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Issues
Who is the Green Party?
The Green Party of Canada has moved beyond outdated notions of "left" and "right" politics. When we debate our policy and write our platform, we're simply concerned with good ideas. That's why people have such a hard time applying old political labels to us--because they don't apply.
Our membership comes from all across the old political spectrum. From the left, we take a strong sense of social justice and compassion. From the right, we take a belief in the strength and enterprise of individuals and communities. We are socially progressive, and fiscally green. We are a diverse group of regular Canadians who have come together and pooled our best ideas on how to run our society.
Our Government
At its best, government represents our national community of Canadians working together to accomplish things we can't do on our own. Unfortunately, our government is not at its best. Canadians feel disconnected and disappointed, let down and untrusting. We need to renew our democratic institutions so that Canadians are more involved, and our governmental systems so that Canadians are more empowered. That means creating a real democracy where every vote is counted, and decentralizing power so that our county's direction isn't being decided by a small group of unelected elite in the Prime Minister's Office.
Our Health
We need health, not just health care. The Green Party is the only party focused on the long-term strategy of keeping Canadians healthy in the first place. We need to move beyond a health care system to develop a fully-integrated health system, one that focuses on solving the underlying problems affecting our well-being, not just treating the symptoms. Other parties don't seem to understand that our health system needs more than just increased tax dollars. For example, groups like the Canadian Cancer Society say that a $50 million prevention plan could reduce cancer diagnosis by an estimated 400,000 cases. Living more healthy lives is one way that we will alleviate pressure on the health system, reduce wait times, and make family doctors more accessible.
Our Economy
We can create an economy that rewards healthy, environmentally safe behaviour, while making unsustainable and wasteful behaviour unprofitable. We reject the assumption that environmental protection is bad for the economy. In fact, our environment is the source of our economy's wealth, and protecting it from degradation is key to preserving our economy and our quality of life. One of the ways we'll do this is by shifting taxes away from good things like income and jobs, and onto bad things like waste and pollution.
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