The Green Party of Canada is branching out from its past reliance on environmental policy.
Many of the party’s policies are still based heavily on attempting to solve the climate crisis, but the platform is much more diverse than it has been in past years.
Some of the major issues the Green Party is focusing on include Indigenous reconciliation, addressing the climate emergency and transitioning to a greener economy.
Not only does the party’s website, greenparty.ca, have the entire platform available to download, it also has a detailed overview of how to pay for it.
The Lethbridge candidate, Stephnie Watson, has a master’s degree in environmental science and that background influences many of their beliefs and policies.
“We need to move our society and our economy to a greener future as well, to deal with that climate crisis that we’re seeing globally,” they said.
One of the reasons Watson chose to run is to force the other political parties to acknowledge the environmental and climate issues going forward.
The Green Party has a plan to address the climate emergency they are calling Mission: Possible.
Cutting pollutant emissions is the major focus of this plan, calling for a cut of 60 per cent by 2030 and net-zero emissions by 2050.
To accomplish this, the party plans to establish a cross-party cabinet, set legal emission limits that decline over time and maintain a revenue-neutral carbon fee, which would be returned to Canadians as a dividend.
These policies are in addition to phasing out fossil fuels and retooling society to run on renewable, non-polluting energy sources.
They plan to have 100 per cent of Canadian electricity coming from renewable sources by 2030.
Cancelling any and all pipeline projects and banning fracking, while finding possible geothermal power capable oil and gas wells will help pay for many of the plan’s ideas.
Indigenous rights and reconciliation are also a major part of the Green Party platform in the coming election.
They plan to respect and fulfill Canada’s responsibilities in agreements and treaties made with Indigenous peoples in the past and implement new agreements in consultation with Indigenous leadership.
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A green economy based on renewable energy, zero waste generation and a guaranteed livable income is another key part of the party’s platform.
To ease the inevitable change under the party platform, they will protect workers whose lives are disrupted by transition away from fossil fuels, enable the creation of new green jobs, and facilitate worker transition from shrinking sectors.
When it comes to workplace justice, they will implement federal pay equity rules, reject back-to-work legislation, ban unpaid internships in the private sector and establish impartial and non-departmental help for harassed and demoralized employees.
Taxation is also a major part of the platform and will rely mostly on taxing corporations that operate in Canada but pay little to no tax to the country.
“We’re looking at actually taxing the people who are evading the taxes, going after the tax havens, going after the large corporations that are not paying their taxes to Canada,” said Watson.
Immigration will play a key part in the upcoming election and the Green Party has a plan for that, too.
They also plan to upgrade Canada Post by reversing cuts, upgrading the fleet to electric vehicles and create a new vision that benefits rural and remote communities.
The Green Party will additionally “green” the Canada Food Policy, including establishing emission targets, funding organic and regenerative farming systems and replacing Canadian food imports with domestic production.
Cannabis is something the party wants to approach as well.
They want to lower the federal prices to make it more competitive with illegal supply, eliminate excess plastic packaging, eliminate the sales tax on medicinal products and allow outdoor production.
Clifford Donovan, a Lethbridge resident, is voting for the Green Party for the first time, largely because of their platform.
“It is not because of their name, it is not because of some ridiculous loyalty or because of the leader’s charisma, it is because they have the most fleshed out, thorough and transparent policies that make the most sense for improving Canada,” said Donovan.
For more information about the Green Party, including their platform and cost-analysis, visit greenparty.ca.
