The Parties, The Issues

 

Animal Alliance Environment Voters Party of Canada (http://www.environmentvoters.org/home.html)

Platform:

“protecting the environment, ending animal cruelty, battling climate change, stopping the killing of young seals for the fashion industry, restoring our democratic rights, and running an honest and open government.”

As of right now, the party has four candidates running, all stationed in Ontario. Believe in their mandate and want to run for government? Contact the party leader Liz White, at liz@animalalliance.ca.

 

Bloc Quebecoise ( www.blocquebecoise.org)

Platform:

This list has been translated using Google translator. An English version of the complete platform is not available. For the French version, click here. (http://www.presentpourlequebec.org/dossiers/Enjeux/)

·         Chapter 1 – Defending the rights of Quebec

·         Chapitre 2- Présenter et défendre l’identité québécoise Chapter 2 – Present and defend the Quebec identity

·         Chapitre 3- Le développement durable du Québec Chapter 3 – The sustainable development of Quebec

·         Chapitre 4- Défendre les intérêts du Québec Chapter 4 – Defending the interests of Quebec

·         Chapitre 5- Défendre les intérêts des Québécois et des Québécoises Chapter 5 – Defend the interests of Quebecers

·         Chapitre 6- Défendre les valeurs et les points de vue du Québec Chapter 6 – Defending values and views of Quebec

 

Canadian Action Party (www.canadianactionparty.ca)

Platform:

“All of CAP’s policies are common sense and solution oriented. They are fundamental and basic to the very nature of a sovereign, free and democratic Nation. A nation must have control over its monetary system in order to implement any social programs. We must have truly responsible, transparent, accountable representation in our elected officials. All trade deals must be in the best interest of Canadians and our environment as the foundation of the deal. The Canadian Action Party is committed to ensuring that we stop the erosion of Canada as an independent nation capable of governing itself. Our policies focus on these (4)main points, which all other policies connect to and are dependent upon. Without these solid points addressed, Canada becomes a shell of a country, a colony under corporate rule.”

• Monetary Control
  The use of our Bank of Canada in the best interest of all Canadians and to maintain and enhance sovereignty.
• Sovereignty
  The ability to make laws and decisions for Canadians by Canadians.
• Civil and Human Rights
• The restoration and fulfillment of our rights as originally intended under our Charter of Rights and Freedoms and the Canadian Constitution.
• Parliamentary Reform
  The changes needed to bring our country to a state of complete interactive democracy, for the people, by the people.
• Energy Freedom
  Compel the release to the public and funding of existing alternate technology that can free us from a dependence on damaging fossil fuels. Moratorium on the use of depleted uranium.

Without these solid points addressed, Canada is a shell of a country, a colony under corporate and financial rule.”

 Vote on the issues at http://www.canadianactionparty.ca/cgi/page.cgi?_id=189 

 

 

Christian Heritage Party (www.chp.ca)

Platform:

·         Better Solutions for the Economy

·         The CHP would put Canada back to work with a nationwide infrastructure stimulus package that would fix our cities, our highways and our bridges.

·         Jobs stimulate the economy. The CHP would revive the plan that was successfully used in Canada to combat unemployment after the Second World War. The Bank of Canada was ordered to make interest-free loans to provinces, municipalities and cities for infrastructure projects: roads, highways, bridges, rail lines, ports—today we could include hospitals, urban and inter-urban passenger rail lines, water and sewage treatment plants. These facilities improved access to resources and to markets, and the increased economic activity enabled the borrowing agencies to quickly repay the loans — which were then retired, so that the injection of capital was non inflationary.

·         That construction activity touched off the longest-lasting economic boom in Canadian history. And when the loans were repaid, the permanent infrastructure was still there. Today, it’s crumbling, and the only solution that the other Parties offer is taxing you to rebuild it. It’s time for a new infrastructure initiative—one that works and doesn’t rely on increasing your tax burden.

·         Eliminate the income tax and implement a ‘Fair Tax’ that would boost the economy and put Canadians in charge of the tax they pay.

·         What is the Fair Tax?

·         The Fair Tax is a comprehensive proposal that replaces all federal income taxes with a progressive national retail sales tax, a prebate to ensure no Canadian pays federal taxes on spending up to the poverty level, and is a dollar-for-dollar federal revenue replacement. It is gaining wide support in the US and is widely recognised by economists to be the most equitable form of taxation. This legislation abolishes all federal personal and corporate income taxes, gift, estate, and capital gains, and replaces them with one simple, visible, federal retail sales tax – administered primarily by existing sales tax authorities. The Fair Tax taxes us only on what we choose to spend on new goods or services, not on what we earn. The Fair Tax is a fair and intelligent solution to the frustration and inequality of our current tax system — so complex that no one in the country, including the Finance Minister, understands it – and which subjects businesses to extraordinary burdens, just trying to file their returns.

·         It’s time for a Better Solution!

·         The Fair Tax will create jobs in Canada.  Canada has a massive trade deficit with other nations. A Fair Tax will provide a major boost to the competitiveness of Canadian industry. Canadian businesses will be much less likely to locate their production and head offices in other countries, and foreign companies will have an incentive to locate in Canada. Canadians will be employed building these new plants, and be employed in them.

·         The CHP has a fresh approach to stimulating the economy and providing jobs for Canadians and helping them keep their hard-earned income. The CHP is committed to revitalising the Canadian economy with a plan that is simple and transparent.

·         Overhaul the broken Canada Pension Plan with a new Personal Income Security Account.

·         A Personal Income Security Account would provide a portable investment portfolio, vested in the name of each worker, for health, employment and retirement income. This plan was proposed for Canada in 1980 by a Christian politician, Dr. Robert N. Thomson. It was rejected by Parliament, but a few years later it was adopted by Chile. Chilean workers at that time were given the option of continuing on the tax-funded pension plan , or going on the new investment plan. Those who chose the investment plan are now retiring wealthy — and Chile has become an economic powerhouse in Latin America because of the pools of investment created.

·         How will this plan work?

·         Beginning with an individual’s first job, they and their employer would contribute to the plan as a source deduction, just as we do now with CPP and EI, and in Ontario, the Health fund.

·         Beginning with one’s first job, 10% of an individual’s income would begin to accumulate in their account. Five percent contributed by the employee and 5% by the employer.

·         In the event of some unforeseen circumstance like unemployment or illness, the individual would be allowed to withdraw up to 15% per year of what had accrued in the account. After that, government assistance would meet the needs of any individual or family.

·         The account would never be completely depleted, but would continue to grow.

·         Welfare, disability and healthcare would continue to be government programs. We will always have what we may call “the deserving poor”, and we must care for them with the utmost compassion.

