The Voice of the Greens in Burnaby-New Westminster

Election Day

2006-01-23T09:14:00.000-08:00

Well said Matthew. I really can't expand on what Matthew said about why the greens are the best choice. What I will try to do is outline what each of your choices will mean in this election.

When you go to the polls today consider these following points before you place your vote:

1. A vote for either the conservatives or the liberals is a vote for 139 years of status-quo government and as Albert Einstein said, "The significant problems of our time are not going to be solved by the same level of thinking that got us into them."

2. In Burnaby-New Westminster we've already had the NDP in for a term, so voting NDP will also be a vote for the status-quo.

3. You have three choices left; don't vote, spoil your ballot or vote Green.

Not voting is again a vote for status-quo because it does nothing.

Spoiling your ballot is an effective vote if you truly believe that there is no other option for you.

Voting Green will bring the party $1.75 (very small donation) plus raise awareness of sustainability in Canadian politics. If a Green is elected, then your riding will be noticed on a national and potentially international scale as the first riding to elect a Green MP.

Voting for the old-line parties will get you the same old people in the same old government.

Voting Green is an historic event that you can be proud of.

Cheers and please get out to vote.

Election Day - Why We Vote Green

2006-01-23T08:02:00.000-08:00

Ever wonder why people vote Green, even though sometimes it seems hopeless? Here's a speech I prepped for the Green Party election-eve rally in Vancouver. Enjoy!
- Matthew

--------------------
Friends, colleagues,

Tomorrow may not be our day in the sun. And indeed, that day may not arrive until many a tomorrow is done. But that day shall come.
As surely as dawn follows darkness, that day shall come.

That day shall come, when Green MP’s stand as equals in the House of Commons – when Green MP’s participate in the great debates that shall shape the future of this vast land which stretches from sea to shining sea, to shining sea.

That day shall come, when the Green Party leader is an equal participant in broadcast leadership debates, and we can compete on equal footing in…
- the marketplace of ideas,
- the forum of policy,
- the duel of competing visions for our communities, our country, our Canada.

That day shall come, when Green ideas trump old ideologies, and other parties adopt our policies, our proposals, as their own. In this election, we’ve seen that day has dawned. Some may worry that if other parties embrace Green themes, it will be at our expense. But I am not concerned.

Because for us, our day has dawned. And the dawn, once begun, does only rise – and grows stronger and stronger. Sunrise awaits us.

Our day has dawned, but the other parties, they have reached their noon – the future holds for them, the threat of twilight. So when they pull policies from our platform, let us none the less applaud them. For, though they may stand beneath a different banner, in that policy they will be advancing our cause, the Green cause:
the public good, for today, for tomorrow, and for all tomorrows to come.

And that cause, our cause, is broad enough to include allies of every persuasion.

And that is why we need not dominate the Commons, to succeed. We need not dominate the Commons, though that day shall, in its own time, arrive. We need merely a voice, to serve the public, to uphold their interest.

That day shall come;
Our day has dawned.

(c) Matthew Klippenstein
--------------------

3 days 'til election – Sustainability and Respect for Diversity

2006-01-21T15:01:00.000-08:00

I have to apologize to all the blog readers for my lack of posts in the last week. My wife and I have been moving to our new home down the street and I haven't had as much computer time as I would have liked.

I also have to thank all of the volunteers involved in this campaign for putting up signs, handing out flyers, writing blogs, managing e-mail accounts and especially for educating their friends, family and strangers on the good ideas coming from the Green party.

Now that I am in thank you mode, I am extremely appreciative to all the citizens in the riding who are involved in the political process this election. I have talked to people who are raising awareness of the persecution of Falun Gong in China, the discrimination and violence of NATO in the Middle East and the issues of poverty in this riding. What impresses me is the number of people who are passionate and willing to work to change these situations even though it may not result in an immediate or future personal gain. This type of selfless thinking is really what is going to make this world a better place to live in for all future generations.

