Green leader visits, candidate doesn't

Green Party Leader Frank de Jong is welcomed to North Bay.

Leader of the Green Party Frank de Jong made a campaign stop in North Bay Wednesday evening to meet and greet local party members, supporters, and undecided voters at Evelyn's Urban Cafe on Worthington Street.

de Jong admitted to the dozen folks that turned out to learn and discuss the party’s platform that it is embarrassing to run candidate Amy Brownridge in the riding when she has no intention of her participating in the local campaign or even making an appearance in Nipissing.

"It's embarrassing for the Green Party not to have a candidate, but people are thinking about us and I'm sure from now on the Green Party will have a local candidate."

"But if someone is interested in voting Green, there is someone on the ballot and they will be contributing to the Green Party by showing our strength across the province."

He promised that the party will have a strong candidate come the next election.

“Next time you better run a rock and roll campaign to make up for this one,” he tells his members.

During the hour long discussion he touched on important platform issues including the importance of Northern communities controlling their resources.

"You should do whatever you can to keep more value-added labour-intensive production in Northern communities,” he told the group.

““You should be conserving your resource base for future generations to keep your economy in good health in the long term."

He also indicated that the Green party supports Northern and Native communities issuing their own forestry permits, the MMP electoral system, and one public school system.

"Our position is that we should not fund religious education in Ontario,” he states.

"We are a pluralistic society, and we need to be fair to everyone and we should leave religion to the family and the church."

He also said that when it comes to health care there needs to be more prevention programs and that the country needs to eliminate nuclear waste.
“It is immoral to foist nuclear waste on future generations,” he states.
de Jong agrees with Henri Giroux that the province’s minimum wage needs to increase to $10.25 immediately in an effort to eliminate the disparity in the province.

“There should be no room for poverty in a province as rich as Ontario.”

He ended by telling the group that going Green is the only option they have if they truly want to see real job growth while preserving the earth.

“If you don’t want to be taxed go Green,” he says.

“If you’re a business and want to make money go Green!”