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Valerie Brooks

The following policies are taken from the document called "Vision Green" found on the Green Party Website. For a more complete understanding please refer to this document.

Affordability & Childcare

Canada Child Benefit

Valerie Brooks's promise

Green Party MPs will: ● Urge reforms to our tax and labour policies in ways that will increase the opportunity for Canadians to spend more time with family; ● Promote an integrated program of supports, tax cuts, and awareness-raising emphasizing that time spent with children and/or in the community is essential for the continuation of our society. ● Deliver on the most comprehensive approach to reduce stress on the middle class, while eliminating poverty – a Guaranteed Livable Income.

Childcare

Valerie Brooks's promise

Green Party MPs will: ● Restore and revamp the 2005 agreement reached between the federal government, provinces, and territories to achieve a universal access child care program in Canada; ● Create a national Children’s Commissioner, as recommended by UNICEF, to ensure children’s best interests are considered in policy development and that services across the country are better coordinated; ● Specifically ensure that Canada’s universal child care program provides workplace child care spaces wherever possible; ● Tax shift to make advertising directed at children ineligible for corporate tax write-offs; ● Accelerate the creation of workplace child care spaces through a direct tax credit to employers (or groups of employers in small businesses) of $1500 tax credit/child per year; ● Value the decisions of parents who choose to stay home with children; ● Promote and facilitate access to the Roots of Empathy Program, an effective, award-winning program developed by a non-profit

Green's promise

Work with governments, Indigenous communities, & the childcare sector to ensure that universal affordable childcare becomes a reality; Increase federal childcare funding to at least 1% of GDP annually; Eliminate GST on construction costs for childcare spaces; Ensure equitable access high-quality, culturally appropriate early learning & childcare programs for First Nations, Inuit, & Métis children.

1. Dedicate additional resources to making a universal, affordable, early learning and child-care (ELCC) system a reality

● Collaborate with provinces/territories, local communities, Indigenous communities and the child-care sector to ensure that a comprehensive short-, medium- and long-term policy road map – based on the principles of universality, affordability, quality, inclusivity, accessibility, and equity – finally becomes a reality.

● These principles will ensure a right of access for all children regardless of their parents’ work status or income levels, while at the same time allowing for regional and local adaptation.

2. Improve and strengthen parental leave

● Make parental leave more inclusive so it covers leave to care for elderly family members, leave following miscarriages and more,and more flexible and better paid.

3. Increase federal child care funding

● Immediately begin to ramp up federal child care funding to achieve the international benchmark of at least one per cent of GDP annually.

● Long-term, stable, national funding must be made available and be sufficient to meet the standards of the guiding principles. It must also be secure and predictable enough to permit the long-term planning and sustainability of the programs.

● Ensure the training, recruitment and retention of well-paid and professional staff.

4. Eliminate GST on all construction costs related to child care spaces

5. Ensure equitable access to high-quality, culturally appropriate ELCC programmes for First Nations, Inuit, and Métis children

● Build on the Multilateral Framework on Early Learning and Child Care and the accompanying bilateral agreements that have been negotiated with every province and territory, as well as with the First Nation, Inuit and Métis Peoples to ensure solutions are meeting their needs.

Be Daring., retrieved 2021-09-11

Employment Insurance

Valerie Brooks's promise

Restore employment insurance to seasonal workers; ● Restore adequate staffing to Service Canada to ensure access to the EI program for workers entitled to benefits; ● Dedicate taxes collected on chemical contaminants and unhealthy food to reduce EI premiums to workers and employers.

Food & Nutrition

Green's promise

Consult with residents of northern communities on Arctic farming; Work with non-profit groups to build greenhouses or hydroponic towers in northern communities; Fund education programmes in nutrition & horticulture in northern communities.

Guaranteed Livable Income

Valerie Brooks's promise

Remove taxes from the lowest income categories so that no taxes are paid by those below the poverty line (Canada’s Low Income Cut-off measure); ● Allow income assistance recipients to keep 100% of the wages they earn up to the Low Income Cut-off level to encourage people to get back into the job market; ● Offer people the mobility they need to find work, shelter, and other necessities through free transit passes for those on income assistance; ● Extend maternity/paternity leave for new parents outside of EI to two years and one additional year for parents who pay into EI; ● Increase the Guaranteed Income Supplement for seniors by 25%; ● Top up the income support for single parents on welfare during the time they are attending school or job training programs.; ● As a first step towards universal GLI, provide dividends to every Canadian from the carbon fee collected on GHG emissions. Through negotiations with each province, this modest income support payment will not be subj

Green's promise

Create a comprehensive & equitable Guaranteed Livable Income for every person in Canada; Payment would be set at a livable level for different regions of the country; Seniors' & children's benefits would remain in place.

1. Create a comprehensive and equitable Guaranteed Livable Income for every person in Canada.

● Building on the Market Basket Measure, payment would be set at a “livable” level for different regions of the country. The federal government would provide an initial base level subsidy across the country, and an intergovernmental body would determine and administer the necessary supplemental amounts.

● Allowing the provinces to reduce their expenditures on provincial welfare, a national Guaranteed Livable Income would liberate provincial budgets for the health budgets they have asked Ottawa to support.

● GLI would serve as a supplement for and complement to existing public services, and unlike provincial welfare regulations, would not discourage work.

● The Guaranteed Livable Income program would cover everyone, with a benefit amount gradually decreasing as other income increases. Seniors’ and children’s benefits would remain in place.

Be Daring., retrieved 2021-09-11

Living in the North

Valerie Brooks's promise

Improve food security in northern communities by consulting with residents on Arctic farming, working with non-profit groups to build greenhouses or hydroponic towers, and funding education programs in nutrition and horticulture; ● Prioritize high quality safe, and affordable housing, particularly in the North, and ensure an equitable distribution of resources for energy efficiency retrofits

Minimum Wage

Valerie Brooks's promise

Establish a federal minimum wage of $15 an hour under the Canada Labour Code; ● Advocate for changes in the Canada Labour Code that establish a minimum of three weeks paid vacation and a managed reduction in the standard work week to 35 hours;

People with Disabilities

Valerie Brooks's promise

Work to create a Canada Disabilities Act (CDA) to express Canadians’ vision of a more equitable society rather than the current confusion resulting from the multiplicity of acts, standards, policies, and programs that prevail; ● Support a national equipment fund to provide equipment such as wheelchairs and accessibility tools to assist persons with disabilities with the tools needed to fully participate in work and community life (This can be a joint program with provinces – the concern is equal access and common standards.); ● Invest in social housing adapted as necessary to meet particular needs, with both rental and purchase options. This is simply an expansion of our housing program recognizing particular needs; ● Provide federal health transfer payments to provinces and territories directed to rehabilitation for those who have become disabled, e.g. loss of limbs etc.; ● Enforce the Employment Equity Act to ensure that persons with disabilities have equal opportunity t

Green's promise

Work to create a Canada Disabilities Act; Support a national equipment fund for equipment such as wheelchairs & accessibility tools; Invest in social housing adapted as necessary to meet particular needs; Provide federal health transfer payments for provinces to direct to rehabilitation; Institute a Guaranteed Livable Income for people with disabilities; Make the Disability Tax Credit refundable.

● Work to create a Canada Disabilities Act (CDA) to express Canadians’ vision of a more equitable society rather than the current confusion resulting from the multiplicity of acts, standards, policies, and programs that prevail.

● Support a national equipment fund to provide equipment such as wheelchairs and accessibility tools to assist persons with disabilities with the tools needed to fully participate in work and community life (This can be a joint program with provinces – the concern is equal access and common standards).

● Invest in social housing adapted as necessary to meet particular needs, with both rental and purchase options.

● Provide federal health transfer payments to provinces and territories directed to rehabilitation for those who have become disabled, e.g. loss of limbs etc.

● Enforce the Employment Equity Act to ensure that persons with disabilities have equal opportunity to long-term employment and advancement. People with disabilities are generally the last to find employment and the first to be laid off.

● Institute a Guaranteed Liveable Income for people living with disabilities so that none live in poverty.

● Convert the Disability Tax Credit (DTC) to a refundable credit.

● Redesign the Canada Pension Plan/Disability Benefit (CPP/D) test to incorporate the DTC definition of disability and permit employment.

Be Daring., retrieved 2021-09-11

Climate Change & the Environment

Carbon Pricing

Valerie Brooks's promise

● Introduce a carbon price through a carbon fee and dividend system, sending a clear economic signal that wasting energy and resources implies real costs. ● Apply border adjustments to ensure Canadian businesses do not face unfair competition from polluting jurisdictions. In order to maintain a level playing field for Canadian businesses with respect to foreign competitors, carbon-based tariffs will be introduced against countries that apply no carbon tax (or other equivalent mechanism to curb GHG emissions) or apply a lower rate of carbon tax than Canada. These border adjustments will also be distributed in the ‘dividend’ to Canadians;

Green's promise

Increase the federal carbon price by $25/tonne each year until 2030.

Coal

Green's promise

Stop exporting US coal from Canadian ports.

Conservation

Green's promise

Support Indigenous-led protected & conservation areas; Fund stewardship by Indigenous guardians; Implement Canada's commitments under the Convention on Biological Diversity & follow-up protocols; Protect a minimum of 30% of freshwaters & lands by 2030 & 50% by 2050; Modernise the Canadian Environmental Protection Act; Create a national urban biodiversity regeneration strategy.

1. Protect and restore biodiversity and ecosystems.

● Support Indigenous-led protected and conservation areas and fund stewardship of these lands and waters by Indigenous guardians

● Implement Canada’s international commitments under the Convention on Biological Diversity and follow-up protocols

● Protect a minimum of 30 per cent of freshwaters and lands in each Canadian ecosystem by 2030 and 50 per cent by 2050, prioritizing carbon-rich ecosystems

● Halt habitat destruction by 2030 and restore the most negatively affected ecosystems such as wetlands by 2050, prioritizing carbon-rich ecosystems

● Expedite recovery plans and implement national and international commitments to reverse species loss

● Scale-up funding for nature-based solutions

● Initiate a national urban biodiversity regeneration strategy to expand greenspace, address environmental racism and protect urban-sensitive species such as birds

● Enhance federal science capacity to inventory and prioritize ecosystems, species at risk, and invasive species

2. Modernize the Canadian Environmental Protection Act.

● Prioritize legislation to modernize the Canadian Environmental Protection Act

● Ensure the right to a healthy environment, enforceable in law

● Prevent exposures to toxins and pollution by requiring labelling of chemicals and GMOs in consumer products, including cosmetics, cleaners and furniture

3. Develop and implement a National Forest Strategy.

● Create fire breaks and fire suppression, provide physical resources to deal with fires quickly and effectively, and include fire mitigation subsidies to owners of rural properties, allowing them to better manage the health of their forests.

4. Protect oceans and freshwater.

● Include Indigenous Peoples and their governance systems in all aspects of site selection, management, and decision-making around economic development within the marine and freshwater realms

● Transition to sustainable seafood: work with Indigenous and provincial governments to phase out open net-pen finfish aquaculture in Pacific waters by 2025 and all Canadian waters by 2030; support a just transition of impacted workers, and incentivize the move to land-based closed containment facilities.

● Reduce threats to ocean ecosystems, including supporting a moratorium on deep seabed mining at least until 2030

● Protect and restore coastal and marine areas, and support marine nature-based climate solutions

Be Daring., retrieved 2021-09-11

Effects of Climate Change

Valerie Brooks's promise

Establish special task forces involving all stakeholders, all levels of government and scientific experts to prepare, over the next two years, area-specific climate change adaptation strategies. The first of such task forces shall be set up in places particularly vulnerable to climate shift and disruptions, the Canadian Arctic, coastal zones, the Prairies, and the Interior of British Columbia; ● Restore and enhance funding to adaptation planning and measures across Canada; ● Establish a Climate Change Adaptation Fund to assist those areas hard hit by ‘natural’ disasters linked to climate change; ● Work with provinces to restore riparian ecosystems. Restore critical wetlands, especially where they might serve to dampen flood levels. The U.S. has invested billions in restoring riparian buffers, while we have done little. Federal programs could be delivered through existing government agencies, such as the Prairie Farm Rehabilitation Administration (PFRA) and ENGOs like Ducks

Green's promise

Increase funding for the Disaster Mitigation & Adaptation Fund to support climate resilience projects, including wildfire mitigation, rehabilitation of storm water systems, & restoration of wetlands, shorelines, & other natural infrastructure; Create an independent, scientific, non-partisan, diverse Climate Council to advise the government.

● Ensure that Canada utilizes the best available scientific expertise to advance research and development for assessing climate change impact risks. The focus will be on mitigating the impacts such as storms, droughts, floods, wildfires and related air quality impacts on health.

● Increase funding for the Disaster Mitigation and Adaptation Fund (DMAF) to support climate resilience projects critically needed to avoid the worst impacts of climate change including: wildfire mitigation activities, rehabilitation of storm water systems, and restoration of wetlands, shorelines, and other natural infrastructure.

● Develop transdisciplinary partnerships with governmental, non-profit organizations, academic institutions and industry, and invest in research and the necessary equipment, including the possibility of a shared climate supercomputer.

— _Be Daring._, retrieved 2021-09-11

● Create an independent, non-partisan council, composed of First Nations, Inuit and Métis representation, climate scientists and researchers, youth and representatives from communities that are the most affected by the climate emergency, to advise the government on the development and implementation of its climate change policies through a lens of environmental justice and eradicating environmental racism.

Be Daring., retrieved 2021-09-11

Emissions Reductions Targets

Valerie Brooks's promise

An opening offer to reduce Canadian emissions 60% below 2005 levels by 2030, and to be carbon neutral by 2050. A commitment to push for the global reductions in greenhouse gas emissions that are required to achieve a target of 350 ppm to cap the maximum global temperature increase at 1.5 degrees; ● Developing a global plan to attack emissions from international aviation and shipping, currently outside the Paris Agreement; ● A promise to adopt the far more aggressive emission reductions which would be required if other industrialized countries also participate; ● A commitment to periodically reassess these targets in light of emerging scientific evidence, to adopt more aggressive targets if needed, and to pu

Green's promise

Reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 60% below 2005 levels by 2030, with clear, enforceable targets & timelines starting in 2023; Achieve net-zero emissions as quickly as possible, with net-negative in 2050.

Energy Efficient Buildings

Valerie Brooks's promise

● Develop timelines and targets for raising existing building stock to the new standard with the goal of retrofitting 100% of Canada’s buildings to a high level of energy efficiency by 2030;

Green's promise

Create & implement a national green retrofit of existing residential, commercial, institutional, & industrial buildings; Support agencies & institutions to create programmes to carry out green retrofits in different areas & for different communities; Update the national building code to require all new construction & major renovations to older buildings meet net-zero standards by 2030.

● Create and implement a national green retrofit of existing residential, commercial, institutional, and industrial buildings

● Support agencies and institutions working to create innovative, efficient, and cost-effective programs to carry out green retrofits in different areas and for different communities, thereby creating local jobs and reducing emissions

● Change the national building code to require that all new construction and major renovations to older buildings meet net-zero standards by 2030

● Undertake a green retrofit of all federal government buildings, including government agencies

Be Daring., retrieved 2021-09-11

Energy Grid

Valerie Brooks's promise

Establish the design and management principles of a trans-Canada nationally integrated electrical power grid capable of efficiently transporting high electrical loads and accommodating many diverse sources of renewable electrical energy; ● Develop a transition plan that will transform the existing electrical distribution system into a high efficiency national grid; ● Work with Canada’s wind industry and the Canadian Wind Energy Association (CANWEA) to accelerate the rapid deployment of wind turbines to achieve 20% of Canada’s energy needs by 2025; ● Restore the Wind Power Production Incentive and incentives for projects with approved Advanced Renewable Tariffs that provide power purchase contracts for a diversity of small renewable energy projects; ● Provide a two cent/kWh subsidy for renewable energy produced in any province or territory adopting ART+ (Advanced Renewable Tariffs, net metering, peak power pricing, and plans for renewable grid extensions); ● Support local

Green's promise

Build inter-ties to link existing provincial grids, creating a national energy corridor for green renewable energy; Implement a national, non-emitting electricity grid.

