Draft Policy - 1996 - Arrow Lakes, BC

A SUSTAINABLE ECONOMY

1) COMMUNITY ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

Transnational corporations have no stake in the communities where they get their raw materials or where they operate. As a result, resources are overexploited, and jobs migrate to where labour is cheapest and environmental standards are lowest. Free trade and the GATT severely limit our autonomy to set environmental standards and to support community-owned and operated business. Green initiatives for tax reform and sustainable resource management would strongly favour locally owned and operated businesses that use local resources for value-added production in a sustainable manner. Businesses would produce useful products that are designed to last and be easily repaired, and would keep jobs and profits in the community. Community economic development (CED) means helping companies with local sourcing, revolving community loans, and developing local inventories of social and material needs and matching them with local suppliers.

2) CORPORATE CHARTERS

Corporations are artificial entities that are not loyal to individuals or communities. Creating a sustainable future will depend on restructuring this key institution. Greens suggest the following conditions be met before a corporate charter is granted to a limited company:

a) Corporate owners and officers must be legally liable, in criminal and civil court, for harm they cause.

b) Corporations that do not enhance the quality of life of a community will have their charters revoked. This is not merely a deterrent to corporate abuse, but a critical element of an ecological society, because it creates feedback loops that encourage accountability, citizen involvement, and learning.

c) The tax system should be changed to encourage cooperative ownership of companies by employees and/or local citizens.

3) DEBT AND DEFICIT

Twenty-five cents of every federal tax dollar goes directly to commercial banks to pay the interest on Canada's $600-billion debt. To deal with the deficit and the debt, the Green Party recommends:

a) Eliminating subsidies to nuclear power and to fossil fuels and/or chemical-dependent sectors.

b) Reducing overlap between provincial and federal government departments (forestry, agriculture, education, transportation, etc.)

c) Setting up a financial transaction tax (FTT). Financial transactions in Canada total around $50 trillion per year. A 1% FTT would generate $500 billion. Currency exchange and capital flow restrictions give us the power to ensure that most of Canadian financial wealth remains here. Transnational corporations would undoubtedly dislike firm trade borders in Canada. Nonetheless, most would find they stand to lose more by leaving Canada than by staying, so long as the tax system is designed to reward productive investment and to discourage speculation.

d) Instructing the Bank of Canada to take over a significant portion of the debt as an interest-free loan. Interest paid on bonds would flow back to the Treasury as Bank dividends. In 1975 the Bank held 20.8% of the federal debt. In 1994 the Bank held 5.4%. That change has cost Canadian taxpayers about $67-billion in interest and interest on the interest.

4) ECONOMIC MEASUREMENT (GENUINE PROGRESS INDICATOR)

Greens suggest replacing the Gross National Product with the Genuine Progress Indicator (GPI). The GNP excludes social and environmental costs in its accounting, thus facilitating the illusion that community breakdown, crime, the loss of farmland and biodiversity, and unemployment have no economic significance. The GPI is a measure of societal progress. In addition to measuring how much we produce, it factors in any significant changes in income distribution and accounts for the value of non-monetized (non-market) work contributed by community or household efforts. It also accounts for such "externalities" as the costs of pollution and the disappearance of natural resources. When such factors are taken into account, the real costs of increased economic activity often outweigh the benefits, making economic growth uneconomic and unsustainable.

5) MORE JOBS THROUGH REDUCED WORK TIME

Since 1970 the number of people employed in manufacturing has dropped from 22% to 14%. Moving to a four-day/32-hour work week would mean that existing jobs could be shared with those now unemployed. While government would receive less tax revenue from those previously employed 40 hours per week, this shortfall would be compensated by savings in employment insurance and welfare costs, as well as infrastructure costs. A tax on overtime would also generate new revenue. Other benefits of a 32-hour work week would include:- reduced health costs, as both the formerly unemployed and the formerly overworked move to more balanced lifestyles;- reduced crime costs;- reduced education costs as the number of involuntary students decreases and unnecessary educational qualifications are removed. As government costs are lowered, income and payroll taxes could also be reduced. Consequently, a reduced work week would not result in a significant pay reduction. Greens also suggest five weeks of vacation per year, job sharing, paid leave for child rearing and educational leave

6) LIFE-CYCLE PRODUCT STEWARDSHIP

Pollution is resources being wasted. Landfilling is like burying money in the ground. "Garbage" should not be landfilled or released into the air, water or soil. Greens would introduce product-stewardship programs that would require producers to assume the full recycling and disposal costs of their products.

7) TAXATION

The Green Party suggests shifting taxes away from personal income and onto non-renewable resources, and eliminating taxes on ecologically benign products and processes. Green taxes reward sustainable businesses and penalize resource-intensive industries. Greens suggest eliminating payroll deductions and employer costs since employers are discouraged from hiring people due to the high accompanying costs. Income taxes and payroll deductions charged to employers for benefits (e.g. vacation pay, health insurance, pensions, employment insurance, dental insurance, long-term disability, drug plans, severance pay) make people expensive to hire. These costs should be borne by government with funds generated by green taxes (resource taxes, emissions taxes, disposal taxes), and by currency transaction taxes, financial transaction taxes, and inheritance taxes. Governments should also eliminate subsidies to the fossil fuel and nuclear industries, and eliminate tax write-offs for equipment purchases.

