What The Green Party Says...

Federal Leader: Elizabeth May
Parkdale-High Park: Rob Rishchynski
Female Candidates: 29%

What’s mentioned on their website:
1. Economy
2. Family
3. Health Care
4. Environment
5. Afghanistan

Concerning the issues that I feel are most important to me:

Afghanistan...
The Green Party’s stance on Afghanistan is similar to the NDP’s; get the troops out ASAP (no later than Feb. 2009), and work with the UN instead of following along with NATO/US plans. The great thing about the Green’s site, is the whack of information they provide, in concise language that makes it easy to understand. And they have many intentions, like aiding the Afghan police force with training, proposing a time-limited offer to have the Canadian military help with training the Afghan National Army, involving surrounding countries in a
large-region peace treaty, fighting the illegal poppy trade industry, promoting agriculture in Afghanistan, and protecting the personal rights of Afghanis.

The Environment...
You assume the Green Party's platform will be largely based on the environment. And it is, but it’s a mix of both the NDP and the Liberal thought processes. They mention how a shift to green power is fiscally possible, and their statement offers a general feeling of hope. They also recognize that environmental issues affect every aspect of life, and therefore they affect every aspect of government.

Their plan is the same as the Liberal’s, who want to tax the big polluters and give back to those holding themselves personally responsible (recyclers, cyclists, etc.). As for Kyoto, the Green Party doesn’t believe the targets are quite feasible, but because of international commitments made, and the importance of keeping those commitments, they’ll work to “reaffirm” Kyoto’s goals, through carbon taxes, caps and trades. An interesting addition to this platform is the mention of “adjusting to climate change”. See- this is what I’m looking for. A realistic look into the future, with plans for how to handle it.

The Federal Budget...
The Green Party’s website is comprehensive through and through, but here’s a good summary paragraph:
“We strive for stronger local economies with a small business focus, increased national and regional self-sufficiency, economic diversification, more “fair” trade, more value-added manufacturing of resources, more green-certified production and a rapid shift to more renewable energy to create local economic opportunities.”

They want to reduce income tax, reduce payroll tax, introduce a carbon tax and eliminate nonsense subsidies. What’s more, they’ve stressed that a government with the economic forethought concerning green power will benefit. And oh, they’re pushing for more vacation time and shorter work weeks.

Northern Sovereignty...
The Green Party wants to ask the UN to lay down the law concerning the sovereignty of the northern waters. They also want to develop a comprehensive pan-Arctic waste management strategy, and implement a strict watch over the arctic to catch any vessels not registered to be in any of the six passages through northern Canadian waters. They want to provide more funding for “indigenous food” protection, for the Northern Climate Exchange, for arctic science, and they also want to re-establish the Circumpolar Ambassador position.

One more party to look at. Tomorrow I'll post (unbiased, I promise) about the Conservatives.

posted by Unknown @ 6:54 p.m.