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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
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