I had originally planned to discuss the Liberal Party in this installment and do the Green Party on Monday. But then I remembered that there is no SafetyXChange on Monday. And the election is on Tuesday. Because the Liberals and NDP (which I covered Wednesday) are so close in ideology and position, I decided to dedicate this final installment to the Green Party.

THE GREEN PARTY

The 25-year-old Green Party began as an environmental party but has expanded its base and is making strides toward becoming part of the national political establishment. Last August, Vancouver became the first part of Canada to send a Green Party candidate to Parliament. A month later, the other mainstream parties agreed for the first time to allow the Green Party’s leader, Elizabeth May, participate in televised national debates.

As its name suggests, the Green Party’s primary interest is environmental sustainability. But the Canadian Greens aren’t affiliated with the Green parties of Europe and other parts of the world. And the Party platform addresses not just core environmental matters but all aspects of economic and social policy.

Unfortunately, because it’s been a basically one-issue fringe party for so long, the Green Party doesn’t have a track record or well developed set of positions on workplace health and safety. All we really know about the Greens are their general principles and philosophies.

Among other things, we know the Green Party is an aggressive advocate of workers’ rights and collective bargaining. “Canadians are among the most overworked people in the industrialized world,” declares its platform. The Party supports higher wages, more vacation and more aggressive enforcement of labour, employment and OHS laws.

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