Joan Russow
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Joan Elizabeth Russow is a noted Canadian peace activist and former leader of the Green Party of Canada.
Russow holds a Master’s degree in Education and a Ph.D. in Interdisciplinary Studies, and is a co-founder of the Ecological Rights Association and the Global Compliance Research Society.
Dr. Russow first gained attention for her court case which resulted in the banning of school prayer in public schools in British Columbia. She was also active in the environmentalist movement, using injunction law to prevent the use of pesticide 2-4D in Lake Okanagan.
Russow joined the Green Party in 1993 and became leader in 1997, beating out Jim Harris and another candidate. She ran for a seat in the Canadian House of Commons in the 1997 and 2000 federal elections in the riding of Victoria, British Columbia, and in a by-election in September 2000 against Stockwell Day of the Canadian Alliance.
Under the leadership of Dr. Russow, policies were developed in a consensus format and reflected a direction which promoted social justice, human rights, and peace, as well as the more traditional concerns with environment. However, this was often, paradoxically, combined with a highly dictatorial leadership style. Heavily reliant on the numerical strength of BC Green members, Russow, in an attempt to chart a middle course, lost support from both of the factions in the provincial Green Party in BC in 1999-2000, thereby significantly weakening her grip on the federal party and her capacity to control internal appointments. Her tenure as leader saw a significant drop in party membership. Several years later when Bill Hulet defended attempts to overhull the party structure, he criticized Russow's system as an "absolute nightmare" because of consensus policy requirements that give small minorities the right to override majority decisions.Template:Ref Russow resigned as leader of the Green Party of Canada in 2001.
Russow became disillusioned with the Greens after the German Green Party became more militaristic and compromised on crucial environmental issues. She joined the New Democratic Party in 2003 after Jack Layton was elected leader, believing that the NDP had been revitalized under his leadership. Russow was cool to the new direction of the Green Party in Canada, its acceptance of corporate donations, and its willingness to compromise despite having no powers. She openly criticized the perceived rightward drift of the Green Party under her successor, Jim Harris, a management consultant and eco-capitalist. Despite criticism from Russow and other disillusioned Greens, Harris nonetheless succeeded in raising the Greens' national profile and achieved the party's best election performances in 2004 and 2006.
Since leaving the Green Party, she has been involved in several lawsuits against the federal government, including both a constitutional challenge to the first past the post system and the government's placing activists on lists.