1) AGRICULTURE

Agribusiness encourages mono-cropping, chemical farming, centralization, overprocessing, long-distance transportation and decreased employment. Greens seek to preserve crop diversity, reconnect the farmer with the consumer and ensure a supply of locally produced, organically grown food. Product labels should indicate the use of pesticides and bio-engineering. Greens favour organic farming for its emphasis on biological techniques to build healthy soils, manage weeds and minimize pest damage to crops. Green Policy Suggestions:

a) Create employment through the reestablishment of small farms.

b) Fund only research in organic farming techniques.

c) Encourage consumers to support local farms.

d) Support the reintroduction of heritage varieties.

e) Aim for 50% of all farms organic by 2010.

f) Redraft Canada's Food Guide to emphasize grains, legumes, vegetables and fruits.

g) Support the ongoing process of developing a Canadian and an international certification program for organic produce.

h) Increase taxes on pesticides and remove tax rebates for fuel and equipment purchases.

2) BIODIVERSITY/WILDERNESS

According to the World Wildlife Fund, Canada is losing at least one square kilometre of wilderness every hour. Only 4.6% of Canada's land and waters have been set aside as wilderness. Canada should develop a wilderness-based conservation strategy to protect biodiversity on an evolutionary scale. A wilderness-based conservation strategy would set aside large tracts of land as wilderness. Canada needs a system of core reserves, corridors, and buffer zones free from permanent human habitation, resource exploitation, and contain no roads or railways to accommodate viable, self-reproducing, genetically diverse native plant and animal species, including large predators.

3) ENDANGERED SPECIES ACT

Canada is home to an estimated 300,000 species, yet we have only identified 72,000. We are losing species at 100 to 1,000 times the natural rate of extinction. Over 80% of species at risk in Canada are in trouble because of assaults on their habitat. Natural habitat for wildlife in Canada is estimated to be disappearing at the rate of 240 hectares every hour. The Canadian Endangered Species Act covers only species in national parks, 4% of Canada's land mass. It does not cover habitat loss of endangered species in these parks. In Canada there are no laws at the national level that make it illegal to destroy the habitat of an endangered species or to prevent its demise through over-hunting or through toxic contamination. Federal wildlife laws do not require a response when a species becomes endangered. Greens would demand legislation that would: protect all endangered species; provide mandatory protection for any critical habitat; prohibit killing or harming endangered species across Canada; require advance review of projects that affect endangered species or their habitats; and provide a national safety net to ensure that species do not become extinct as a result of provincial inaction.

4) SUSTAINABLE ENERGY

To encourage the transition to sustainable energy production and consumption, hundreds of policy changes are required. Most of them fall into one of four categories: reducing subsidies for nuclear and fossil fuels and raising taxes on them to reflect environmental costs, accelerating investment in sustainable energy infrastructure, redirecting research and development spending to focus on sustainable energy technologies and changing the focus of international energy assistance away from megaprojects towards appropriately sized community planned and driven projects. Energy policy issues are often dealt with by the provinces in Canada. For example, electric utilities are a provincial responsibility. However, there are opportunities to encourage the transition to a sustainable energy economy and to develop a strong sustainable energy infrastructure in Canada through federal policies. These opportunities are in four areas: tax policy, energy procurement, energy R&D; spending and foreign aid. Tax Policy

a) Revise the tax treatment of renewable energy and energy efficiency investments immediately to make them at least as attractive to investors as investments in conventional energy sources such as oil and gas and investments in other capital assets. This will require changes to flow through share eligibility to include development costs as well as elimination of the Specified Energy Property rules.

b) Provide incentives to renewable energy producers and investors with a production credit of $0.05 per kilowatt hour. This production credit would help to recognize the social benefits provided by renewable energy: reduced environmental damage, reduced health care costs, and job creation.

c) Implement a tax or similar type of charge (e.g. resource depletion fee) on all carbon based fuels to gradually double the real price of these fuels over a ten year period.

Green Energy Procurement

As one of the largest organizations in Canada, the federal government consumes vast quantities of electricity and other forms of energy. Specifying that a significant amount of these purchases must come from green power sources would help develop and support a sustainable energy infrastructure throughout Canada. This would help to drive down the costs of sustainable energy sources and make them more attractive to the general energy market

a) Purchase 20% of electricity from green sources by the year 2005. Green sources include energy from wind, solar, biomass, small hydro and cogeneration of electricity and heat.

b) Reduce emissions of carbon dioxide and other harmful substances from federal vehicle fleets by 50% by the year 2005(1995 base). This can be accomplished through fleet conversions to vehicles using electric, propane, natural gas, ethanol and other less polluting fuels.

c) Improve the energy efficiency of the total federally owned or controlled building stock by 25% by the year 2000 and 50% by the year 2005 (1995 base) through the use of retrofits and other energy efficiency measures. Energy Research & Development

The Federal government spends in excess of $1 billion annually on research and development related to energy. This amount is mainly spent on programs supporting nuclear and fossil fuel based energy.

a) Spend 50% of energy research and development on renewable energy technologies by the year 2000.

b) Discontinue spending on nuclear energy research, including the subsidy to Atomic Energy of Canada, for an annual savings of hundreds of millions of dollars.

c) Focus programs related to fossil fuel energy supply, production and consumption on reducing greenhouse gas emissions and other harmful environmental impacts.

d) Allocate a significant portion of energy research and development spending to support field trials andcommercialization of renewable energy technologies to improvetheir reliability, efficiency and competitiveness in Canadian and International markets and thereby accelerate their adoption by clients.

