About the Green Party
How is the Green Party different from other political parties?
To begin with, most political parties base their measure of well-being almost solely on economic growth. The Greens prefer broader indicators, such as the General Progress Indicator (GPI), which evaluates positives (such as services, health and income) versus negatives (such as pollution, habitat loss, and crime).
By these broader indicators, North America has not experienced any real progress since about 1972: not for our citizens, and certainly not for our planet!
Green Values of Ecological Wisdom, Social Justice, Non-Violence, and Participatory Democracy, are endorsed not only in Canada, but globally in over 70 countries around the world. They are a model for making sense of this destructive consumer-based approach. Greens believe in the decentralization of decision making, where feasible, so that each region makes its own decisions, using the Green Values as the measure of the quality of those decisions. This requires living within the environment we create, rather than just setting aside a park. Being Green becomes a lifestyle, not just a political choice.
The economic well-being that the Green Party promotes is more qualitative rather than quantitative. We recognize limits to material and energy consumption. We believe there is a better course to chart that will not lead to resource scarcity and ecosystem failure.
We will influence public policy through a Genuine Progress Indicator (GPI) rather than relying solely on the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). By failing to subtract negative economic and social activity from its total calculations of economic activity, the current GDP indicator significantly distorts the national evaluation of real wealth creation, prosperity and quality-of-life.
Greens advocate fiscally responsibility. We believe in and free and open markets, lead by minimal but meaningful government oversight. With a current federal government budget of $240 billion annually, there are a lot of important choices to be made. Why are we not using our economic wealth and muscle to build a social and economic environment that will protect all our citizens, for ALL generations??
The Green Party respects the need for a balance between competition and co-operation in a mixed economy, and, the gifts and flexibility that this dynamic tension offers to society. Accordingly, we recognize the strengths and weaknesses of business and organized labour and will work to continuously improve the functioning of both for the public good.
We believe in social justice while still encouraging self-reliance, respecting the principle of reward for effort and risk. We believe that these principles must exist in a system where environmental issues are at the forefront of decision making.
The Green Party knows that social justice at home and abroad is both an environmental and an ethical issue. We observe that short-term economic needs too often take precedence over sound leadership and environmental stewardship. Our policies seek to directly address the core structural causes of poverty and poor health.
The environment has many functions essential to people's well being - one of which is our economic security. On Vancouver Island North, we have enjoyed from the time of the first peoples to recent years an abundant economy based strongly on the forest and the sea. But even as we watch, these riches are vanishing before our very eyes, leaving only a trashed environment and unemployed citizens behind. How can recent governments which have endorsed this destruction claim any economic wisdom?
Now look to the national and global scale, where economic strength is defined by energy availability. We all know that our fossil fuels, at least oil and natural gas, will be exhausted within a generation. How can any government propose to exhaust them even faster? Now is the time to transition to renewable energy! European countries began this transition to energy from the wind and other forms of solar energy over a decade ago, and with great success to date. Their economy is prospering, while our is headed to certain destruction unless we too make the transition.
Multi-national corporations that operate under international trade agreements written to limit democratic oversight, exert exceptional power. We will work with Green parties and other partners around the world to introduce mandatory international environmental and social standards for multi-national corporations. With other measures, this will help re-establish democratic accountability, human rights and the protection of the global environmental commons.
Greens believe the role of government is to protect and serve its citizens. Just open any newspaper and note how many ways our current government is failing to do this simple and ever-present task! We believe in good government and the collective voice of Canadians. Green Party policies will make Parliament and Provincial Legislatures more democratic and diverse through democratic renewal. Government must be far more accountable and transparent. Yes, proportional representation is an issue that Greens have been pushing for the last two decades, and it is fundamental to providing a fair democracy. The Green Party will work for a national Citizens' Assembly to renew the democratic process in Canada. It is indeed time to move from our current 19th century electoral practice to a system more worthy of the information age we live in.
By voting Green, you are saying that you want the system to change, that you want a future for our children and grandchildren. This change will begin as soon as the balance of power in a parliament is held by Green members! You must want change for it to occur -- otherwise you get the same old stuff in the same old box.
While independent, Green parties around the world share common values as expressed in the Global Greens Charter. These principles are: ecological wisdom, sustainability, respect for diversity, social justice, non-violence and participatory democracy.
Canada must play a far more significant role in the world, building peace, advancing human rights and protecting vulnerable eco-systems. Canada has the capacity to help and our leadership must be felt at crucial moments. We must rise to the many challenges facing the world and advance a new global vision to replace the culture of fear that diverts massive human and financial resources from real global threats.
