Welcome to the GREEN PARTY OF CANADA IN NEWFOUNDLAND
AND LABRADOR
We live on a finite planet with finite resources, but are consuming our
ecological capital instead of living off the interest. We are undermining
the ability of natural cycles to renew such resources as clean water and
air, topsoil, fish, and trees. We must move from growth to sustainability.
See "Sustainability
- A Choice to Consider" for more information
GREEN VS GREY
Politics is no longer defined by the struggle between the Left and the
Right. The politics of the 21st century will be divided between the Green
and the Grey: between those who see the Earth as an interconnected web
of life, and those who see it as a collection of resources to be exploited
for maximum short-term profit.
In a Grey economy, the worth of vanishing species and natural resources
is disregarded because these cannot be easily quantified. Instead economic
indicators rise with every automobile accident, with every oil spill, and
with every newly diagnosed cancer patient.
In a Green economy, progress would be redefined to stop counting the
liquidation of nature as income; corporations would be held responsible
for their products from cradle to grave; new economic indicators would
be applied to account for the social and ecological costs of products and
services; and to create jobs, income and consumption taxes would be replaced
with environmental taxes.
GREEN JOBS NOT PINK SLIPS
There are many more jobs in a Green economy than in a Grey economy. A Green
economy is labour-intensive, sustainable, based on the skills of people,
and produces quality products from local resources incorporating local
culture.
Tax Bads NOT Goods
The Green Party suggests shifting taxes away from personal income and onto
non-renewable resources, and eliminating taxes on ecologically benign products
and processes. Green taxes reward sustainable businesses and penalize resource-intensive
industries. Reducing income taxes and payroll taxes makes people less expensive
to employ.
Sustainable Forestry
Forests belong to future generations and provide habitat for other species.
Clearcutting should be banned and the remaining 1% of old growth should
be preserved. Higher stumpage fees would encourage selective cutting, and
value-added production creates more jobs than exporting raw logs. Hemp
and kenaf should be grown as alternative sources of paper fibre.
Organic Agriculture
Agribusiness encourages mono-cropping, chemical farming, centralization,
overprocessing, long-distance transportation and decreased employment.
Greens seek to preserve crop diversity, reconnect the farmer with the consumer
and ensure a supply of locally produced,
pesticide-free food. Product labels should indicate the
use of pesticides and bio-engineering.
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| Photo by H. Pinsent |
Renewable Energy and Conservation
In view of global climate change and the dangers of radioactive waste,
the Green Party suggests phasing out fossil fuels and nuclear energy in
favour of renewable energy sources such as solar, wind, biomass, and micro-hydro.
The transition to sustainable energy can be achieved through improved energy
efficiency, conservation and cogeneration.
Life-cycle Product Stewardship
Pollution is resources being wasted. Landfilling is like burying money
in the ground. Nothing should be landfilled or released into the air, water
or soil. Greens would introduce product-stewardship programs that would
require producers to assume the full recycling and disposal costs of their
products.
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Rivers have been damaged by waste from cities and factories.
Here we see a picture of the Saguenay River, Quebec.
Whales, fish and other animals that are native to this river and
the
Fleuve Saint-Lawrence have been seriously affected by heavy metal
poisoning.
Photo by Jason Crummey |
Community Economic Development
Transnational corporations have no stake in the communities where they
get their raw materials or where they operate. As a result, resources are
overexploited and jobs migrate to where labour is cheapest and environmental
standards are lowest. Green tax reform would favour locally owned and operated
businesses that use local resources for value-added production in a sustainable
manner, thereby keeping jobs, decision-making and profits in the community.
Guaranteed Income Supplement
Welfare and Employment Insurance should be replaced with a Guaranteed Income
Supplement plan that would encourage recipients to seek employment. A GIS
would provide financial compensation for traditionally unpaid and undervalued
contributions to society, such as child-rearing and homemaking, and would
contribute to the support of artists,
students, volunteers and small-business start-ups.
Pedestrian Communities and Rail
Trains concentrate development while cars encourage sprawl. Greens would
revitalize the rail system for long-distance haulage and passenger travel.
We envision gradually rebuilding all urban areas into pedestrian communities,
interconnected by surface light rail, making the private automobile redundant.
An End to Deficit Budgeting
Twenty-five cents of every federal tax dollar goes directly to commercial
banks to pay the interest on Canada's $600-billion debt. Greens recommend
that the Bank of Canada take over a significant portion of the debt as
an interest-free loan. Greens also suggest implementing a currency transaction
tax.
Proportional Representation
The Green Party suggests switching to proportional representation so that
when a party receives 15% of the popular vote it would also receive 15%
of the seats in Parliament. We would oppose paid political advertising
and political donations. Instead all parties should receive equal access
to the media and funding.
Restorative Justice
Justice should be restorative rather than retributive. Crime should be
defined as a violation of one person by another, not as a violation of
the state. The 80% of offenders who are non-violent should be sent directly
to halfway houses. Sentencing circles should be used as an alternative
to trial by judge and jury.
The Four-day Work Week
Moving to a four-day/32-hour work week would provide jobs for those now
unemployed. Greens suggest five weeks of vacation per year, disincentives
for overtime, job sharing, paid leave for child rearing and educational
leave. Lower welfare and Employment Insurance costs would mean lower income
taxes.
Biodiversity and Wilderness
A conservation strategy is needed to protect biodiversity on an evolutionary
scale. Canada needs a system of core
reserves, corridors, and buffer zones free from development
to accommodate viable, self-reproducing, genetically diverse native plant
and animal species, including large predators.
Sustainable Fisheries
The use of draggersin
both the east and west coast fisheries has decimated our ocean ecosystems.
We must recognize and support ecologically appropriate fishing technologies.
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A typical Newfoundland community.
Photo by H. Pinsent |
Cultural Funding
While the cost of funding the arts is relatively low, its social benefits
and economic multiplier effects are high. Greens would maintain and increaseartsfunding,
especially for smaller, community-based, participatory
artsand
recreational activities.
Military Reductions
The cost of Canada's peacekeeping operations is less than $700 million
annually -- only 6% of the defence budget. The Green Party suggests that
Canada dramatically reduce its military budget, halt low-level flight training
in Labrador, and withdraw from the global arms race.
"Sustainability
- A Choice to Consider"