Foreign Aid

a) Stop all foreign energy assistance related to hydro-electric and other energy megaprojects by the year 2000.

b) Discontinue all foreign energy assistance related to nuclear and fossil fuel projects by the year 2000.

c) Make energy efficiency and renewable energy supply fromappropriately sized community planned and driven projects a keyfocus of overseas development assistance for all federal organization and agencies, including CIDA and the ExportDevelopment Corporation (EDC).

5) ETHICAL TREATMENT OF ANIMALS

All species have the intrinsic right to exist without regard to their usefulness to humankind. All animals, whether wild or domesticated, have the right to fair and ethical treatment by human beings. Greens advocate increased funding to conservation officers to stop illegal sport hunting and poaching. We discourage recreational hunting in favour of less destructive ways of appreciating nature. We support a ban on leg-hold traps, assuggested by the European Parliament as well as the Cree, thelargest group of native trappers.We advocate the establishment of standards for the care of farmanimals that would require free-range production using organictechniques. We encourage a reduction in meat consumption andwould require the labelling of growth stimulants and antibioticsused in the production of meats.Greens suggest ending the use of animals for the testing ofcosmetics and household products, and for psychological andmedical research, especially since alternatives are widelyavailable. Animals imported for zoos must have been born incaptivity or be projects to save a threatened species. Entertainment using animals should not be allowed (i.e. dogracing, rodeos, bullfighting, etc.)

6) FISHERIES

In 1977, when Canada gained control of the 320-km zone off Newfoundland, the purpose was to manage fish stocks withou tdepleting the resource. However, instead of establishing sustainable fishing, Canada fostered the introduction of modernized "dragger-net" trawlers, using high-tech fish-finding electronics and ice-breaking capacity. As total catches increasedmany-fold, much of each catch was dumped overboard dead with thebest and largest kept.On Canada's West Coast, salmon stocks are being threatened by foreign fisheries, hydro-electric dams, urban development, clear-cut logging and industrial pollution.Green Party fishery policy would strive to:

a) manage how, where and when we fish as well as how much we catch;

b) protect the resource by erring on the side of conservation when scientific advice is uncertain;

c) institute decentralized, cost-effective co-management that truly shares authority and responsibility between fishers and managers;

d) establish a fully owner-operated fishing fleet for the conservation and economic benefits;

e) eliminate subsidies to fishers;

f) impose regulations requiring industry to use selective fishing technologies and to reduce, and eventually eliminate, wasteful by-catch of fish and other marine life.

g) discourage draggers in favour of traditional, community-based fishing methods and management that offer a more ecologically and socially sound alternative to capital-intensive industrial fishing.

7) FORESTS

Today, industrial forestry in Canada emphasizes short-termprofits, high-volume tree-cutting, low job-to-volume-cut ratios,and intensive mechanization. This approach threatens to exhaustCanada's natural resource base without providing long-termeconomic security for timber-dependent communities. There areother options. Throughout northeastern North America, individuals and groups areexploring sustainable forestry alternatives that support localcommunities and, at the same time, maintain healthy forestecosystems. Clearcutting should be banned and the remaining oldgrowth should be preserved. Higher stumpage fees would encourageselective cutting, and value-added production would create morejobs than exporting raw logs. Hemp and kenaf should be grown asalternative sources of paper fibre.

8) GLOBAL CLIMATE CHANGE

Canada's environment ministers agreed in June 1996 thatinternational scientific evidence confirms that human activity isaffecting the climate. Canada's goal has been to stabilize theoutput of greenhouse gases at the 1990 level by 2000, butemissions are still rising. A six-year study in the MackenzieBasin has confirmed that northern permafrost is retreating andbecoming thinner. Meteorological records in the region, datingback to 1890, show average temperatures have risen about onedegree Celsius in the last century. In their Red Book, theLiberals promised to move toward a 20%-reduction in greenhousegases, but no plan has yet been developed to attain this goal.The Green Party suggests reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 80%over the 25 years. This could be done through conservation anddeveloping renewable energy sources.