To continue on with the posts I've done in the past regarding the Green Party's principles, today I'm going to talk about what values of sustainability and Respect for Diversity mean to me.

SUSTAINABILITY

As Matthew pointed out in his last blog on peak oil, resources in this planet are limited and we all must recognize these limits and live within them if we want to sustain human life of this planet. I really have no words to express my perplexity towards the other parties that are completely ignoring or paying minor lip service to the issue of sustaining our natural resources on this planet.

The Green Party is often construed as an environmental awareness group with no concern for humanity or the economy and we couldn't be more misrepresented in this stereotype. My common sense concern for our environments is only because I want to see humanity continue on earth for at least the next 200 years and I would like to have a stable and sustainable economy in place for those generations that will follow us. Mother Nature, oceans, rivers, mountains and plains will all survive quite well even if humanity destroys itself.

The idea of preserving a strong foundation of natural resources for future generations is an idea that can be used in many other aspects of our society. We can ensure that we have strong families in all of our communities who can work together to make sure that no one in their community is marginalized or forgotten. Local and provincial governments can be empowered to address problems as they occur and where they occur. Concentrated power leads to corruption and is unsustainable, so we should spread the power and responsibility as much as possible in order to reduce corruption.

Right now, we can only plant the seeds of sustainability and make sure that they fall in fertile soil if we ever want our ideas to come to fruition. Let's work on the foundations of strong families and small government and see what happens.

RESPECT FOR DIVERSITY

We have to recognize as a society that everyone and everything has a reason and purpose for being. People with various views and cultural backgrounds bring unique and inovation solutions to problems that may never be thought of if all of humanity was homogenous. The same can be said for nature, and variety of species and elements. I recently read "The Alchemist" by Paulo Coelho and this is one of the most important learnings I took from the book. For if Alchemists were to change all of the metals of the world to gold, gold would lose it's value and we would all wish for iron or lead. Everything has it's place.

As Canadians, we have to work hard against the law of entropy whether it means the transformation of our culture and media into just a glob of Americana, or our great lakes into globs of sludge. We have to sustain the diversity we already have and encourage more diversity in the future, because when humanity faces the diverse problems of the future, we better have an arsenal of diverse ideas ready or we will perish.

Ok, if you actually got through all of that then you deserve another little restaurant hint, and this one is a very closely gaurded secret that I have so listen carefully: ASA Sushi beside 7-11 on Royal Oak and Rumble. Best sushi/price I've found in Burnaby and I challenge all readers to find a better place.

Cheers,
SJ

Peak Oil: Danger + Opportunity

2006-01-17T15:43:00.000-08:00

There are many issues facing Canadians in the coming years. Some receive the attention they deserve. Others don’t. And in this blog we’d like to talk about one of those “other” issues.

We’d like to talk about Peak Oil.

Now, people have been saying “we’re running out of oil”, for the past thirty, fifty, seventy years. They’ve been wrong every time. That’s not what peak oil is about.

Peak Oil is the theory that worldwide oil production is reaching its peak at about 85 million barrels of oil per day (85 mbd).
This wouldn’t be a problem if demand was flat – but demand is rising.
It still wouldn’t be a problem if we had other energy sources ready to replace oil – but the developed world has been slow to develop alternative energy sources such as wind, wave, geothermal, and solar. Canada has been especially slow.

If demand is rising faster than supply, prices will rise. And in the past few years, there have been tremendous increases in the prices for oil, natural gas, uranium, even coal. Many people think those prices will continue to increase. People like Scott and I, and many scientists, geologists and engineers.

Many professional investors also think Peak Oil is coming; and they’ve put their money where their mouth is. They’ve invested hundreds of millions of dollars, betting they can make hundreds of millions more. The most prominent Canadian example is mutual fund guru Eric Sprott of Sprott Asset Management. Check out his“peak oil watch” at http://www.sprott.com/peakoil.php.

Scott and I strongly feel the Green Party offers the best strategy for Canadians, to face Peak Oil. This is the issue where the Green Party can earn its due. This is the issue where we can prove our worth to the electorate. No party brings the environmental and entrepreneurial spirits together, like us.

