Green Party Leader Annamie Paul listens to a reporter's question at a press conference on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Wednesday, June 16, 2021.

Image Credit: THE CANADIAN PRESS/ Patrick Doyle

OTTAWA - Annamie Paul is no longer staring down the barrel of a booting from her perch atop the Green party.

Party executives have called off a non-confidence vote that was slated for Tuesday and could have led to the leader's ouster, according to two party sources who were granted anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly.

The vote by federal council would have required support from three-quarters of the 13-member governing body in order to proceed to a party-wide vote the following month at a general meeting, where an ultimate judgment on Paul's leadership could have been rendered by the grassroots.

A party membership review, launched last week by Green interim executive director Dana Taylor, that would suspend Paul's membership, has also halted, the sources say.

It was not clear why the vote and review were nixed.

Green spokeswoman Rosie Emery said the party has no comment, but that Paul would hold a press conference Monday morning.

The party has been riven by feuding and factionalism for months as Paul, who was elected leader in October 2020, struggles to steer the Greens in a new direction.

Late last month, federal council members passed a motion demanding that Paul hold a press conference with Green MP Paul Manly and repudiate comments from a top adviser to the leader.

In a statement sent to Green members in late June and obtained by The Canadian Press, party president Liana Cusmano said Paul has failed to live up to the ultimatum or to "meet her obligations as leader,'" citing Green MP Jenica Atwin's defection to the Liberals earlier in the month.

Paul later fired back against party executives, calling them out for "racist" and "sexist"' accusations that were included in Cusmano's letter. She is the first Black woman to lead a federal political party in Canada.

Council's demands followed internal strife that exploded into the open after a social media post from Noah Zatzman — the adviser, who has since stepped aside — that called out unspecified Green MPs for antisemitism.

Atwin had warned about Israeli "apartheid" in a Twitter post on May 11, deeming Paul's more traditional statement on violence in the Palestinian Territories "completely inadequate."

That post has since been deleted, though Atwin told CTV's Question Period on June 13 that "I certainly stand by what I'm saying." The next day, she adjusted her stance on Israel to align with the governing Liberal party she had just joined.

Other problems have hampered the Greens, including a halving of the payroll this month despite Paul's objections due to financial imbalances reported by party brass.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 18, 2021.
News from © The Canadian Press, 2021

News from © The Canadian Press, 2021