·         It is no secret that in Canada we also have serious abuse of our social systems. The undeserving poor, those who would choose to abuse the system and thereby the taxpayer, will be motivated—for example, in the case of unemployment—to find new employment quickly so as to use as little as possible of the allowable 15% of their account. As a party we believe very strongly in individual responsibility and accountability; but not disproportionately to compassion.

·         This policy would inculcate an ethic of individual responsibility in the majority of people, reduce payouts as a result, and therefore allow us to care of the truly unfortunate much better.

·         The experience in Chile has been an overwhelming success, and voters would do well to seriously consider the CHP’s better solution for the looming CPP crisis.

·         The CHP would eliminate the national debt which is currently at $600 billion dollars.

·         The core of the problem of the National Debt is the failure of all parties—except the CHP—to recognize that deficit spending and government debt is a moral problem: it is the theft of money from our children and grandchildren, to buy votes today.

·         The Fraser Institute reports that, “Each Canadian taxpayer owes $150,211 in federal, provincial, and local liabilities….

·         “The study, Canadian Government Debt 2008, shows that federal, provincial, and local governments have accumulated $791.2 billion in direct debt and more than $2.4 trillion in total government liabilities. Total liabilities include direct debt and programs that the government has committed to provide such as Old Age Security and Medicare (Canada’s public health care system).”

·         The National Debt must be treated like a national “mortgage”. The efforts of the Conservatives under Stephen Harper are not aggressive enough to really tackle the issue. We must budget to pay it off at about $4 billion a month. That would make Canada debt-free in about 20-25 years (depending on interest rates). We are already spending about $3 billion a month on interest payments, so we only need to find another $12 billion a year to implement this CHP program — and we’ve seen how easily the former Liberal government, and now the Conservatives found more than three times that much to fund their campaign promises… continuing to bribe you with your own money and that of your children.

·         Better Solutions for Life and Family

·         The CHP is the only pro-life party in Canada today. From conception, to natural death, every life is precious.

·         Promote adoption, not abortion.

·         When a woman is faced with an unanticipated pregnancy, we should surround her with care, comfort, counsel and the information she needs to make a decision she will not regret later.

·         Every baby is a wanted baby, though not necessarily wanted by the natural parents. Many couples are eagerly waiting to adopt children and nurture them in a loving home. Adoption, therefore, must receive primary attention as a desirable alternative to abortion. The duty to give conceived life the opportunity to develop in a secure and loving environment provided by adoptive parents must supersede any legal provision to terminate a pregnancy by abortion.

·         With a concerted effort by each citizen, displaying love in action, Canada will become once more a life-affirming and child-loving nation—a model for the rest of the world to follow.

·         The CHP believes that this is a Better Solution.

·         Protect unborn victims of crime.

·         One of the Harper government’s most cynical offenses against morality was the introduction of a government bill to crush Conservative MP Ken Epp’s Bill C-484, the Unborn Victims of Crime Act. In introducing his replacement bill—which Campaign Life Coalition called “gutless”—Justice Minister Rob Nicholson said his bill (almost identical to one introduced a year ago by a pro-abortion Liberal MP) was designed “…in a way that leaves no room for the introduction of fetal rights.” Fetal rights should be introduced. Historically, people of African origin were at one time defined as not being “persons”; that was wrong, and the law was changed. Women in Canada, before 1929, were defined as not being “persons”; that was wrong, and the law was changed. The fetus is, at present, arbitrarily defined as not being a “person”; but that is wrong, and it must be changed.

·         We can do better—our humanity demands it.

·         Defend marriage and the family by calling a Royal Commission to study the issue.

·         Same Sex Marriage will have an enormous social impact on our nation. Therefore, we believe our parliament should have devoted ample time to examining the facts. Both Liberal and Conservative governments broke their promises to Canadians, as neither authorized any real enquiry into the facts.

·         France on the other hand, when faced with this same issue, appointed a Parliamentary Commission to carefully study the social implications of such legislation. The commission dedicated two years of examination and study, after which the report recommended against legalizing same-sex “marriage” and against legalizing same-sex adoption. The report stated: “The purpose of adoption is not to give a child to a family, but to give a family to a child.” Decades of sociological research now shows that children to much better with a father and a mother than with two “mothers” or two “fathers”.

·         In Canada, same-sex “marriage” was forced on an unwilling nation by the Liberal government of Paul Martin after only two weeks of sham “hearings” by a stacked committee; and the Conservative promise to defend the traditional family was cynically abandoned as soon as they were in office.

·         The CHP would appoint a Royal Commission, and give it the authority to do a thorough examination of the issue and suspend the legislation that allowed same-sex ‘marriages’ until the enquiry is complete.

·         Prevent Euthanasia–The Netherlands experience, where official acquiescence became legalization, and led eventually to thousands of murders each year, shows clearly that we should not follow that path, but must retain the Criminal Code sanctions against “assisted suicide” and other forms of euthanasia.

·         Introduce Family-friendly Childcare Allowance—$1,000 a month for families where one parent stays home to raise the children.

·         CHP policy, overall, reflects the conviction that the married two-parent family is the most important foundation of society. Public policy should reflect a recognition and protection of the important function of a family in training up the next generation of stable and responsible citizens. The CHP Family Friendly Childcare Allowance touches on child care, but in a way totally different from all of the other parties. It would provide $1000 per month to any family where one of the parents chose to stay home and raise their children—until age 18—unlike the current policy of $100 per month for children under 6.

·         The Conservatives recently added a $2000 per child tax credit—annually—which will provide about $310 per child in tax relief. Hardly what a family needs to help a parent stay home to raise their children. For real pro-family legislation, you need the CHP’s $12,000 annual childcare allowance.

·         The average take-home pay of a woman who works at a second job is under $1000 per month. We want to help her stay home and care for her children if that is what she wants, and surveys continually tell us that this is what she wants.

·         Additionally, it will open about 1.5 million existing job spaces — mostly entry-level jobs, which would especially help to relieve youth unemployment — and would reduce overall unemployment to between 3 and 5 per cent.

·         Now that’s a Better Solution!

·         Better Solutions for Healthcare

·         Overhaul the health care system – wait times are too long.

·         Improve delivery of services.

·         The CHP would allow more private delivery systems. Restricting delivery to public facilities is only a strategy to protect the turf of public service unions. But more private initiative will increase innovation—both saving money and improving service. Even so, public funding must remain — and be enhanced. The Liberals cut it from 50% to 14%; it has never been restored. It should be restored to 25%.

·         In addition, we should not allow ourselves to be terrified about so-called “two-tiered” health care: virtually every social democratic government in Europe already has two-tiered health care. It simply means letting private competition improve delivery and reduce costs, while retaining a single-payer insurance concept (the way the Canadian system was originally adopted) to ensure universal access.

·         Currently, many private healthcare services are already available. If your doctor orders an ultrasound for you, you may be sent to a private clinic, when you are sent for blood work, it is frequently a private clinic. All you do is provide your health card.