● Ensure that 100 per cent of Canadian electricity is produced from renewable sources by 2030

● Create a national coast to coast to coast energy corridor for green renewable energy by building up the inter-ties needed to link existing provincial grids

● Implement a national, non-emitting electricity grid to help Canada meet its target of net-zero GHG emissions

Be Daring., retrieved 2021-09-11

Energy Sources

Valerie Brooks's promise

● Work with provinces to phase out existing nuclear power, to stem the buildup of nuclear wastes, and to institute a Canada-wide moratorium on uranium mining and refining; ● End all subsidies and supports to the nuclear industry except those required to maintain the safety of existing facilities, and assist in phasing out and decommissioning facilities and sequestering associated radioactive wastes; ● Call for the federal government to stop subsidizing all phases of the nuclear industry and Atomic Energy of Canada Limited (AECL) and stop promoting CANDU reactors; ● Demand that the operations of the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) and AECL are transparent and at arm’s-length from government and require the disclosure of the minutes of all meetings with AECL. Repeal amendments to the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission Act that require the CNSC to consider production quotas and safety at the same time; ● Seek an amendment to the Nuclear Liability Act, increasing maxi

Green's promise

Ensure 100% of Canadian electricity is produced from renewable sources by 2030; Ban further development of nuclear power in Canada.

Environmental Rights

Green's promise

Ensure the right to a healthy environment, enforceable in law; Support swift passage of the proposed National Strategy Respecting Environmental Racism and Environmental Justice Act; Expand access to nearby nature, especially for racialised people & those facing systemic barriers; Require labelling of chemicals & GMOs in consumer products.

Ramp up programs to help all people in Canada benefit from nearby nature, especially racialized communities and others facing systemic barriers. Expand funding for federal programs as well for partnerships with municipalities and local organizations to leverage networks and knowledge in reaching all communities and tackling discrimination and racism in green spaces.

Be Daring., retrieved 2021-09-11

Fossil Fuel Subsidies

Valerie Brooks's promise

● Remove all subsidies and supports to the oil, coal, gas, and coalbed methane industries in Canada; ● Apply escalating Carbon Fee and Dividend to all CO2, methane, N2O, fugitive, and other GHG emissions; ● Apply a carbon fee to all producers of fossil fuels, redistributed as a dividend to every Canadian, as above; ● Work with provinces to ensure no new coal-fired electrical generation plants; ● Work with provinces to place a moratorium on horizontal fracking; ● Pass legislation to keep Canada’s entire west coast crude oil supertanker-free so that current bitumen-diluent tanker traffic in the Port of Vancouver be rapidly phased out; ● Work to establish a Federal Ministry of Energy Transition Plan to co-ordinate the transition from a fossil fuel based economy to one based on renewable energy; ● Work to establish a Strategic Petroleum and Natural Gas Reserve to address secure domestic petroleum supply in the event of shortages both short term and long-term, a Natural Gas Em

Green's promise

End all subsidies to the fossil fuel sector; End leasing of federal lands for fossil fuel production and retire existing licenses.

Freshwater

Green's promise

Create a dedicated, long-term funding programme for water infrastructure.

Create a dedicated, long-term funding program for water infrastructure, building on the success of the Clean Water and Wastewater Fund that operated between 2016 and 2018

Be Daring., retrieved 2021-09-11

Green Innovation

Valerie Brooks's promise

Ensuring energy security for Canada; ● Promoting value-added jobs from all energy sources; ● Diversifying our energy mix to enhance our exceptional potential in renewable energy (including solar, wind, tidal, geothermal, and run-of-the-river hydroelectric); ● Maximizing energy productivity (i.e. dramatically improving energy efficiency); Develop a national energy retrofit standard designed for a post-carbon economy that will reduce energy use in existing buildings by an average of at least 80% below that of 2009 average structures;

Green's promise

Develop partnerships across disciplines with government, non-profit organisations, academic institutions, & industry; Invest in research & necessary equipment, including the possibility of a shared climate super computer; Establish a federally-funded $1B Green Venture Capital Fund to support viable local green business start-ups.

Industrial Carbon Emissions

Green's promise

Enact a Carbon Border Adjustment; Continuously evaluate the impact of the Carbon Border Adjustment on developing countries through a lens of global environmental justice.

● Enact a Carbon Border Adjustment, which will ensure Canadian companies paying carbon taxes are not placed at a competitive disadvantage with foreign companies located in countries with no such taxes.

● Continuously evaluate the impact of the Carbon Border Adjustment on developing countries through a lens of global environmental justice.

Be Daring., retrieved 2021-09-11

Pesticides

Green's promise

Set targets for reducing the use of pesticides in agriculture; Assist farmers in moving to organic & regenerative farming; Revive & expand the National Pesticides Monitoring & Surveillance Network; Create an adverse effects reporting database for doctors & emergency rooms to track health impacts of pesticides & other chemicals; Ban neonicotinoid pesticides.

Shipping & Marine Protection

Green's promise

Include Indigenous Peoples in all aspects of marine protection site selection, management, & decision-making; Commit permanent funding for marine conservation; Support a ban on deep seabed mining until at least 2030; Implement an Extended Producer Responsibility program for synthetic fishing gear; Set zero-emissions targets for marine vessels by 2040 & ports & inland vessels by 2030.

● Include Indigenous Peoples and their governance systems in all aspects of site selection, management, and decision-making around economic development within the marine and freshwater realms

● Transition to sustainable seafood: work with Indigenous and provincial governments to phase out open net-pen finfish aquaculture in Pacific waters by 2025 and all Canadian waters by 2030; support a just transition of impacted workers, and incentivize the move to land-based closed containment facilities.

● Reduce threats to ocean ecosystems, including supporting a moratorium on deep seabed mining at least until 2030

● Protect and restore coastal and marine areas, and support marine nature-based climate solutions

Be Daring., retrieved 2021-09-11

● In partnership with Indigenous governments and organizations, develop a National Framework for Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas (IPCAs) that includes collaborative governance arrangements, co-management decision-making bodies, and supporting administrative structures

● Invest in Indigenous-led sustainable ocean economies and Indigenous Guardians Programs

● Include Indigenous Peoples, their worldviews, knowledge, and governance systems in all aspects of design, site selection, management, and decision-making around economic development within the marine and freshwater realms of their territories

Be Daring., retrieved 2021-09-11

● Finalize a ban on single-use plastics by the end of 2021, and expand the list of banned plastics to include other harmful long-lived plastics such as polystyrene

● Require that all plastic packaging contain at least 50% recycled content by 2030 and support the shift to reusable products and packaging by (A) adjusting federal procurement practices and supporting municipalities that adopt equivalent or better reuse standards; and (B) introducing targets for refillable beverage containers.

● Implement an Extended Producer Responsibility program for all companies making or selling synthetic fishing gear which would fund the retrieval of lost or abandoned fishing gear, commonly known as ghost nets, and the collection and recycling of old, damaged, and recovered fishing gear.

● Support a moratorium on deep seabed mining until at least 2030, in tandem with increased investment in deep sea science

● Legislate cruise ship waste discharge standards that meet or exceed those of our coastal neighbours.

Be Daring., retrieved 2021-09-11

● Accelerate Canada's commitment to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity of 30% protected marine areas by 2030.

● Deliver a new comprehensive ten-year biodiversity strategy and action plan, with goals, measurable targets, and resources to halt and reverse biodiversity loss in the ocean by 2030 and fulfill Canada’s commitment to the G7 Nature Compact and UN CBD by the end of 2023.

● Commit permanent A-base funding for marine conservation, including the management of MPAs and stewardship of Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas by Indigenous partners.

● By 2022, present a clear action plan to achieve this target that includes the implementation of minimum protection standards; completion of Marine Protected Area networks and new MPAs in five priority bioregions; and completion of all current proposed MPAs and National Marine Conservation Areas; and identify new Areas of Interest in the remaining marine ecoregions and bioregions.

● By 2022, develop a Species At Risk Act (SARA) compliance plan with specific actions for all critical habitat protected under Section 58. Compliance promotion should target all users of the critical habitat of each specific Species At Risk.

● By 2025, complete independent scientific reviews of the effectiveness of recovery measures for all threatened and endangered species listed under SARA.

● Align measures under the Fisheries Act with potential measures under SARA for all COSEWIC-assessed species as part of species-at-risk transformation within DFO.

Be Daring., retrieved 2021-09-11

● Reduce greenhouse gas emissions (CO2 emissions, black carbon, Nitrous Oxide, Sulfur Oxide (NOx and SOx)), and methane from the marine transport sector, including shipping, ferries and fishing vessels.

● Setting the achievable target of 100% zero-emission vessels in Canadian inland waters by 2030 and marine vessels by 2040. All federally-owned ferries should be net-zero by 2035.

● Commit to zero-emission ports by 2030 through the development of port hydrogen hubs and develop ties to international ports to support the development of green shipping corridors and hydrogen export markets. This should include a zero- emission port infrastructure fund and a commitment to have all marine vessels at berth connected to shore power by 2030 to dramatically lower port emissions while reducing harmful air pollution for communities living near ports.

● Commit to no further expansion of offshore oil and gas activity while implementing a just transition for offshore oil and gas workers by 2030

● Develop a marine-focused Nature Based Climate Solutions strategy that integrates ocean-based carbon sinks (blue carbon) into Canada’s Climate Plan and emissions counting system. The strategy would include objectives, timelines and funding to prioritize protection and restoration of existing blue carbon sinks, support research to map and quantify blue carbon, and provide guidelines for evaluation of blue carbon in environmental assessments for proposed projects.

● Amend the Oceans Act and Fisheries Act to consider climate impacts on the marine environment and marine species and include climate change in spatial and fisheries management objectives. Conduct climate vulnerability assessments for marine species and habitats.

Be Daring., retrieved 2021-09-11

Sustainable Finance

Green's promise

Require federal public investment funds, including the CPP Investment Board, to divest from fossil fuels.

Toxic Substances

Green's promise

Limit CEPA approval & use of toxic chemicals that affect human health & environment; Regulate microfibres as a toxic substance under CEPA; Ban all toxic ingredients in personal care products.

● Strengthen the Canadian Environmental Protection Act (CEPA) to limit the approval and use of toxic chemicals that affect our health and environment.

● Regulate microfibres as a toxic substance under CEPA.

● Invoke the precautionary principle in making decisions about approvals of products, substances, projects and processes where there is the potential for irreversible harm. If there is no scientific proof of safety, then approval will be withheld.

Be Daring., retrieved 2021-09-11

Waste

Valerie Brooks's promise

Work in cooperation with provincial and municipal authorities to expand product responsibility programs where manufacturers are responsible for the entire lifespan of their products, including recycling at the end of usefulness; ● Provide assistance to municipalities (through the Waste and Waste Treatment Facilities Municipalities Superfund – see Section 1.14, Infrastructure and Communities) in carrying out major waste reduction activities including recycling and central composting facilities; ● Oppose waste-to-energy incinerators for the disposal of materials that can and should be recycled, composted, or down-cycled. ● Pass laws, such as those in Germany, requiring manufacturers to accept lifetime stewardship of all products, including packaging. Once goods are returned to the manufacturer, the materials are better designed to be re-usable and recoverable; ● Move to full reclamation of all electronic and hazardous materials by initiating a recycling deposit tax to be paid

Green's promise

Ban non-essential, single-use plastics by the end of the year; Promote green procurement practices; Promote sustainable waste management systems; Promote a legally-binding global plastics agreement; Ratify the Basel Ban Amendment.

● Reduce consumption, waste, and planned obsolescence.

● Promote green procurement practices (procuring goods and services that have a reduced environmental impact), as recommended by the United Nations Environment Programme.

● Promote sustainable waste management practices, such as waste treatment, recycling, and safe handling of healthcare and biochemical waste, by adopting legislative provisions on issues including tax rebates or waivers on recycling initiatives.

● Proceed with regulations to ban non-essential, single-use plastics before the end of the year, and expand the list of items to be banned. Champion a legally binding global plastics agreement, ratify the Basel Ban Amendment and strengthen Canada’s rules for plastic waste trade to ensure Canadian plastic waste doesn’t pollute other countries.

Be Daring., retrieved 2021-09-11

Wildfires

Green's promise

Create fire breaks & fire suppression; Provide physical resources to deal with fires quickly; Include fire mitigation subsidies to owners of rural properties, allowing them to better manage the health of their forests.

Worker Transition

Green's promise

Introduce a Just Transition Act before the end of 2021; Plan for a fair transition of workers towards a decarbonised economy, that protects communities from displacement, & in which affected people are leading the preparation of their transition strategies; Use wage insurance, retraining programmes, & early retirement plans.

● Introduce a Just Transition Act before the end of 2021 that takes care of workers and communities during the transition.

● Plan for a fair and carefully planned transition of workers towards a decarbonized economy, that protects communities from displacement, and in which affected people (workers in greenhouse gas-intensive industries, Indigenous Peoples, marginalized communities) are leading the preparation of their transition strategies.

● Replace every high paying fossil fuel sector job with a high paying green sector job through wage insurance, retraining programs and early retirement plans.

● Reduce wealth inequality in Canada. Ensure that current wealth holders, particularly those in the fossil fuel sector, pay their fair share. Close tax havens and loopholes to redistribute wealth towards communities that have been underinvested in.

● Introduce laws that incentivize green investment and the creation of green jobs (such as in sustainable transport and energy efficiency), and that disincentivize unsustainable investments (such as by raising taxes on environmentally harmful goods and services).

● Invest in the cleantech sector and in renewable energy, which will create more, and higher paying jobs than those lost in the fossil fuel sector.

● Enact legislation on green jobs training programs, such as the creation of a youth climate corps; for example, jobs related to ecosystem restoration, particularly for people who have been displaced or severely affected by COVID-19.

Be Daring., retrieved 2021-09-11

Education

Job Training

Green's promise

Increase the Canada Training Benefit; Support post-secondary institutions to provide new, innovative academic offerings.

Post-Secondary Tuition

Valerie Brooks's promise

Increase federal transfers to provincial governments, ear-marked and tied to post-secondary education; ● Abolish tuition; ● Increase federal student grants by 25% (at a cost of $173 million); Eliminate student debt by forgiving any existing debt above $10K, and eliminate future debt through abolishing tuition and providing a guaranteed livable income;

Green's promise

Abolish post-secondary education tuition; Cancel all federally-held student loan debt; Introduce a $2,000/mo retroactive Canada Emergency Student Benefit, until the pandemic is over; Remove the 2% cap on increases in education funding for Indigenous students; Improve funding in federal-provincial transfers to universities & colleges.

1. Abolish post-secondary education tuition

● Free “Education For All” is estimated to cost approximately $10.2 billion annually. Universal education is not a far financial reach from the existing student aid and can sustain a system of universally accessible, post-secondary education.

● Universal post-secondary education would be partially financed by redirecting existing spending on tuition tax credits, saved costs of administering the student loan system, and the hundreds of millions of dollars of student loan defaults written off every year.

2. Cancel all federally held student loan debt

● This will help prevent half of students who earn a bachelor’s degree in Canada from graduating with more than $28,000 in debt.

3. Reintroduce a retroactive Canada Emergency Student Benefit (CESB)

● Ensure all those eligible for the CESB receive $2,000 per month – the same amount as the Canada Recovery Benefit for the period beginning May 1, and until the pandemic is over.

● Ensure that international and recently graduated students are eligible to receive this benefit.

4. Remove the two per cent cap on increases in education funding for Indigenous students

● Ensure all Indigenous youth have access to post-secondary education.

5. Improve funding in federal-provincial transfers to universities and colleges

● Provide more funding to universities and colleges with a measurable focus on student-professor contact, mentorship, policies of inclusion and tenure track hires.

● Reinvest in the system. Greens will allocate $10 billion to post-secondary and trade school supports.

6. Build a more flexible and accessible education

● Expand opportunities for reskilling and retraining, by increasing the Canada Training Benefit to support continuous learning, and support for post-secondary institutions to provide new, innovative academic offerings.

● Enhance access to graduate education, by tripling the number of Canada Graduate Scholarships available for master’s students and doubling the number available for PhD students.

● Position Canada as a destination of choice for international talent and support post-secondary institutions to welcome international students safely.

Be Daring., retrieved 2021-09-11

Health & Healthcare

Access to Abortion

Valerie Brooks's promise

Oppose any possible government move to diminish the right of a woman to a safe, legal abortion. We fully support a woman’s right to choose. We will also expand programs in reproductive rights and education to avoid unwanted pregnancies, and expand supports for low-income mothers;

Green's promise

Negotiate the Canada Health Accord to prioritise access to safe abortion services; Oppose any possible government move to diminish access to safe, legal abortion.

