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Green Party Condemns McNeil Government for Ignoring Evidence and Jeopardizing Ocean Health

2017-06-28 By gpnsadmin Leave a Comment

For Immediate Release – June 28, 2017

(HALIFAX) – The Green Party of Nova Scotia rejects the position taken by the McNeil government on marine protected areas and calls for the government to  support expanding ocean protection in marine waters surrounding Nova Scotia.

“The McNeil government is ignoring scientific evidence and jeopardizing the health of our oceans,” says Green Party Marine Affairs expert Martin Willison. In 1995, Willison co-edited Marine Protected Areas and Sustainable Fisheries: Proceedings of the Symposium on Marine Protected Areas.

“Even in 1995, the science was clear. Establishing marine protected areas is a necessary component of an overall ocean health strategy. Furthermore, scientific studies have repeatedly shown that setting aside marine areas does not diminish fisheries but enhances them by increasing fish stocks.”

Although the province has no jurisdiction in this regard, the federal government’s Department of Fisheries and Oceans is influenced by calls from provincial governments. Written statements opposing the expansion of marine protected areas in marine waters have been  issued by three provincial ministers in Nova Scotia’s Liberal government: Energy ministers Samson in 2016 and MacLellan in 2017,  and Fisheries minister Colwell in 2017.

Canada has committed to protecting 5% of Canadian marine waters by the end of 2017, with a goal of reaching 10% by 2020. Currently about 2.5% of Nova Scotian marine waters are recognized as protected.

Dr. WIllison says, “Protecting only 2.5% is woefully inadequate. The government cannot claim to take an evidence-based approach to environmental management while ignoring evidence.”

Willison notes that while marine protected areas may exclude petroleum exploration and development, this has not been the case in practice. Nevertheless, he says, sensitive marine areas (such as those rich in corals or whales) should not be put at risk by industrial development.

The Green Party of Nova Scotia supports the efforts of the Department of Fisheries and Oceans to expand ocean protection in marine waters around Nova Scotia and supports the goal of doubling the total area protected under legislation by end of 2017.

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Filed Under: In the News, Media Releases Tagged With: Marine Issues, Marine Protected Areas

Green Party Takes Stand Against Election Platform Costing

2017-05-26 By gpnsadmin Leave a Comment

May 26, 2017
For Immediate Release

(Halifax) The Green Party of Nova Scotia takes a principled stand against including costing in their platform.

“Big numbers sound impressive, that’s true,” says Green Party leader Thomas Trappenberg. “We’ve heard a lot from the old parties. A few million for this, a couple of thousand for that. Does anyone actually believe that these will end up being the actual numbers? Where is the accountability?”

He points out that the Liberals promised to end the monopoly on electricity rates in 2013, a promise that “hasn’t come up since.”

“One of the things we believe in is full cost accounting,” adds deputy leader Jessica Alexander. “For too long, we have heard these glossy promises at election time, and not only are the numbers almost never accurate, they don’t include what they consider externalities. So they don’t include the cost of the waste produced in the extraction of materials, the processing and manufacturing of products, nor the end of life disposal costs.” Calculating those costs is challenging, says Alexander, but essential for transparent governance.

Besides, the numbers often change after the election, Trappenberg notes.

“Sure, the party takes power and then blames the last guys for leaving a mess, so they can’t use the numbers they promised. It happens almost every election, unless the same party is voted back in, and then, they will say, ‘the currency fluctuated, the feds didn’t give us enough’, the excuses come out,” Alexander says.

The Green Party is hoping that Nova Scotia will follow the lead of PEI and New Brunswick, by electing its first Green member on May 30th.

###

For additional information, please contact:

Thomas Trappenberg
Leader, Green Party of Nova Scotia
leader@greenpartyns.ca

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

Filed Under: Media Releases

Four Party Leaders Visit Competitive Waverley-Fall River-Beaver Bank Riding

2017-05-24 By gpnsadmin Leave a Comment

(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.”

Filed Under: In the News, Media Releases

Renewable Energy Activists Talk Tidal Power with Experts at Dalhousie Agricultural Campus

2017-05-23 By gpnsadmin Leave a Comment

(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.”

Filed Under: In the News, Media Releases

Green Movement Spreads Across Canada

2017-05-11 By gpnsadmin Leave a Comment

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

Filed Under: In the News, Media Releases

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