I don’t know about you, but I have been on an emotional roller-coaster. I have been worried, even frightened about our outlook with the disappearance of biomass, and I admit I was a bit angered by the ignorance of governments and media who should be there to look out for us. At the same time, I also feel excited about so many opportunities to solve poverty and build better communities. I have now come to terms that we will have a massive increase of temperature, maybe 5 degrees C or more given our current inaction. We will certainly not sustain...
Leader’s Rant: On Grandmothers and Neighbors
Another frustrating day. Warning, this is a bit of a rant. It is so heartwarming to see how three Mi’kmaq grandmothers rushed to save our livelihood to protect our water. After their release they came to the province house to fight on. The fight against Alton Gas is becoming for me a symbol for our choice, a future for our children or giving in to oil and greed. I had again some internal battles I want to share. I didn’t want to speak because I really want to listen to our First Nations who have all the right to shame us...
Tick tock… building urgency
by Thomas Trappenberg In Korea, last week, the IPCC released a Special Report for Policy Makers which has set the world abuzz. They identified that a lack of urgency is hampering efforts to keep climate change in check: the effects of climate change are outrunning us. Here in Nova Scotia, our government has expressed the attitude, “we’re already doing our share” as a way of sidestepping the federal government’s proposed carbon tax. In this race, meeting an already soft target is not an excuse to rest and let others catch up. This is not competition among provinces or countries —...
On Whipping Votes and Making Deals
by Charlene Boyce, Green Party of Nova Scotia Co-President The recent New Brunswick election results engendered a lot of interest in the more obscure aspects of parliamentary procedure. What happens when the winner is really not evident? This election has gone a long way toward showing the serious drawbacks of first-past-the-post in a splintered electorate. We may not be accustomed to minority governments, but once we have three or more active parties, they become not just a possibility, but an expectation. The “Big Two” (for now!!), the Liberals and Conservatives found themselves in a practically-tied face-off due to the precedent of...
Green Party Replies: Cannabis
We are happy to respond to inquiries from Nova Scotians. Send your question to gpns@greenpartyns.ca. The Green Party recently received this inquiry: What is your stance on marijuana dispenseries? I feel they should be allowed to operate in Nova Scotia. So many people rely on these locations. This is our reply: Thanks for reaching out to us. The topic of cannabis legalisation has engendered a lot of discussion among our members. We don’t yet have a comprehensive party policy on the topic, and all of the offshoot related issues. However, these are three basic statements we have agreed on: We...