9) INFRASTRUCTURE

Instead of new roads and water treatment plants, Greeninfrastructure includes clean-fuel transit, bicycle paths, andartificial wetlands for processing sewage. Green infrastructureprograms would facilitate conservation retrofits, and buildrenewable energy projects. Rather than travelling the worldtrying to sell nuclear reactors, a Green government would travelacross Canada cutting ribbons on new solar, wind, and biomasselectrical generating stations10) NUCLEAR SUNSETNuclear power required subsidies to get started, and now, 55years later, nuclear plants still require huge annual subsidies.Since its creation in 1952, the Canadian nuclear industry hasreceived $13 billion in federal government cash subsidies. Theopportunity cost of these subsidies is $120.4 billion (thisrepresents what the subsidies would be worth if the governmenthad instead invested in break-even ventures). In 1995, thesubsidy to Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd. (AECL) was $180 million.Greens advocate that the federal government terminate itsinvolvement in the CANDU Owners Group and end all subsidies toAECL. If the nuclear industry is viable, it should be able toprovide its own financing and survive independently. The federalgovernment should stop pursuing international sales of CANDUreactors, and abandon its plans to bury nuclear waste in theCanadian shield.

11) OZONE DEPLETION

According to the World Meteorological Organization, even greaterozone declines are expected in the coming years with increasingchlorine and bromine concentrations. Contrary to manyassumptions, the world's industrial countries have failed to banall ozone-depleting chemicals, so ozone depletion continues. Theongoing build-up of greenhouse gases in the Earth's atmosphere,released primarily by the coal and oil industries, is trappingheat in the lower atmosphere and cooling off the stratosphere,thus further accelerating the rate of ozone depletion. Greens support a ban on methyl bromide, an agricultural fumigant,and phasing out chlorine-based industries.

12) ZERO-DISCHARGE

The National Pollutant Release Inventory monitors only 125 of over 300 industrial chemicals from 1,466 of the more than 3,000polluting operations in Canada. Across Canada, a total of 227,000tonnes of toxic waste were discharged by industry in 1993. Despite its voluntary Responsible Care Program, the chemicalindustry continues to be a large polluter. Conventional chemicalengineering has long been based on the assumption that humans canmanage the environment by deciding how much of any material theEarth can safely absorb. Unfortunately, we do not know, and mostlikely, will never know how much toxic material the environmentcan withstand. Therefore, Greens recommend pollution taxes and legislation torequire industry to move toward the virtual elimination ofemissions of chemicals that bioaccumulate or are toxic. Suspectedendocrine disrupters, such as dioxin, should be bannedimmediately.

13) ENDOCRINE-DISRUPTING CHEMICALS

Endocrine-disrupting chemicals can undermine neurological and behavioral development and subsequent potential of individuals exposed in the womb or, in fish, amphibians, reptiles, and birds, the egg. This loss of potential in humans and wildlife is expressed as behavioural and physical abnormalities. It may be expressed as reduced intellectual capacity and social adaptability, such as impaired responsiveness to environmental demands, or in a variety of other functional guises. Widespread loss of this in nature can change the character of human societies or destabilize wildlife populations. Human-made chemicals that interfere with sex hormones have the potential to disturb normal brain sexual development. Wildlife studies of gulls, terns, fishes, whales porpoises, alligators and turtles link environmental contaminants with disturbances in sex hormone production and/or action. These effects have been associated with exposure to sewage and industrial effluents, pesticides, ambient ocean and freshwater contamination, and the aquatic food web. Compounds shown to have endocrine effects include dioxins, PCBs, phenolics, phthalates, and many pesticides. Any compounds mimicking or antagonizing actions of, or altering levels of, neurotransmitters, hormones, and growth factors in the developing brain are potentially in this group. Every pregnant woman in the world has endocrine disruptors in her body that are transferred to the fetus. She also has measurable concentrations of endocrine disruptors in her milk that are transferred to the infant. Green Party suggests the following policy:

a) Since large amounts of human-made chemicals capable of disrupting the endocrine and nervous systems are sold to, or produced and used in, third world countries that lack theresources or technology to properly monitor and control exposurelevels, Canada should halt participation in the internationaltrade of endocrine disrupting chemicals.

b) Wildlife have been effective models for understandingendocrine disruption at the molecular, cellular, individual,population, and ecosystem levels. Future research to examinediverse wildlife species at all levels of biological organizationmust be broadened and adequately supported.

c) Those responsible for producing human-made chemicals mustassure product safety beyond a reasonable doubt. Manufacturersshould be required to release the names of all chemicals used intheir products with the appropriate evidence that the productspose no developmental health hazard.

d) Specially designed messages should be developed for familyphysicians and others responsible for public health who are oftenunaware of the possible role of occupational and environmentalchemical pollutants as agents underlying or constituting riskfactors for "primary" human diseases. Physicians must be trainedin medical school about often latent effects of pollutants onhuman development and health. This training is currentlyinadequate. A coordinated speakers bureau and on-line systemssuch as a site on the World Wide Web for endocrine-disruptorsshould be established.