·         The real issue is universal access, with a single government payer. We are not advocating an American-type insurance system—simply for the Canadian system to work as originally intended.

·         Eliminate funding for abortion: it is now the most common surgical procedure in Canada, but rather than curing any illness, it creates new health problems: the newest research confirms that abortion increases the risk of breast cancer, and recent studies in the UK show that in the two years after a pregnancy, the death rate from all causes is twice as high for abortive women as for those who carry their pregnancy to term, and the suicide rate is six times as high. And abortion greatly increases the risk that subsequent pregnancies will result in premature delivery and low birth-weight, both of which create needless additional load on the health care system.

·         The Canada Health Act says that to qualify for public funding, a health procedure must

·         be medically necessary,

·         be beneficial,

·         have benefits that outweigh the risks, and

·         be the result of informed consent.

·         For these reasons, we don’t pay for someone’s nose job or breast implants, because they are considered cosmetic surgery and are not medically necessary. If, however, someone’s nose gets smashed in a car accident, or a woman needs a breast reconstructed after cancer surgery, we fund that, because those procedures meet the four requirements.

·         Abortion, as it is currently practiced in Canada, meets none of the four requirements of the Canada Health Act.

·         Approximately 106,000 abortions are performed in Canada each year.  That represents about 1/3 of all pregnancies.  It’s a staggering amount.  Let’s say, for argument’s sake, that each abortion costs $2000 in terms of operating room time, and the salary costs of all the hospital staff involved.  That’s $210 million dollars.

·         If every procedure takes about 2 hours from start to finish (include preparation and clean-up), that’s 210,000 hours of scarce operating room surgical time.  Imagine what surgical waiting lists would look like with that extra capacity!

·         For all of his protests, NDP Leader, Jack Layton proves the success of a mixed private delivery system. Mr. Layton, who’s campaigning as the defender of public health care, had surgery at a private clinic in the 1990s. He had hernia surgery at the Shouldice Hospital, a private facility in the Toronto suburb of Thornhill, while he was serving as a Toronto city councillor.

·         Advocates of private delivery in public system argue that patients don’t have to notice the difference—just as Mr. Layton said he didn’t. He wasn’t asked to write a personal cheque. So he can now serve as the poster-boy for private delivery of health care because his own words prove that such a system can work without disrupting patients’ access to the medical care they need. (Reference: Saskatoon Star-Phoenix – January 12, 2006)

·         Revamp hospital design.

·         Maclean’s magazine reported on the sick state of Canadian hospitals in its June 11, 2008 article entitled, “Healing sick hospitals”:

·         Hospitals may be one of the most dangerous places on earth. An estimated 4,000 Canadians die each year from hospital infections – more than twice the number who succumb to traffic accidents annually. As Nicholas Köhler’s investigation into the science of hospital design (page 40) makes plain, while Canadian hospitals should be curing disease, they are often just as efficient at spreading it. It’s unacceptable, and yet the problem receives almost no public outcry or policy attention.

·         There are no real secrets to good hospital design. While it has become fashionable to claim that hospitals must have soaring atriums, natural wood adornments and indoor gardens to lift patients’ spirits – a few years ago the New York Times raved about a hospital in Norway with picture windows in the surgery rooms – this is a distraction. The true design necessities are those that stem the spread of infectious viruses, limit medical mistakes and facilitate good care. Based on the research of California-based think tank the Center for Health Design, the solutions are to be found in such mundane features as single rooms with individual toilets for all patients, ample hand-washing stations, non-porous fixtures, standardized surgical rooms and quieter floor materials. The extra costs of single-room designs are typically recouped in just a few years. “We will never build another hospital with multi-bedded wings,” says renowned U.S. hospital architect Derek Parker. “They’re expensive, there’s no privacy, and they’re intrusive.”

·         It should come as no surprise that the U.S. is leading the charge to build better hospitals. Vigorous competition provides ample motivation to adopt the best methods immediately. Patients can find out which hospitals suffer from poor design and avoid them. In Canada, unfortunately, the scope for patient choice is limited, and the adoption of best practices scattershot.

·         While Calgary and Montreal are forging ahead with impressive plans for hospitals focused on single-bed rooms, the rest of the country is still building multi-bed wards that contribute to the spread of disease. In fact, almost all U.S. states have accepted the basic principles of good hospital design as set out by the American Institute of Architects. No province has formally committed to similar guidelines. It’s Canada’s uncompetitive and doctrinaire approach to medicare that’s stifling innovation and investment in hospital design. And patients continue to suffer because of it.

·         (http://www.macleans.ca/canada/opinions/article.jsp?content=20080611_84445_84445)

·         The CHP would immediately lead the way nationally by encouraging an immediate shift to newer and healthier hospitals using our Infrastructure Renewal Policy to fund these projects. This is another example of the Better Solutions for better health offered to Canadians by the CHP.

·         Improve Access to medical technologies.

·         Canada’s healthcare system is one of the most expensive of developed western countries, yet we lag behind most European countries when it comes to cutting edge medical technology available to Canadians. Our health care system relies heavily on a sizable inventory of older and outdated medical technologies, and also often relies more on less sophisticated forms of technology than might be optimal. These failures to maintain Canada’s healthcare system directly impact the health and treatment of Canadian patients. The CHP would immediately devote funds to upgrade the medical treatment technologies available to Canadians. Reference: http://www.fraserinstitute.org/commerce.web/product_files/ Medical_Technology_in_Canada.pdf

·         Promote healthy lifestyle choices.

·         The CHP would place a much greater emphasis on prevention, through public education programs to make people aware of the health risks of smoking, obesity, substance abuse, sexual promiscuity and perversion, and of Foetal Alcohol Syndrome and Fetal Alcohol Effect, the two most common (and preventable) birth defects.

·         The CHP would end Government funding for the ‘Gardasil’ vaccination. Making young girls guinea pigs for Big Pharma is the Tories’ equivalent to the Liberals’ ‘Adscam’ scandal. Only the CHP would protect Canadian children from this kind of medical abuse.

·         The CHP would give public health & epidemics a higher public profile, to educate Canadians in safer lifestyle choices. For example, Uganda’s ABC campaign (Abstinence before marriage; Be faithful in marriage; Condoms as a last resort) has been the only successful anti-HIV/AIDS program; the pro-‘gay’ HIV industry opposes it. HIV/AIDS is essentially a behavioural disease, and control requires (a) behavioural change; and (b) normal public health measures (contact tracing; quarantine the infected to protect the uninfected; education). The AIDS Establishment’s focus on medication, if not accompanied by behavioural change, increases the rate of infection by enabling infected persons to live longer (which is good) and to continue to be sexually promiscuous (which is bad).

·         The CHP would scrap the odious Bill C-51. There is no benefit for Canadians in handing control over natural health products to the government’s friends in Big Pharma.