Negotiate the Canada Health Accord to prioritize mental health and rehabilitation services, access to safe abortion services and access to gender-affirming health services such as hormones, blockers, and surgery.

Be Daring., retrieved 2021-09-11

Oppose any possible government move to diminish access to safe, legal abortion.

Be Daring., retrieved 2021-09-11

Dental Care

Green's promise

Expand Medicare to include free dental care for low-income Canadians.

Future Pandemics

Green's promise

Create an intergovernmental rapid response task force, to be activated immediately when facing emergencies; Ensure robust capacity for pharmaceutical manufacturing; Increase domestic production of PPE; Lessen overall dependence on global supply chains for essential goods & services; Strengthen the Global Public Health Intelligence Network; Provide long-term funding to the Public Health Agency.

● Order a public inquiry that evaluates the joint response between all levels of government with the purpose of examining what went well and what could have been done better.

● Create an intergovernmental rapid response task force, which can be activated immediately when facing an emergency.

● Ensure that Canada has a robust capacity for pharmaceutical manufacturing.

● Ensure that Canada has a sufficient PPE stockpile by increasing domestic production.

● Dedicate specific funding to strengthening the integration of public health with community-based primary care as the first access point of the health care system

● Lessen Canada’s overall dependence on global supply chains for essential goods and services.

● Strengthen the Global Public Health Intelligence Network (GPHIN) to flag potential public health concerns around the globe.

● Prepare for future pandemics by investing in and restructuring our health care and long-term care systems.

● Provide the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) with long-term funding to protect public health and to be ready with surge capacity in the event of a crisis.

● Invest in research and production of vaccines and therapeutics to improve Canada’s ability to domestically source vaccines and medical treatments.

● Commit to being guided by the recommendations of the relevant scientists and experts in formulating emergency response strategies.

● Accelerate Canada's move towards a net-zero emissions green economy in order to help limit further global warming and the intensification of extreme weather and climate events that such warming will provoke.

Be Daring., retrieved 2021-09-11

Health Funding

Valerie Brooks's promise

● Eliminate two-tier health care: 1. Identify and measure the extent of two-tier health care in Canada and strive for the elimination of two-tier health care as quickly as economically possible; 2. Extend the national Health Accord; 3. Use the full force of federal spending power under the Canada Health Act to oppose any steps that open the way to further two-tier health care in Canada.

Green's promise

Increase health transfers by basing them on demographics & healthcare needs in each province; Reevaluate the Canada Health Transfer to cover rural communities with an equitable amount of funding to meet the needs of the community.

1. Expand the Canada Health Act.

● Expand the single-payer Medicare model to include Pharmacare for everyone.

● Create a bulk drug purchasing agency and reduce drug patent protection periods.

● Expand the single-payer Medicare model to include long-term care and enhanced mental health services.

● Expand the single-payer Medicare model to include free basic dental care for all Canadians.

2. Restore the Canada Health Accord.

● Increase health transfers by basing them on demographics and real health care needs in each province, replacing the current formula based on GDP growth introduced by the Harper government and retained by the Liberals.

● Negotiate the Canada Health Accord to prioritize mental health and rehabilitation services, access to safe abortion services and access to gender-affirming health services such as hormones, blockers, and surgery.

● Reduce wait times, which are a foundational issue of accessibility in the health care system, particularly in the case of primary care. Support family doctors and interprofessional teams to reduce wait times and enhance the accessibility of the care they provide to communities across Canada.

Be Daring., retrieved 2021-09-11

Healthcare Access

Valerie Brooks's promise

● Improve our existing acute care system: 1. Address the cost crisis that produces long waitlists by providing more money to hire staff to open currently closed beds, fully utilize existing operating rooms in hospitals, and purchase new diagnostic equipment; 2. Provide funds immediately to begin training more doctors and nurses; 3. Work with the Canadian Medical Association (CMA) to immediately establish qualification standards and on-the-job mentorship programs to fast-track certification of foreign trained health care professionals; 4. Provide student loan forgiveness incentives for graduating doctors, nurses, paramedics, and other health care professionals who agree to staff rural facilities and family practice clinics where recruitment is currently a problem; 5. Provide funds to expand provincial health insurance to cover proven alternative therapies that are less expensive and invasive; 6. Improve access to midwifery services across Canada; 7. Focus resources on reco

Green's promise

Reduce wait times, particularly for primary care; Support provinces in implementing new delivery models, such as telemedicine.

Pharmacare

Valerie Brooks's promise

Reduce the costs of Pharmacare: 1. Advocate for immediate action on the 2004 Standing Committee on Health recommendation that Health Canada enforce the current prohibition of all industrysponsored advertisements on prescription drugs to the public to help reduce the demand for unnecessary prescription drugs; 2. Initiate a public inquiry into the rising costs and over-prescription of drugs; 3. Require reporting of side-effects requiring a doctor visit or hospitalization due to prescribed drug use, building on the ground breaking Vanessa’s Law passed in 2014; 4. Establish, in cooperation with the provinces, a new crown corporation to bulk purchase and dispense prescription drugs, based on a rigorous evidence-based model, and to study the feasibility of establishing a national Pharmacare program that ensures that effective pharmaceuticals are available to all Canadians who need them.

Green's promise

Expand the Canada Health Act to fully fund a universal pharmacare programme; Create a bulk drug purcahsing agency; Reduce drug patent protection periods; Establish a clear timeline for implementing universal pharmacare, with a Canadian Drug Agency established and a programme covering a list of essential medicines launched in 2022, and a comprehensive programme rolled out by 2025.

1. Expand the Canada Health Act by fully funding a universal pharmacare program

● Ensure quality prescription drug coverage for everyone in Canada, so that no Canadian skips, stretches or simply does not take their medication because they cannot afford it.

2. Create a bulk drug purchasing agency and reduce drug patent protection periods.

● Ensure that everyone in Canada is able to access affordable medication more quickly and equitably.

3. Establish a clear timeline for the implementation of universal pharmacare

● Fully establish the Canadian Drug Agency in 2022, which would assess prescription drugs and negotiate prices for a national formulary.

● Introduce federal legislation on pharmacare in 2022, based on negotiations with the provincial and territorial governments.

● Launch national pharmacare in 2022 by providing universal coverage for a list of essential medicines.

● Roll out a comprehensive formulary by January 1, 2025, instead of 2027.

Be Daring., retrieved 2021-09-11

Review of COVID Response

Valerie Brooks's promise

Ensure our level of preparedness for pandemics is robust, adequate and on alert at all times.

Green's promise

Order a public inquiry to evaluate the joint response between all levels of government to examine what went well & what could have been done better.

Order a public inquiry that evaluates the joint response between all levels of government with the purpose of examining what went well and what could have been done better.

Be Daring., retrieved 2021-09-11

Improve Our Chronic Care System

Valerie Brooks's promise

● Improve our existing chronic care system: 1. Recognize autism spectrum disorder as treatable with costs of behavioural therapy covered by the health care system. 2. Enshrine a policy that seniors’ care must be provided in the communities where they or their families live; 3. Expand home support and home care programs and assisted-living services to support people with chronic care needs, including the many seniors who wish to stay in their own homes and communities; 87 4. Transfer funds to provinces to build and open more long-term care beds; 5. Educate Canadians about end-of-life issues; increase funding for palliative care hospices in hospitals and our communities; enact ‘living-will’ legislation that guarantees people the right to limit or refuse medical intervention and treatment so people can make the choice of dying with dignity (see Section 4.4 Seniors and 4.5 Dying with Dignity).

Housing & Homelessness

Homelessness

Valerie Brooks's promise

Advocate the inclusion of a clause in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms thatspecifically states that everyone living in Canada is entitled to safe shelter or affordablehousing;

Green's promise

Declare housing affordability & homelessness a national emergency; Support existing youth shelters & other infrastructure through federal grants; Invest in creating new youth shelter sin urban & small urban centres; Remove shelter maximum stays for youth; Provide on-site & remote access guidance counselling & therapy for homeless youth; Provide optional relocation services for rural homeless youth

● Support existing youth shelters and other infrastructure through federal grants.

● Invest in the creation of new youth shelters in urban and small urban centers across the country which would work on a needs-driven and community-centric approach.

● Remove shelter maximum stays for youth.

● Provide on-site and remote access guidance counselling and therapy for youth suffering from homelessness.

● Provide optional relocation services for rural youth suffering from homelessness to ensure that they have access to youth shelters and other infrastructure.

● Support and invest in the co-operative model for youth housing.

Be Daring., retrieved 2021-09-11

1. Provide expanded mental health services for the homeless community.

● Increased access to high-quality mental health services would recognize the intersections between those experiencing homelessness and those experiencing mental health issues.

2. Implement programs that direct funds to municipalities providing support for people in the homeless community who use drugs.

● Support Housing First initiatives and other successful models of improving health outcomes.

Be Daring., retrieved 2021-09-11

Housing Prices

Valerie Brooks's promise

● Urge the government to appoint a Minister for Housing to oversee development and implementation of a National Affordable Housing Plan; ● Require the National Affordable Housing Plan to set an annual rate of building affordable housing so that lack of access to affordable housing is no longer a factor in homelessness by 2019; ● Change the mandate of Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) to include responsibility, as it once had, for affordable, non-market, and co-operative housing; ● Create a National Affordable Housing Program that provides sufficient funds annually through CMHC to community-based agencies across Canada to: 1. Ensure that an adequate supply of new subsidized affordable homes is built: 20 000 new and 10 000 rehabilitated affordable units per year for the next ten years using capital grants and changes in tax and mortgage insurance regulations; 2. Provide rent supplements or shelter assistance for an additional 40 000 low-income households per yea

Green's promise

Declare housing affordability & homelessness a national emergency; Create national standards to establish rent & vacancy controls; Provide a retroactive residential arrears program for Canadians at risk of eviction or of being driven into homelessness due to accumulated rent; Raise the empty homes tax for foreign & corporate residential property owners.

A Green government will provide a retroactive residential arrears assistance program to protect Canadians at risk of eviction or of being driven into homelessness due to accumulated rent arrears, as recommended by the National Right to Housing Network (NRHN) and the Centre for Equality Rights in Accommodation (CERA).

Be Daring., retrieved 2021-09-11

● Raise the “empty home” tax for foreign and corporate residential property owners who leave buildings and units vacant.

● Assess the role of real estate investment trusts (REITs) in Canada’s housing market.

● Close tax haven loopholes that allow foreign investors to hide the names of beneficial owners of properties in Canada.

● Crack down on money laundering in Canadian real estate.

Be Daring., retrieved 2021-09-11

Housing Supply

Green's promise

Update the formula for defining affordable housing, accounting for regional variance; Fund non-profit & co-op purchasing of existing buildings; Expand the Rapid Housing Initiative; Invest in building & operating 50K supportive housing units over 10 years; Build & acquire 300K units of coop & non-profit housing over 10 years; Create a Co-op Housing Strategy; Refocus CMHC on supporting affordable, non-market, & co-op housing; Appoint a Minister of Housing.

● Protect the existing stock of affordable housing by funding the purchase of buildings by non-profit and cooperative affordable housing organizations.

● Expand the Rapid Housing Initiative to bring new affordable and supportive housing onstream without delay. With this expansion, more quality projects with funding and agreements already in place can quickly become affordable or supportive housing.

● Invest in construction and operation of 50,000 supportive housing units over 10 years.

● Build and acquire a minimum of 300,000 units of deeply affordable non-market, co-op and non-profit housing over a decade.

● Create a Canada Co-op Housing Strategy and update the mechanisms for financing co-op housing, in partnership with CMHC, co-op societies, credit unions and other lenders.

● Require covenants to ensure that subsidized construction remains affordable over the long term

● Restore quality, energy efficient housing for seniors, people with special needs and low-income families, by providing financing to non-profit housing organizations, cooperatives, and social housing to build and restore quality and affordable housing.

● Implement integrated housing, so that everyone can afford to live in the communities in which they work and under quality conditions. Restore tax incentives for building purpose-built rental housing, and provide tax credits for gifts of lands, or of land and buildings, to community land trusts to provide affordable housing.

● Remove the “deemed” GST whenever a developer with empty condo units places them on the market as rentals.

● Re-focus the core mandate of Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) on supporting the development of affordable, non-market and cooperative housing, as opposed to its current priority of supporting Canadian lenders to de-risk investment in housing ownership. With many housing markets demonstrably overvalued, and home ownership rates among the highest in the world, individual home ownership should not be the preoccupation of a public service housing agency and a national housing strategy.

● Appoint a Minister of Housing to meet the needs of affordable housing that are unique to each province, oversee its implementation in collaboration with provincial ministers, and build on other aspects of the housing and homelessness crisis in Canada to tackle these issues.

Be Daring., retrieved 2021-09-11

Money Laundering

Green's promise

Crack down on money laundering in Canadian real estate.

Mortgages

Valerie Brooks's promise

.

Renter & Home-Buyer Protections

Green's promise

Immediately appoint a Federal Housing Advocate; Place a national moratorium on evictions until the pandemic is over, & for a reasonable time after, in cooperation with provincial governments.

Human Rights & Equality

Conversion Therapy

Valerie Brooks's promise

● Ban Conversion therapy

Green's promise

Ban & condemn the practice of conversion therapy, in all its forms.

Data Privacy

Green's promise

Enshrine citizens' digital rights, including the right to not be profiled online; Distinguish between demographic profiling & psychometric profiling.

Employment Discrimination

Green's promise

Support the 23 recommendations outlined in the LGBT Purge Fund's report "Emerging from the Purge".

Gender Equity

Valerie Brooks's promise

Pass pay equity legislation, as recommended by the Pay Equity Task Force; immediately implement full pay equity for women employed in the federal sector and develop tax incentives for companies to meet the highest standards of gender and pay equity; ● Establish specific job re-entry programs for women with children who want to restart their working lives either part-time or full-time; ● Ensure that the criteria for new appointments to public boards and agencies include equal opportunity for women; ● Support greater engagement of women in the political life of Canada by advocating that all political parties nominate, train, and support more women candidates; ● Create better policies and programs to end violence against women;

Green's promise

Pass pay equity legislation; Immediately implement full pay equity for women employed in the federal sector; Develop tax incentives for companies to meet standards; Establish specific job reentry programmes for women with children; Advocate that all political parties nominate, train, & support more women & gender-diverse candidates.

● Pass pay equity legislation, as recommended by the Pay Equity Task Force; immediately implement full pay equity for women employed in the federal sector and develop tax incentives for companies to meet the highest standards of gender and pay equity.

● Establish specific job re-entry programs for women with children who want to restart their working lives either part-time or full-time.

● Ensure that the criteria for new appointments to public boards and agencies include equal opportunity for women.

● Support greater engagement of women in the political life of Canada by advocating that all political parties nominate, train, and support more women and gender-diverse candidates.

Be Daring., retrieved 2021-09-11

Hate Crimes & Hate Speech

Green's promise

Develop better guidelines to address the weaponisation of free expression to promote hate speech & propaganda.

Indigenous & Black Incarceration

Green's promise

Expand on & codify the requirement for sentencing judges to take into account systemic & historical racism; Develop clear laws & guidelines aligned with R. v. Ipeelee & R. v. Gladue; Implement additional laws to reduce incarceration of Indigenous peoples; Eliminate mandatory minimum sentences.

● Expand on, and codify the requirement for sentencing judges to take into account systemic and historical racism when dealing with Indigenous persons, and the requirement that they act to reduce the impact of systemic racism.

● Develop clear laws and guidelines aligned with the principles set out by the Supreme Court in R. v. Ipeelee and R. v. Gladue, and implement additional laws to reduce incarceration of Indigenous Peoples in provincial and federal prisons.

● Implement the calls to action of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission that deal with justice (sections 25-40).

● Develop laws and policies aimed at providing social, housing, health, economic and educational support in order to reduce the over-policing and over-incarceration of Black and Indigenous peoples.

Be Daring., retrieved 2021-09-11

● Eliminate mandatory minimum sentences and enable courts to determine appropriate sentences based on the circumstances of each individual case and established sentencing laws and principles.

● Take steps to ensure that, where some form of incarceration is necessary, individuals are, as quickly as possible, held close to their community to allow for more effective reintegration and rehabilitation.

Be Daring., retrieved 2021-09-11

LGBTQ2 Rights & Opportunities

Green's promise

Establish a funding programme within Health Canada to support community-based organisations offering targeted LGBTQI2+ youth mental health & well-being programmes; Fund community-driven education & awareness programmes & referral programmes; Ban & condemn the practice of medically unnecessary surgeries on intersex children.

