The Challenge and the Goal

The Challenge and the Goal

The challenge: adapt to the fundamental change that has taken place in the relationship between Canadians and the planet on which we live.

The goal: long term well-being. That is, to find ways to live that will provide secure and satisfying lives today and for generations to come.

How to achieve this is the question of direction.

The choice the Green Party offers is a government which actively considers the long term viability of communities and ecosystems in its policies and actions. This is very different from the historical approach which aims for the perpetual expansion of the amount of goods and services being consumed.

Should decisions be based on the quest for ever expanding production and consumption, or should they be based on the goal of long term well-being? It is a question of direction.

How we approach the challenge of our times is of critical importance. The Green Party seeks cooperative dialogue in Parliament through proportional representation, rather than the present situation where political parties are more interested in undermining each other than they are in securing a viable world in which today's children can raise children of their own.

Perpetual expansion is all that's offered by the old style political parties. They differ only in how they would divide up a growing pie. The Green Party acknowledges that we cannot grow forever. We offer a distinct alternative by saying we need to base decisions on the long-term well-being (sustainability) of communities and ecosystems. Some things will need to grow to accommodate this end. Others will have to subside. Overall, however, the goal will be well-being, not expansion for its own sake.

Determining society's goals is the purpose of politics. At present, the choice offered in elections between the old style parties is like that offered by a parent whose child does not want to go to bed. "OK, the choice is yours, do you want to wear the red pajamas or the blue pajamas?"

As the sage once said: "If we don't change direction, we'll end up where we're going!" A large portion of the population knows that we need to change. The Green Party, with its policies based on sustainability, offers the necessary change.

The Green Party is serving notice that the country must be governed in a different manner. Proportional Representation (PR) is a system of governance where the number of seats each party occupies is proportional to the number of votes cast across the country for that party. Such a system has many advantages over the winner takes all system presently used in Canada.

One advantage is that, in such a system, citizens tend to vote for the values and issues represented by the parties, instead of voting to oppose parties they don't like. Another advantage is that decisions in parliament will tend to reflect the will of the electorate, due to the proportional numbers of MPs.

Proportional Representation has long been a goal of the Green Party. There are many options and advantages to a PR electoral system.

Serving Notice

One day, the Green Party will serve notice that the country must be governed in a different manner.

Canadians are uncomfortably aware that we are stretching natural limits. This awareness will deepen dramatically when we cross the Hubbert Peak of oil production. Even if the Iraqis grant us all their oil, we will cross the line where production cannot meet demand within a decade. Knowing what we know, how can candidates from any party promote growth everlasting? Who will be responsible if we ignore limitations until they are too harsh to deny? Negligence begins today, now that we know.

The Green platform offers a full spectrum of policies for adapting Canada to meet the needs and responsibilities of a mature society on a finite planet. We provide testimony to the fundamental change of our maturation. Any candidate who becomes a Member of Parliament has a responsibility to acknowledge this change and make decisions that will help our country to maintain well-being in the new context.