We would foster conservation and alternative-energy industries – both of these will reduce our dependence on fossil fuels, while creating a new generation of “green-collar” entrepreneurs and industries, whose services and products will be in demand, at all points around the globe, in a world facing higher energy prices.

You probably know the Chinese characters for “crisis” are “danger + opportunity”, right? Well, this is the danger and opportunity of Peak Oil:

The Danger - societies unprepared for Peak Oil will see a drop in their citizens’ standard of living
The Opportunity - societies prepared for Peak Oil will be able to sell excess energy, and export alternative-energy products, to less-prepared countries badly in need of them.

I’ll close with an an analogy:
-- Toyota was years ahead of GM, with its hybrid cars.
-- Toyota recently made record profits; GM is verging on bankruptcy.

When Peak Oil arrives, the Green Party wants Canada to be a “Toyota”, not a “GM”.

And to any doubters out there, we have two words: We Can.

A few Peak Oil resources:

http://www.energybulletin.net/primer.php
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peak_oil
http://www.lifeaftertheoilcrash.net
http://www.theoildrum.com
http://www.sprott.com/peakoil.php

Pub Crawl

2006-01-15T21:42:00.000-08:00

9 days 'til election – Schedule 'til the election day

2006-01-15T07:44:00.000-08:00

SUNDAY 15th	MONDAY 16th
Check my blog for updates I will continue my postings on Green Party values and how by the simple act of voting, we can get these values accepted and implemented by the powers that be.

TUESDAY 17th	WEDNESDAY 18th
Mock Election Burnaby South Secondary 11:30am - 12:30pm Students at the Burnaby South Secondary school are setting up a rally before there school undergoes their mock election.
All Candidates Debate Burr Theatre 6:30pm

THURSDAY 19th	FRIDAY 20th
All Candidates Debate 7502 2nd Street Burnaby 7:30 Please come out and get your voice heard regardless of which party you support. The audience can pose questions to any of the candidates, so get out their and make all of us candidates sweat.

SATURDAY 21st	SUNDAY 22nd
Pub Crawl See my next post for details	Green Party Rally Robson Square downtown Vancouver 1:00pm - 4:00pm All Green Party candidates and Jim Harris will be there.

MONDAY 23rd
Please get out and vote!

13 days 'til election – Volunteer Party and All Candidates debates

2006-01-11T23:50:00.000-08:00

This will be a quick post. Tonight we had a volunteer get together at the campaign headquarters (my condo) and we all got to share our thoughts on where Canada is today and where we should be heading in the future. I will have another volunteer meeting this Saturday, again at my house.

Tomorrow, Thursday, Jan. 12 at 7pm I will be at 7651 18th Ave for an all candidates debate. If anyone would like to attend, please come by and ask all of the candidates how they are going to help you if they win the election. I would really like to hear more opinions and voices in this election.

Cheers

15 days 'til election – Another answer to e-mail

2006-01-09T10:28:00.000-08:00

I apologize for just putting these e-mail responses as posts lately, but this one took a lot of time and I want to get some mileage out of it. This is a blog interview I did for Samantha Burns:

1. Can you give me an elevator pitch as to why people should vote for you? Please briefly explain your platform to those unaware.

I am running to promote the Green party's values of:

Ecological Wisdom

Social Justice

Participatory Democracy

Non-Violence

Sustainability

Respect for Diversity

If elected, every decision I make will be based on these values and I will be a voice in parliament for accountable and responsible government.

We are at a crossroads in history right now. With our current levels of consumption and pollution, the status quo of government and business is unsustainable. The Green Party is the only party with the courage to acknowledge this issue and develop a road map for us to change this situation.

If you are concerned about how we are affecting future generations by our actions today, a vote for me will represent your concern.

