As a non-partisan organization, OSPE considers it a civic duty for all Canadians to vote based on a clear understanding and knowledge of the platforms of each political party. In the upcoming weeks, OSPE will extract information from each official party platform on issues impacting the engineering community.
This week OSPE is showcasing the Green Party’s 2019 electoral platform. Not sure if you’re registered to vote? Click here and make sure that you can cast your vote on Monday, October 21, 2019.
Energy
- Work with provinces to phase out existing nuclear power, to stem the buildup of nuclear wastes, and to institute a Canada-wide moratorium on uranium mining and refining.
- End all subsidies and supports to the nuclear industry except those required to maintain the safety of existing facilities, and assist in phasing out and decommissioning facilities and sequestering associated radioactive wastes;
- Establish the design and management principles of a trans-Canada nationally integrated electrical power grid capable of efficiently transporting high electrical loads and accommodating many diverse sources of renewable electrical energy
- Work with Canada’s wind industry and the Canadian Wind Energy Association (CANWEA) to accelerate the rapid deployment of wind turbines to achieve 20% of Canada’s energy needs by 2025
- Cancel the Trans Mountain pipeline
Environment and Climate Change
- Double Canada’s emissions reduction target to 60% by 2030
- Halt all new fossil fuel development projects
- Introduce a revenue-neutral price on carbon pollution through a fee and dividend system
- Ban fracking
- Remove all fossil fuel generation from our national east-west electricity grid by 2030, and ensure that renewable energy can be transmitted from one province to another
- Ensure all new cars are electric by 2030 and by 2040 replace all internal combustion engine vehicles with electric ones
- Build a cross-country electric vehicle charging system
- Retrofit every building in Canada to be carbon neutral by 2030
- End all imports of foreign oil and by 2050 shift all Canadian bitumen from fuel to feedstock for the petrochemical industry
- Apply a carbon fee to all producers of fossil fuels, redistributed as a dividend to every Canadian
- Provide grants of 50% of the cost of solar thermal roofs or walls including solar hot water, as in Sweden;
- Mandate the switch to bio-diesel for agricultural, fishing and forestry equipment
- Review all infrastructure investments for adaptation to climate change
- Map flood plains, tornado corridors and other areas of natural vulnerability and adjust land use plans accordingly
- Establish a federally-funded Green Venture Capital Fund to support viable local green business start-ups
- Cancel the purchase of F35s and buy more water bombers to protect communities from forest fires
- Offer scale-based rebates of up to $5,000 for the purchase of the most efficient vehicles, including electric vehicles, and scale-based fees on the purchase of inefficient vehicles
- Commit at least $500 million annually to support adaptation and mitigation activities in developing countries
Infrastructure
- Oppose funding for highway and bridge expansions that encourage urban sprawl, increase private vehicle use and truck transport of goods
- Ensure federal infrastructure funding does not go to expanding highways and roads, but is rather spent on more efficient light rail systems. Current infrastructure, such as the TransCanada highway, must be maintained at a safe standard
- Increase the Gas Tax Transfer to municipalities to five cents per litre to be used in funding sustainable transportation initiatives such as public transit, cycling and pedestrian infrastructure
Taxes
- Raise taxes on profits of large corporations to the mid-range of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries
- Reduce income and payroll taxes
- Eliminate large corporate subsidies and grant programs
- Return Corporate Tax rates to the 2008 level of 18%
- Eliminate personal taxes on incomes below the low-income cut off of $20,000
- Work with provinces to increase taxes on tobacco and alcohol
- Hold taxation for small businesses at no more than 9%
- Carbon based tariffs will be introduced against countries that apply no carbon tax or other equivalent mechanism to curb GHG emissions
Jobs and Skills Training
- Establish a federal minimum wage of $15/hour
- Create a domestic employment recruitment program to connect willing young Canadians to job opportunities
- Ban unpaid internships
- Develop a Youth Community and Environment Service Corps that will provide federal minimum wage employment for 40,000 youth aged 18-25 every year for four years for a total of 160,000 youth positions. At the successful completion of each year-long program, there will be a $4,000 tuition credit awarded to each participant that can be applied to further education and training
Indigenous Peoples
- Review all existing federal policies on self-government, in consultation with Aboriginal representatives, to ensure they are achieving the goals of Aboriginal peoples
- Consult with Indigenous Peoples to determine when and where to repeal the Indian Act
- In partnership with Indigenous Peoples, work towards the creation of an Indigenous Lands and Treaties Tribunal Act to establish an independent body that will decide on specific claims
- Invest in First Nations infrastructure to correct the boil water advisories
- Remove the 2% funding cap on Indigenous post-secondary education
Housing
- Create a National Affordable Housing Program that provides sufficient funds annually through CMHC to community-based agencies across Canada to:
- Ensure that an adequate supply of new subsidized affordable homes is built: 20,000 new and 10,000 rehabilitated affordable units per year for the next ten years using capital grants and changes in tax and mortgage insurance regulations
- Provide rent supplements or shelter assistance for an additional 40,000 low-income households per year for 10 years
Health Care
- Expand pubic health care to include pharmacare, establishing a Crown corporation to bulk purchase and dispense prescription drugs
- Include basic dental care under national coverage
- Create a national drug reduction strategy and develop more safe injection sites
For the Green Party’s full platform, click here.
What do you think of the federal Green Party platform? Are these promises attainable?
As a part of our Federal Election coverage, OSPE and its Task Forces have put together a comprehensive National Strategy that contains recommendations from professional engineers for all political parties to consider ahead of the 2019 Canadian Federal Election. Read the full document here.