● Establish a funding program within Health Canada to support community-based organizations offering targeted LGBTQI2+ youth’s mental health and well-being programs, including suicide prevention, peer support, coming out, and counselling.

● Fund community-driven education and awareness programs that lead to a greater understanding of intersex realities and the diversity of sexualities and gender identities, and referral programs to direct for trans, non-binary and Two Spirit people to appropriate services.

Be Daring., retrieved 2021-09-11

● Ban and condemn the practice of medically unnecessary surgeries on intersex children.

Be Daring., retrieved 2021-09-11

Racism & Discrimination

Green's promise

Implement all TRC Calls to Action; Implement all Calls to Justice from the Final Report of the National Inquiry into Missing & Murdered Indigenous Women & Girls; Implement the recommendations of the Report of the UN Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent on its Mission to Canada.

Sex Work

Green's promise

Reform sex work laws to focus on harm reduction; Legalise the sex work industry; Increase funding for community organisations providing services to those driven to sex work by economic deprivation.

● Reform sex work laws in Canada with a clear focus on harm reduction, given the dangers that sex trade workers face. Legalising the industry will allow sex workers to access law enforcement and social services when needed.

● Increase funding of community organizations providing services to those driven to sex work by economic deprivation.

Be Daring., retrieved 2021-09-19

Solitary confinement

Green's promise

Immediately ensure the Federal Advisory Committee on Prisoner Isolation receives access to required information to monitor the state of solitary confinement in Canada's prisons; Ensure the recommendations of the Office of the Correctional investigator with respect to Structured Intervention Units are implemented; Implement the Senate amendments to Bill C-83.

● Immediately ensure that the Federal Advisory Committee on Prisoner Isolation receives access to all required information to monitor the state of “structured intervention units” (solitary confinement) within Canada’s prisons.

● Ensure that the recommendations of the Office of the Correctional Investigator with respect to SIUs are implemented.

● Implement the Senate amendments to Bill C-83, particularly the increased use of non-carceral and therapeutic options, judicial oversight and remedies for correctional interference and mismanagement of prisoners’ sentences

Be Daring., retrieved 2021-09-11

The Blood Ban

Green's promise

End the blood ban.

Trans Health & Access

Valerie Brooks's promise

Support public education to end prejudice and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity; ● End the targeting by Canada Customs of LGBT bookstores and other LGBT businesses; ● Improve protections for trans people and raise awareness of the policies for inclusion, including respecting pronoun choices; ● Ensure Canada advocates internationally for an end to state-sanctioned discrimination and violence against LGBT people.

Green's promise

Negotiate the Canada Health Accord to prioritise access to gender-affirming health services; Listen to feedback on census questions; Ensure trans, non-binary, & Two Spirit people are able to alter their sex designation on all federally-issued documents, without undertaking surgeries; Require accessible facilities in all federal buildings, including gender-neutral washrooms & changing facilities.

Negotiate the Canada Health Accord to prioritize mental health and rehabilitation services, access to safe abortion services and access to gender-affirming health services such as hormones, blockers, and surgery.

Be Daring., retrieved 2021-09-11

● Listen to feedback about the appropriate nature of new 2021 federal census questions attempting to capture data on trans and non-binary Canadians.

Be Daring., retrieved 2021-09-11

● Ensure access to comprehensive sexual health care and gender affirming health care, including hormone treatments and blockers, and gender confirmation surgeries.

● Ensure that trans, non-binary, and Two Spirit people, without undertaking surgeries, are able to alter their sex designation on all federally-issued official documents, consistent with their gender identity.

● Ensure that the national census is designed to reflect the diversity of sex and gender identity and ask appropriate questions to ensure adequate, safe and effective data collection.

● Require accessible facilities in all federal buildings, including gender-neutral washrooms, changing facilities, etc. while also re-affirming trans, non-binary and Two Spirit people’s right to use whichever facilities with which they identify.

Be Daring., retrieved 2021-09-11

Immigration & Refugees

CBSA

Green's promise

Revise all CBSA practices, including operation of immigration detention centres, family separation, & developing an oversight mechanism, including a Civilian Complaint & Review Commission.

Credential Recognition

Green's promise

Review & update accreditation policies & licensing programmes; Work with accreditation institutions to recognise foreign training & education; Allocate more funding to provide training language & employment skills, & accreditation recognition for any newcomers legally eligible to work in Canada; Incentivise employers to hire newcomers & refugee claimants.

● Review and update accreditation policies and licensing programs to better and more accurately reflect the current needs of our Canadian society.

● Collaborate with accreditation institutions in Canada to recognize foreign training and education.

● Allocate greater funding to provide training language skills, employment skills. and accreditation recognition for any newcomer legally eligible to work in Canada.

● Create incentives for employers to hire newcomers and refugee claimants.

Be Daring., retrieved 2021-09-11

Family Reunification

Green's promise

Increase the number of accepted applications for parent & grandparent sponsorship by IRCC; Review adoption bans for Muslim majority countries; Remove visa requirements for most parents visiting their children.

● Increase support for parent and grandparent sponsorship by IRCC by increasing the number of accepted applications and decreasing processing times.

● Review adoption bans from Muslim majority countries so that adoptive parents can remain together through their immigration process, as well as allowing adoption from these countries by Canadian citizens.

● Lower barriers for convention refugees to reunite with their children and bring them to Canada by making the process more accessible

● Remove visa requirements for most parents visiting their children - including international students, temporary workers, Canadian citizens and convention refugees.

Be Daring., retrieved 2021-09-11

Immigration Process

Valerie Brooks's promise

Ensure professionals being considered for immigration will have the licensing requirements for their professions clearly explained before entry.● Work with professional associations to create a robust system for evaluating the education and training credentials of immigrants against Canadian standards, with the goal of expediting accreditation and expanding professional opportunities for immigrants;● Allocate much greater funding for training in official languages (ESL and FSL) for new immigrants, knowing that many new immigrants are not fluent in either official language, through earmarked transfers to the provinces for primary and secondary public school and free night school programs;● Work with municipalities and provinces to improve the integration of new Canadians into the multicultural fabric of our country;

Green's promise

Update the citizenship guidebook to include a more accurate history of Canada & Turtle Island, including residential schools & the Indian Act; Address all forms of hate & xenophobia in all aspects of settlement in Canada; Introduce exceptions for permanent residency & citizenship application costs based on household income.

1. Update the citizenship guidebook

● Update the citizenship guidebook to include a more accurate history of Canada and Turtle Island that includes the harms of residential schools and the Indian Act.

2. Address all forms of hate and xenophobia in all aspects of settlement in Canada

● Address xenophobia in all aspects of settlement, including temporary visa liberalization, issuing of temporary permits (study, work, visit, etc.) and family reunification (including increasing capacity for family sponsorship and revision of adoption processes)

Be Daring., retrieved 2021-09-11

Introduce exceptions for permanent residency and citizenship application costs based on household income (for many refugees, the $1,000 application fee for citizenship is unaffordable).

Be Daring., retrieved 2021-09-11

Refugees

Valerie Brooks's promise

● Lead a national discussion to define ‘environmental refugee’ and advocate for its inclusion as a refugee category in Canada, and accept an appropriate share of the world’s environmental refugees into Canada;

Green's promise

Terminate the Safe Third Country Agreement with the US; Address processing time & unaffordable application fees; Eliminate status-based service requirements.

Temporary Foreign Workers

Valerie Brooks's promise

● Eliminate the Temporary Foreign Workers Program and increase immigration where thereare labour shortages, working with employers to establish paths to permanent residency;

Green's promise

Introduce low-barrier, more accessible pathways to permanent residency for temporary foreign workers; Develop safe strategies for temporary foreign workers & whistle blowers to report abusive employers without losing their status.

● Introduce exceptions for permanent residency and citizenship application costs based on household income (for many refugees, the $1,000 application fee for citizenship is unaffordable).

Be Daring., retrieved 2021-09-11

● Develop safe strategies for temporary foreign workers and whistle blowers to report abusive employers without losing their status.

Be Daring., retrieved 2021-09-11

Visas

Green's promise

Remove visa requirements for most parents visiting their children.

Remove visa requirements for most parents visiting their children - including international students, temporary workers, Canadian citizens and convention refugees.

Be Daring., retrieved 2021-09-11

Indigenous Relations & Reconciliation

Drinking Water

Valerie Brooks's promise

End drinking water and boil water advisories by investing and upgrading critical infrastructure to ensure safe water access in ever community;

Green's promise

Invest in & upgrade critical infrastructure to ensure safe water access & to be able to lift boil water advisories in every community; Support Indigenous-led processes to implement safe drinking water & wastewater management systems.

Indigenous Broadband

Valerie Brooks's promise

Implement the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and reform all judicial, legislative, and executive branches of the federal government so that they are consistent with the Declaration; ● Implement the recommendations of the 1996 Report of the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples, insofar as it is consistent with UNDRIP; Implement the Calls to Action from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, as well as the recommendations from the Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls;

Indigenous Children

Valerie Brooks's promise

Affirm the inherent right of Indigenous communities to determine child and family services. Support kinship ties and ensure sufficient funding and resources so that families are kept together

Green's promise

Recognise that Indigenous children in residential schools have been replaced by Indigenous children in foster care; Stop fighting the Human Rights Tribunal Orders regarding compensation for child & family victims; Ensure non-status First Nations' children living off-reserve have access to Jordan's Principle; Adopt recommendations on funding for First Nations Child & Family Services from the Institute for Fiscal Studies & Democracy's 2020 report.

● Recognize that Indigenous children in residential schools have been replaced by Indigenous children in foster care; Indigenous children account for 7.7 per cent of children in Canada, but 52.2 percent of children in care;

● Stop fighting the Canada’s Human Rights Tribunal orders requiring the government to compensate the child and family victims of Canada’s discrimination; and ensure non-status First Nations’ children living off reserve have access to Jordan’s Principle.

Be Daring., retrieved 2021-09-11

6. Adopt recommendations on funding for First Nations Child and Family Services from the Institute for Fiscal Studies and Democracy’s 2020 report.

● Adopt a results framework for the well-being of children, families, and communities, such as the Measuring to Thrive framework proposed in the report.

● Budget for results with a block funding approach 13 that addresses gaps and is linked to the results framework.

○ Undertake a full assessment of current capital stock.

● Establish a non-political First Nations policy and practice secretariat to support First Nations and First Nations Child and Family Services (FNCFS) agencies to transition to First Nations governance.

● Establish a group of FNCFS agencies and First Nations willing to be early adopters of the new performance and funding approach to model implementation.

Be Daring., retrieved 2021-09-11

Indigenous Education

Valerie Brooks's promise

Ensure that every First Nations, Métis, and Inuit child has access to quality educational opportunities based on the expressed cultural, political, and social priorities of the First Nations, Métis, and Inuit governments, following meaningful consultation; ● Support the development of Indigenous education curricula that are language and culture specific; ● Increase access to post-secondary education for Indigenous youth by removing the 2% funding cap, as well as fully funding the program backlog;

Green's promise

Ensure access to quality educational opportunities based on expressed cultural, political, & social priorities of Indigenous governments, following meaningful consultation; Support developing Indigenous education curricula that are language & culture-specific; Remove the 2% funding gap for post-secondary education; Support & sustain the transmission, proliferation, & regeneration of Indigenous cultural works & languages.

4. Ensure access to quality education for every First Nations, Métis Nation, and Inuit child.

● Ensure that every First Nations, Métis and Inuit child has access to quality educational opportunities based on the expressed cultural, political and social priorities of the First Nations, Métis and Inuit governments, following meaningful consultation.

● Support the development of Indigenous education curricula that are language and culture-specific.

● Increase access to post-secondary education for Indigenous youth by removing the two per cent funding cap, as well as fully funding the program backlog.

● Support and sustain the transmission, proliferation, and regeneration of Indigenous cultural works and languages.

● Educate non-Indigenous Canadians on the histories, customs, traditions and cultures of the First Nations, Métis and Inuit peoples of Turtle Island.

Be Daring., retrieved 2021-09-11

Indigenous Health

Valerie Brooks's promise

● Ensure high-quality care for Indigenous people: 1. Work with the provinces to implement health care-related Calls to Action 18-24 of the Truth & Reconciliation Commission; 2. Together with the First Ministers and Indigenous leaders, revisit the Blueprint on Aboriginal Health: A 10-Year Transformative Plan abandoned in 2006; 3. Amend the Canada Health Accord in line with the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples to enshrine a standard of fee, prior, and informed consent; 4. Devote sufficient resources for maternal and infant care, mental health services, and treatment for Diabetes and Tuberculosis. 5. Sustain the Aboriginal Health Human Resources Initiative to continue capacity-building in Indigenous communities.

Green's promise

Uphold Jordan's Principle in full; Support First Nations, Métis, & Inuit in rebuilding traditional knowledge systems around healing & wellness, including formally including traditional healing within mental wellness & home & community care programmes; Devote sufficient resources for maternal & infant care; Expand access to non-insured health benefits to all Indigenous people, regardless of Status, residency, membership.

● Uphold Jordan’s Principle in full, ensuring Indigenous Peoples receive the health care they need without being delayed by bureaucratic disagreements over jurisdiction.

● Implement Calls to Action 18-24 from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, improving health care for Indigenous Peoples.

● Support First Nations, Métis and Inuit in (re)building traditional knowledge systems around healing and wellness, including the formal inclusion of traditional healing within mental wellness and home and community care programs. This process must be led by First Nations, Métis Nation and Inuit organizations.

Be Daring., retrieved 2021-09-11

● Support healthcare services that incorporate traditional practices and recognize the role of extended families and elders.

● Devote sufficient resources for maternal and infant care, and culturally appropriate reproductive health services that uphold reproductive autonomy.

● Increase investments in Indigenous-led mental health (See “Life with Dignity - Expanded and enhanced mental health support”)

● Sustain the Aboriginal Health Human Resources Initiative to continue capacity building in the healthcare profession for Indigenous communities.

● Expand access to non-insured health benefits (NIHB) to all Indigenous people, regardless of Status, residency, membership or any other factors.

● Ensure that compensation funds are made available to the spouses and families of all Aboriginal veterans.

● Allocate dedicated funding to support communities providing culturally appropriate home and community care for seniors, ensuring that Elders remain connected to their communities and culture.

Be Daring., retrieved 2021-09-11

Indigenous Housing

Green's promise

Allow Indigenous organisations to access financing through CMHC for self-determined housing needs; Allocate funding toward urban Indigenous housing providers; Develop & implement an Urban, Rural, & Northern Indigenous Housing Strategy; Transfer federal lands & property to off-reserve Indigenous organisations to create housing; Establish a For Indigenous, By Indigenous housing support program.

1. Guided by First Nations, Inuit and Metis Nation, develop inclusive and culturally appropriate Urban Indigenous Housing Strategies - for Indigenous Peoples and  by Indigenous Peoples - as proposed by the Canadian Housing and Renewal Association’s Indigenous Caucus.

2. Reinvest in housing for Indigenous communities

● Change the legislation that prevents Indigenous organizations from accessing financing through CMHC to invest in self-determined housing needs.

● Allocate funding towards urban Indigenous housing providers.

● Develop and implement an Urban, Rural, and Northern Indigenous Housing Strategy.

● Ensure that all housing in Indigenous communities is built following principles laid out in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP).

● Leverage federal lands and real property for transfer to off-reserve Indigenous organizations to create housing and economic development opportunities.

● Assist urban and rural Indigenous people in identifying emergency accommodations and affordable housing options for youth, Elders, 2SLGBTQQIA+, and vulnerable populations.

● Establish a “For Indigenous, By Indigenous” housing support program for all off-reserve and urban Indigenous communities, and include off-reserve Status and non-Status Indigenous Peoples.

Be Daring., retrieved 2021-09-11

Mental Health

Valerie Brooks's promise

Support health care services that incorporate traditional practices and recognize the role of extended families and elders; ● Together with the First Ministers and Indigenous leaders, revisit the Blueprint on Aboriginal Health: A 10-Year Transformative Plan abandoned in 2006; ● Devote sufficient resources for maternal and infant care, mental health services, and treatment for Diabetes and Tuberculosis; ● Sustain the Aboriginal Health Human Resources Initiative to continue capacity-building in the health care profession for Indigenous communities

Green's promise

Increase support for Indigenous-led, culturally safe, mental health programs & services; Ensure all programming is guided by the First Nations Mental Wellness Continuum Framework; Establish permanent funding for land-based, trauma-informed, community addictions care for Indigenous peoples; Double the Aboriginal Health Human Resources Initiative's budget.

