling data and local analysts. Greens leader May used Wilson's ascension to bolster her demands to participate in the nationally televised leaders' debates during the likely coming election campaign. Television network executives decide who is included in the debates. In 1993, Reform Party leader Preston Manning won a spot in the leader's debates on the basis of his party's one sitting MP in the House of Commons. BIOGRAPHY ¶3. Born in North Vancouver, British Columbia, on May 18, 1963, Blair Wilson is a former businessman, chartered accountant, real-estate developer and self-styled entrepreneur. Wilson won election to the House of Commons in January 2006 as a Liberal M.P. in the British Columbia riding of West Vancouver-Sunshine Coast-Sea to Sky Country. He left the Liberal caucus in October 2007 over allegations he improperly reported election expenses. Elections Canada subsequently cleared him of any serious wrongdoing, but the Liberal Party refused Wilson's request to rejoin the Party as recently as July. Wilson has also been dogged by legal difficulties stemming from a string of troubled businesses and real estate deals in Canada and abroad, including allegations of financial irregularities. ¶4. Comment: Wilson's recruitment marks a first for the environmental movement in Canada. However, local political and media analysts say he is unlikely to win re-election in a federal election that many expect to be to be called within days. His sole contribution to his new party may be to provide the pretext for Elizabeth May to win a coveted slot in the leaders' elections debates and attendant publicity. WILKINS