sust-mar: Green Party

Date: Mon, 27 Jul 1998 07:46:44 -0300 (ADT)
From: Paul A Falvo <pfalvo@chebucto.ns.ca>
To: Sustainable Maritimes <sust-mar@chebucto.ns.ca>
Precedence: bulk
Return-Path: <sust-mar-mml-owner@chebucto.ns.ca>

next message in archive
no next message in thread
previous message in archive
Index of Subjects


hi all, we were chatting awhile back about the Green Party. Here's some
info on them for whomever's interested. Hopefully someday there will be an
active Green Party(s) in the Maritimes.

~paul

---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Fri, 27 Mar 1998 17:35:27 -0500
From: fdejong <fdejong@greenparty.on.ca>

Hi Paul, . . . Please consider posting the contents of the Green Party of
Ontario pamphlet to that listserv . . .

Cheers. F.

[. . .]

------------------------------------------------

The Green Party of Ontario
"Tax Pollution NOT Incomes"

"All wealth comes from nature. All jobs depend on nature. As we
destroy the resource base, we are also destroying our economic
system, our social system, our communities and our health." 
-- Frank de Jong, Leader, Green Party of Ontario

The Green Party would: 
1. STOP PAYING POLLUTERS! We would phase out direct and hidden
subsidies to ecologically destructive technologies.

2. MAKE POLLUTERS PAY! We would slowly shift taxes away from
incomes to emissions, garbage and resources (trees, fossil fuels,
minerals, metals, aggregates, air, water, land).

3. MAKE NOT POLLUTING CHEAPER! Selective environmental taxes
would make clean technologies and green lifestyles cheaper.

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.

Green Jobs
Greens propose a tax shift away from incomes and onto resources.
This would create jobs by making people less expensive to employ
and making resources more costly thus encouraging conservation
and reducing pollution.

Green Taxes
The Green Party of Ontario would replace the Provincial Sales Tax
with selective green taxes on environmentally destructive
products like pesticides, plastics and single-use packaging.

Renewable Energy
Greens would phase out fossil fuels and nuclear in favour of
renewable energy forms like wind, sun, biomass, geothermal, small
hydro, and wood. 

Wildlife Preservation
Large animals require core wilderness areas, buffer zones and
corridors to survive. Greens would encourage eco-tourism in
northern communities and ban bear and wolf hunting.

Alternatives To Mining
Since mining is not sustainable, the Green Party would reward
sustainable industries and discourage industries which rely on
extracting virgin minerals, metals and aggregates.

Restorative Justice
Crime should be seen as a violation of a person, not of the
state.The 80% of offenders who are non-violent should be sent to
halfway houses, and sentencing circles should complement the
judicial process.

End Clearcutting
Greens would preserve old growth, replace clearcutting with
selection logging and reduce cut levels. We support value-added
production in logging communities. We suggest alternative sources
of fibre such as hemp, kenaf and straw.

Product Stewardship
Every product should be reparable and every package refillable or
compostable. Products should be designed with the three R's in
mind. There should be no such thing as garbage. 

Rail Revival
Rail concentrates population; cars cause sprawl. Greens would
restore freight and passenger rail service throughout Ontario
thus reducing dependence on cars and trucks. Urban dwellers
should live in pedestrian communities linked by rail.

Organic Agriculture
Greens favour organic farming which builds healthy soils and
manages weeds and pests without chemicals.  It is healthier and
less ecologically damaging to eat locally produced  food in
season. 

Educational Choice
The Green Party would extend funding to all educational systems
under one local board. Since post-secondary education is
necessary for most jobs, tuition should be minimal. Students
should have the option of repaying loans through community work.

Preventive Health Care
The Green Party would encourage people to adopt active lifestyles
and eat less meat and dairy. We would include complementary
health care (like naturopathy) under OHIP.

Guaranteed Income Supplement
Welfare and Employment Insurance should be replaced with a GIS
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 help to support artists, students,
volunteers and small-business start-ups.

Community Economic Development
CED means assisting local businesses utilize local labour and
resources to keep expertise, jobs and profits in the community.
The Green Party would help municipalities and regions develop
inventories to match local goods and services with local needs.

Support For The Arts
The funding of arts organizations is cost-effective because of
significant economic multiplier effects. The GPO would support
TVO and fund community-based arts activities.

Recreation
Silent recreational equipment should be tax free while motorized
equipment like snowmobiles, ATVs, sea-doos and motor boats should
be discouraged through taxation.

Four-day Work Week
Switching to a four-day/32-hour work week would share available
work and provide more family and community time. A four-day week
would not require net pay reductions since government costs for
EI, welfare, health care and other social costs would be reduced.

Municipalities
Municipalities should not be controlled by the provincial
government. The Green Party suggests a constitutional amendment
to give full legal authority to municipalities allowing them to
implement local solutions. Greens favour one-tier municipal
government, with cooperation among smaller municipalities to
provide regionally delivered services.

Electoral Reform
Our electoral system creates artificial majorities and excludes
minority opinion. Ontario should adopt a form of proportional
representation where the popular vote determines the number of
MPPs a party receives.

Visit our website: www.greenparty.on.ca
Give us a call: 613-237-4768
-------------------------------------------------------------
Frank de Jong, leader, Green Party of Ontario
416-531-4825, www.greenparty.on.ca
Box 68553, 360A Bloor Street West, Toronto M5S 1X0

next message in archive
no next message in thread
previous message in archive
Index of Subjects