1) CHILD CARE

Today in Canada, one in five children under the age of 18 lives in poverty. The Green Party recognizes that how we care for our children today will ultimately determine how people care for each other and the earth. Greens see parenting as a valuable investment not only in the well-being of our children, but in the future of our society as a whole, and believe it should be treated as such by providing real support for parenting instead of encouraging people to work for short-term economic gain. To shield parents against social or economic pressure, support should be made available through community resources and public education. By subsidizing day-care, we subsidize economic growth while diminishing our social and human resources. We should develop a society where the care of our children comes before our desire to consume an ever-increasing volume of products and services, and where taking time from work to raise our children is encouraged. The Green Party suggests providing financial assistance when necessary for parents to care for their own children. This could be achieved through guaranteed income supplements. The public, particularly young people, should be educated on the importance of meeting our children's emotional, nutritional, health and medical needs, especially in the first few years of their life. Greens suggest education on the importance of breast-feeding and child-led weaning. Steps should be taken to ensure that employers offer extended leaves of absence, flexible working hours and job-sharing to parents.

2) THE ARTS

While the cost of funding the arts is relatively low, its socialbenefits and economic multiplier effects are high. Canadiancultural industries support $17 billion in economic activityannually with a federal investment of $2.9 billion---one-quarterof which is returned in taxes (source: Canadian Conference ofthe Arts). Greens suggest maintaining and increasing arts funding,especially for smaller, community-based, participatory arts andrecreational activities. The GST on books, magazines andnewspapers should also be removed.The total amount of Canadian programming watched by Canadians is4.4%. Instead of chasing ratings, CBC TV should promote thecultural diversity of Canadian music, literature, dance anddrama. These activities are already funded by Canadian taxpayers,but are seen by relatively few of them. CBC TV should gocommercial-free, drop sports, and produce programming that iseducational, thought-provoking, useful and unavailable elsewhere.

3) DECRIMINALIZATION OF DRUGS

Criminalized drugs makes criminals of those who have committed avictimless offence. These "criminals" are tried in the courts andthen jailed. At every stage of this process, there is a cost tosociety. Drug-related crimes stigmatize people, divert resourcesfrom other law-enforcement needs, and clog the justice system. The decriminalization of heroin, cocaine and marijuana would easethe burden on the judicial system, control distribution, andenable governments to collect tax. These substances should betreated like alcohol and tobacco. Decriminalization wouldeliminate the costs, dangers and health risks associated withunderground procurement of drugs, along with the costs ofpolicing. More programs should be available to assist addicts endtheir dependency.

4) EDUCATION (POST SECONDARY)

Higher education is a right not a privilege. Post-secondaryeducation is a necessity that should be accessible to all withouthardship. Today, it is not uncommon for students to finish theiruniversity or college education with a $20,000 debt. The GreenParty suggests reducing tuition to a nominal fee, and replacingprovincial and federal loan programs with the guaranteed incomesupplement plan to assist students with living costs.

5) EUTHANASIA

Between 1991 and 1995, on six occasions, individuals in Canadawho openly admitted to compassionately helping others to diereceived a conditional discharge or a suspended sentence.Legislation is needed to allow euthanasia or assisted suicide notas a way of liberating the practice, but as a way of restrictingit to the situations that we, as a society, deem appropriate. In regulating euthanasia, several options could be considered:- stop making assisting suicide a crime, or narrow the definition of that offence; - legalize assisted suicide or euthanasia under limited conditions; - allow compassionate homicide as a criminal defence or change the punishment for assisted suicide.The Green Party recommends the decriminalization of doctor-assisted suicide. Federal legislation should regulateeligibility and a process that should require thorough familyconsultation and require a specified waiting period betweenstages in the process.

6) JUDICIAL REFORM

The average cost of keeping an offender in a penitentiary is$48,000 a year compared to $9,500 on parole. Non-violentoffenders could be controlled and helped just as effectively bysending them directly to halfway houses instead ofpenitentiaries. In halfway houses, men and women live and work inthe community and do so at an approximate cost of $75 a day. Inprison, they languish unproductively at a daily cost of $132.Currently, 80% of prisoners are serving sentences for non-violentcrimes. Organizations like the John Howard and Elizabeth Fry Societies can much better help offenders integrate back intosociety by operating out of half-way houses.Greens suggest experimenting with sentencing circles, in whichmembers of the community are involved in meting out appropriatepunishments, as an alternative to judges and juries. The beliefthat prison sentences deter or rehabilitate is increasinglysuspect. There is already a movement in some communities todivert offenders out of the prison system and require them tocompensate their victims or perform community service.Justice should be restorative rather than retributive. Greens suggest that crime should be defined as a violation of one personby another, not as a violation of the state. The focus should beon dialogue and negotiation, not adversarial relationships andprocesses. Justice should focus on repair of social injury, notone social injury replaced by another. The roles of victim andoffender should be recognized in both problem and solution; thereshould be direct involvement by participants.Greens suggest that the Young Offenders Act be revised sinceyoung criminals have the impression that they are not accountablefor their actions. Greens support the YOA because it channelsyoung people into alternative programs, instead of to extremelyexpensive and ineffective incarceration. It is counterproductiveto mete out the full measure of the law and turn youth intohardened criminals.