·         Better Solutions for the Environment

·         Real protection for our air and water, solutions that encourage good, proactive stewardship practices.

·         Promote renewable energy initiatives.

·         Better Solutions to Defend Your Rights

·         Defend against Human Rights Commission attacks on free speech.

·         Protect conscience rights.

·         Defend democracy and the constitution.

·         Legislation to enshrine private property rights which Canadians currently do not have.

Affirm the right to protect home and family

 

Communist Party of Canada(http://www.communist-party.ca/)

·         Platform:

·         Our aim is socialism. In a socialist Canada, the principal means of producing and distributing wealth will be the common property of society as a whole. The exploitation of labour will be abolished. Ecological degradation will be stopped, and a planned approach to the relationship of human life with the natural environment will be implemented. Want, poverty, insecurity and discrimination, rooted in capitalist exploitation, will be ended. Socialism will finally realize a new society based on solidarity, equality and emancipation

·         Capitalism generates crises in terms of: Productivity, Unemployment and the Working Class, Rural Canada, Environmental Issues, Social Living,

·         Measures to redistribute wealth and raise living standards and conditions of life for the vast majority of the people would include (among other reforms) the following:

·         A substantial reduction in the working day and working week, with no reductions in pay or loss of service to the public;

·         Significant increases in minimum rates of pay, pensions, and other employment-related benefits for all full- and part-time workers;

·         A  massive jobs program to put millions of unemployed and under-employed Canadians back to work, to ensure that unemployment is substantially reduced, and that all workers enjoy unemployment benefits for the full duration of joblessness;

·         The enforcement of laws guaranteeing complete pay equity for women workers, the guarantee of full reproductive rights, and the provision of universal, free childcare and other vital services to ensure that women can play a full and equal role in all aspects of economic, political and social life;

·         The provision of complete, free, and universally-accessible services to all Canadians, including health care, primary, secondary and post-secondary education, liveable pensions, housing and other basic services; and

The extension and protection of workers’ rights to unionization, free collective bargaining, and the right to strike.”

 

Conservative Party (http://www.conservative.ca)

·         Platform:

·         The Conservative Party will be guided in its constitutional framework and its policy basis by the following principles:

• A balance between fiscal accountability, progressive social policy and individual rights and responsibilities;
• Build a national coalition of people who share these beliefs and who reflect the regional, cultural and socio-economic diversity of Canada;
• Develop this coalition, embracing our differences and respecting our traditions, yet honoring a concept of Canada as the greater sum of strong parts;
• The Conservative Party will operate in a manner accountable and responsive to its members;
• A belief in loyalty to a sovereign and united Canada governed in accordance with the Constitution of Canada, the supremacy of democratic parliamentary institutions and the rule of law;
• A belief in the equality of all Canadians;
• A belief in the freedom of the individual, including freedom of speech, worship and assembly;
• A belief in our constitutional monarchy, the institutions of Parliament and the democratic process;
• A belief in the federal system of government as the best expression of the diversity of our country, and in the desirability of strong provincial and territorial governments;
• A belief that English and French have equality of status, and equal rights and privileges as to their use in all institutions of the Parliament and Government of Canada;
• A belief that the best guarantors of the prosperity and well-being of the people of Canada are:
  • The freedom of individual Canadians to pursue their enlightened and legitimate self-interest within a competitive economy;
  • The freedom of individual Canadians to enjoy the fruits of their labour to the greatest possible extent; and
  • The right to own property;
• A belief that a responsible government must be fiscally prudent and should be limited to those responsibilities which cannot be discharged reasonably by the individual or others;
• A belief that it is the responsibility of individuals to provide for themselves, their families and their dependents, while recognizing that government must respond to those who require assistance and compassion;
• A belief that the purpose of Canada as a nation state and its government, guided by reflective and prudent leadership, is to create a climate wherein individual initiative is rewarded, excellence is pursued, security and privacy of the individual is provided and prosperity is guaranteed by a free competitive market economy;
• A belief that the quality of the environment is a vital part of our heritage to be protected by each generation for the next;
• A belief that Canada should accept its obligations among the nations of the world;
• A belief that good and responsible government is attentive to the people it represents and has representatives who at all times conduct themselves in an ethical manner and display integrity, honesty and concern for the best interest of all;
• A belief that all Canadians should have reasonable access to quality health care regardless of their ability to pay; and

A belief that the greatest potential for achieving social and economic objectives is under a global trading regime that is free and fair

 

 First Peoples National Party of Canada (http://www.fpnpoc.ca)

 The First Peoples National Party of Canada (FPNP) has endorsed six candidates to run in the upcoming federal election.  Late yesterday afternoon all of the candidates were confirmed and registered by Elections Canada.  The FPNP is proud to announce the following outstanding individuals and the ridings for which they will represent.  We would also like to take a moment to apologize to those of you from across the country, who continue to contact the FPNP and inquire about your ridings where we do not have individuals running.  This is only the beginning and the movement will continue to grow.  Keep the hope and the spirit and we will make every effort to ensure that your communities are included in our future as you all take active roles in making that happen.  

 

It is extremely important for all peoples to exercise the right to vote and it is our hope to have candidates in many more ridings come the next election.  Historically, social change has never been initiated by the mass but rather a brave group of individuals focused on making positive change.  

There are no paid individuals working for this party.  All come with the sole agenda of making a positive difference for all peoples, in representing and putting people first in all aspects, thus the name.  Most individuals in Canada are not wealthy, all deal with family issues, financial/poverty issues, education expense, day care, health and mental health issues to name a very few.  Most individuals don’t have expense accounts, personal buses, personal planes or personal transportation and many do not have homes or adequate living and many do not have food. This is inexcusable.

The FPNP respect the Candidates rights to speak to and on behalf of the people that they represent in the territories and communities that they come from.  The FPNP respects the fact that issues and people are different in every territory and region and that the candidates rather then the party are best able to represent those needs. The FPNP does not restrict voice but welcomes it.  This represents true diversity.

The FPNP also believes that only when Electoral Reform and Proportional Representation is accepted and implemented in our voting processes that we ensure that democracy and the public are truly representative of the population that the Government of Canada is meant to be reflective of and service

 

 

The Green Party (http://www.greenparty.ca)

Platform:

Most political parties base their plans on one looming event — the next election, and one aim — staying in power.

The Green Party is different. We look much further forward, and we plan for a far greater goal — a livable world, with enough for everyone, with healthy communities based on healthy economies; secure for future generations.

The most urgent threat is the climate crisis. We must move to a low-carbon economy and dramatically reduce emissions of greenhouse gases. We can do this in ways that enhance Canada’s economy and the wellbeing of Canadians.

We must also invest in peace.

And we must shockproof our society against unforeseeable events by building in resilience.