2. Where do you plan on getting the money to fund your government programmes/changes?

I do not believe in in-debting future generations just to find a short term gain. I do believe in proper investment that, over the long term, will provide the most effective method of providing government services to citizens. Most of the programs that I intend to champion will be funded by shifting our tax base to natural resources (including private land) an relieving the tax burden from employment income. I would also support the cessation of the nearly 1.4 billion in yearly subsidies directed to the thriving oil and gas industry.

3. Aren't there more effective ways to solve problems without government?

For every problem there are a myriad of solutions. Some problems can best be solved through government intervention and some are best tackled through other organizations. What is important is that a Canadian governmentsupports the most sustainable solutions in all situations. Stop-gap measures don't help anybody in the long run.

4. When one hears the name the Green Party of Canada, the first thing that comes to mind is a bunch of tree huggers and tree-spiking hippies. Is that a fair and accurate description? If not, why?

I don't see anything wrong with hugging a tree, but spiking a tree and endangering someone's life is irresponsible. The Green Party can more accurately be called the Common Sense Party, as we agree with good ideas and solutions to problems no matter if they come from the political right or left. If anyone takes the time to read our platform, their confusion as to the identity of the Green Party will quickly disapear and I think most people will find that they agree with most of our platform; it's full of common sense.

5. How do you feel about the actions of eco-terrorists? Do you believe they help or hinder your cause?

Terrorism is an unsustainable method to bring about societal change. As a descendant of Mennonite immigrants, I strongly believe that the only way to bring about change is through non-violent methods. To protect the environment, personal sacrifice and education are the tools we must use, not violence.

6. 'Frankenfoods', genetically modified crops, and pesticide-controlled foods tend to yield far more crop per square acre than going organic. With rampant worldwide starvation, doesn't it seem more logical route to take than going organic where crop yields would be greatly reduced?

World hunger is a serious issue. Today, with the current world production of food and our current population, we don't have an issue of food scarcity, we have an issue of not getting the food into the areas where it is needed most. The danger with relying upon pesticides and genetically modified crops to feed the world is two-fold. One, we don't know what the long-term consequences are from ingesting this type of food and two, we cannot continue to think that endless growth and consumption is a good thing. No matter what methods we use to produce food, we live on a planet with limited resources and we will run out of resources if we continue to increase our consumption. The Green Party recognizes this and will implement programs to help us live sustainably within the limits of our resources on this planet.

6. Should First Nations (Indians to our readers to the south) be forced to give up unregulated fishing and hunting in the name of conservation?

First Nations groups have a respect for and a responsibility to the natural resources in their homelands. In many jurisdictions, First Nations have observed the un-abated rape of their land for profit and governments have ecouraged these groups to partake in the abuse. The Green Party, through negotiations with First Nations groups will implement government regulations that support the sustainable harvest of nature while respecting the ancestoral rights of the First Nations.

7. Isn't a little deforestation worth the livelihoods of BCers working in the forestry industry? Same question goes for the oil industry and drilling up north.

Short term gain is not worth long term devastation. There are ways in which we can ecourage environmentally safe harvest of our resources, but we a government with the courage to change. In fact, by ensuring that the forestry industry and the oil industry are environmentally sustainable will help these companies compete globaly and create more jobs.

8. The biggest polluters of CO2 tend to be volcanoes and cow flatulence. What good are our personal conservation efforts when they are being flagrantly violated by nature?

More pressing than climate change are air pollution in our cities and scarcity of input resources for our economy. Nature is much more powerful than the human race and will survive even if we kill ourselves off through overconsumption. Personal conservation merely alows humans to continue to exist on this planet.

9. We've come a long way from the polluting days of the industrial age. Our rivers and lakes are cleaner, sewage is being treated, pollution and smog are down, deforestation is on the decline, yet environmentalists are raising the panic flag higher than ever. Can you justify these actions?

Our rivers and lakes are cleaner? There may be some success cases along these lines, but on the whole the world has much less clean fresh water available. The scarcity is more apparent when you look up how much water if available per person world wide. The real problem is the cancerous growth of humanity throughout the world, we are starting to reach the world's carrying capacity for the human race.

