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Fellow Green Party members, candidates, and guests, I am happy to offer my thoughts on the upcoming Election here in Saskatchewan on November 7th. This is an election where there will be a third-party alternative to the present contrast between the Saskatchewan Party and the NDP. It is no longer in reality the Liberal Party, but it is you and me here who will provide new Green Party choices to the people of Saskatchewan- choices which will appeal to a growing population who are environmentally aware of issues which affect us all. My commitment to you is to properly address these concerns and represent Green alternatives through a number of developing policies that reflect the earlier platforms from 2003 and 2007, and build upon the legacy of Larissa Shasko in her departing 2011 Platform. I believe, ultimately, that the complete 2011 Election Platform should be the responsibility of the leader of the party, and should be released mid-campaign on October 13th, and I am happy to share with you some of the ideas I hope will convince voters our party is ready to provide real opposition and competition to the Sask Party and NDP.
First, of course, is our Enviromental platform, which was referred to Mark Bigland-Pritchard for development upon request of The Enviromental Society of Saskatchewan. Integral to this policy is the vehement opposition to development, research, transportation, and waste from the proposed nuclear industry, which Premier Wall has already made commitments to by his government and his party's election platform. The disaster in Fukishima, Japan has devastated and poisoned their environment and ours, with the largest amount of nuclear waste - ever - being released into the ocean with fallout drifting over the Pacific into North America. Within months of the disaster, Health Canada testing detected radiation levels in the Okanagan Valley that were 300 times the level considered safe. Massive anti-nuclear protests are occuring regularly in Japan and there is serious talk of moving their national capital city, or even evacuating the entire island due to contamination. And the Sask Party wants to transport such waste through Saskatchewan to a nuclear waste dump north of Beauval. Not only that, in addition, the Wall government has earmarked $47 million dollars for the Center for Nuclear Innovation proposed at the University of Saskatchewan. This money needs to be put to better use.
This brings me to my second policy baby: free tuition for post-secondary students attending universities and colleges in Saskatchewan. This is an idea shared by the Green Party, Larissa Shasko, myself, and others for almost a decade now. It is a reality in Mexico, and I believe it can be a reality here if we simply take the steps necessary to see that educators are paid directly by the Department of Education to educate students who keep their performance within the applicable expectations, much as they are today. If Dalton McGuinty in Ontario can propose a 30 per cent decrease in tuition in Ontario, I am certain we can propose zero tuition here in a province of only a million people. No resident should be expected to take out a loan from the government and pay it back - with interest - to the bank. Status Indians already have the right to free education, yet still many a student has relied on grants, bursaries, and scholarships, but there are sometimes expectations of repayment. I don't believe in taking rights from anybody to create an equal playing field, but I see the right to free education as a set precedent- a fight fought years ago. Extending free education to all residents of Saskatchewan can only be seen as the proper choice given the present prosperity of the province.
This prosperity must be shared with all people, and seniors and Elders have earned their right to an affordable lifestyle that will contribute to their happiness and well-being. While Larissa was still leader, I was referred questions from the Senior's Mechanism magazine, and I pointed to the policies of The Green Party which include providing more community health centres, pharma-care, dental care, home care, and alternative medicine. And because diabetes is a growing concern amongst the aged, our policies of providing more diabetic supplies carries additional weight. I propose that we also create a process by which Elders and seniors can be paid $100 dollar honorariums as advisors to government meetings in all departments. Their advice and mere presence within the decision-making process can only be positive, and notable individuals could be nominated and chosen to attend a broad range of governmental functions. Greater participation in policy development would give seniors an opportunity to put their wisdom to great use.
Health and feedback is important to the Green Party, and I would like to see a Health & Mental Health Commission established which would be open to take direct feedback, ideas, and complaints from the public concerning services and health policies which affect us all. A greater expansion of air-ambulance services and transportation capabilities is required to make Saskatchewan Health services the best in Canada. And regarding mental health, I can speak from experience that we need more psychiatric nurses in our hospitals and additional training spots for individuals interested in nursing and health care. Major cutbacks in the past two decades need to be corrected in our province, and greater awareness of growing health concerns will only bring faster, more preventative, pro-active action to create a healthier Saskatchewan. Cancer, Diabetes, Mental Health, and addictions treatment should all warrant greater attention and research money. The Canadian Cancer Society's concerns have already been formally addressed on our website and will be published by their organization during the election. This I was glad to do.