In energy, that means relying increasingly on decentralized renewable power and less on mega-project generators. In social policy, it means realizing that looking out for one another is as important as breathable air, drinkable water and healthy food.

The Green Party faces the major threats of our time – the climate crisis, economic instability, increasing militarism and a growing gap between rich and poor — with clear-eyed realism. It offers practical solutions — down-to-earth policies. We want to engage Canadians in the positive changes essential to bequeath a livable world to our children.”

 

 

The Liberal Party

Platform:

“Richer, Fairer, Greener,” the Liberal Party of Canada’s fully-costed, fiscally-responsible platform, lays out a progressive, inclusive vision to make Canada a stronger country for the next generation.

“Liberals are proud to continue our tradition of strong economic and fiscal management,” says Liberal Leader Stéphane Dion. “Fiscal discipline is now part of the Liberal DNA. We were the party that turned a huge deficit into eight years of surpluses, and we will continue to put fiscal responsibility first. A Liberal government will never put Canada into deficit. Period.”

We are committed to balanced budgets, which is why all the commitments in this platform are set within a prudent fiscal framework that includes a contingency reserve of $3 billion a year to be applied to the debt if it’s not used — a prudent measure irresponsibly abandoned by the Conservative government.

The cornerstone of the Liberal platform is the Green Shift plan. This innovative and forward-thinking plan will cut income taxes, put a price on pollution, fight poverty and position Canada to be a leader in the 21st-century global economy.

A Richer Canada includes: A strong climate for growth: Balanced budgets, Tackling the infrastructure deficit in our cities and communities, the advanced manufacturing prosperity fund, strong rural and northern Canada, Investment and research in development, providing access to post-secondary education, supporting Canadian culture

A Greener Canada includes: A plan to fight the climate change crisis, clean air, safeguarding our water, protecting our health from toxic substances, protecting our natural heritage, empowering Canadians

A Fairer Canada includes: the 30/50 plan, investing in our children, health care, women’s equality, immigration, a new relationship with Canada’s First Nations, Inuit and Métis, minority language rights, a safer Canada, respectful federalism

Canada and the World includes: climate change and global security, diplomacy : projecting Canadian values abroad, development: sharing Canadian hope and vision with the world, stronger relationships, trade, defence, arctic sovereignty

For ways to partner with the Liberal Party, click here (http://www.liberal.ca/action_e.aspx)

 

 

The Libertarian Party (http://www.libertarian.ca/)

Platform:

Individual Rights
We hold that each individual has the right to exercise sole dominion over her/his life, and to live in whatever manner she/he may choose, so long as she/he does not violate the equal rights of others.

Government’s Role
We hold that where governments exist, they should be stringently limited both in their structure and in their operations.

Civil Order
No conflict exists between the individual’s rights to life, liberty, and property, and the government’s obligation to maintain civil order.

Social Concerns
Government interference in current social concerns such as pollution, consumer protection, health care delivery, and poverty exceeds the level required for the protection of individual rights.

Defence & Foreign Policy
A Libertarian government would adopt a policy of non-intervention, abstaining totally from foreign quarrels and imperialist adventures.

Trade & Economy
The only proper role of government, in this context, is to protect property rights, enforce contracts, and adjudicate disputes, providing a legal framework for the protection of voluntary trade.

Steps for Joining the Libertarian Party can be found here (http://www.libertarian.ca/english/libertarian-party-join.html)

 

 

Marijuana Party (http://www.marijuana.ca)

Platform:

Legalize marijuana!

Legalize revolution!

Free party membership available here: (http://www.marijuanaparty.ca/article.php3?id_article=150)

Marxist-Leninist Party (http://www.mlpc.ca/)

Platform:

I ● Stop Paying the Rich — Increase Funding for Social Programs

 

Like everything in a modern society, planning is indispensable to its overall functioning. The first step towards a planned modern society is the economic and political program to Stop Paying the Rich — Increase Funding for Social Programs.

It is a political program because its starting point is the harmonization of the individual interests of the members of society with those of their collectives, and of their collective interests with the general interests of society.

It is an economic program which would ensure that people have the financial resources in their own hands to plan and build the economic foundation of a new and modern society. This economic program will immediately:

● Stop Paying the Rich — Increase Funding for Social Programs.
● Impose a moratorium on the debt.
● Nationalize all banks and other financial institutions.
● Increase fiscal and budgetary requisitions for health, education and other social programs in order to immediately assist the most vulnerable sections of the society.

II ● Democratic Renewal

In order for the people to exercise their sovereignty and govern themselves, there is an immediate need to: PROCLAIM A NEW AND MODERN CONSTITUTION

This new and modern constitution must enshrine:

● The rights and duties of all citizens without any discrimination on the basis of language, race, national origin, religion, gender, lifestyle, ability, age, wealth or on any other basis;
● The right of Quebec to self-determination, up to and including secession;
● The hereditary rights of the Aboriginal peoples; the injustices of the past and the harm done to them must be redressed through the provision of indemnity payments;
● The rights of the national minorities of Canada, including the recognition of the equality of all languages and cultures and the creation of conditions for their flourishing;
● The vesting of sovereignty in the people.

To enable the people of Canada to exercise their sovereignty, this new and modern constitution must lay down as a fundamental principle that there can be:

● No Election Without Selection.

Under the fundamental law that elected representatives and all institutions must be subordinate to the electorate, the constitution must enshrine:

● The Right to an Informed Vote;
● The Right to Recall;
● The Right to Initiate Legislation.

These laws must be turned into reality through the creation of institutions which enable the electors to exercise their right to elect and to be elected and facilitate their maximum participation in governance. A Canada-Wide Electoral Commission, as well as Electoral Committees in each constituency would be bodies to replace Elections Canada. The finances and facilities currently provided to Elections Canada and to Members of Parliament to operate their constituency offices would be reallocated to fund the functioning of the Canada-Wide Electoral Commission and Electoral Committees. The Members of Parliament would conduct their affairs through the Electoral Committees to which they would be subordinate.

The Canada-Wide Electoral Commission and the Electoral Committees would be entrusted with two key tasks: (1) Guaranteeing that all electors can exercise their right to elect and be elected; and (2) Ensuring that the elected representatives are subordinate to the electors and serve their interests. These bodies would involve a large number of people, especially in the task of ensuring the subordination of the elected to the electors.

The new and modern constitution must establish:

● The rights of all citizens and residents by virtue of being human.

In providing a guarantee to these rights, the constitution must hold the society, and the governments which represent that society, responsible to provide people with the highest possible standard of living within the existing conditions. It must also set out the aim of raising this standard to higher levels, consistent with the development of society, so as to meet the ever-increasing needs of the people for healthcare, education, culture and other necessities of life. The constitution must guarantee the recognition of the claims of all people on society by virtue of being human, as well as the claims based on the conditions of their collectivity in the case of women, youth, workers and all other collectives in the society.