2. Increase investments in Indigenous-led mental health

● Increased support for Indigenous-led, culturally safe, mental health programs and services, rooted in Indigenous healing practices, land-based healing and the principle of self-determination.

● Ensure all programming is guided by the First Nations Mental Wellness Continuum Framework.

● Establish permanent program funding for the delivery of land-based, trauma-informed, community addictions care for Indigenous peoples.

● Increase targeted investment in the mental health workforce serving Indigenous communities.

● Double the current budget of the Aboriginal Health Human Resources Initiative.

● Take active steps to implement Truth and Reconciliation Commission Calls to Action, specifically those related to mental health.

3. Support First Nations, Métis and Inuit in (re)building traditional knowledge systems around healing and wellness

● Incorporate the formal inclusion of traditional healing within mental wellness and home and community care programs.

● Ensure this process is led by First Nations, Métis Nation and Inuit organizations.

Be Daring., retrieved 2021-09-11

Missing & Murdered Indigenous Women & Girls

Valerie Brooks's promise

● Implement the Calls to Action from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, as well as the recommendations from the Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls;

Green's promise

Implement all Calls for Justice from the Final Report of the National Inquiry into Missing & Murdered Indigenous Women & Girls.

Reconciliation

Valerie Brooks's promise

Support and sustain the transmission, proliferation, and regeneration of Indigenous cultural works and languages; ● Educate non-Indigenous Canadians on the histories, customs, traditions, and cultures of the First Nations, Métis, and Inuit peoples of Turtle Island. ● Include representatives from First Nations, Métis, and Inuit governments on the Council of Canadian Governments to improve policy coherence and optimize public spending with respect to higher order policy priorities (See Section VII Good Governance: Intergovernmental Collaboration). ● Implement the Calls to Action from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, as well as the recommendations from the Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls;

Green's promise

Implement all 94 Truth & Reconciliation Commission Calls to Action.

Residential Schools

Green's promise

Provide sustainable funding for new & existing Indigenous Healing Centres to address the harms caused by residential schools; Honour the TRC request for funding for work on the Missing Children & Unmarked Burials Project; Call on the Pope to apologise on behalf of the Catholic Church for its involvement in residential schools.

Self-Determination

Valerie Brooks's promise

● Uphold Canada’s fiduciary responsibility, fulfil Canada’s responsibilities in agreements, honour treaties, and respect all rights of Indigenous peoples, including their inherent rights of self-government; ● In partnership with Indigenous Peoples, work towards the creation of an Indigenous Lands and Treaties Tribunal Act to establish an independent body to decide on specific claims, ensure that treaty negotiations are conducted and financed fairly, and ensure that treaty negotiations and claims resolutions do not result in the extinguishment of Indigenous and treaty rights; ● Immediately implement the lands claims agreements already negotiated and languishing for lack of funding, particularly for First Nations in the territories; 139 ● Ensure that negotiations of treaties and self-government are not based on the extinguishment of Indigenous title and rights, and on assimilation, but on reconciliation of rights and title, and that negotiations recognize the diversity of tr

Green's promise

Formally repudiate the doctrines of terra nullius, discovery, & others of superiority; Establish a process to transition from the Indian Act, based on free, prior, & informed consent; Implement the recommendations of the 1996 Report of the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples; Work with Indigenous Peoples & their governing institutions on a nation-to-nation basis; Recognise the rights of non-status & Métis as Indigenous.

1. Formally repudiate the doctrine of terra nullius, the doctrine of discovery, and other doctrines of superiority.

2. Guided by Indigenous leadership, establish a process to transition out from under the Indian Act.

● With Indigenous leaders at the helm, establish processes for self-governing Indigenous Peoples and nations to transition out from under the Indian Act, grounding this in the doctrine of free, prior, and informed consent.

3. Implement the recommendations of the 1996 Report of the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples.

4. Affirm the inherent right of First Nations, Inuit and Métis Nation to determine child and family services.

● Support kinship ties and ensure sufficient funding and resources so that families are kept together.

5. Work with First Nations, the Métis Nation, and Inuit and their governing institutions on a nation-to-nation basis.

● Advance and implement agreements, and work in collaboration with nations to co-develop and co-design policy and programs that will benefit First Nations, Métis Nation, and Inuit.

6. Recognize the rights of non-status and Métis as “Indigenous.”

● Accept CAP-Daniels recognition of non-Status and Métis as “Indigenous”

● Accept UNDRIP recognition of the rights that Indigenous people possess, applying equally to all Indigenous people regardless of distinction, residence or status.

● Work towards the settlement of community land and resource rights for Congress of Aboriginal Peoples (CAP) communities

● Respect and act on 2018 CAP-Canada Political Accord

● Include off-reserve Status, non-Status, Métis and Southern Inuit in the implementation of calls to action in Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples (RCAP), Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), and National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls & 2SLGBTQQIA+.

Be Daring., retrieved 2021-09-11

3. Build community capacity to support exercising self-determination.

● Support self-determination with effective, fully-funded organizations to represent and provide services to communities by expanding Basic Organizational Capacity (BOC) funding for Indigenous representative organizations.

● Representation of youth, Elders, 2SLGBTQQIA+, and distinct identities among off-reserve Indigenous people must be adequately funded to ensure those perspectives are included.

● Support research and identification of off-reserve Indigenous communities across Canada, with registration and membership systems.

○ Support the application of trusted research and data on urban Indigenous populations to acknowledge under-counting.

Be Daring., retrieved 2021-09-11

Treaties & Land Claims

Green's promise

Uphold Canada's fiduciary responsibility, fulfill Canada's responsibilities in agreements, honour treaties, & respect all rights of Indigenous Peoples, including rights of self-government; Work towards creating an Indigenous Lands & Treaties Tribunal Act ; Immediately implement the land claims agreements already negotiated & lacking funding, particularly in the territories.

1. Uphold fiduciary responsibilities, honour treaties, and respect all rights of Indigenous Peoples.

● Uphold Canada’s fiduciary responsibility, fulfill Canada’s responsibilities in agreements, honour treaties, and respect all rights of Indigenous Peoples, including their inherent rights of self-government.

2. Work towards the creation of an Indigenous Lands and Treaties Tribunal Act.

● In partnership with Indigenous Peoples, work towards the creation of an Indigenous Lands and Treaties Tribunal Act to establish an independent body that will decide on specific claims, ensuring that treaty negotiations are conducted and financed fairly and that treaty negotiations and claims resolutions do not result in the extinguishment of aboriginal and treaty rights.

3. Immediately implement the land claims agreements already negotiated and languishing for lack of funding, particularly for First Nations in the territories.

● Ensure that negotiations of treaties and self-government are not based on the extinguishment of Indigenous title and rights, and on assimilation, but on reconciliation of rights and title, and that negotiations recognize the diversity of traditional self-governance.

Be Daring., retrieved 2021-09-11

Infrastructure

Infrastructure Funding

Green's promise

Support the Federation of Canadian Municipalities request for at least $250M/year in dedicated infrastructure funding starting in 2028-29; Reduce interest rates to municipalities on loans for infrastructure projects; Double current funding to municipalities; Allocate at least 1% of GST to housing & other municipal infrastructure.

● Support the use of city charters to give greater autonomy to cities.

● Make changes to the Canada Infrastructure Bank to reduce interest rates to municipalities on loans for infrastructure projects.

● Institutionalize federal transfers to municipalities through the creation of a Municipal Fund, renaming the Gas Tax funds, which were delinked from gas tax revenue years ago, and retaining the same eligibility as the Gas Tax funds.

● Ensure a permanent doubling of current funding to ensure predictable and reliable funding to municipalities.

● Allocate one per cent of GST to housing and other municipal infrastructure on an ongoing basis to provide a consistent baseline of funding.

● Answer the Federation of Canadian Municipalities’ and Vancouver Mayor’s Council’s call for a permanent, dedicated federal public transit fund of $3.4 billion annually starting in 2026-2027, once the existing transit program expires.

● Commit to a multi-year solution to transit operating shortfalls in order to protect and secure shared investments in building out Canada’s transit networks for the decades to come.

Be Daring., retrieved 2021-09-11

Internet Infrastructure

Valerie Brooks's promise

Pass legislation granting the internet in Canada the status of Common Carrier – prohibiting Internet Service Providers (ISPs) from discriminating due to content while freeing them from liability for content transmitted through their systems; ● Support Canada’s Advanced Research and Innovation Network (CANARIE); ● Increase infrastructure spending to accommodate increased bandwidth use and to improve access to rural and remote Canadians (see Section 1.14 Infrastructure and Communities); ● Review the economic model of how ISPs bill their customers; ● Improve support for small ISPs to improve competition and diversity choice for consumers; ● Ensure network neutrality by supporting the principles of fair use, consumer information privacy, communications market competition, and rationalization of the statutory damages provision.

Green's promise

Build up broadband infrastructure in rural areas; Continue to support the Universal Broadband Fund; Provide an addition $150M annually for 4 years to the Universal Broadband Fund to reach communities at the lowest end of the eligibility spectrum.

● Build up broadband infrastructure in rural areas to help revitalize rural economies and give communities greater access to the services they need.

● Continue to support the Universal Broadband Fund, and retain that funding with an additional $150 M annually over 4 years to reach communities at the lowest end of the eligibility spectrum

● Break up telecom monopolies through changes to CRTC regulation to allow for more equitable treatment of rural consumers

Be Daring., retrieved 2021-09-11

Northern Infrastructure

Green's promise

Support the Federation of Canadian Municipalities request for at least $250M/year in dedicated infrastructure funding starting in 2028-29.

International Relations

Climate Change

Green's promise

Submit a revised National Determined Contribution to the Paris Agreement reflecting a 60% reduction below 2005 levels by 2030; Ramp up climate financing to USD 4B/year to support climate mitigation, adaptation, & loss & damage in developing countries; Support local green infrastructure in developing countries.

1. Fulfill existing commitments to international climate change efforts.

● Shape all climate change policies in order to fulfill existing commitments to international climate change efforts, as policies to mitigate climate change will only be effective through international collaboration and coordination

● Submit a revised Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) to the Paris Agreement that reflects Canada’s fair share of emissions reductions (60% reduction below 2005 by 2030) in meeting the 1.5°C warming target

● Ramp up climate finance to $USD 4 billion per year to support climate mitigation, adaptation, and loss and damage in developing countries

● Participate actively in future international efforts, positioning Canada as a leader on global climate change initiatives

2. Invest in green infrastructure in developing countries to offset energy poverty.

● As one of the world’s highest per capita emitters of GHGs, Canada has a responsibility to support the climate action efforts of other countries and Indigenous communities. We will do so by supporting local green infrastructure in developing countries to offset energy poverty

3. Ban the export of thermal coal from Canada.

● End the export of millions of tons of US coal from Canadian ports.

Be Daring., retrieved 2021-09-11

Global Peace

Valerie Brooks's promise

The Green Party supports members of the Canadian military, including their right to be properly equipped while in service and properly cared for as veterans. We need to pursue a revised vision for Canadian defence policy with a focus on disaster response, search-and-rescue, and peacekeeping. In particular, we need to move ahead in purchase of ice-breakers, fixed-wing search and rescue (SAR) aircraft, and Coast Guard vessels. Green MPs will: ● Pursue cost-cutting by reducing by 30% the $2.7 billion spent every year on DND consultants, contractors, and other private sector contracts; ● Other savings could be achieved by asking Reservists, over 9 000, to choose if they would be ready for part-time positions; ● Move ahead with necessary procurement of fixed-wing SARs, ice-breakers, and coastal vessels.

International Development

Valerie Brooks's promise

Build and strengthen relations with all levels of U.S. government − municipal, state, and federal − and with U.S. civil society; ● Expand networking opportunities for corporate Canada with an emphasis on small business to promote Canadian exports; ● Expand partnerships among cultural institutions, scientific research organizations, universities, and municipalities; ● Expand and promote mutual tourism opportunities, especially for young people, through lowcarbon VIA-Amtrak partnerships; ● Promote Canada to U.S. visitors as a ‘Safe and Friendly Neighbour’ to help break down the fear factor that increasingly isolates our U.S. neighbours from the world; ● Develop shared missions to alleviate global poverty and show leadership on environmental goals; ● Expand public awareness in both nations of our extraordinary good fortune and our ability and moral obligation to help the less fortunate globally; 130 ● Repeal the Foreign Accounts Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) and seek redress un

Iran

Valerie Brooks's promise

Actively re-engage Iran in a new diplomacy, fully cognizant of the history of the region and internal politics of Iran; ● Encourage the creation of cooperative programs that offer Iranian civil society members such as lawyers, legislators, judges, civil engineers, environmentalists, and other professionals to directly engage with their professional counterparts in Canada; ● Support the Iranian people in their quest to strengthen, through peaceful means, the democratic process within Iran; ● Condemn all human rights violations and judicial trials in which torture or police brutality is used; 129 ● Support the environmental movement in Iran by working with other countries and the Iranian government to develop cooperative projects within Iran to address the increasing environmental degradation threatening the country; ● Offer any and all diplomatic assistance that facilitates engagement and dialogue between Iran and its regional neighbours to ease tensions and foster the sta

Israel & Palestine

Valerie Brooks's promise

Endorse the recognition of a Palestinian right to statehood within the internationally recognized borders as described in United Nations Security Council Resolution 242, and support a two-state solution to the Israel-Palestine conflict that adheres to pre-1967 borders and incorporates an international plan for stimulating economic prosperity in both nations; ● Call on both sides to immediately stop the killing of civilians and adhere to international law; ● Protect as inviolable the right of the State of Israel to exist, in the absence of fear and conflict; ● Encourage the Canadian government to press for a mutually agreed-upon honest broker to engage in bi-literal and multi-lateral peace talks involving Palestinians and Israelis; ● Call on Arab countries to use their influence to broker an agreement between Hamas and the Palestinian National Authority to facilitate the promotion of peace amongst the competing Palestinian interests; ● Call for an end to the collective siege

Jobs & the Economy

Agriculture

Valerie Brooks's promise

Ensure fair trade by: o Prioritizing fair trade in agricultural exports and imports; o Ensuring that supply management systems provide stable domestic markets, provide viable farm income and permit unregulated production by smaller and family farms that sell to local market; o Reviewing the impacts of abolishing the Canadian Wheat Board and considering there-establishment of a coordinating mechanism to organize the efficient shipment of high quality Canadian grains; Reduce corporate control of the food supply by: Reforming agriculture regulations to challenge corporate concentration; o Ensuring that farm support payments are farm-based (not production-based) to encourage more farms and more farmers; o Encouraging organic farming methods to improve farm profitability and sustainability. Assist farmers in climate change adaptation by: o Encouraging farming methods that increase carbon sequestration and decrease water requirements; o Establishing GHG emission targets for all

Arts & Culture

Valerie Brooks's promise

Increase funding to all of Canada’s arts and culture organizations including the Canada Council for the Arts, Telefilm Canada, orchestras, theatres, and publishers. The goal will be to make increases in this sector commensurate with increases in support over the years for other sectors such as transport, energy, and health care; ● Enact legislation that requires cinemas and video chains to have at least 20% Canadian content; ● Restore Restore and improve arm’s length principles in the governance of arts and cultural institutions and agencies under federal jurisdiction. In keeping with such a position, we 115 believe that the heads of Canada’s cultural organizations such as the CRTC, Canada Council, CBC, and Telefilm Canada should not be appointed by the political party in power but by an arm’s length committee made up of competent people representative of the various diverse stakeholders in Canadian society; ● Seek greater support and adequate resources for arts grants

Entrepreneurship

Valerie Brooks's promise

● Establish a federally-funded Green Venture Capital Fund to support viable small local green business start-ups; ● Set up a Green Venture Capital Funding Program providing matching federal funds for locally-raised venture capital up to a set limit per community; ● Reduce the paperwork burden on small businesses by eliminating duplicative tax filings and red tape. Government agencies will operate using shared information from the same database; ● Bring in legislation to require a consideration of the impact on small business of all new legislation, based on a similar law in the European parliament.

Green's promise

Promote entrepreneurship training & business support, especially for women, young, racialised, & Indigenous entrepreneurs.

Innovation

Green's promise

Increase R&D spending to 2.5% of GDP; Establish a dedicated innovation agency focusing on developing joint projects across universities, private industry, & national labs; Increase direct federal funding for private & student-led business R&D; Provide access to federally-funded intellectual property at a discount to Canadian companies with Canadian operations.

