Halfway There

At the halfway point of the election campaign, the Green Party's trajectory continues ever upward. Every new poll shows sustained momentum and confirms the fact that Elizabeth May and "the little party that could" have captured the country's imagination. Canadians are "kicking the tires" and thinking seriously about the Green option. The Harris/Decima pollconfirms that the Greens are ahead of all the major parties when it comes to the number of voters more inclined to vote for us now than when this campaign started.

That's why we must now redouble our efforts to spread the message about who we are, what we stand for and why our practical, down-to-earth solutions mean healthy communities, a robust and resilient economy, a clean environment and a livable world for future generations.

Our plans for a stronger, greener economy include restoring the GST to six per cent to invest in public services and facilities, taxing carbon and toxic chemicals and using the revenue to cut payroll and income taxes and reduce employers' contributions to EI and the Canada Pension Plan and offering further assistance to small businesses through Green Venture Capital Funds.

We will protect our universal, single-payer public health care system, rebuild and reorganize our hospitals and emphasize prevention over treatment with programs to increase physical activity and healthy eating while reducing cigarette smoking and exposure to contaminants.

By combining a $50/tonne carbon tax with hard caps for large polluters, we will cut greenhouse gas emissions to 30 per cent below 1990 levels by 2020 and 80 per cent by 2050. To accelerate the shift to a post-carbon economy, we will expand research and development of new energy technologies, improve the efficiency of large appliances and vehicles and create a national program to retrofit buildings.

Canada's role in creating a more peaceful and equitable world must include meeting the United Nations target of 0.7 per cent of GDP for overseas development assistance, restoring our traditional peacekeeping role and helping to build a permanent UN force to respond to conflicts and natural disasters. Our priority for Afghanistan is shifting control of the mission from NATO to the UN.

These are just a few of the policies contained in Looking Forward, the Green Party's independently costed election platform, and in Vision Green, our comprehensive blueprint for an equitable society with a thriving, clean economy.

We know that you share our commitment to the progressive vision that these policies represent and that you want to support our efforts to broadcast this message of change and hope to every household in Canada.

Please give what you can to the Green Party election campaign and help us to get the word out. Those wavering voters won't stay undecided for long once they learn the full story about the Green Party. Donate today and help us to change Canadian politics forever.