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.
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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
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