● Increase direct federal funding for private and student-led business R&D

● Strengthen Canada’s venture capital (VC) ecosystem

● Implement a national Buy Clean strategy to increase government procurement of Canadian low-carbon technologies

● Provide access to federally funded IP at a discount to Canadian companies with Canadian operations

● Fully implement the House of Commons Report on IP and Technology Transfer to:

1. Require Statistics Canada to launch an annual survey on technology.

2. Collaborate with stakeholders to create a ‘toolkit’ of flexible IP licensing practices.

3. Investigate new ways to support Canadian enterprises engaging in technology transfer with post-secondary institutions.

Be Daring., retrieved 2021-09-11

International Trade

Valerie Brooks's promise

● Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) and the Comprehensive Economic Trade Agreement (CETA): 1. Renegotiate bi-lateral and multi-lateral (CETA & TPP) trade agreements, and negotiate any new ones, to follow the format set for NAFTA as noted above, 2. Remove the current model of Investor State Dispute Settlement mechanisms (ISDS) in all existing trade agreements and prohibit its use in any new agreements. Trading partners with weak domestic judicial systems must be required to improve their systems so investors can count on courts to uphold the rule of law. Only trading partners that are democratic and adhere to the rule of law will get ‘Most Favoured Nation’ status in trade agreements. 3. All trade agreements must include binding labour, health, safety consumer and environmental standards and trading partners with lower standards must establish a process and schedule for improving standards before they can increase market share and have tariffs removed. 4. Preserve Canada’s

Parental Leave

Green's promise

Expand parental leave to include leave to care for elderly family members and leave following miscarriages.

Pensions

Valerie Brooks's promise

Review federal and provincial laws regulating the administration of pension plans, laws which now allow failure of pension trusts, and the loss of pension benefits which workers have earned, with the view to enacting legislation to protect the pension benefits and recommend that the provincial governments prohibit any business from taking possession of a pension trust fund which it administers, or the earnings thereof; ● Ensure corporate pension plans protect employee benefits as secured creditors in any bankruptcy proceedings; ● Explore risk-sharing for pension plans, including the CPP, to ensure sustainability; ● Divest CPP from any and all fossil fuel investments; ● Resist the shift to voluntary defined contribution plans with inefficient and expensive fees for a myriad of market driven plans; Require that all corporate pension plans be audited to ensure that they are adequately funded and properly managed and set a policy directive to take corrective action when they

Green's promise

Amend pension benefit legislation for federally-regulated pensions to maintain pension plan solvency; Introduce a refundable tax credit equal to the amount of pension loss an individual incurs when a pension fails, as a temporary measure; Enable the creation of a Distressed Pension Facility during corporate insolvency; Establish super-priority of pensioners & pension plans in creditor hierarchy during insolvency proceedings.

● Amend pension benefit legislation for federally-regulated pensions to:

● Maintain the solvency target at 100%.

● Require annual Actuarial Valuations

● Require the sponsor, in the event that the Actuarial Valuation solvency ratio falls below a prescribed threshold to:

○ Obtain a letter of credit to return to 100% solvency, or

○ Abide by restrictions on corporate cash management similar to Ontario’s recent 520/20, until the solvency of the plan is restored, or

○ Obtain informed consent of a significant portion of plan members (perhaps >75%) to implement a different solution, other than a. or b.

● As a short-term measure, a Green government would introduce a refundable tax credit equal to the amount of pension loss an individual incurs when a pension fails.

● To better protect the pensions of all Canadians whose companies file for bankruptcy, under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA),a Green government would amend insolvency legislation to extend super-priority to the unfunded pension liability.

● Amend insolvency legislation to enable the creation of a Distressed Pension Facility in the event of a corporate insolvency.

● Ensure the Canada Pension Plan (CPP) remains robust and adaptive to changing needs and circumstances by increasing over time the target income replacement rate for income received during working years, as needed.

● Regulate the CPP Investment Board to require divestment of coal, oil and gas shares and ensure that all investments are ethical and promote environmental sustainability.

● Protect private pensions by amending the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act and Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act to establish the super-priority of pensioners and the pension plan in the creditor hierarchy during company insolvency proceedings.

Be Daring., retrieved 2021-09-11

Scientific Research & Exp. Dev

Valerie Brooks's promise

● Invest in scientific research, and implement the full funding recommendations from Canada’s Fundamental Science Review. ● Enhance funding for the Granting Councils, including the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC), the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, and the Canadian Institutes for Health Research. ● Restore and augment Climate Change and Atmospheric Research (CCAR) funding to NSERC, and ensure ongoing funding for the Polar Environment Atmospheric Research Laboratory (PEARL), which the Liberals failed to restore after the funding ran out. ● Commit to full implementation of Scientific Integrity Policies for all government departments. ● Establish a portal where all government science, including the evidence the government uses to make decisions, will be available to Canadians in a comprehensible manner. ● Adopt policies similar to “Plan S” in Europe to ensure that scientific publications based on publicly-funded research a

Green's promise

Invest in scientific research; Implement the full funding recommendations from Canada's Fundamental Science Review; Increase funding for granting councils from $22.4B to $30B; Restore Climate Change & Atmospheric Research funding to the Natural Sciences & Engineering Research Council (NSERC); Support NSERC's Framework on Equity, Diversity, & Inclusion.

• Invest in scientific research and implement the full funding recommendations from Canada’s Fundamental Science Review.

• Increase R&D spending to 2.5% of GDP, bringing Canada in line with the OECD average.

• Increase funding for the granting councils from $22.4 billion 3 to $30 billion, including the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC), the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) and the Canadian Institutes for Health Research (CIHR). Ensure all grants by the federal granting councils consider Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) outcomes of the research it supports.

• Restore and augment Climate Change and Atmospheric Research (CCAR) funding to NSERC and ensure ongoing funding for the Polar Environment Atmospheric Research Laboratory, which the Liberals failed to restore after the funding ran out.

• Establish a dedicated innovation agency that focuses on developing joint projects across universities, private industry, and national labs.

• Support NSERC’s Framework on Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion in scientific research across all federal grant funding programs, and commit to strengthening Canadian scientific and engineering communities to include the full participation of equity-seeking groups, including women, visible minorities, Indigenous Peoples, people with diverse gender identities and people with disabilities.

• Create a dedicated, long-term funding program for water infrastructure, building on the success of the Clean Water and Wastewater Fund that operated between 2016 and 2018

Be Daring., retrieved 2021-09-11

Small Businesses

Green's promise

Extend wage & rent subsidies until pandemic-related restrictions are fully lifted; Hold the small business tax rate at no more than 9%; Eliminate duplicative tax filings; Streamline approvals for Small & Medium Enterprises to adopt technologies; Subsidise the implementation of new clean technologies across all Small & Medium Enterprises.

● Extend wage and rent subsidies until COVID-19 pandemic-related restrictions are fully lifted.

● Hold the small business tax rate at no more than 9%.

● Reduce the paperwork burden on small businesses by eliminating duplicative tax filings and red tape.

● Ensure all new legislation considers the impact on small businesses.

● Reduce bureaucracy and streamline approvals for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) to adopt technologies.

● Promote entrepreneurship training and business support, especially for women, young, racialized and Indigenous entrepreneurs.

● Provide affordable and accessible internet services across Canada, including rural areas.

● Establish a federally funded Green Venture Capital Fund of $1 billion to support viable small local green business start-ups.

● Subsidize the implementation of new clean technologies across all SMEs

Be Daring., retrieved 2021-09-11

Supply Management

Valerie Brooks's promise

Require that government purchase Canadian-made products and services wherever possible and, if imports are necessary, procure certified fair-trade goods (produced with responsible labour and environmental practices) wherever possible; ● Require that all government departments and agencies incorporate a ‘triple bottom line’ (social, economic, and environmental cost/benefit) analysis in purchasing goods and services and assessing their operations and programs; ● Require that all government departments and agencies meet the highest environmental standards including full recycling, purchase and use of small energy-efficient vehicles, and energy-efficient and toxic-free buildings with toxic-free grounds maintenance; ● Ensure transparency in purchasing decisions by making that information available for public oversight.

Tax Evasion

Valerie Brooks's promise

Our fiscal plan is straightforward. Use the tax system to help meet societal and ecological goals. Get the prices right. Allow business to pursue profit, with clear signals of environmental and societal objectives. The Green commitment to Green tax relief will: ● Reduce income taxes; ● Reduce payroll taxes; ● Raise taxes on profits of large corporations to the mid-range of OECD countries; ● Recover taxes hidden in off-shore tax havens; 13 ● Establish an arm’s length Federal Tax Commission to analyze the tax system for fairness and accessibility, based on the principle of progressive taxation. The last Tax Commission was in the 1960s, making reform long overdue. The Commission would include recommending an appropriate way of taxing cryptocurrencies.

Taxation

Valerie Brooks's promise

Institute a full range of ‘polluter pays’ taxes, including a carbon fee and dividend designed to reduce the use of fossil fuels by sending a market signal to producers. All these taxes will be revenue neutral; ● Apply border adjustments to ensure Canadian businesses do not face unfair competition from polluting jurisdictions. In order to maintain a level playing field for Canadian businesses with respect to foreign competitors, carbon-based tariffs will be introduced against countries that apply no carbon tax (or other equivalent mechanism to curb GHG emissions) or apply a lower rate of carbon tax than Canada. These border adjustments will also be distributed in the ‘dividend’ to Canadians; ● Return Corporate Tax rates, except for the Small Business tax rate, to the 2008 level; ● Eliminate personal taxes on incomes below the low-income cut-off (no taxes on incomes of $20,000 or less); ● Review the economic and fiscal implications of returning to borrowing from the Bank of

Green's promise

Place a 10% tax on sugary drinks.

Tech Giants

Valerie Brooks's promise

Ensure that all new software developed for or by government is based on open standards and encourage and support a nationwide transition to FLOSS in all critical government IT systems. This will make Canada’s IT infrastructure more secure and robust, lower administration and licensing costs, and develop IT skills;

Unions & Worker Control

Valerie Brooks's promise

Actively promote and encourage collective bargaining as a human right and a Charter right.

Mental Health, Drugs, & Addiction

Addiction & the Opioid Crisis

Valerie Brooks's promise

Reduce drug addictions: 1. Recognize that our addictions crisis is not a criminal issue, but a health crisis. Decriminalize heroin and other opioids, as well as recreational drugs also contaminated with fentanyl for clinic approved treatment as a response to the fentanyl poisoning threat, focusing efforts on harm reduction, treatment, and prevention; 2. Augment funding to the provinces earmarked to increase the number of detoxification facilities and treatment beds for drug and alcohol rehabilitation, establish more safe injection clinics, harm-reduction strategies, and needle exchange programs to provide certified addicts with prescription-procured drugs in small, safe doses, and develop educational prevention programs; 3. Ensure the creation of spaces with a non-threatening climate for young people. Young people with drug addictions should not be sharing spaces with far older people going through detoxification programs.

Green's promise

Declare the drug poisoning crisis a national public health emergency; Remove criminal penalties for personal possession & use of all drugs; Legislate the change rather than relying on informal or discretionary measures; Increase funding to community-based organisations to test drugs & support users; Implement a national education & distribution program for Naloxone; Ensure a safe supply.

1. Declare the drug poisoning crisis a national public health emergency

2. Decriminalize possession of illicit drugs for personal use

● Remove criminal penalties for the personal possession and use of all drugs under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act.

● Legislate this change rather than relying on informal, incremental, and discretionary measures that fall short of real decriminalization.

3. Create a national safe supply of drugs of choice

● Create a programme through the federal government so people can access pharmaceutical alternatives of drugs of choice safely.

4. Invest in an integrated system of decriminalization and access to meaningful services for those persons who are seeking treatment

● Increase funding to community-based organizations to test drugs and support those who use drugs.

● Implement a national education and distribution program for Naloxone, so Naloxone kits are widely available to treat overdoses and every Canadian knows what it is and how to use it.

● Create a legal and policy environment that funds and advances evidence-based programmes, in order to facilitate the development and scaling up of harm reduction services across all of Canada, including in rural communities and prisons.

● Expand support for mental health services and addiction services for those who are seeking these services.

5. Amnesty for those convicted of simple possession of cannabis

● Provide automatic pardons to anyone convicted in the past of simple possession of cannabis and ensure that any records of such offences and circumstances are expunged from police records.

6. Move to legally regulate currently illegal drugs based on the best available evidence regarding harms and benefits as a step towards treating problematic drug use as a health issue.

● Drug regulation with a public health focus, as is the case with alcohol, tobacco, and cannabis in Canada currently, could provide safer access while protecting individuals and populations.

● Depending on the substance and potential harms and benefits, regulation could range from prescriptions to regulated outlets to licensed premises, with the aim of providing safer access for adults, while protecting children and youth.

Be Daring., retrieved 2021-09-22

● Approach the drug poisoning crisis as a healthcare issue, not a criminal issue

● Declare drug poisonings a national health emergency.

● Recognize that fentanyl contamination is why deaths are more accurately described as poisonings than overdoses.

● Decriminalize the possession of drugs for personal use.

● Ensure there is access to a safe screened and public supply of drugs of choice.

● Ensure there is access to the medical support drug users need.

● Increase funding to community-based organizations to test street drugs.

● Make Naloxone kits widely available to treat overdoses.

Be Daring., retrieved 2021-09-11

Mental Health Services

Valerie Brooks's promise

Promote a comprehensive approach to mental health: 1. Appoint a federal minister responsible for mental health and addictions, working in partnership with community treatment programs; 2. Extend the mandate of the Mental Health Commission of Canada (MHCC) for another ten years (2015-2025) at a cost of $25 million/year. 3. Increase transfer funding for non-institutionalized mental health patients including children and youth to provide adequate community-based support and outpatient and inpatient care by mental health practitioners, including in rural Canada where lack of facilities and trained professionals is acute; 4. Support a public health initiative to reduce the use of psychoactive drugs through better rehabilitation and prevention programs, especially for children; 5. Develop a strategy for early detection and treatment of mental health issues among young people, including universal and timely access to therapy, counselling, and other services; 6. Provide increase

Green's promise

Establish a national mental health strategy & a suicide prevention strategy; Negotiate the Canada Health Accord to prioritise expansion of mental health & rehabilitation services, & call for mental health services as medically necessary; Increase direct federal funding for community-based mental healthcare; Invest in community supportive housing.

1. Establish a national mental health strategy and a suicide prevention strategy

● Negotiate the Canada Health Accord to prioritize expansion of mental health and rehabilitation services, and call for the inclusion of mental health services as medically necessary.

● Allocate increased direct federal investment in community-based mental health care.

● Establish robust accountability mechanisms to ensure the delivery of mental health care on par with physical health.

2. Increase investments in Indigenous-led mental health

● Increased support for Indigenous-led, culturally safe, mental health programs and services, rooted in Indigenous healing practices, land-based healing and the principle of self-determination.

● Ensure all programming is guided by the First Nations Mental Wellness Continuum Framework.

● Establish permanent program funding for the delivery of land-based, trauma-informed, community addictions care for Indigenous peoples.

● Increase targeted investment in the mental health workforce serving Indigenous communities.

● Double the current budget of the Aboriginal Health Human Resources Initiative.

● Take active steps to implement Truth and Reconciliation Commission Calls to Action, specifically those related to mental health.

3. Support First Nations, Métis and Inuit in (re)building traditional knowledge systems around healing and wellness

● Incorporate the formal inclusion of traditional healing within mental wellness and home and community care programs.

● Ensure this process is led by First Nations, Métis Nation and Inuit organizations.

4. Invest in youth mental health.

● Provide specific funding for early mental health interventions, including social and emotional learning programs, quality and accessible early childhood education, access to community-based mental health services for parents and caregivers, youth peer support programs, mobile youth mental health clinics, etc.

● Launch a targeted strategy aimed at ensuring timely access to mental health services for young people and children

● Provide funding for prevention, treatment, and research related to youth mental health, to address the growing crisis of mental health issues among young people.

● Call for a national study on the impact of phones and social media on mental health in adolescents.

5. Invest in community supportive housing

● Creating housing stock alone will not necessarily meet the needs of those with severe and/or chronic mental health issues. Supportive housing combines access to affordable units with intensive coordinated services. It would include rental supplements/allowances, case management, counselling, assistance with medication, and life skills training.

