OTTAWA —
The Green Party of Canada is going to court to try to overturn a decision by an independent arbitrator to shut down a non-confidence vote on Annamie Pauls future as leader.
In documents submitted Wednesday to the Ontario Superior Court obtained by CTV News, it states that Paul submitted a Notice of Request to Arbitrate on July 7, which included an order to quash a non-confidence vote on her leadership, scheduled to take place on July 20.
The arbitrator ordered on July 15 that a non-confidence motion would not proceed before the partys general meeting in August and that the party must post this update to its website.
At an afternoon news conference on Sunday, Paul confirmed the vote was cancelled, and that no similar motions would be proposed by the current federal council, but didnt indicate it was due to legal wrangling.
Pauls office didnt provide a response following a request for comment by CTVNews.ca.
Now, the party is arguing the arbitrator erred in judgment for a host of reasons.
Firstly, they argue that the party itself isnt a signatory of their Employment Agreement which offers arbitration to resolve disputes, controversies, or claims arising out of the agreement. It also states that the arbitrator sought to limit the activities, decisions and communications of members and the membership of the Green Party.
The nixed non-confidence 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.
With a file from The Canadian Press
