Some of the Green Party’s many detailed plans were outlined by party Leader Frank de Jong and deputy leader Judy Greenwood-Speers in their mock debate on October 16 at the University of Windsor.

The Green Party is not just all about the environment de Jong said. “Greens are fiscally responsible, socially progressive and ecologically minded, and we espouse a cogent, comprehensive political philosophy whose time has come.”

“There is no left and right to politics anymore. There is only green and grey, and Harris has helped polarize us in that direction,” he added.

“To bring in legislative change, you need to be part of government,” said Greenwood-Speers. Change is coming too slow to keep a sustainable lifestyle, that’s why groups like the Green Party need to force their way into power.

“Laissez-faire worked during the 80’s, maybe even in the 90’s, but now our air is unsafe to breathe, and our land is contaminated,” added Greenwood-Speers.

The way the Green Party plans to achieve the needs of each community is to have a flat organization where each riding will have a say. “We try to keep our hierarchy as flat as possible. A leader should listen more than talk,” said de Jong.

Frank de Jong outlined how the population of Canada is becoming unsustainable. His Green Party wants to encourage immigration to help keep the economy young. This way, saving your whole life just to grow old would not be necessary.

“Canada has embraced racist laws in the past towards immigrants,” said Greenwood-Speers. The Green Party wants to encourage regular immigration and debt forgiveness for Third World countries.

Greenwood-Speers referred to Gandhi when describing the Green Party’s stance on military. The Green Party would withdraw Canada from NATO, cut finding by 50 percent, divert troops to peacekeeping, and halt international training and weapon sales.

“We are the most wasteful nation next to the U.S.,” said Greenwood-Speers. She described the Green Party’s plan to introduce product stewardship legislation, which would mean that all goods produced would have be reusable, repairable, recyclable, or compostable.

Some other ideas included a ‘citizen’s income,’ where unpaid and undervalued life contributions such as child-rearing, art, volunteering, learning a trade, and small-businesses would be compensated.

“C’mon, some people are working part and full time and are still not hitting the poverty line,” says Greenwood-Speers. As well, the Green Party would increase funding for cultural activities, like the CBC and other smaller based community arts and recreation organizations.

The party’s platform can be found at www.green.ca, or you can call toll free at 1-888-647-3366

“I want people to recognize they are throwing their vote away for the other party, not us,” said Greenwood-Speers.