7) PATENTING LIFE

Life patenting is the practice of designating the cell lines oflife forms as the intellectual property of the claim holder. Life patenting has been around for decades (the U.S. Plant PatentAct, passed in 1930, was the first intellectual property systemdesigned for the patenting of life forms), but has becomecontroversial as patents have been sought---not only on plantsand microbial organisms---but also on animals and humans. While the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has had a 15-yearpolicy of granting patents for human and animal genes, the issuegained international recognition in 1995 when the U.S. governmentgranted itself patent protection on the unmodified human cellline of a 20-year-old Hagahai man in Papua New Guinea. Theaction sparked an outcry from the government of Papua New Guinea,as well as indigenous groups and religious organizationsworldwide. Despite growing societal concerns, the trade in humangenetic material---especially that of indigenous peoples---israpidly accelerating, and is really just beginning. With newbiotechnologies, the pharmaceutical industry can exploit humangenetic diversity the same way that plant breeding companiesexploit crop genetic diversity. Benefits to those awarded patents are enormous. Plant breedingis a multi-billion dollar industry annually, while some humancell line patents (of interest to medical research and thepharmaceutical industry, as well as the military for biologicalwarfare) have been valued at more than a billion dollars. As inall cases of intellectual property, proponents claim that patentprotection is necessary to fund research and development efforts. Opponents of life patenting (including the European Greens whichsuccessfully led the opposition to a European CommissionDirective on life patenting in 1995) counter with a host ofscientific, social and ethical concerns.These include: patents granted are often too broad; protection ofprivate profits are coming before the advancement of scientificresearch in the public interest; patent protection limits---notincreases---scientific research; charges of "biopiracy" asindigenous knowledge is appropriated without recognition orconsent (i.e. when plants that are the product of millennia ofplant breeding by indigenous peoples suddenly become the"invention" and property of a patent holder), and as samples ofhuman cells are taken from indigenous peoples without the donors'informed consent and without compensation; and finally, that itviolates the "sanctity of life". Green Party policy on biotechnology would call for the following:

a) that until proper protocols are in place, no further humantissues should be collected and/or exchanged across internationalborders, and that initiatives such as the Human Genome DiversityProject---an international effort to collect and immortalizehuman cell lines from indigenous communities---should not beallowed to proceed;

b) that, as a U.N. agency, the World Health Organization (WHO)review and strengthen its ethical codes for medical research. WHO officials must recognize that when they collaborate withacademic or government medical researchers on human cell linestudies that material could be commercialized and patented byforeign governments or corporations and that human tissuesinvolved could be used by U.S. biowarfare scientists;

c) that the Convention on Biological Diversity---the legally-binding international accord adopted at the 1992 EarthSummit---accept its legal responsibility for human biological diversity and establish strict regulations regarding itscollection, exchange, and investigation;

d) that the Fourth Review Conference of the Biological WeaponsConvention in Geneva in November 1996 ensure that civilianmedical research is kept separate from biowarfare research.

8) PEDESTRIAN COMMUNITIES AND RAIL

Given increasing urban air pollution in cities across Canada, andconsensus in the scientific community on global climate change,the Green Party suggests that the 15 million cars and trucks in Canada could be largely replaced by trains and clean-fuelvehicles. Trains concentrate development, while cars encouragesprawl. Greens suggest revitalizing the rail system for long distancehaulage of goods and for inter-community passenger travel, andmaintaining public access to currently unused rail rights of ways. The Green Party suggests bringing places of work, living andrecreation closer together. We envision gradually rebuilding allurban areas into pedestrian communities, interconnected bysurface light rail, making the private automobile redundant.The licence fee for a private car should include the costs ofpolicing, hospitalization, pollution cleanup, road construction,and maintenance of the road network.

9) POPULATION AND IMMIGRATION

Canada's population is now around 30 million. Our populationgrows by 975 people a day. In 1994, the number of births was385,000, which resulted in a natural increase of 178,000. Thelevel of natural population increases is declining. In 35 yearsdeaths will outstrip births. The immigration level for 1996 wasset at between 195,000 and 220,000 newcomers---2.5 per centhigher than 1995. Economic immigrants, which include skilledworkers, entrepreneurs, investors constitute about 50 per cent ofthe total. Refugees make up between 24,000 and 32,000.Eligibility for immigration to Canada is based on a complicatedpoint system where points are awarded for education and financialresources. This criteria perpetuates a brain drain and wealthdrain from poor to rich countries.Greens feel that Canada's population should not grow larger.However, Canadians must at the same time take responsibility forreducing their consumption and waste of resources and energy. Our population levels are already far beyond ecologicalsustainable carrying capacity unless we dramatically reduce ourconsumption of energy and materials. Canadians are among the 20%of the earth's people who consume 80% of the world's resources. While large in size Canada is not underpopulated, because most ofour territory will not support agriculture. The Green Party advocates that Canada's immigration policy belinked to foreign and environmental policy. Greens feel immigration should focus more on political refugees requiring asylum and less on the immigrants ability to pay. Consequently, Greens suggest eliminating the $1000 head tax on each immigrant. This "right-of-landing" fee may be an obstacle to talented, but less wealthy immigrants. Immigration for refugees is always a last resort decision. People emigrate to Canada to escape war, poverty and ecological destruction. Greens suggest measures to reduce the need for large-scale immigration:- Rich countries should pay a fair price for third world commodities.- The arms trade drains poor countries of wealth which would be better spent on social services while the weapons are mostly used to control their own populations.- Canada should maintain trade sanctions with countries with human rights abuses.- Canadian aid should encourage bioregional self-reliance in basic goods and services.- Debt forgiveness to poor countries and restrictions on wealth transfer from poor to rich countries in the form of corporate profits.