On social issues, I believe our party stands in better contrast to the Sask Party and NDP. The Green Party supports raising social assistance rates by twenty-five percent toward meeting basic needs, with money being used to build up publicly-controlled, not-for-profit rental units, encouraging recipients to make down payments on their own homes. We believe pension & social assistance money should not be exclusively targeted towards supporting Saskatchewan based private landlords and care-homes. We would encourage people on assistance to take on part-time positions to ease into the job market, and not stop there. People in transition between jobs should not be solely dependant on federal EI; Rather, I would like to see more provincial programs that would provide educational opportunities and activities which could contribute to the finances of young people, new immigrants, and those who simply are overwhelmed with the process of finding new jobs.
Some of these ideas have been included in my responses to the Chamber of Commerce, at the request of Victor Lau. I have made a commitment to be available to represent the party in the Chamber of Commerce's televised debates on October 18th and 19th in Regina. They asked our party questions concerning royalty rates, rent controls, and labour shortage. Concerning ensuring a competitive business environment in Saskatchewan, I wrote that promoting quality agriculture, industry, and products both nationally and internationally which are certified high-quality, environmentally-responsible, and economically sustainable is a goal of The Green Party of Saskatchewan. Thus, we would reward, as much as possible, business ventures who fit that criteria through media promotion and tax incentives. Regarding rent controls, I pointed out that it was an NDP government that abolished rent controls nearly twenty years ago, but we believe they should be made law, as they already are in Quebec, Ontario, Manitoba, and British Columbia. On royalty rates, I said we promote raising the government's taxation and royalty revenues from mineral resources to the levels they were under the Blakeney adminstration. We would also see First Nations & Metis organizations share in greater revenue sharing from natural resources while directing more revenue into local economies.
This brings me to Aboriginal policy, which is two-fold: Economic & Educational. I believe the Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations & Metis Nation of Saskatchewan should receive considerably more money from the province to facilitate better education and social programs presently being administered by government departments. Accountability would include result-based, statistically sound progress reports with a goal towards the best use of the dollars given. It is time for First Nations and the Metis Nation to take on more leadership and responsibility for programs under their jurisdiction. Provincially, present Treaty-based education in all Saskatchewan schools should include mandated Cree, Saulteaux, and Dene language programs to compliment present French and English. This is what I see as progress, which must be made throughout all regions of the province of Saskatchewan, a province that I consider to be an Aboriginal province, a title we can all be proud of and accept.
It has been ten years since I was the Leader of the First Nations of Saskatchewan, and ten years ago it was a struggle for me to articulate my vision for the province in a young party with young ideas. These are just a few of my ideas for the Green Party and I would love to see a complete platform ready for election day. Of course, we will require a couple weeks in the early days of the Election to respond to further policy inquiries from organizations, and respond quickly and wisely to the policy announcements coming out from other parties. While I can commit to taking on as much of this responsibility as possible as a candidate, I must mention that ultimately it is the duty of the leader to present the finished product at the end of the day, and I am confident we as a party are ready. Leadership in both Regina and Saskatoon are required, and our Constitution states that the Deputy Leader should ideally be of the opposite gender, so I can envision a multi-city response to the daily media opportunities being fielded by many members of our emerging team of candidates. Regina, Saskatoon, North Battleford, and Lloydminster are cities which should be visited by the leader, and other trips could be planned upon the request of other candidates.
I've already made a commitment to be available to accompany Larry to a debate at the University of Saskatchewan if one is announced, and I make the same commitment now to Victor if he will be attending a debate at the University of Regina. No candidate should be expected to be a one-man-army, and party unity requires that we work as a team. When I was young I played basketball on the team at my elementary school. I wasn't a great basketball player, but I occasionally caught a good rebound and threw the ball to a better player, since they were better than me. But they were my friends. They were all-star players who scored all the points and outshone all the other players in town. The two years I played on the team, we won the city championships, and while I didn't believe at the time that I was a good player, I realize today that I can still shoot a three-pointer as I did once during a game in those days. Playing with the best helped my progress and we all helped eachother. This is how I want to see the Green Party of Saskatchewan. We are all members of the same team. Each with our individual ridings, talents, and abilities; With the freedom to utilize our gifts and experiences for the greater good.
My friends, I am here in this spirit today. Please allow me to do the best I can, and feel free to ask me to walk through your campaigns with you as we become the new third option. Six weeks from now, voters all over the province will be seriously considering what kind of life we want to live here in Saskatchewan, and who we want to lead us in the Legislature. Whether we are represented in the Legislature or not I cannot tell you, but I am committed to caring about the issues of the day, creating better ideas, observing the other parties and their positions, and responding as best I can to continued questions regarding the party that I truly believe will be recognized as the new alternative. My thanks to you for your encouragement thus far. My thanks to Victor and Larry for their respect in this quick 7-day process. And my thanks to the deputies and executive. But most of all, thank you to the candidates and to you, our fellow party members for being here today and choosing a better tomorrow.
Brendan William Cross
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