10. Oil and coal are primary energy sources, fuelling our economy and allowing us to enjoy the lifestyle we do. Should we go back to horse and buggy days and deal with horse pollution, because last time I checked, solar panels do not work in Vancouver for at least 6 months out of the year?

Advances in technology can actually help us use less energy than ever. We just have to commit and have proper support to reach energy reduction goals.

11. The Marajuana Party of Canada wants to legalize the drug. In your opinion, should hemp be used for clothing, smoking, or both? Further, what is you opinion on legalising hardcore drugs?

Marajuana should be legalized in order to reduce the amount of money funneled to organized crime and other drug trade. Personally, I don't think smoking is a healthy way to injest anything, but I also don't think that gambling is that effective of a way to make money (especially with my poker skills), but making these things illegal just fuels crime (as seen with 1920's prohibition). As for hardcore drugs, I think we can go a long way to hardcore drug use by ending poverty and build strong healthy communities. If you are happy with yourself, your life and you have a community that supports you, you won't have much need of chemical supplements.

12. [This one's for a little fun for my readers] What do you think of compost toilets such as Envirolets, www.envirolet.com? Do you have one and would you push for this to replace American Standards in every Canadian home? I mean, they are made in Canada afterall.

I don't have one of these toilets, but it looks like a good idea. I do have a low flush (6 litres per flush) toilet that has reduced our water use. I would think that the envirolet may be suitable in some sites, but I don't know if it would work in a condo. I'll have to read up on it.

13. How do you feel about Americans? And, what is your opinion on Paul Martin using attacks against Americans to appear as a strong leader who does not bow down to US wishes?

Most of my wife's family are Americans and I really enjoy all of of their company. The American government and the American people are two very different things. I don't think you have to insult someone in order to stand up to them.

14. How would you respond to Tucker Carlson's characterisation that Canadians live in igloos and ride dogsleds to work? Referring to this

Wouldn't that be fun, riding a dogsled to work. Tucker 's ignorance is his responsibility, not mine.

15. Why should people with more money pay higher taxes? Isn't everyone in Canada equal and shouldn't they contribute equally?

I would like to see Canadians pay taxes based on how much public resources they privately control or use and not on how much money they make.

16. When the government tends to be horribly inefficient and ineffective, why do we continue to tack on social programme after social programme, crippling our population's tax burden further?

Great point. Elect me to government and I'll work to improve government efficiency.

17. Aren't there more effective ways to solve problems without government?

See Above

18. If you have a millionaire willing to pay for his own private medical care, why should Joe-poor be forced to pay for Joe-rich?

If a millionaire wishes to pay for his or her private medical care, what is stopping them from hopping on a plane to US or India? Providing health care to millionaires is not the problem, we have to work to provide health care and not just sick care to all Canadians. Most of which are not millionaires.

19. Everyone born and raised in BC has smoked pot. Have you? And, did you inhale?

I'm not born or raised in BC (Saskatchewan and Alberta respectively), but I have smoked pot and I inhaled. Like I said before though, I don't think smoking is the healthiest way to injest things.

20. Do you have any favourite blogs or websites that you read?

http://burnabypolitics.blogspot.com/

21. How can people contact you if they have questions or would like to aid in your campaign?

Best is by e-mail: sjanzen@greenparty.ca or check out my blog

22. Is there anything that you would like to add that has not been asked here?

17 days 'til election – Answer to e-mail

2006-01-07T19:51:00.000-08:00

Today I recieved some interesting questions from Shawn on e-mail and I thought I should share my response with you all. I would love to hear your opinion on these issues.

1. Legalisation of marijuana will benefit society in that money
currently funding gangs and organized crime, will go to legal business
and the production of marijuana will be regulated and taxed. Tobacco,
alcohol, gambling and marijuana all have negative affects on society
and I personally don't advocate smoking anything, but prohibition in
the 20's showed us that banning these types of drugs only leads to the
creation of bigger and better financed organized crime. I'm very
black and white on this issue that if marijuana is illegal, so should
tobacco.

