Politics as usual.
Several recent letters to the editor have addressed the issue of vote-splitting among the progressive parties in the upcoming federal election. The Liberals and NDP both claim that we all need to support their candidate to have a chance of winning. As the local Green Party candidate, I think it’s time to bring these claims back down to earth. Ridings are won one at a time, not based on national polls. In North Okanagan Shuswap, the Conservatives have won with a clear majority in both the last two elections, with the NDP a distant second, the Greens third, and the Liberals fourth.
The Green Party has grown in B.C. support based largely on leading the opposition to coastal pipelines, and strong performances from B.C. MP Elizabeth May, and B.C. MLA Andrew Weaver.
The Liberals and NDP, with their own in-fighting, have rebuffed Elizabeth May’s attempts to negotiate on riding co-operation. So, situation normal here, and we can all welcome in our newest Conservative MP.
Unless?
A significant number of people who voted Conservative in the last election have become disillusioned with policies that don’t reflect their core values. One example (of many) is Bill C-51, which adds costs to taxpayers, builds a new bureaucracy, removes oversight, and restricts individual freedoms.
The real battle is how to steer a successful economic course through the upheavals of climate change, water and air pollution, overpopulation, and species extinction. The World Bank, UN, IMF, and WTO have all laid out paths to the necessary rapid transition from fossil fuels to renewables. Only Green Party policy mirrors these programs.
Dave Smith, CPA
Green Party Candidate for North Okanagan Shuswap