Summary - The Green Party Platform

[sanitypurge]

Thanks to a link sent by the card carrying Green, the Green Party of Canada has been the first of four parties which I have researched. And to be honest, I should have saved this one for last. It is by far the most radical collection of political party policies that anyone could write and still pretend to have a claim to general respectability.

Comments

[rock_grrl]

Outlaw surrogate mothers!? WTF?! Because they just can't stand all those selfish bitches helping childless people become parents!?

[sanitypurge]

This is a direct quote from their policy document

a- Whereas in the U.S. women are paid roughly $24,000 for their eggs;
and
b- Whereas egg retrieval is a highly invasive procedure that involves the
use of drugs to stimulate egg production, and the passing of a surgical
needle through the vaginal wall to the ovaries; and
c- Whereas the procedure involves long-term health risks;
A- Resolved that a Green Party government ban paid surrogate motherhood and closely regulate the practise to ensure that human compassion for another woman's desire to have children is involved.

I understand why the Green Party might have moral and ethical discomforts with paid surrogate motherhood (rather potential abuses of it) however, I can't help but to think that their policy is a violation of an individuals rights and freedoms.

[geek_dragon]

So what Green Party policies do you agree with?

[cwarner]

The Greens will never (OK, never is a long time--let's just say, not within our lifetimes) have a minority government, so we don't have to worry about the havoc their platform would wreak if were ever to be implemented. The thing is, if a sizeable minority of the population agrees with extremely leftist policies, then it kind of shifts the median over a bit, and less extreme leftist policies seem a bit more moderate. Whether this benefit is worth the loss of votes to the leftist parties that might actually get seats is another question.

[simplefulllife]

Yes, very strong platform of different idea.

As far as strategic voting letting the conservatives win, it should be solved by changing to a better electing system. Vote for single-transferable-vote in BC in May 09.

[arisrabkin]

No fair voting system can prevent strategic voting. This is a corollary to Arrow's Theorem.

[sanitypurge]

Single-Transferable-Vote referendum; I forgot that was in the works. I reacall that we had one on this issue with the last provincial election, but it didn't get passed. I remember that the media awarness campaign that was supposed to be adveritising it was terrible. I didn't know about it until I saw my ballot.

I unfortunately forgot the specifics of it. My recollection is that, basically, you get a first choice and a second choice option, and if you're first choice is not one of the top two or three contenders, then your ballot gets transfered to your second choice. This kind of system, I imagine would be a boon to the Green party.

[geek_dragon]

I think they should do a points system where first choice gets 2 points, second gets 1.

[sciencequeen]

Ha see I agree with most of those!

The only ones I take issue with are:
- Change the education system from its “current mechanism paradigm to
one based on humanitarian sustainable values” (because that's just too vague, I mean really! How?!)

- Institute a 4 day work week (32 hours) so “that existing jobs can be
shared with the unemployed” (what does that mean? more of the employed are pumping money into welfare? or so that some other person can work your job the other 3 days of the week?)

- Establish a civilian based national defense program that would train
citizens in unarmed national defense initiative (umm...is this necessary, really?)

But I agree with the rest. There's no way I could agree with everything on any one platform though.

I love Elizabeth May, and I love Adriane Carr (the MP candidate for Vancouver Centre, my riding) and I've met them both in person. Voting for me is voting for those two people. The best thing that could happen to the Greens in this election would be that they would take more seats than the NDP.