(FALL RIVER) – This Thursday, Thomas Trappenberg, Leader of the Green Party of Nova Scotia, will be hitting the street in Waverley – Fall River – Beaver Bank to support the campaign of local Green Party candidate Anthony Edmonds. The duo will be greeting voters in Fall River at the corner of Fall River Road and Highway #2 at 5:00 pm on Thursday .

Over the course of the month-long writ, the leaders of the Liberal, Progressive Conservative, NDP and Green Party will all have visited this competitive riding, which could become a four-way race when ballots are counted on election day if the strong Green response being heard at the door turns into votes.

A wide range of provincial issues have been discussed at the door, but it is local issues that are really resonating according to Anthony Edmonds, Green Party candidate in Waverley – Fall River – Beaver Bank: “People know the Greens are strong on environment, so I’ve been asked plenty about the Fall River quarry. There have also been worries expressed about the recent oil spill and its impact on drinking water. However, I’ve found that most voters are concerned, like me, about employment prospects for their kids, and they feel that the establishment politics of the Liberals, NDP and PCs are not working well in that regard.”

Edmonds added, “If everyone who was afraid they might be wasting their vote on me decided to take that chance, then I’m confident we could see our first Green MLA in Nova Scotia, just like in PEI, New Brunswick and BC.”

(TRURO) – On Friday night, May 18, experts in tidal power spoke to an audience of renewable energy activists about the future of tidal power in Nova Scotia. The two-hour presentation featured Dr. Richard Karsten, Dr. Shelley MacDougall and Dr. Graham Daborn, non-partisan tidal power experts from the Acadia Tidal Energy Institute. Topics included the state of tidal power technology, cutting-edge site characterization techniques, socio-economic impact of tidal projects, and environmental risk assessment. The panel of tidal power experts also entertained numerous  questions from the audience.

The topic of tidal power in Nova Scotia has entered into election discussion recently with a Fundy area fishing group raising concerns about Cape Sharp Tidal Venture’s plans to temporarily move its tidal power turbine.

Anthony Edmonds, Green Party candidate in Waverley-Fall River-Beaver Bank, organized and promoted the tidal power conference session, and remains optimistic about the future of tidal power in Nova Scotia: “ I was impressed with the scale and depth of the scientific evaluations that have been carried out. As it matures, this technology could become a key part of our transition away from fossil fuel and toward locally sourced renewable energy.”

Added Dr. Thomas Trappenberg, Green Party of Nova Scotia leader, “The Green Party was pleased to support this conference and its objectives. We look forward to a greater public understanding of renewable energy alternatives, as we move toward a post-fossil-fuel future.”

With Tuesday’s election results from BC confirmed, Canada has now elected six Green Party representatives at the federal and provincial levels. In addition to federal leader Elizabeth May and the three seats in BC, New Brunswick and PEI each have elected a Green MLA. At the municipal level, many, many more have been elected.

“Today’s challenges are beyond the scope of old politics to deal with,” says Green Party of Nova Scotia Leader Thomas Trappenberg. “The Green movement is beyond right-wing / left-wing definitions. It’s about sensible politics, it’s holistic, and it is happening worldwide.”

“With the BC election, we see Greens holding the balance of power. That is a position we are very comfortable with.”

The Green Party of Nova Scotia is running 32 candidates in this election, all across Nova Scotia. Of those, 14 are women. The leader, Dr. Thomas Trappenberg, is running in Clayton Park West, and the deputy leader, Jessica Alexander, is running in Hammonds Plains-Lucasville.

“Nova Scotia has so much coastline, and with forestry, fishing and tourism being so important to our economy, our citizens really understand the challenge of climate change and the need for serious action now to mitigate the effects,” added Trappenberg. “But of course, we aren’t solely about environment. We have a vision for an approach to healthcare that focuses on building health-promoting communities, and provides comprehensive centres across the province that integrate services like primary, mental health care, nurse practitioners, nutritionists and dieticians. We want to support, promote and build local businesses to create a vibrant economy.  We want to implement a guaranteed livable income and a living wage to alleviate poverty.”

“Nova Scotia is a beautiful province. Coal mines are not our future. We want to be leaders in leveraging our natural capital, bringing green jobs, alternative energy, culture and tourism to the forefront.”

About the Green Party of Nova Scotia

The Green Party of Nova Scotia is one of Nova Scotia’s youngest political parties, building on a worldwide movement of Green politics. Originally founded in 2006, the party ran candidates in all provincial elections since then. The Six Principles of Green highlight the core values which inform how GPNS conducts itself in its policies and practices: Ecological Wisdom, Social Justice, Participatory Democracy, Nonviolence, Sustainability, Respect for Diversity.

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For additional information, please contact:
Thomas Trappenberg
Leader, Green Party of Nova Scotia

leader@greenpartyns.ca

Or

Charlene Boyce,
Communications, Green Party of Nova Scotia
media@greenpartyns.ca