Vote with your heart, advises provincial Green party leader

BRACEBRIDGE – For a relatively young party, the struggle to break into Queen’s Park can be daunting. The Green Party of Ontario (GPO) officially registered as a political party in 1983, but now, more than 25 years later has yet to win a seat in government.

That could change, however, as more and more people put their concern for the environment first, beginning with the voters of tomorrow. Mock elections held in high schools across the province continuously place the Green party out front.

“One of the things that really distinguishes us from the old political parties is that we look beyond the four-year election cycle and we put forward policies and plans that benefit people today and for many years to come,” explained Mike Schreiner, leader of the GPO. “I think that’s very appealing to young people because they see how that benefits their future.”

So far, however, that appeal has not translated into a significant shift at the polls, although the party’s popular vote did jump by more than five per cent between 2003 and 2007 in Ontario, the most of any party, when it reached its election high of 8.03 per cent. The Green party currently sits at approximately nine per cent in the provincial polls, according to its website, gpo.ca.

“What’s clear to me is we’re the fastest growing political party in Ontario,” said Schreiner. “I think we offer very sensible solutions to a lot of the challenges we face and so voters of all ages are increasingly being attracted to the Green party.”

The Green party by definition is focused on the environment; however, its platform, based on sustainability, extends into every aspect of government policy.

“Sustainability is about financial sustainability, so you need to make sure that we are fiscally responsible, we don’t leave a financial debt to our children,” explained Schreiner. “It’s about being environmentally sustainable, so we live within our means, we preserve and protect our natural capital and our natural resources because our economy is so dependent on a healthy environment — our livelihood, our health, our well-being. And we’re very concerned about social sustainability, and particularly the sustainability of our health care system.”

As important as the environment and the Green party’s ideas are, Schreiner does not believe its interests could be better served throwing their weight behind one of the other more popular parties.

“We have a lot of unique positions,” said Schreiner, who has been going to Queen’s Park once a week since being elected as GPO leader in 2009. “I sit in the visitor’s gallery and every day I think of a question that we could be asking that the other parties aren’t asking. One of them is regulatory reform for small businesses, I think it’s a huge issue and no other parties talk about it…. I look at health care; I think somebody needs to stand up and say we’ve got to start investing in preventing illness. We’ve got to start improving home care for our seniors. Those are questions not being asked at Queen’s Park right now that Green MPPs would be bringing up.”

However, convincing voters of the party’s viability and winning over staunch supporters of the Liberals and the Conservatives, parties that have been established in Canada for more than a century, is a bit of an uphill battle.

“Oftentimes when someone votes one way the first time they vote, there’s a higher percentage likelihood they’ll continue to vote that way,” acknowledged Schreiner. “So reaching out to young voters is really important. That being said … electorates are much more volatile than they used to be, which creates opportunities for parties like ours.”

Arguably, there has never been a better time for the Green party, with global warming, natural disasters and high energy prices first and foremost on the electorate’s minds. Though many of the Green party’s ideas resonate with voters, the challenge, Schreiner admits, is convincing people that a vote for the Greens is not a wasted vote.

“I think we’re going to change that by electing our first Green MPPs in the next election,” asserts Schreiner. “I hear so many people say we love your policies, we love your ideas, we believe in what your party’s talking about, but we’re going to vote strategically. And so what I tell people is vote with your heart. Vote what you want, not against what you don’t want, and if that happens, then we’ll elect Greens.”

See the original atricle at CottageCoutryNow.ca
.