Unpublished Opinions

Green Party of Ontario

Toronto, Ontario

About the author

The Green Party of Ontario is independent yet is philosophically aligned with other green parties in Canada and around the world. The GPO is fiscally conservative, socially progressive and environmentally focused, and begins with the basic premise that all life on the planet is interconnected and that humans have a responsibility to protect and preserve the natural world.

The Green Party of Ontario (GPO) became an officially registered political party in 1983, and has been developing in size and sophistication since that time, expanding its membership and rising in the polls. We have increased the number of candidates in successive provincial elections. In the 1999 provincial election, we fielded 58 candidates, and became the fourth largest party in the province. In 2003, we fielded our first nearly-full slate, 102 out of 103 candidates, and received 2.8% of the vote. The 2007 election saw Ontario voters support Green Party values with unprecedented enthusiasm. The GPO, for the first time in history, had a full slate of candidates and garnered over 8% of the vote.

In the 2018 election GPO leader Mike Schreiner became the first Ontario Green to be elected to Queen's Park. The party now has two seats and polls between 4-8%.

Have your say!

Green Party election platform emphasizes People Powered Change

May 16, 2018

QUEEN’S PARK -- The revelation that Hydro One board members voted to raise their salaries amidst a downturn in share price illustrates the extent of Liberal mismanagement on hydro.

“This is a by-product of Kathleen Wynne’s privatization boondoggle. By selling off Hydro One, the Liberals have not only given away an important public asset, they have allowed the worst impulses of the private sector to contaminate what should be a public good,” said Green Party of Ontario Leader, Mike Schreiner.

“Greens would cap executive salaries for those in the Ontario Public Service at double the Premier’s salary,” added Schreiner. “People putting their expertise in service of Ontarians should be compensated fairly, but we absolutely need a firm cap to prevent outrageous raises like this.”

Wynne’s argument that privatization was needed in order to fund transit is another band-aid solution from a government that has made a habit out of using shoddy accounting and cheap ploys to woo voters.

“The sale of Hydro One was the height of short-term thinking from the Liberals - slow the bleeding today by creating deeper wounds tomorrow,” said Schreiner. “Their unFair Hydro Plan will do the same in the near future.”

Meanwhile, Doug Ford can sloganeer, hold rallies and pretend to be a champion for the people, but the little we know about his vision for Ontario makes clear his true colours.

“A totally unnecessary tax cut for the wealthiest corporations and a shady backroom deal to open up the Greenbelt for profit-hungry developers - these are not the actions of a politician acting for the people,” said Mike Schreiner.

Greens won’t mortgage the future to fund essential social services or transit projects. We are the only party putting forward honest revenue generating solutions such as road pricing and a fair public return on our natural resources.

“Amidst all of the mud-slinging and name-calling from the status quo parties, the Greens are showing Ontarians how we can do politics differently with a hard cap on CEO salaries and real solutions to raise money for better services for people,” said Schreiner.

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Contact

Jason LaChappelle

Press Secretary, GPO

jasonlachappelle@gpo.ca

437-929-1792

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