10) REPRODUCTIVE TECHNOLOGIES

In the US women are paid around $24,000 for their eggs. Egg retrieval is a highly invasive procedure that involves the use of drugs to stimulate egg production, and the passing of a surgical needle through the vaginal wall to the ovaries. The procedure could involve long-term health risks. The Green Party suggests discouraging surrogate motherhood and suggests close regulation, while leaving the final decision up to the individual.

11) SAME-SEX MARRIAGES

The Green Party recommends that the federal parliament adopt legislation legally recognizing gay and lesbian marriages.

12) SOCIAL SERVICES (GUARANTEED INCOME SUPPLEMENT)

In 1993, 4.8 million Canadians (17.4%) had incomes below the poverty line. 20% of children under 18 live in poverty and 20% of people over 65 live in poverty. 60% of families headed by single mothers in poverty. Current income assistance programs are a mix of municipal, provincial and federal programs that are not rooted in the community. Socially valuable activities, such as child-rearing, homemaking, learning, volunteering and starting small-businesses, are not adequately supported. Existing programs such as Employment Insurance, Welfare, arts grants, workers compensation, CPP and student loans are complicated, judgmental and expensive to administer. Greens advocate rolling these programs into a Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS) which would provide a subsistence income, equivalent to welfare, to those who don't work (students, unemployed, seniors, primary care givers, small business startups, etc.; there is already a GIS for seniors.) A GIS would top up the incomes of the underemployed by 50% toward a target income. For example, if the target income was set at $14,000, an unemployed adult would receive $7,000 per year. If someone had apart-time job paying $8,000 per year, the GIS would make up 50% of the difference between $8,000 and the target income ($3,000) for a total income of $11,000.

1) FIRST NATIONS SELF-DETERMINATION

The Indian Act dictates that First Nations peoples are still separated from the mainstream by laws not of their making, still denied fundamental rights of self-determination, still classified according to their race, and still divided against each other because of artificial categories imposed on them by the government. Greens recognize the inherent right of First Nations peoples to self-government and support the desire of First Nations people to eliminate the Indian Act. Greens recognize First Nations peoples' right to control resources on and under their lands, education, health care, housing, employment services and the judicial system (a parallel system including lawyers, prisons, parole boards). The Green Party supports the Native Council of Canada in its struggle for recognition of off-reserve indigenous peoples. Only 1 in 4 First Nations people live on a reserve. Self-government means urban as well as reserve self-government. The Green Party, however, does not support the loophole allowing First Nations peoples on reserves to resell goods like cigarettes, alcohol, and gasoline tax-free. Nor does the Green Party support natives who overexploit natural resources or threaten species or habitats.

2) PROPORTIONAL REPRESENTATION

The Green Party suggests switching to proportional representation so that when a party receives 15% of the popular vote it would also receive 15% of the seats in Parliament. Greens oppose paid political advertising and political donations, in favour of equal access to the media and funding for all parties. Greens support the development of public forums in which riding constituents are invited to speak to each other, and to their MP in a nonpartisan way. When possible, everyone attending such meetings should be invited to speak. Green candidates and MPs should regard these forums as a means of articulating local democratic will, which serves to advise the elected MP. Green MPs should be requested to vote according to their conscience, but with due respect to the values and policy of the party, and the democratic will of their constituents.

3) QUEBEC

The Green Party believes that Quebec has the right to secede if that is the will of its people, democratically expressed. However, the terms of separation should be decided collectively by the parliaments of Canada. First Nations peoples within Quebec (and within Canada) should also be free to choose sovereignty or remain in Canada. Regions of Quebec should also have the right to remain in Canada if that is their democratically expressed wish.

4) SENATE and SUPREME COURT

The Senate serves very little purpose beyond symbolism since its non-elected members are not considered to have sufficient authority to seriously question or reject legislation. The tradition of patronage appointments by the sitting government further undermines the Senate's credibility. The Green Party suggests that the Senate should be elected rather than appointed and furthermore that the election be by proportional representation. Greens suggest that Supreme Court judges be appointed by the provinces rather than by the federal government.

1) GUN CONTROL

The vast majority of firearm homicides are perpetrated by someone known to the victim. In Canada, one woman is shot to death every six days — in most cases in her home by someone she knows and with a legally-owned shotgun or rifle. In the US, the rate of murders without guns is slightly higher than Canada's (1.7 times); but murder with guns is 10 times greater. The recent Firearms Bill, passed in June 1995, requires registration of all firearms within five years. In addition to this, the Green Party suggests the banning of hand guns except those kept permanently at firing ranges, and the off-site storage of all hunting rifles.

