The Green Party wants to put more money back into the pockets of the people, says Kamloops-Thompson-Cariboo Green candidate Matt Greenwood.
He explains some specific Green Party policies include more education, seniors’ supports and a Carbon Fee and Dividend program.
“We want to move towards a free tuition model, not all at once but over time. In the immediate term, we would be looking at trying to make tuition interest free.”
The carbon fee is not a tax but it does collect money “at the well head or coal mine” and sends it “directly back to all Canadians” on a per capita basis, he explains.
“We’d also like to bring the retirement benefits back to [age] 65, instead of the 67 that Prime Minister Stephen Harper is planning to push [Old Age Security eligibility] up to in the next term.”
While it is a common misperception, he says the Green Party is not against all pipelines, just the four currently under review that would carry unprocessed bitumen “pulled right out of the ground and diluted with a bunch of horrendous toxic chemicals.”
It also “makes no sense at any level” to ship the bitumen to other countries for refining and then sell it back to Canada as refined oil, Greenwood adds.
The Health Accord should be continued, rather than the new funding deal that will take away $36 billion when it comes into effect after the election, he explains.
Greenwood notes the new deal does not take demographics into consideration, and British Columbia, in particular, faces health-funding challenges with its aging population.
“Canadians spend $11 billion a year on prescription drugs, and under a proper, bulk-buy, federally negotiated plan, we might be spending $1 billion a year and put $10 billion back in the pockets of Canadians across the country.”
He adds more recent patent laws have added to this financial burden, where formerly, a large supply of generic drugs kept costs down.
Another Green Party platform is governance issues, including proportional representation and reducing the power of the Prime Minister’s Office.
However, Greenwood does not expect he has any real chance to win the local seat, given past party popularity in the riding.
“…If people really like the policies I’m talking about, they should probably phone their friends on Vancouver Island or the Lower Mainland or in Guelph or Thunder Bay and strongly urge them to vote Green.
“In this particular riding and this particular election, though, the main reason to vote Green here is to send a powerful message directly to the Conservative Party of Canada that they haven’t been living up to the principles they were originally elected on….”
Greenwood adds more information about his own ideals is online at http://mattgreenwood.ca, and more on the party platform is at http://www.greenparty.ca.
