Special to The Canadian

OTTAWA — The Green Party of Canada supports a mandatory process for Canada’s long-form census but says that a legal penalty for non-compliance goes too far.

“We need to ensure that Canadians understand the usefulness of the type of data contained in the long-form census but we must do so through a process that builds community and strengthens citizenship.” said Eric Walton, Green International Affairs Critic.  “It is far better to engage in an informed dialogue with someone concerned about completing the long census than to come down hard on them with legal sanctions for not disclosing what they may consider to be confidential information – even if it is untraceable to them.”

“We need adequate information to set policy and the data needs to be reliable,” said Green Leader Elizabeth May.  “Neither a voluntary process nor coercion will result in dependable data.  The long-form census is important to informed decision making on a wide range of policies.  If we need to better address privacy concerns, we should do that but to make it completely voluntary would distort the census data.

Edited by John Stokes

OTTAWA – Greens across Canada today are shocked at the callous indifference shown by Prime Minister Harper as he relegated important issues such as the environment to ‘sideshows’, asserting that the economy is the only issue that matters.  The comments were made during a carefully scripted session with university students, hosted by Conservative Senator Mike Duffy.

“Once again, Canada is being embarrassed on the world stage because of our leaders’ shocking lack of knowledge about the interconnections between the environment and the economy,” said Green Leader Elizabeth May.

European Union and United Nations heads have pressed Canada to put climate on the G20 agenda and to take action in line with what other countries are doing. 

The Stern Review on the Economics of Climate Change has warned that failure to deal with climate change could cost up to 20% of global GDP, while shifting society toward a low-carbon lifestyle could benefit the economy by $2.5 trillion a year.

The review states, “Our actions over the coming few decades could create risks of major disruption to economic and social activity, later in this century and in the next, on a scale similar to those associated with the great wars and the economic depression of the first half of the 20th century.”

Edited by John Stokes

OTTAWA — Colombia seems poised to elect the first Green President, with candidate Antanas Mockus ahead in the polls by 12 percentage points over Juan Manuel Santos of the ruling ‘U’ Party.  Mockus would be the first Green Party head of a national government.  His successful campaign, often referred to as a Green Wave, saw Mockus rise from 9 percent to 39 percent in the polls going into the first ballot of the election.  He is expected to win on the second round of voting, later in June.

“Colombia is embracing the hope of a new kind of politics under Green leadership,” said Canadian Green Leader Elizabeth May.  “He is bringing a message of optimism, of leadership, of democratic responsibility and the citizens of Colombia are responding.”

Mr. Mockus, a mathematician, is the former Mayor of Bogota and former Rector of the National University.  His ascent is being compared to the success of U.S. President Obama, with strong support from the grassroots and savvy use of social networking to build momentum.

A breach of Canadian sovereignty

Edited by John Stokes

PHOTO: Marc Emery, the self-described “Prince of Pot” speaks to reporters outside the B.C. Supreme Court in Vancouver, Monday, May 10, 2010 prior to turning himself in to be extradited to the United States as his wife Jodie, right, looks on. – Jonathan Hayward/ The Canadian Press

OTTAWA — Federal Justice Minister Rob Nicholson yesterday confirmed that marijuana activist Marc Emery will be extradited to the United States, a move that the Green Party of Canada condemns.  The decision was made shortly after Marc Emery turned himself in to the authorities as his bail expired May 10, 2010.

Marc was arrested in 2005 as a result of an undercover investigation of his online marijuana seed-selling business.  Last summer, Emery entered into a plea bargain with American authorities that will likely see him thrown in a U.S. jail for at least five years for distributing marijuana seeds.  The extradition ends his 5 year battle to avoid the US drug charges.

“It is wrong that Marc is being sent to a US prison for an offense for which there is almost no penalty in Canada,” said Green Leader Elizabeth May. “We ask the Justice Minister to reconsider. At the very least, Marc should serve his term in a Canadian prison.”

Members of Parliament from Conservative, Liberal, and New Democratic Parties presented petitions to the House of Commons on March 15, 2010 with thousands of signatures seeking to stop Marc Emery’s extradition to the US.

“Marc is not a dangerous criminal,” said Adriane Carr, Deputy Leader of the Green Party of Canada. “He is a legitimate entrepreneur who believes strongly in what he is doing.  The sentence that he has been given is completely disproportionate and now to be forced to serve time in another country is a real injustice.”

Jodie Emery, Green Party federal candidate for Vancouver-South and wife of Marc Emery has supported him throughout this ordeal.

“I am absolutely devastated that this Conservative government has opted to send my husband, a Canadian citizen, to the United States for a ‘crime’ that amounts to a $200 dollar fine in Canada,” said Jodie Emery. “This case is about silencing my husband for his marijuana activism. This Conservative government has declared a culture war in Canada and my husband is its latest victim.”

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