2. If everyone worked a 35hr work week, more people would have jobs, the money would be divided more equally, and our market place would have to adjust prices down to accommodate less discretionary income per person. The same argument was used when the work week was reduced to not include Saturdays. Right now, even with the 40hr work week in place, very few people adhere to this rule. As a society, we have to realise the importance of spending time with our loved ones, relaxing, volunteering or simply enjoying our lives. If we work hard all of our lives just to ensure that our children have to work even harder, what's the point?

It is my hope that with a shorter work week, people will have time to get off of the endless spiral of consumerism and connect with the things that really are worth living for: family, friends and community.

3. Taxing companies that pollute is not an easy overnight shift. This
is something that has to be done gradually and with care. You are
right that by taxing inefficient companies, we may drive them out of
Canada, but we will make the companies that stay much more competitive as they will have to be on the leading edge of technology and science. Toyota will be the leading car manufacturer in North America very soon if it isn't already precisely because Japan has very strict regulations for efficiency. Enforcing energy and resource efficiency in Canada will simply mean that Canadian companies will maximize their production with minimal inputs which will mean stronger companies and a stronger economy.

The Green Party believes that the current model of endless growth for
the sake of future growth is unsustainable. Humans have to recognize
that we live on a planet with finite resources and we have to live
within the limits of these resources if we want to survive. The
economy only exists because of the resources supplied by our
environment. In protecting our environment, we will sustain our
economy for future generations.

19 days 'til election – Media and Non-Violence

2006-01-04T12:10:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, I attended an all candidates debate at the McGill library in north Burnaby and had a CPAC interview at Edmonds skytrain station where I was campaigning. You can watch these programs this weekend (Friday or Saturday night for CPAC, and Sunday night 8:00 on channel 4 for the all candidates debate).

At the debate, the recurring theme is that the Conservatives (Marc Dalton, Paul Forseth) and the NDP (Libby Davies, Dawn Black) have taken a liking to quite a few of the Green Parties policies. I think this is a great sign that our ideas are what most Canadians agree with so the other parties can’t help but adopt them. The problem that a voter runs into is that not all parties agree with all of the Green’s policies, so you are forced to choose from the old style parties with sprinklings of new ideas. Not anymore my friends; now you can vote Green and get a whole slate full of new and improved ideas.

The other media thing I have going on is a personality questionnaire that will run in Thursday’s or Friday’s 24hr magazine. Check it out.

NON–VIOLENCE

It’s time for the world to grow up. As any good parent knows, children have to be taught that hitting, kicking, screaming and bullying are not appropriate ways in which to get your way. Even harder to teach children is that they can’t always have it their way, sometimes we have to make sacrifices in order to help the people we love or our neighbors. The skills of non-violent negotiation and the virtue of self sacrifice are lessons that the nations of the world have to learn in order for us to avoid a global “Lord of the flies” situation. We are lucky in that there are plenty of examples of people who used non-violent protest to great effect: Martin Luther King Jr., Gandhi, Siddhartha, Jesus. If we could only have nations and governments that could act in this manner, we would avoid a lot of unnecessary conflict and bloodshed.

Like I mentioned in a previous post, if to treat all humans that we share the earth with as kin and really work to ensure that no one has to deal with poverty or starvation, then everyone will have a vested interest in protecting the society that we build, and armed conflict will become very rare. In today’s world, why would someone who has no food or clean water care about the destruction of a society that gave them nothing. In fact, they may have a vested interest in destroying the societal infrastructure that they see as oppressive.

Violence begets violence. Kindness begets kindness. It’s your choice.

22 days 'til election - New Year and Participatory Democracy

2006-01-02T00:36:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year everyone. I hope that you were able to bring in the New Year in your preferred fashion and that you haven't broken too many of your resolutions yet. I guess if we set goals of eating only leek soup in 2006 it's highly likely that our resolutions won't be kept.

