Time for a coalition government

(Ottawa) The Green Party of Canada is calling on Canadians of all political affiliations to support the creation of a coalition government. Inaction on the economy, the climate crisis and the blatant political gaming of the Conservative government has forced the hands of all Canadians.
 
"Canadians have everything to gain," said Elizabeth May, Leader of the Green Party of Canada. “The country needs leadership and there is no confidence in the current government to provide that.”

In the recent election, the majority of Canadians did not vote for the Conservative Party.  They voted for parties who are prepared to take real action on the economic meltdown and the climate crisis but because of Canada's perverse electoral system they got a government unwilling to take either crisis seriously.

"In the face of the actions of the Harper government, the opposition parties have no choice but to act on behalf of all Canadians and form a new government.  Then they can put forward a program to address rising job losses in the manufacturing and forestry sectors," said Ms May.

The Green Party has a long tradition of supporting nontraditional approaches to addressing the challenges of society, including participating in coalition governments in Europe and elsewhere in the world. Greens believe in a cooperative approach and in finding the best solutions rather than adversarial and rigid ideological approaches.  

Although the Green Party does not hold any seats in Parliament, it did receive nearly 1 million votes in the October 14th election; the only party to increase its number of votes over previous elections. The Conservatives on the other hand lost 170,000 votes but were still awarded a narrow victory in an election that saw the lowest voter turnout in history.

"The Conservatives have no mandate to drive this country into a deeper recession while they use the current financial crisis to further their political ambitions. Staying the course and playing political games may be the Prime Minister's approach but it is not an option for Canadians," said Ms. May.

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John Bennett
Director of Communications
Green Party of Canada
Phone: 613 562 4916 ext. 230
Cell: 613 291 6888
Fax: 613 482-4632