III ● Renewal of International Relations

In the sphere of international relations, the renewal of Canada requires a foreign policy which bases itself on:

● Support for all peoples fighting for their rights;
● Relations of equality and mutual benefit amongst sovereign nations based on peaceful coexistence;
● Non-interference in the internal affairs of sovereign nations.

The plan for the modernization of Canada’s foreign relations would include immediate withdrawal from all economic and military blocs. This entails:

● Immediate withdrawal of Canada from the Free Trade Agreement (FTA), the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC);
● Immediate withdrawal of Canada from NORAD and NATO;
● Immediate democratization of the United Nations based on the principle that all nations, big or small, have an equal say;
● Upholding the right of all nations to decide upon their own system and opposing the efforts of any country or group of countries to dictate what kind of system a country can or cannot have; opposing the Paris Charter and the Organization of Security and Cooperation in Europe; and opposing the blockades against the Republic of Cuba, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and similar pressures exerted against other countries.

 

 

 

NeoRhino (http://www.neorhino.ca)

Platform:   The Rhinoceros: STATUS:

Endangered

DESCRIPTION:

There are five species of rhinos � two African and three Asian. The African species are the white and black rhinos. Both species have two horns. Asian rhinos include the Indian and the Javan, each with one horn, and the Sumatran, which has two.

 

The New Democratic Party (NDP) (http://www.ndp.ca)

Platform:

A Prime Minister on your family’s side, for a change.

A Personal Message from Jack Layton

Dear friend,

The commitments we are putting before the people of Canada in this election are about hope and opportunity for you, your family, your friends and neighbours. They are about a future where you come first.

There are many ways to measure the success of our country. All kinds of statistics. Some are more important than others. For me, the most important measure is the success of ordinary Canadians.

In short, I am proposing real change from the way things have been done in the past. Not just change from the last 25 months, but change from the last 25 years.

It all starts with action on your priorities at the kitchen table, not just the boardroom table.

We’ll stop tax giveaways to corporations that don’t need them, or who ship our jobs overseas.

We’ll support companies that provide training to workers here. We’ll invest with companies that are innovating in the new energy economy, and creating new green collar jobs for Canadians.

We’ll stop the shameful rip-offs and gouging by cellphone giants, banks and credit card companies.

We’ll shorten health care waiting lists by training more doctors and nurses. Five million Canadians don’t have a family doctor. One million are on waiting lists.

We’ll face the challenge of climate change – not with Mr. Harper’s idle words or by taxing you and your family – but with tough laws that force polluters to clean up the mess they’ve made.

The government will do its job. We will not stand idly by and wait when tainted meat, or bad water, or any public health emergency threatens your family’s health.

Instead of a Canada where growing corporate wealth benefits only a few, we will strive for social and economic equality for all. We will build a strong Canada that is as compassionate at home as it is competitive abroad. We will stand with every man and woman as they seek a better life for themselves and their children.

I invite you to join me in making it happen. On October 14, I invite you to vote New Democrat.

I invite you to cast your ballot for a government that puts you and your family first.

Don’t let them tell you it can’t be done.

Sincerely,

Jack Layton,

Leader, Canada’s New Democrats



    Making Life More Affordable for Families – Creating Jobs

Creating Jobs and Innovation in a New Energy Economy

Employment Standards: Fairness in the Workplace

Corporate Taxes: Balance and Fairness

Fiscal and Financial Stability

Protecting Consumers, Communities and the Public

Food Safety

Agriculture and Food Security

Fisheries

Forestry

Education, Skills Training and Apprenticeships

Employment Insurance

Children and Child Care: Ensuring a Head Start for Kids

Helping Families Make Ends Meet – and Ending Poverty

Affordable Housing: “Bring Canada Home”



    Hiring More Doctors and Nurses and Renewing Health Care

Train and Hire More Doctors and Nurses; Improve and Defend Medicare

Home Care: Helping Families Make Ends Meet

Pharmacare: Affordable Prescription Medicines

Healthy Living: Promoting Good Health



    A Plan for the Environment That Will Really Work

A Plan That Will Work

The New Energy Economy: Cutting Pollution and Creating Jobs

Fighting Pollution and Protecting Our Natural Heritage



    Other Key Priorities for Canadians

Strong Communities and Safe Neighbourhoods

Protecting Canadian Sovereignty and the North

First Nations, Inuit and Métis Peoples

Supporting Culture, the Arts and Our Canadian Cultural Identity

International Trade: Fairness at Home and Abroad

Immigration

Canadian Federalism and Public Institutions

Ethics and Accountability

Defending Human Rights

Women: Moving Forward on Equality

People with Disabilities: Opportunities for All

Canada: Global Leadership in Peace and Justice

Support the NDP here: (http://www.ndp.ca/getinvolved

 

 

Newfoundland and Labrador First (http://nlfirst.ca/)

Platform:

OUR VISION is to realize a Newfoundland and Labrador that is healthy, prosperous and a sharing society with our future in our own hands.

OUR MISSION is to found a new Federal political party, the Newfoundland and Labrador First Party, for the purpose of realizing our vision.

We will research issues, poll the public, engage in open debate, critique government policies and practices, present our own, and, when our members decide, we will stand for Federal public office in the Parliament of Canada.

Our first objectives are to fight for the people of Newfoundland and Labrador to recover control of Newfoundland and Labrador’s rich natural resources and their revenues, from the federal government of Canada, and to preserve and revitalize our rural culture.

 

 

The Progressive Canadian Party (http://progressivecanadian.ca/)

Platform:

Democratic/Political/Legal

·         In a sovereign and united Canada;

·         In a federal system of government with strong provincial and territorial governments;

·         In the Constitution, the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, and Parliamentary Institutions;

·         In our constitutional monarchy;

·         In the Rule of Law;

Economic

·         That prosperity and well-being come from:

·         Free enterprise in a competitive economy

·         Free enterprise in a competitive economy

·         Freedom to enjoy prosperity to the greatest possible extent

·         The right to own property

·         That government must be fiscally prudent and should be limited in areas of responsibility;

·         That individuals have a responsibility to provide for themselves and their dependants, but that government must always respond to those who require assistance and compassion;

·         A climate where individual initiative is rewarded, excellence is pursued, security and privacy of the individual is provided;

Environment

·         That Canada must protect our environment;

International

·         That Canada must meet its international obligations

Honesty/Integrity

·         That government, and those who represent Canadians, must be ethical and honest

For info on how to help, click here (http://progressivecanadian.ca/index.html)

 

 Western Bloc Party (http://www.westernblockparty.com/)

Platform:

THE NECESSITY OF WESTERN SEPARATISM

 

Never has there been a time when Western separatism was more necessary. Yet there has never been a time when the Federal government has been more successful than now at convincing Westerners than it was not. The necessity arises out of the conflicting economy between the West and Ontario. Ontario, where all the manufacturing of Canada has been traditionally subsidized to keep the Liberals in power, faces deep layoffs. They are so dependent on both Federal subsidies of one kind or another and the American market, that they were doomed with America’s decline. The West, on the other hand, is a resource-based economy, and its commodities are now in intense worldwide demand. From oil to water, to wheat, to wood fibre and all the minerals, the West has an abundant surplus. Uranium, the source of clean energy, is a new market demand. Saskatchewan and Alberta are booming. The need to equalize the Western surplus with the Ontario deficit has never been greater, what with oil approaching $1.50 per barrel.

Then we look at the political reality, and we are astonished. The so-called Conservatives having reneged on their electoral promises—from scrapping the gun registry to a Triple E Senate—have all but capitulated to Ontario and Quebec. Just like the Liberals, but unlike the Liberals they are not faced with a revolt in the West. They are perceived as a Western Canadian party with a Western leader. After Maxime Bernier misplaced his documents, no Westerner could take his place. It was another Quebecker as a matter of necessity. Mr. Harper must consistently cater to Quebec and Ontario. So equalization in the West pays, and the East benefits. The Conservatives have even enhanced equalization. In short, everything necessary to win Quebec and Ontario can be done and must be done. The West simply says nothing. Were all the concessions made by a Liberal from Quebec or Ontario, the West would be alive with outrage.

Maybe the Federalists would be more effective with a Western leader who acted as the West’s false friend. Someone you trust, who speaks your language, knows your heart and pretends to assist you. Stephen Harper is that false friend.

False friends can also readily confuse allegiances and loyalties. This is the evident state of our own Western political scene. The Green Party, which claims to love the earth (maybe more than people), is gaining strength. The basic reason is the absence of real clarity on the issues brought about by the false labelling of political parties. The Conservatives aren’t conservative; the Liberals aren’t liberal; the Greens aren’t green; and the NDP are against them all. It appears confusion reigns over all.

The sea change will happen when Mr. Obama is elected President of the United States. Then we will see the American Empire in full retreat and the collapse of American hegemony around the world. Ontario’s situation will go from serious to critical and demands for money and assistance in a multicultural chaos will emerge from Toronto and with the right “Conservative” leader the West will pay again for national unity.

At times like these it is the media that makes the difference. The media generally follows the trend of popular opinion, particularly when the popular will is moved by a groundswell of support. It is clear that the Establishment did not favour Mr. Obama. The Canadian Establishment to which Mr. Harper must bow demands aid for Ontario and Quebec.

My conclusion of this analysis is as follows:

1. Just as Mr. Obama defied the expectations of the Establishment, Mr. Harper will fail by satisfying the expectations of the Establishment.

2. The success of the Federal Conservatives has demonstrated both Canada’s failure as a cohesive nation as well as the futility of Federalist politics to achieve the old Reform Party goal of “The West Wants In.”

3. We can see how Ottawa has corrupted the Conservative Party by its constant need to compromise.

4. Separation is the only way to overcome the corruption of Ottawa.

5. The Western Block Party has the capability to solve all these problems by bringing Western Canadians together in one movement to create the awareness of the need for a new nation and the rational climate to create it.

To join or contribute, click here http://westcan.org/join_or_contribute.htm

 

Work Less Party (http://www.worklessparty.org/)

Platform:

The Work Less Party: What we stand for.

 

-Fundamentally, we believe that we need to “work less, consume and waste less, and live more” in order to preserve our society and the planet.

 -We believe that it is essential to make Vancouver self-reliant and resilient in the face of future natural and human-induced disasters through a process termed “transition”: Vancouver must begin to “localize” its food supply, find environmentally-sustainable ways to deal with waste, devise novel transportation strategies that reduce our reliance on a car economy, create community-based social services, and find innovative sources of alterative energy. This transition strategy will not only make Vancouver safer for all of its citizens and do our part to help the Earth, but will create the leading edge, vibrant city that many Vancouverites want.

 -We believe in placing the emphasis on community-based democracy in which neighbourhoods are encouraged and empowered to come up with their own solutions to the problems of the day. These local solutions are then integrated with surrounding communities, finally encompassing all of Vancouver. The key principles of such governance are inclusivity, mutual problem solving, the empowerment of individuals and community advocacy groups, transparency in all processes, and feedback at all levels.

 The Problem: Landfill is nearing capacity, but burning waste is not the answer.

 The Solution: Zero waste.

 The Problem: Lack of support for arts and culture.

 The Solution: Spread it out over the City.

 The Problem: Too many cars, too little mass transit.

 The Solution: Redistributing transportation options.

 The Problem: Attacking crime with more police.

 The Solution: Understanding the nature of crime and how to solve it.

 

The Problem: Institutional inertia by all levels of government.

 The solution: Creating vibrant, dynamic, self-reliant, and democratic communities.

 Building government from the grassroots upwards: Community-based governance

 We believe in strengthening local governance at the most basic level possible, beginning essentially at the family/household with a method of consensus-building problem-solving. We term this process, “emergent shared perspectives”. In other words, the same way that a family might decide how to achieve its basic needs for their well-being moves upwards to the next level where each family/household in a block sends one representative to the block. Block representatives go through a similar process to solve the problems within the block, in turn sending representatives to larger groupings. Eventually, the representatives at the highest level decide how to coordinate the needs of the multiple and diverse communities that make up their cities. For some this may seem utopian, but we note that Puerto Allegre, Brazil, uses precisely this method to initiate and control that city’s budget and spending priorities. We envision a comprehensive system for Vancouver in which all issues affecting Vancouverites are decided in just such a manner.

 We believe that local governance structures of this nature would necessarily create an irresistible culture of mutual problem solving that would transform larger levels of decision-making, for example at regional, provincial and federal levels. Indeed, there are neither theoretical nor practical reasons why such should not be true as long as the key principle remains that of inclusion for all those who have a stake in, or may be affected by, the eventual decisions. Different communities, operating within their own traditions and existing conditions, would choose different paths to a sustainable end state.

 The guiding principles giving structure to such a model of governance are inclusivity, empowerment, mutual problem solving, transparency and feedback at all levels, and community building. The urgent changes that begin at the local level must ultimately be global in scope to insure the survival of the biosphere in order to preserve human civilization. Such as system is less susceptible to corruption or influence peddling as it requires the “buy in” of each level of decision making.

