photo by Natalie Miller

Green Party Leader Jim Harris, left, listens intently to Brent Wood, Peterborough's Green Party candidate, during the party leader's stop in Peterborough Wednesday.

‘We are the party of the future, for the future’
Green Party leader visits Peterborough
Friday, June 18, 2004 - Natalie Miller
Green Party Leader Jim Harris isn’t content with the notion “some day” Canada will be a better place.

The time has come for Canada to have equal representation of women in parliament, better health care, a commitment to end child poverty and a healthier ozone layer, Harris told a crowd gathered at Grassroots Café in Peterborough Wednesday afternoon.

“Some day is now,” said Harris, who’s on the campaign trail in preparation for the June 28 federal election.

“The kind of changes we need are profound.”

Clean water, good food, improved health, better childcare and taxing “bads” not “goods”, topped his agenda. The Green Party proposes a 10-cent-per-litre hike at the gas pumps. “It’s really not a gas tax,” Harris explained. “It’s a smog tax, asthma tax and pollution tax.” It’s a tax that benefits people who use transit, walk or cycle to work and drive a hybrid or small car, he said. “If you drive a Hummer, don’t vote for the Green Party.”

While long-considered a party focused solely on environmental issues, The Green Party is branching out and gaining momentum in Canada. The party’s 2004 election platform contains plans for childcare and early learning, health, housing, Canadian security and global justice, among other issues.

The party believes this election will be ‘the breakthrough’ they’ve been waiting for, according to media reports. For the first time, The Green Party has candidates in each of the 308 ridings in the country. Local candidates Brent Wood, for Peterborough, and Tim Holland, running in the riding of Haliburton-Kawartha Lakes-Brock, were at the press conference to welcome Harris.

Harris spoke about the recent televised leadership debate, from which the Green Party was excluded because of a broadcast consortium’s decision – this despite the fact – people across the country are “energized” by what the Green Party is doing, according to Harris.

“How much longer can we wait before we elect Green MPs?” Harris asked.

“We are the party of the future, for the future.”

According to the party platform, the Greens are committed to:

	Restoring democracy in Canada by implementing a proportional representation voting system
	Making wise investments for better health, better education and clean energy
	Ending subsidies that result in more pollution and increased health risks
	Creating “green collar” jobs for Canadians
	Opposing an Anti-Ballistic Missile Defense system on Canadian soil

photo by Natalie Miller

Jim Harris, Green Party leader, says the Greens are the party about the future, for the future.

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