2) GATT AND FREE TRADE

The General Agreement of Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is a fatally flawed agreement in that it does not set community standards by which signatory nations must abide. It gives countries like Burma and Malaysia free access to the Canadian market. Such countries have wage rates of less than one dollar per hour, lack environmental and safety protection, and provide no social safety net — yet we expect Canadian companies to compete head-to-head with them! In its current form, the GATT no longer serves Canadian interests. In the short term, our best option is to insulate ourselves from global trade with tariffs, and to work to restore Canadian self-sufficiency in basic goods and services. Strong and swift antidumping provisions are also required. If we wish to maintain international trade, new relationships with trading partners should be set via a multi-tiered tariff arrangement. Trade partners would be assigned a tariff class based on the following criteria: degree to which wage, environmental, and safety standards are enforced; degree to which union activity is protected; degree to which that trading partner has a balanced economy; degree to which that trading partner has insulated itself from exploitative global trade. Tariffs following these guidelines would ensure that Canadian companies and workers would not have to compete with exploitive firms in other parts of the world. Canada would not necessarily need to establish these trading rules unilaterally. A new GATT drawn up along these lines would be a powerful instrument against worldwide worker exploitation.

3) MILITARY CONVERSION

The world's governments spend $870 billion per year to support military forces of more than 27 million soldiers. Industrialized countries, including Canada, are responsible for 90% of arms transfers to industrializing nations. The global proliferation of arms has contributed to inciting and prolonging the world's 44 regional and internal conflicts. World military spending has declined by 31% since the high of $1.26 trillion in 1987. Currently military spending is decreasing on average by only 2% annually in industrializing nations and 4% in industrialized countries. The cost of Canada's peacekeeping operations is less than $700 million annually — only 6% of the defence budget. The Green Party suggests that Canada dramatically reduce its military budget, halt low-level flight training in Labrador, and withdraw from the global arms race. Canada should lobby internationally for the elimination of nuclear weapons and landmines. Canadian ports and waters should be closed to nuclear capable war ships.

4) COMMON SECURITY POLICY

Today the Canadian government spends about $15 billion annually on foreign affairs, defence, and aid. Unfortunately this is mostly spent by the defence department preparing for war scenarios involving heavy military equipment. Canadian support for development in the Third World is dropping to levels not seen since 1950. Aid is being used as a tool for increasing trade: we are the seventh largest arms supplier to the Third World. The military defence of nations cannot lead to security, yet Canada remains a member of NATO and NORAD. One of the greatest security threats to Canadians is the growing gap between haves and have-nots. A high economic growth strategy based on cheap resources and exploited labour will not reverse this trend. Canada's prosperity is not sustainable when based on its exclusive membership in a club of rich nations characterized by high-consumption and shortsighted disregard for the environment. Green policy would emphasize the interdependence of nations and the need to focus on local food security and human rights rather than competitive advantage. Solidarity, partnership, synergy, and sustainability would be key policy goals. Green policy would be characterized by the willingness to put community priorities above national chauvinism. A policy of common security — the understanding that the security of every community is dependent on and contributes to the security of others — would mean that Canada's foreign affairs, defence, and aid policy would become better integrated and mutually re-enforcing. To improve the quality of aid, Greens suggest:

a) specific targeting of Canada's aid program to the poorest (now less than one-fifth of Canada's aid dollars go to the poorest communities);

b) better accountability of Canada's contributions to international financial institutions (currently these institutions use Canadian tax dollars to expand markets without regard for distribution of wealth);

c) better quality of aid projects by getting local communities involved in design and evaluation (currently projects are designed for rather than with the end-users which means priorities are wrong and development funds ineffective);

d) new partnerships with community-based Canadian and international NGOs (the private sector and governments are the main partners and beneficiaries of aid today);

e) using community-based organizations as main purveyor of Canada's aid (currently, NGOs implement less than 10% of Canadian aid projects);

f) humanitarian aid should be based on the use of local resources and regional responses (emergency aid is now a business that undermines local capacities);

Greens also suggest improving links with the international community by:

a) supporting regional and international networks of community-based organizations to build civil society (currently trade and military organizations like NAFTA, Group of 7, and NATO receive most of Canada's support)

b) supporting local markets, land reform, and self-reliancerather than export cash crops (currently Canada's support for the World Trade Organization undermines local food reliance);

c) demilitarizing Canada's North and stopping low-level flights (currently, the unique ecosystem of the North and the communities living there are seen as commodities for the use of southern urban centres);

d) getting out of NATO and NORAD (these are hang-overs from the 1940s and do not address the need for a sustainable future);

e) improving Canada's contribution to conflict resolution, and peace-building (currently "defence" spending is mostly on heavy equipment and standing forces rather than niche expertise in managing conflict);

Greens suggest that security be achieved through a more productive trade policy that would:

a) make environmental and social charters the backbone of trade deals (trade deals like NAFTA make no provisions to improve environmental protection or labour rights);

b) stop all exports of arms from Canada (for the last 5 years Canada has been increasing its arms exports annually);

c) improve contents regulations for imports to avoid products made with child and slave labour (cheap consumer products sold in Canada may be produced by child labour);

d) stop all export and national movements of hazardous wastes: you make it, you keep it (currently, nuclear and industrial wastes are exported for dumping in weaker communities);

e) stop sale of nuclear technology from Canada (technology for dealing safely with nuclear waste does not exist).