 We believe that a community-based governance model is best suited to solve some of Vancouver’s most pressing problems which include the illegal drug trade and the crime it engenders, the sex trade, and institutional poverty for Native and non-Native residents alike. Such issues defy conventional political solutions, yet the innovative and truly democratic governance structure described here provides a core strategy to address the problems plaguing Vancouver’s neglected Downtown Eastside. In this model of governance, the role of the mayor and councilors is not to dictate solutions, but to facilitate community initiatives and decisions, to help define available resources, and to liaise between the potentially competing goals of various of the City’s many communities. Only true local governance can provide the empowerment that will lead to the establishment of bottom-up solutions rather than a top-down decision making.

 Localization

 The biosphere is made up of millions of local ecosystems, all under threat from the convergent global crises of climate change, per capita peak oil, and economic instability. Enticed by economic globalization, cities and local communities have surrendered their ability to meet their own essential needs of clean water, unpolluted food, energy production, sustainable manufacturing, universal health care, effective and affordable transportation, as well as essential social services and other systems of care. Communities must now rebuild these capacities and develop resilience to the ongoing fluctuations in global/national economies and uncertain currencies and energy supplies. The process by which such sustainable resiliency arises is through a deliberate policy of “localization”. The process involves transforming existing communities, such as the City of Vancouver, into healthy self-reliant entities complete with localized supply chains for essential resources in order to safeguard the long-range safety of our families, our communities, and all of the inhabitants of our city.

 Those areas that a localization strategy can address include: food security, zero growth, zero waste, and dealing with peak per capita oil. Food security (see accompanying section) can, in part, be dealt with by the active promotion of neighborhood and community gardens, using all available land, including in some cases park land and land now used as streets for private cars. Zero growth recognizes that no system, human or otherwise, can grow indefinitely and that for us all to survive, there must be caps on the growth of our economy and our ecological footprint. Zero waste is part of the means by which we achieve zero growth. Finally, to find means to address energy needs, we have to recognize that per capita peak oil is upon us and that the age of oil as a source of cheap energy is over. Localization implies finding other less polluting sources of energy including small hydro, geothermal, wind, solar, and others.

 Localization also recognizes that local communities exist in a wider context.While broad solutions to save the biosphere must arise first at local levels, essential issues involving water, food, transportation, biodiversity, and others must be extrapolated from local to global levels if we hope to be part of the transformation of human civilization. By way of example, health equity is a right of all peoples. If one city or region has found solutions through medicines, techniques, or lifestyle changes affecting health conditions, the information exchange networks of local communities can be used to transmit and deliver such solutions more widely in an actively pursued process of mutual aid.

 Innovation

 Novel Technologies: We will soon be utterly dependent on a variety of still-emerging novel technologies if we are to protect the biosphere and the place of human civilization on Earth. The sooner these solutions are acted upon, the greater the chance of alleviating the worst of the problems to come. The necessary changes to achieve transition may take various forms reaching back to our past as well as forward to our future. The first honours the traditions and wisdom of indigenous peoples who lived for generations at peace with the Earth. The latter may take the form of identifying and developing new energy sources by freeing scientific inquiry and exploration. These innovations, combined with new forms of democratic grassroots-based governance and a localization perspective can provide the impetus for the rebirth of our communities and cities.

 Education: Education in our present world- global to local- is inexorably linked to instilling in youth an acceptance of their place within hierarchical structures and the conventional economics of environmental destruction. The purpose of true education should be to create independent human beings able to devise novel solutions for unique local as well as interrelated world-wide problems. The challenges of re-empowering governing structures, localization, and innovation can only be solved in the future by students raised in an educational system built on principles dictated by the interdependencies amongst human beings and the Earth.

 Banking and Finance: A primary disease impacting the sustainability of the Earth is the uncontrolled growth of an out-of-control consumer culture that demands limitless resources while producing endless waste. Economies that depend upon continued exponential exploitation of the Earth are inherently unsustainable. Future societies will be required to adopt steady state economies based on the concept of zero growth that redefine acts between buyer and seller, and supply greater information and incentives for all involved in supply chains and product life cycle choices.

 Money increasingly obscures social and environmental values and diminishes the potential for human fairness and basic justice. Money accumulating in the hands of fewer people subjugates the rest, pushing many to the extremes of dire poverty. Vancouver is rapidly becoming a gentrified city of the wealthy that live in self-imposed terror of legions of the homeless. Money and the banking and financial system must be radically transformed through innovation and transparency. Within Vancouver, we see a role for alternative models of money, banking, and credit designed to work hand-in-hand with true community-based governance. Such novel financial structures would allow newly empowered populations within our city, such as those in the Downtown Eastside, to finally take full control of their destiny in mutual cooperation with the other communities of this city.

 Food security and community gardens applied to Vancouver

As already noted in other sections of this document, Vancouver faces a pressing problem of providing food security. In brief, Vancouver must become a “Zero Mile Diet” city in the very near future. This is not just a cute slogan, but a strategic goal in a new world defined by increasing scarcity that will demand greater local self-reliance. The consumerist extravaganza of past generations is coming to an end and our food policy must reflect this new reality. There are three main directions that the City of Vancouver can, and must, take to ensure food security:

 Reclaim urban wasteland: In Vancouver, land can be made available everywhere to grow gardens. The City must implement a host of regulatory by-laws and incentive measures to reclaim land for this purpose.These measures include:

- Industrial “brownfields” or unused industrial land, and surplus commercial land such as big box retail, warehouses, or parking lots/spaces should be turned over to community gardens;

 - Residential unproductive land such as lawns, balconies, solariums, rooftops, etc. will also be included as garden areas.

Declare war on red tape and free gardens from the plague of the municipal bureaucracy: Regulatory obstacles to community gardening are so pervasive that the only practical way to start a city garden today is to do it illegally. Such existing policies discourages resourceful, productive citizens from turning Vancouver into a City of Gardens and achieving our goal of food self-reliance.

 Some of the means to do so might include:

 - “Guerrilla” gardening will be encouraged by City Council if the other measures proposed here are not adopted;

 - The regulations for creating small greenhouses and sheds must be streamlined;

 - Home and mortgage insurance policies should be rewritten to allow for balcony, rooftop, and indoor gardens;

 - Gardening costs should be made tax deductible;

 - Gardeners should be free to sell the product of their work on local markets;

 - The City should levy a tax on imported food and chain stores to fund community garden initiatives.

 Empower citizen gardeners: Empowerment of various communities and persons is key to the goal of establishing community gardens for food security. In this empowerment process, the City’s role will mostly be hands-off: It will provide considerable logistical, regulatory, and financial support to community garden initiatives but citizens will take the lead on projects. Some ideas include:

 - Reestablish the lost link between children and nature through urban agriculture, in the process empowering youth by giving them meaningful roles in the establishment and running of community gardens;

 - Educate adults about the multiple benefits of low-meat diets;

 - Empower the poor and the homeless by letting them grow their own food and by entrusting them with the care of some of our public spaces;

 - Provide people with a viable alternative to the work-consume-debt paradigm;

 - Use community gardening to grow communities.