I was lucky enough to toast the passing of 2005 at Java Jazz in New Westminster. If you haven't heard of it, I recommend you check it out. It's a family run place and when you enter, you feel more like you have been welcomed into someone's home rather than a business. The music is all live and you can often hear clientele singing their favorites in their native tongue. This is truly a place where community spirit is built. Thank you Java Jazz for being what you are.

Today my in-laws and I visited House of Dosas and it was everything I needed in my first restaurant visit of the year. If you are familiar with Dosas, you will not need to be sold on this place, but, if you are new to South Indian cuisine, I highly recommend this place as the best introduction to Tamilian and Keralite flavours.

PARTICIPATORY DEMOCRACY

It's the new year and I don't want to start off 2006 with yet another long diatribe on policy and ideals and on how great the world can be if we all only voted green. So I'm going to keep this short and sweet.

Basically, the Green Party wants to make everyone's vote count. So if 40% of a riding votes for Party A, then Party A would get roughly 40% of the representation and Party B that received 30% of the vote would get 30% of the representation. This is a simplistic example, but you can learn more by reading up on what voting system the Kiwi's are trying. The point is that the current Âfirst past the postÂ system ignores the voices of so many voters that most candidates only receive about 35% of the popular vote. That means that the majority of Canadians do not have a representative in parliament that they support. No wonder we suffer from voter apathy in this country. Unfortunate as it is, it is the system we have to deal with for the time being and a change can only be brought about by voting for parties like the Green Party that will take action towards electoral reform.

The Green Party also wants to shift the decision making process from a top-down approach to a bottom-up approach where individual voters can take part and have a say in the formation of policies that will affect them. If people are involved in politics, they tend not to be so apathetic to the electoral process.

... I know this one is a little short, but that is Participatory Democracy in a Nutshell.

P.S. If you live around the Edmonds Skytrain station, I'd like some feedback on all of the signage that has gone up around there. Also, if you'd like to help out by putting up a few signs in your community... please contact me at sjanzen@greenparty.ca

24 days 'til election - Official Candidate and Social Justice

2005-12-30T20:52:00.000-08:00

Whew! Just made it as an Official Candidate so you can look forward to seeing my name on the ballot Jan. 23rd. There is a lot for me to learn about running a campaign for federal office, but the most important thing I've learnt is that you can't do it alone. So here's a big thanks to all my family, friends and volunteers who made it all happen; I really couldn't have done it without you ..... uh, maybe I should save the big speech until after the election.

I also had to say goodbye to my Dad, Stepmom and their little girl Faith today. After a filling chow down at IHOP we sent them back to Saskatchewan to grow more wheat so we can eat more pancakes. Dad, Tracy thank you for coming all this way for Christmas and for all your help and support.

Now that the thanks are out of my system, I'll give you all a little treat with my take on Social Justice.

SOCIAL JUSTICE

A segue from yesterday's discussion: We are all on this little blue planet together, why don't we treat each other as if we are of the same family? If we all trace our ancestors back far enough, we are all related to one another... let's act like it. My friend and Official Agent Gord once said that the world would be a much better place if everyone treated the other humans on the planet as if they were kin; we wouldn't let our brother starve, or our sister be homeless. Gord was also the first to admit that these noble ideas are very easy to say and much more difficult to put into practice.

This is where good government can step in and provide structure and support to these lofty ideals, by ensuring that all people's right to adequate food, clothing and shelter are met; by providing educational opportunities and venues in which each individual can contribute value to their communities. A future society that provides all peoples is what a Green government will work to build. One of the policies that are being discussed right now are providing a minimum income by which every person can find food, shelter and clothing.

The Green Party is also committed to social justice as it relates to same-sex marriage. If elected, I would not support any proposals to repeal the Supreme Court of Canada's decision on this issue. Strong communities and strong families are built on the foundation of marriage and the government should not impose any barriers to any two people who are willing to commit themselves to a loving relationship.

It wasn't that long ago that our neighbors to the south had a formal law against two people of different races entering into marriage. