And finally, the last of my notes from the January 11th all-candidates meeting for the Parkdale-High Park riding, complete with closing statements. If you’d like to see my other notes, follow the links below:
For all these notes, I’m wearing my “citizen journalist” hat. That means
that I have attempted, to the best of my ability, to provide an honest
account of what I saw and heard at the meeting. Any of my personal asides will appear in red italics.
Question 10: What are Your Energy Policies?
Peggy Nash, New Democratic Party
- Stop subsidizing oil and gas — more investing in solar and wind energy
- Currently, we’re making substantial investments in non-renewable resources
- Would advocate a slow phase-out from non-renewable energy — remember, many people make their livelihood off them
- Look at alternative energy sources: wind, sun, ethanol
- Alternative energy is a key part of the NDP plan
Rob Rischinsky, Green Party
- End subsidies to all wasteful industry
- Solving the energy problem also requires looking at the demand side of the equation
- We feel that nuclear energy is a bad option — that’s what differentiates us from the NDP
- Alternative energy sources can provide us with 10,000 Megawatts of power
Sam Bulte, Liberal Party
- In our 2005 budget, we invested in co-generation, wind and biodiesel
- Our energy efficiency and retrofit programs
Lorne Gershuny, Marxist-Leninist Party
- Stop subsidizing oil
- Invest in wind power instead
Jurij Klufas, Conservative Party
- The Conservatives will establish a national standard where all fuel is at least 5% ethanol by 2010
- That would cut greenhouse emissions by 4 million tons [or is it tonnes?] per year
- Biodiesel is also another solution
Terry Parker, Marijuana Party
Closing Statements
Terry Parker, Marijuana Party
- Prohibition kills
- We call for legalization
- Legal marijuana will generate lots of tax revenues
Rob Rischinsky, Green Party
- We advocate a new style of thinking
- The “left/right” distinction in politics is from the past
- Our system was created in the 19th century, run by 20th century parties trying to solve 21st-century problems
- We run campaigns based on hope; we believe hope trumps fear
- We are diverse people, moving into a post-national era
- The Globe and Mail said that we were the party making positive statements
Lorne Gershuny, Marxist-Leninist Party
- In this meeting, there were no questions about the international situation
- We would form an anti-war government
- We are opposed to wars of aggression on sovereign states by the U.S.
- We condemn the complicity of the Canadian government
- Our reputation as peacekeepers is undeserved
- Wars fought for “humanitarian interests” are a fraud
- We are “junior partners” in the U.S. plan
- Wars are fought for business
- We would uphold the U.N. charter of non-interference
Peggy Nash, New Democratic Party
- In the last election, I finished a close second
- This means that people want changes
- The NDP will invest in:
- Seniors
- Education
- Public health care — and stop its privatization
- Environment
- We will give you a clean government
- I’ll consult with the riding regularly — “You won’t only see me at election time”
- [Enthusiastic response from crowd]
Sam Bulte, Liberal Party
- On January 24th, either Paul Martin or Stephen Harper will be prime minister
- You can either have a fend-for-yourself system run by a man whom the lauded as “Pro-American”
- Or we can strive together for a common goal
- Canada is doing well: we don’t borrow, we are active in world social programs and we are a society where newcomers are welcome
- What change do you want — a backwards fight where we rehash old debates, or moving forward and building
- We are the party of “medicare to multiculturalism”
- We are the party of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms
Jurij Klufas
- Do you want more of the same, or do you want real change?
- The Liberals brought you the sponsorship scandal
- They have an entitlement mentality
- We would bring in a Federal Accountability Act
- We would cut the GST from 7% to 6%, and then to 5%
- The Liberals believe that parents can’t be trusted on how best to spend money on their children — they say you’ll spend it on beer and popcorn
- We would make sure the immigration policy was fair
- The Liberals say they are the unity party but have no credibility in Quebec
- Mention of their man in Quebec, Jean Charest
- On guns:
- We will crack down on illegal guns
- We support mandatory sentences for serious gun crimes