Be Daring., retrieved 2021-09-11

Miscarriages & Stillbirth

Green's promise

Expand parental leave to include leave following miscarriages.

Youth Mental Health

Green's promise

Provide specific funding for early mental health interventions; Launch a targeted strategy to ensure timely access to mental health services for young people & children; Provide funding for prevention, treatment, & research related to youth mental health; Call for a national study on the impact of phones & social media on mental health in adolescents.

● Provide specific funding for early mental health interventions, including social and emotional learning programs, quality and accessible early childhood education, access to community-based mental health services for parents and caregivers, youth peer support programs, mobile youth mental health clinics, etc.

● Launch a targeted strategy aimed at ensuring timely access to mental health services for young people and children

● Provide funding for prevention, treatment, and research related to youth mental health, to address the growing crisis of mental health issues among young people.

● Call for a national study on the impact of phones and social media on mental health in adolescents.

Be Daring., retreived 2021-09-11

Natural Resources & Extraction

Aquaculture

Green's promise

Work with Indigenous & provincial governments to phase out open net-pen finfish aquaculture in Pacific waters by 2025 & all Canadian waters by 2030; Support a just transition for impacted workers; Incentivise the move to land-based closed containment facilities.

Fisheries

Valerie Brooks's promise

Strengthen the Fisheries Act to: 1. Require evaluation of threats to fish stocks and include provisions to protect fish stocks and the marine environment; 2. Make protection of critical stocks and habitat mandatory; 3. Require that the management and conservation of wild fisheries take precedence over aquaculture, wherever there are conflicts; 4. Increase penalties for contravening the Fisheries Act; 5. Improve public participation in decision making, under the principles of the Oceans Act, in particular engaging coastal communities in local fisheries management.

Green's promise

Support Nation-to-Nation engagement on managing shared marine resources to avoid disputes on fisheries law; Allocate funding to fill knowledge gaps for stocks; Complete rebuilding plans by 2024 for the 26 stocks currently in the critical zone; Entrench owner-operator & fleet separation policies in the Fisheries Act; Implement recommendations of the Standing Committee on Fisheries & Oceans report.

Facilitate and support meaningful Nation-to-Nation engagement at the local and regional levels on the management of shared marine resources to avoid future disputes over lack of clarity on fisheries law

Be Daring., retrieved 2021-09-11

● Allocate funding to fill knowledge gaps for stocks whose sustainability status is uncertain, and where stock assessments have not been completed within a five-year period. Funding will contribute to field surveys, assessments, mortality estimates and monitoring and evaluation of rebuilding plans and management measures

● Complete rebuilding plans by 2024 for the 26 stocks currently in the critical zone by including measures and objectives that are science and ecosystem based

● Work with Indigenous and provincial governments to phase out open net-pen finfish aquaculture in Pacific waters by 2025 and all Canadian waters by 2030.

● Support a just transition of impacted workers and incentivize the move to land-based closed containment facilities.

● Support sustainable shellfish and seaweed aquaculture and community-owned operations and ensure meaningful engagement with Indigenous communities and other stakeholders when making aquaculture siting decisions.

● Protect independent harvesters and coastal communities by entrenching owner-operator and fleet separation policies in the Fisheries Act.

● Commit to timely and transparent access to fisheries management plans and data as well as records of fisheries management advisory committee processes in order to more effectively involve Indigenous peoples, civil society and communities in the process of managing our fisheries as public resources.

● Implement the 20 recommendations of the Standing Committee on Fisheries and Oceans report, West Coast Fisheries: Sharing Risks and Benefits.

Be Daring., retrieved 2021-09-11

Forestry

Valerie Brooks's promise

Working within the Canadian Boreal Initiative’s conservation framework, we will ensure that at least half of Canada’s boreal forest is protected, while all is maintained in a state of ecological integrity. Its value as a carbon reservoir will far outweigh short-term economic gains from logging it. Promote the use of ‘Triad’ zonation of forest exploitation. Triad zonation proposes to zone forest estates into protected areas, standard (extensive) silvicultural zones, and intensive or even super-intensive silvicultural zones. Faced with rising transport costs over time and increasing demands for environmental protection (e.g. the Boreal Forest Agreement), as well as regional timber supply shortages, it is clear that intensification of silviculture on some part of the forest will have to occur for current production levels to be maintained. ‘Intensification’ can run the gamut from intensified wood production using silvicultural methods, including thinning, through to the growing

Green's promise

Fund new & innovative value-added forestry-based manufacturing facilities in rural Canada; Work with governments to make sure that wood products are environmentally & economically sustainable in rural Canada.

Fund new and innovative value-added forestry-based manufacturing facilities in rural Canada to create jobs and keep profits from our resources in Canada. Work with provinces, territories, and municipalities to make sure that timber, pulp, and paper manufacturing is environmentally and economically sustainable in rural Canada.

Be Daring., retrieved 2021-09-11

Hydraulic Fracturing

Green's promise

Ban hydraulic fracturing.

Mining

Valerie Brooks's promise

Call for government action to require life-cycle product stewardship of metals to ensure thatonce mined they remain in economic service for generations;● Vigorously oppose the permitting of any new uranium mines and notify current uraniumpermit holders of plans to phase out this industry in Canada, including exports;● Prohibit the export of fissionable nuclear material;● Push for an end to all subsidies to the mining sector to ensure full-cost accounting. End thetax benefits to flow-through shares promoting prospecting and exploration in unlikely areas.End prospecting for tax write-offs;● Work with provinces, territories, and industry to ensure that all mining operations are insuredfor environmental liabilities, and have an adequate pre-funded plan for remediation, both forthe short and long-term, when a mine closes;● Introduce a Corporate Social Responsibility Act to regulate the mining industry, requiring thehighest environmental practices both in Canada and wherever Canadian compani

Off-Shore Oil

Green's promise

Cancel all new oil exploration projects, including off-shore.

Oil & Gas

Green's promise

Cancel all new oil exploration projects; End leasing of federal lands for fossil fuel production, and retire existing licenses; Phase out existing oil & gas operations; Phase out bitumen production between 2030 & 2035.

● Cancel all new pipeline projects (beginning with Trans Mountain)

● Cancel all new oil exploration projects, including in the off-shore

● End leasing of federal lands for fossil fuel production and retire existing licenses

● Ban hydraulic fracturing (fracking)

● End all subsidies to the fossil fuel sector

● Phase out existing oil and gas operations, so that they continue on a declining basis with bitumen production phased out between 2030 and 2035

● Require federal public investment funds (including the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board) to divest from fossil fuels

● Ensure companies are held accountable for paying for the costs of cleaning up and restoring land, instead of passing these to the public

Be Daring., retrieved 2021-09-11

Pipelines

Green's promise

Cancel all new pipeline projects, beginning with Trans Mountain.

Agriculture

Valerie Brooks's promise

● Improve agricultural research by: o Ensuring that new plant cultivars and animal breeds remain in the public domain; o Shifting government-supported research away from biotechnology and energyintensive farming and towards organic food production; o Increasing publicly-funded research into organic farming techniques; o Establishing new policies for private research efforts to ensure that they are in the best interests of family farmers and consumers; o Preventing the patenting of life forms; o Ensuring that develop

Public Safety & Policing

Cannabis Convictions

Valerie Brooks's promise

Create a regulatory framework for the safe production of marijuana by small, independent growers, ensuring that cannabis production not be restricted to indoor facilities with huge energy costs; ● Decriminalize illicit drugs, recognizing we have a national opioid crisis that can only be solved by focusing on it as a health crisis; ● Provide increased funding to safe injection sites, treatment facilities, and addict rehabilitation.

Gender-Based Violence

Green's promise

Work with women's & Indigenous organisations to develop a comprehensive plan of action, with a timetable & dedicated funding, to eliminate violence against women, girls, & gender-diverse people; Invest $40M over 4 years in the Shelter Enhancement Program; Increase funding for investigations & convictions in human trafficking cases.

● In collaboration with women’s and Indigenous organizations, develop a comprehensive Canada-wide plan of action – with a timetable and dedicated funding – to eliminate violence against women, girls and gender-diverse people.

● Implement all the recommendations of the Inquiry on Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls.

● Increase access to shelters by investing $40 million over four years in the Shelter Enhancement Program, providing more than 2,100 new and renovated spaces in first-stage shelters and hundreds of spaces in transition houses.

● Increase funding to bolster investigations and convictions in human trafficking cases.

Be Daring., retrieved 2021-09-11

Harmful Online Content

Green's promise

Fund data collection on the spread of online hate & real-world violence; Support research & development to improve AI solutions for detecting misinformation, hate, & violence online; Hold publishers of malicious disinformation to account; Invest in initiatives & partnerships to increase access to accurate information; Limit government to a regulatory role in monitoring & moderating online content.

1. Enshrine citizens’ digital rights, including ‘the right to not be profiled online.’

● Canada can follow the lead of the European Union, and listen to the recommendations of our national Privacy Commissioner. Regulations must distinguish between demographic profiling, and more manipulative psychometric profiling techniques.

2. Reduce spread of Misinformation.

● Support research & development to improve artificial intelligence (AI) solutions for detecting misinformation, hate, and violence online, so that this content can be de-emphasized and corrected.

● Position Canada as a global leader in requiring companies who run large-scale online platforms to detect and prevent proliferation of misinformation. Hold publishers of malicious disinformation to account.

3. Support ease of access to accurate information

● Invest in initiatives and partnerships that increase citizens’ opportunities and abilities to differentiate between misinformation, and higher-quality, verifiable, evidence-based content. This includes enhancing education in media and digital literacy for all age groups.

4. Protect civil liberties and freedom of expression.

● Limit government to a regulatory rather than hands-on role in monitoring and moderating online content, and build protections that prevent suppression of lawful and accurate content, no matter how critical of government policy it may be.

Be Daring., retrieved 2021-09-11

Justice & Prisons

Green's promise

Develop a restorative justice model; Revitalise social, economic, physical, & mental health supports; Ensure prison is a last resort; Implement laws to reduce the incarceration of those with mental health issues through preventive measures; Develop clearer laws to reduce the number of people held in pre-trial detention.

● Develop a restorative justice model that will allow for transformative justice, meaningful accountability and rehabilitation of those who cause harm, greater healing for those who are victimized and those who are criminalized and imprisoned, and ultimately decreased involvement in the traditional criminal legal system.

● Design a comprehensive evaluation of restorative justice programs across the country.

Be Daring., retrieved 2021-09-11

● Revitalize and resource social, economic, physical and mental health supports, particularly in light of the mass incarceration of Indigenous, Black and other racialized people.

● Ensure that prison is a last resort, where public safety necessitates imprisonment.

● Implement laws that reduce the incarceration of those with mental health issues through preventative measures.

Be Daring., retrieved 2021-09-11

● Collaborate with provincial partners and communities to invest in youth mental health, education, opportunities, and success, in order to decrease the involvement of youth in the criminal justice system, with a particular focus on communities that have traditionally been either at greater risk or a greater target of law enforcement.

Be Daring., retrieved 2021-09-11

● Review the treatment of young persons in the criminal justice system, assess the use of diversion and alternative measures across the country, with a particular focus on when and to whom these alternatives are offered, and the impact of diversionary programs versus full involvement in the criminal justice system.

Be Daring., retrieved 2021-09-11

● Examine and assess the online threat to young and vulnerable persons, and take steps to address this situation through education and updated laws, as needed.

Be Daring., retrieved 2021-09-11

Police Accountability & Reform

Valerie Brooks's promise

Pass legislation that establishes an independent body to investigate complaints regarding the conduct of RCMP officers with full judicial inquiry powers and the requirement to report its finding publicly; ● Provide more funding to the RCMP, specifically to give more training to new recruits; ● Ensure RCMP in the line of duty are provided with the best technology in protective equipment and are always supported with adequate back-up in dangerous encounters with violent offenders; ● Create a Board of Management to monitor and advise with respect to the RCMP’s organizational, administrative, and financial accountability. This Board would oversee the RCMP’s operations in strategic planning and implementation, budget planning and financial management, human resources management, risk management, communications, and organizational performance management; ● Provide guidance to the RCMP in cultivating a promotion system that is based upon performance, skill, and ability. The moral

Green's promise

Conduct an immediate review of the RCMP's duties, & identify areas for detasking police & reducing spending; Reallocate funding to social & community services; Design & implement a more effective, transparent, accountable, & independent police oversight system; Review the Civilian Review & Complaints Commission; Create a national standard for independent & accountable oversight of policing.

1. Reduce - Limit the RCMP, and its funding, to its core role

Conduct an immediate and comprehensive review of the RCMP role in policing municipalities and reserves and the RCMP’s other duties and identify areas for detasking police and reducing police spending

● Work with provinces and municipalities to reduce police spending in those jurisdictions. Urge divestment from services for which the police are not suited, and alternative models and agencies are better able to support individuals and communities. In the majority of cases, this means removing officers from services such as first responders to mental health calls, school resource officers, by-law enforcement, construction traffic policing, and the policing and criminalization of poverty.

● Advocate for an end to police street checks, carding, and arbitrary stops and detentions. These practices have been shown to disproportionately target Black and Indigenous Peoples in Canada.

2. Reallocate - Invest in community and social services

● Invest funds that are divested from police services in social and community services, which are more effective in preventing and reducing crime, strengthening individuals and communities, and creating a more just society. These will include alternative responses to mental health calls, investment in afterschool programs for young persons, mental health support for youth and adults, and increased employment opportunities.

3. Review - Design and implement a more effective, transparent, accountable, and independent police oversight system

● Review the operations and decision-making process of the Civilian Review and Complaints Commission and make changes to ensure that the CRCC is more accountable, effective, responsive, and transparent in its review of RCMP conduct. End the practice of allowing the RCMP to review and handle complaints made against it.

● Create a national standard for independent and accountable oversight of policing, in cooperation with the provinces. Urge provincial and municipal bodies to implement those standards to ensure fairness and accountability in policing across the country.

● Develop a national standard for police use-of-force, and work with other jurisdictions to ban certain kinds of force, such as chokeholds and neck restraints.

4. Record - National database to record police use-of-force and other incidents

● Create a mandatory national database on the collection of police use of force data, disaggregated by race, ethnic background, national origin, age, and other identities to track victims of incidents of use-of-force by police and better understand the extent of systemic racism in Canadian policing.

Be Daring., retrieved 2021-09-11

Police Violence

Green's promise

Develop a national standard for police use-of-force; Work with other jurisdictions to ban certain kinds of force, such as chokeholds & neck restraints; Create a mandatory national database of police use of force, disaggregated by race, ethnic background, national origin, age, & other identities, to better understand the extent of systemic racism in Canadian policing.

● Develop a national standard for police use-of-force, and work with other jurisdictions to ban certain kinds of force, such as chokeholds and neck restraints.

4. Record - National database to record police use-of-force and other incidents

● Create a mandatory national database on the collection of police use of force data, disaggregated by race, ethnic background, national origin, age, and other identities to track victims of incidents of use-of-force by police and better understand the extent of systemic racism in Canadian policing.

Be Daring., retrieved 2021-09-11

Security Infrastructure

Valerie Brooks's promise

Ensure our level of preparedness for pandemics is robust, adequate and on alert at all times. ● Work to greatly increase funding through Public Safety Canada and the Joint Emergency Preparedness Program (JEPP) for projects that implement municipal, territorial, and provincial emergency preparedness plans, including: public education and training programs; local emergency infrastructure, such as adequate tsunami warning systems; civil defence sirens and other communication systems; adequate marking of emergency evacuation routes; and means to supply essential services such as medical services, energy supplies, food, and water; ● Push Public Safety Canada to simplify the application process and expand the eligibility criteria for funding through the JEPP; ● Work to increase funding for emergency preparedness training programs for emergency responders, including the Canadian Emergency Preparedness College; ● Work to provide funding to fast-track seismic upgrading of public bui

Seniors & Senior Care

Aging in Place

Valerie Brooks's promise

● Develop, in collaboration with provincial and territorial governments, a set of national home care objectives in a National Home Care Policy, that incorporates and improves upon existing policies affecting eldercare, including but not restricted to ensuring couples needing support and care can continue to live together, economic allowances (such as tax rebates), living choices, transportation, and respite care;

Green's promise

Expand parental leave to include leave to care for elderly family members; Increase the proportion of LTC investment in community & home-based care from 13% to 35%; Make the Caregiver Tax Credit refundable; Change the Home Renovation Tax Credit from $10K/household to $10K/person.

