User:Greg Vezina
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Greg Vezina (Gregory Hugh) was born on January 13, 1957 in North Bay Ontario Canada. He is the son of Lyall and Ellen and the twin brother of Cathy. He has four brothers and four sisters. His oldest brother, Christopher Lyall Jon Vezina is a world renowned sculptor. At the age of 14 he left school to travel North America in the amusement business. At 20 he went to work for Garrison and Company in the radio advertizing business. Two years later he started his own radio advertizing sales business, Western Radio Broadcasting Promotions with his wife, Kathleen Marie Kirkland Vezina, the sixth child of Jack and Mary Kirkland, of Unity Saskatchewan.
In 1980 Greg, Kathy and family started C.A.E.C.-Canadian Alternative Energy Corp. and developed a conversion system for vehicles to run on ammonia (NH3) which they branded as "Hydrofuel". In 1984 they received the Canadian Trademark. They had travelled to California and the Arizona desert and envisioned the first truly green energy currency. Sunlight, water and air to make ammonia for automotive fuel, and electrical power generation and storage. In Canada they proposed using hydroelectric power as well as solar, wind and tidal power. A lifelong Conservative who had been involved in politics since his early teens, in 1982 Greg worked with Peter Pocklington on his Federal Progressive Conservative Leadership attempt and he was elected a delegate and engineered the election of many other. Mr. Pocklington had endorsed such policies as an end of government subsidies to hydrocarbon energy, a flat tax system and green economic practices. After he was unsuccessful in approaching the new leader of the Party he resigned from the party.
Greg got involved with the Green Party and became a founding Candidate of the Green Party of Canada in 1983; Greg was called upon by the Green Party Leader Dr. Trevor Hancock to prevent candidate nomination takeovers in the Ottawa ridings by Engineer and professional gambler John Turmel. Greg was nominated as the Green Party of Canada Candidate for Nepean Carlton and as the Provincial Candidate in Ottawa Centre in the 1994 by-election. He ran again provincially for the Green Party in the 1985 General Election. He was a Registered Agent became Chief Agent of the Party in the mid 1980's. As Chief Agent he worked with other Alternative Parties, formed an association and worked to change Canada's many unconstutional election laws and unfair subsidies. By the late 1990s every electoral law challenge he worked on was defeated or changed except election broadcasting.
When many Canadians were arrested for protesting logging at Clayoquot Sound he devised a way for people to contribute to the Green Party and get tax credits (where income was sufficient) to help pay the hundreds of thousands of fines levied by the Courts. A Long battle with Elections Canada ensued where the regulators tried to control the use of the Green Party's funds. Without the support of the three Parties in the House of Commons he and the Green Party fought off all attempts.
In the mid 1980's he won several Canadian Radio, Television and Communications Commission (CRTC) decisions against broadcasters for not providing equitable coverage to the Green Party during elections (CRTC 1987-337, 1988-142, 1995-44). In December 1985 the Conservative candidate, then Ottawa city councilor Graham Bird and Liberal candidate and Ottawa radio personality Lowell Green walked off a live television debate on CJOH TV in Ottawa because the station refused to let Greg and two other candidates participate.
At the instance of the CRTC, following the 1988 federal election, a prosecution was instituted by Greg in the name of the Green Party against CBC, CTV and Global, claiming that these broadcasters had breached the Television Broadcasting Regulations, 1987, because they had not included the Green Party in a leaders' debate during a federal general election and had failed to provide the Party with some accommodating time. In R.v. Canadian Broadcasting Corporation et al., [1993]51 C.P.R.(3d), the Ontario Court of Appeal held that debates were not of a partisan political character. The Court believed that while the participants in a debate may very well be partisan, the program itself, because it presented more than one view, was not. The Court therefore ruled that debates were not covered by the relevant section of the regulations. The Supreme Court of Canada refused to grant leave to appeal.
During the Trial and Appeals he approached Moses Znaimer and Denise Donlon of City TV and Much Music and co-produced the award winning TV programs Talk me to your Leader and Vote with a vengeance. In both the 1993 and 2000 election he financed and produced, along with the Democracy Channel, the "All Party Leaders' Debates" that were broadcast nationally across Canada. The 2000 National Debate was the first such broadcast on the Internet. In 1993 the Conservative, Liberal and New Democratic parties rigged the election laws and tried to have the Green Party de-registered and have its assets seized. Greg and Kathy lent the Party $25,000.00 for Candidate deposits. They waited over ten years to get repaid.
In 1987 Greg left the Green Party to run as a Conservative Candidate in Ottawa West. In 1990 he ran as the Conservative Candidate in Scarborough Ellesmere. Along time supporter of Mike Harris who he know from his home town, in 1989 Greg worked to change the Party Constitution from a delegated convention to a one person one vote process. This change was key to Mike Harris winning the Leadership in 1990. After the election Greg won a party campaign award for election signs and material. His were traditional Party blue with a new twist, neon Green. A tireless fighter for Political reform and citizen referendum he supported these policies in the 1995 Ontario Election but did not run as a candidate and left the Party shortly after Premier Harris formed a majority government when it became apparent the new government would not introduce referenda legislation or green policies. He was successful in writing one important Legislative change. In 2000 Premier Harris made contributions for political tax credits refundable for the poor. Previously only upper and middle income citizens got up to 75% refunds. This change did not help the Premiers Conservative Party whose members generally had taxable income and got the tax credits before.
In 1993, with financial support of Frank Stronach and Magna International he wrote the book "Democracy, Eh?" A guide to Voter Action, with John Deverell, a Toronto Star reporter. Also in 1993 Greg and Kathy started Online Direct, Vote Direct and Internet polling and election programs with the same TV networks they had previously fought. He simulcast political debates and election programs and created the world’s largest internet poll with CTV affiliate Baton Broadcasting for the 1995 Quebec Referendum. They created the Knowledge Compass learning tool and search engine with (the late) Fred Weibe.
In 2002 he helped to convince the present Ontario Provincial Liberal Premier Dalton McGuinty to make and keep an election promise for a Provincial Referendum on electoral reform and proportional representation. The provincial referendum was scheduled for October of 2007. On October 10th. 2006 the referendum was held concurrent with the Ontario General Election. The measure did not pass. They started HYWY software which developed platform and vendor independent software for JAVA applications. Kathy and Greg are also developing new alternative health and well-being modalities. They continue to push the envelope and show how enlightened self interest can be used for the common good.
In November of 2006 CBC and CNN International broadcast items about their Hydrofuel technology. The news item may be viewed at http://www.gregvezina.com or on You Tube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L0hBAz6MxC4
In November 2006 Greg and Kathy restarted their lifelong endevour to develope NH3 as an energy currency and automotive fuel. C.A.E.C.-Canadian Alternative Energy Corp. opened it' website http://www.nh3fuel.com and Hydrofuel Inc. was started in Canada, the USA and Australia http://www.hydrofuelnh3.com
In October 2007 Greg Vezina was a guest speaker at the 4th. Ammonia fuel conference in San Francisco, CA. A transcript http://www.energy.iastate.edu/Renewable/ammonia/ammonia/2007/Vezina_Transcript_NH3.pdf of his speech may be linked to at that site http://www.energy.iastate.edu/Renewable/ammonia/ammonia/ammoniaMtg07.htm or a transcript and video of the speech may be viewed at http://www.hydrofuelnh3.com.
By December of 2007 Greg and Kathy were completing their new book "NH3 - The Solution", which will be published and released in written and electronic formats early 2008.
Greg and Kathy have two children, Alexander and Kristin.