● Provide a dedicated Seniors’ Care Transfer to provinces and territories for specific improvements to home, community and LTC separate from the federal health transfers.

● Shift LTC policy towards aging in place by having the Seniors’ Care Transfer include transformative investment in home and community care (such as naturally occurring retirement communities, co-housing models, and enhanced home support programs).

● Increase the proportion of LTC investment in community and home-based care from 13% to 35% in order to match the OECD average.

● End for-profit LTC facilities and reorient LTC towards community-based models.

● Make the Caregiver Tax Credit a refundable tax credit so that family caregivers have more flexibility (from its current earned tax credit status).

● Change the Home Renovation Tax Credit from $10,000 per household to $10,000 per person for more people to age in place.

Be Daring., retrieved 2021-09-11

Canada Pension Plan (CPP)

Green's promise

Increase the CPP's target income replacement rate over time for income received during work years; Regulate the CPP Investment Board to require divestment of coal, oil, & gas shares; Ensure all investments by the CPP Investment Board are ethical & promote environmental sustainability.

● Ensure the Canada Pension Plan (CPP) remains robust and adaptive to changing needs and circumstances by increasing over time the target income replacement rate for income received during working years, as needed.

● Regulate the CPP Investment Board to require divestment of coal, oil and gas shares and ensure that all investments are ethical and promote environmental sustainability.

Be Daring., retrieved 2021-09-11

Health & Security

Valerie Brooks's promise

● Help develop national guidelines for care of the frail elderly who have special needs and require care by geriatric specialists; ● Establish and fund a special program to provide grants to non-profit societies setting up palliative care hospices; ● Guarantee the right to draw up a ‘living will’ that gives the power to limit or refuse medical intervention and treatment so the person has the choice of dying with dignity.

Green's promise

Develop & fund a National Dementia Strategy; Establish a Federal Office of the Seniors' Advocate to provide oversight & leadership on issues related to the current needs of Canadian Seniors; Develop a National Elder Abuse & Neglect Strategy.

1. Fully fund the National Dementia Strategy

● In collaboration with health professionals and provincial/territorial governments, develop and fund a national dementia strategy. The strategy would support research, improve quality of life for patients and caregivers, and educate the public to increase awareness and reduce stigma.

● Continue ongoing funding for frailty research to improve care for vulnerable older adults while investing in new R&D in the ageing and age-tech sector.

● Meet the aspirational goals of the National Dementia Strategy by increasing overall Canadian investment from $50 million to $150 million over five years in the field of dementia research.

2. Ensure Seniors’ Violence and Abuse Prevention

● Establish a Federal Office of the Seniors’ Advocate to provide systemic oversight and leadership on issues related to the current needs of Canadian seniors, as well as provide insight, analysis, and direction to the government on the future needs of our ageing population.

● Develop a National Elder Abuse and Neglect Strategy to raise awareness and provide funding for instances of elder abuse and neglect across the Country.

Be Daring., retrieved 2021-09-11

Long-Term Care

Green's promise

Bring long-term care under the Canada Health Act; Create enforceable National Standards for LTC, enforced through penalties including criminal prosecution; Require Emergency & Pandemic Preparedness for LTC, including supplies of PPE; Set a national standard of 4 hours / day of regulated care for each resident; Increase staffing; Improve training, fair pay, benefits, & paid sick leave for staff.

1. Bring Long-Term Care under the Canada Health Act

● Universal care will ensure that every person in long-term care in Canada has access to quality, affordable care.

2. Improve the quality of care in Long-Term Care facilities

● Create enforceable National Standards for LTC.

● Provide transformative investment for Seniors’ Care including infrastructure and staffing funding.

● Require Emergency and Pandemic Preparedness for LTC, including providing proper and adequate supplies of personal protective equipment and testing for COVID-19 for staff, family caregivers, and residents.

● Set a national standard of four hours of regulated care per day for each LTC resident.

● Enforce National Standards of Care through accountability and penalties, including criminal prosecution.

● Ensure safe family access to LTC facilities.

● Provide all needed vaccinations to all residents, staff and caregivers for LTC (not only COVID-19, but also influenza, pneumonia, diphtheria, whooping cough, etc.).

3. Improve the quality of life of workers in LTC

● Increase and stabilise staffing in LTC homes and improve training, fair pay for workers, benefits, and paid sick leave.

● Invest in training and education to support ongoing professional development and specialization for LTC workers.

● Prioritize senior care and long-term care skills for immigration status.

4. Invest in home and community care

● Provide a dedicated Seniors’ Care Transfer to provinces and territories for specific improvements to home, community and LTC separate from the federal health transfers.

● Shift LTC policy towards aging in place by having the Seniors’ Care Transfer include transformative investment in home and community care (such as naturally occurring retirement communities, co-housing models, and enhanced home support programs).

● Increase the proportion of LTC investment in community and home-based care from 13% to 35% in order to match the OECD average.

● End for-profit LTC facilities and reorient LTC towards community-based models.

● Make the Caregiver Tax Credit a refundable tax credit so that family caregivers have more flexibility (from its current earned tax credit status).

● Change the Home Renovation Tax Credit from $10,000 per household to $10,000 per person for more people to age in place.

Be Daring., retrieved 2021-09-11

Physician Assisted Death - Living and Dying with Dignity

Valerie Brooks's promise

● Amend the Medical Assistance in Dying legislation to ensure that everyone has the choice of dying with dignity. This includes allowing advance directives and guaranteeing the right to draw up a ‘living will’ that gives an individual the power to limit or refuse medical intervention and treatment.

Transit & Transportation

Active Transportation

Green's promise

Expand cycling & walking infrastructure; Work with municipalities & provincial governments to develop infrastructure that is accessible to all communities & individuals; Create a national cycling & walking infrastructure fund.

Ferries

Green's promise

Convert all passenger ferries to electric or hybrid systems by 2030.

Freight

Green's promise

Develop a Green Freight Transport program to address greenhouse gas emissions & pollution, in partnership with the freight industry, shipping companies, & delivery businesses.

Intercity Transportation

Valerie Brooks's promise

● Ensure federal infrastructure funding does not go to expanding highways and roads, but is rather spent on more efficient light rail systems. Current infrastructure, such as the TransCanada highway, must be maintained at a safe standard. ● Oppose funding for highway and bridge expansions that encourage urban sprawl, increase private vehicle use and truck transport of goods, and consequently increase GHG emissions;

Green's promise

Expand VIA Rail to a rail & bus system; Enact a VIA Rail Act to ensure the VIA Rail mandate for a national passenger transportation network; Ensure access to zero-carbon public transportation, with high-speed rail networks between major cities; Exempt rural & intercity public transport from sales taxes.

● Ensure access to zero-carbon public transportation, with high-speed rail networks between major cities, and spokes of light rail and electric bus connections across the country.

● Guarantee every Canadian safe, reliable and accessible access to affordable, net zero ground transportation by expanding VIA Rail to a rail and bus system. Enact a VIA Rail Act to ensure the VIA Rail mandate for a national passenger transportation network.

Be Daring., retrieved 2021-09-11

Rail

Green's promise

Strengthen Canada's rail safety rules; Enact a Via Rail Canada Act; Invest $500M in 2022-23, rising to $720M by 2024 to develop regional rail networks & strengthen rail connections between regions; Build electrified, 200km/h or faster, high-speed rail in the Toronto-Ottawa-Montreal-Quebec City triangle, & the Calgary-Edmonton corridor.

● Enact a Via Rail Canada Act to implement a passenger rail transportation policy and protect services from future cuts.

● Invest $500 million in 2022-23, rising to $720 million by 2024 to develop regional rail networks and strengthen rail connections between regions. This will include building several sections of additional track along existing routes to avoid bottlenecks where heavy freight pushes passenger rail to the siding

● Build electrified, 200 km/h or faster, high-speed rail in the Toronto-Ottawa-Montreal-Quebec City triangle and the Calgary-Edmonton corridor.

● Exempt rural and intercity public transport from sales taxes, just like urban transit.

Be Daring., retrieved 2021-09-11

Rural Transit

Green's promise

Make investments to expand rural transit services & infrastructure; Exempt rural & intercity public transport from sales taxes.

Transit Investment

Valerie Brooks's promise

Increase federal funding for pedestrian, cycle, and car-sharing infrastructure in towns and cities; ● Increase existing funding to stimulate a massive re-investment in public transportation infrastructure in all Canadian towns and cities to make it convenient, safe, comfortable, and affordable;

Green's promise

Create a permanent, dedicated federal transit fund with $3.4B/year starting in 2026-2027; Commit to a multi-year solution to transit operating shortfalls.

● Answer the Federation of Canadian Municipalities’ and Vancouver Mayor’s Council’s call for a permanent, dedicated federal public transit fund of $3.4 billion annually starting in 2026-2027, once the existing transit program expires.

● Commit to a multi-year solution to transit operating shortfalls in order to protect and secure shared investments in building out Canada’s transit networks for the decades to come.

Be Daring., retrieved 2021-09-11

Zero-Emission Vehicles

Valerie Brooks's promise

● Invest in a national grid supporting electric vehicles – cars, buses and trucks;

Green's promise

Ban the sale of internal combustion engine passenger vehicles by 2030; Expand charging stations for electric vehicles, including in smaller communities & rural areas; Fund grants for purchasing new & used electric vehicles; Fund buy-back programs for old vehicles; Exempt new & used electric & zero-emission vehicles from federal sales tax.

● Ban the sale of all internal combustion engine passenger vehicles by 2030, and expand charging stations for electric vehicles, including charging stations in smaller communities and rural areas.

● Develop programs to encourage the retirement of existing gas-powered vehicles, including government-funded grants for the purchase of new and used electric vehicles and ‘buy-back’ programs to encourage vehicle users to give up their existing vehicle.

Be Daring., retrieved 2021-09-11

Misc. topics

Accessibility

Green's promise

Require that housing developments that receive federal funding must ensure 30% of all units in each development are deeply affordable and/or available to people with disabilities & special needs.

Broadcasting & Streaming

Valerie Brooks's promise

Call for an Independent Commission to undertake a comprehensive study of the concentration of media ownership in Canada in comparison to other western countries and recommend how to diversify media ownership and strengthen the depth and breadth of news reporting, especially local news, in Canada.

CBC & Radio-Canada

Valerie Brooks's promise

● Provide stable base funding for the CBC so it can continue to provide quality Canadian content television and radio programming in both official languages to all Canadians; ● Restore CBC international short-wave service; ● Reverse the CBC application and CRTC approval for commercial advertising on CBC Radio 2; ● Reverse cuts to suppertime news and local programming in CBC and Radio Canada; ● Ensure that the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) reserves more bandwidth for independent and non-profit stations;

Canada Post

Green's promise

Expand the mandate of Canada Post to include banking, high-speed Internet hubs, & EV charging stations; Increase salaries of Canada Post employees operating in rural communities; Ensure pay gaps between urban & rural services are closed.

Reimagining Canada Post could provide rural communities with high-quality public services that have been overlooked by successive governments. A Green government would expand the mandate of Canada Post to include banking, high-speed internet hubs, and EV charging stations. It would also increase the salaries of Canada Post employees operating in rural communities (who are predominantly women) and ensure pay gaps between urban and rural services are closed.

Be Daring., retrieved 2021-09-11

Elections

Valerie Brooks's promise

● Legislate the end of first-past-the-post voting; ● We will empower a Democracy Commission to engage Canadians from coast to coast in a public inquiry into the interwoven and anti-democratic trends within Canada: 1. The unhealthy power of the Prime Minister’s Office; 2. The lack of scope for independent action of individual MPs; 3. The use of prorogation to avoid political embarrassment, in violation of Parliamentary practice and tradition; 4. The abuse by the Senate of its role of ‘sober, second thought’ in voting down bills approved by the House, as in the case in November of 2010 in their defeat without debate of Bill C-311 (the Climate Change Accountability Act); 5. The recommendations of the Commission will be presented as options to Canadian voters. ● Adhere to fixed election dates permitting political stability and fair elections; ● Eliminate any system that allows top-down control within parties of the nomination process for candidates; ● Slash the PMO budget by

Government Ethics & Lobbying

Valerie Brooks's promise

With the highest level of granularity and detail possible which still maintains the privacy of individual citizens; ● In a timely fashion so that the value of the data is preserved; ● Accessible to the widest range of users for the widest range of purposes in a non-proprietary format; ● Machine processable and structured to allow automated processing, without having to mechanically harvest the data before using it; 145 ● Non-discriminatory and available to everyone without having to register or self-identify as being interested in the data; ● With a license that does not encumber the user, and ideally without a license at all.

Government Transparency

Valerie Brooks's promise

● Amend the Accountability Act to ensure that all those who monitor government are selected at arm’s length from those they monitor, to eliminate the blanket exemptions on public release of government documents, and to guarantee transparency and openness for all government activities; ● Update the Access to Information Act to permit greater transparency of government activities; ● Restore Parliamentary Committees as a vehicle for non-partisan, constructive improvement of legislation and require that the improved version of such legislation be the version put to parliament for vote; ● Enact effective whistle-blower protection for public and private sector employees; ● Institute a Code of Conduct and an independent complaints process to ensure that public funds are not used for pre-election partisan purposes; ● Institute mandatory training in ethics for MPs and their staff, requiring all MPs and staff to take in-house training on the basics of good management and ethics in P

Rural & Northern Services

Green's promise

Address disparities in delivery, access, & funding for rural services; Establish a parliamentary committee to collect information on place-based needs in rural & remote communities; Support the Federation of Canadian Municipalities request for at least $250M/year in dedicated infrastructure funding starting in 2028-29.

● Address disparities in delivery, access, and funding for rural services

● Establish a parliamentary committee to collect information on place-based needs in rural and remote communities, including the state of funding for rural services in the context of the economic/social realities faced by those communities, and develop recommendations on how these gaps can be closed in ways that work at the local level.

● Make investments to expand transit services and infrastructure. This will create jobs, provide cleaner and safer alternatives to driving, lower rural Canada’s carbon footprint, and improve access to services for rural Canadians.

● Reevaluate the Canada Health Transfer (CHT) so that rural communities are being covered with an equitable amount of funding to meet the needs of the community.

● Support the provinces in implementing innovative delivery models such as Telemedicine to improve health access in rural Canada.

Be Daring., retrieved 2021-09-11

Veterans

Valerie Brooks's promise

Green MPs will work to: ● End the Lump Sum Payment for injuries and reinstate the Pension Act benefits; ● Completely re-write the VAC policy manuals; ● Reinstate the Benefit Of The Doubt clause; ● Split VRAB into two distinct panels and populate it with qualified experts; ● Revisit the NVC with an eye to a complete rewrite. The NVC was enacted as a living document but sits stagnant and out of touch with veterans’ needs; ● Publicly support the class action suit in the Supreme Court of Canada by veterans to end the SISIP claw back.

Biography

submitted by the candidate or their team
Valerie believes in electoral reform so government actually works. She is a climate champion and wants to see immediate action.

Reason for running

submitted by the candidate or their team
My “yet to be born” grandchildren deserve a Canada they can be proud of. Unless we create real change my grandchildren will be left with a mess and hate us for it! Our environmental, economic, and social stewardship needs immediate action.

Born and raised in Hudson Bay, SK to a farming family, Valerie is now a professional educator and has worked as a teacher and school administrator for the past 20 years. She's written a thesis on Reconciliation and Treaty Education and has come to understand the significance of this Treaty 4 territory and what it means to be a Treaty person.

Valerie believes it is the responsibility of elected representatives to understand the interdependent nature of the world, to govern with an inclusive and growth mindset, and that a healthy environment supports economic growth. Being a climate champion, Valerie advocates for swift and immediate action by the government to drastically reduce green house gas emissions by putting in place legislation and policy to make that a reality now, not 20 years from now. She also believes that a transition plan to a clean energy sector includes supporting those currently working in the oil and gas sector by re-training and transferring their skills to a new clean energy grid. This plan is feasible, and we have the technology and skills to make it our new reality.

Valerie’s goal is to restore faith in the Canadian democratic system with electoral reform. Proportional representation, complete transparency of government, and accountability to voters not big businesses and corporations will be her priority. She sincerely wants all voters to believe their vote matters, to be able to trust their government, and to be active participants in our democratic system. She believes this is possible by creating a collaborative system of governing where all voices are part of the solution and partisan politics are left in the rear view mirror!

greenparty.ca/en/riding/2013-47014 www.greenparty.ca/en/riding/2013-47014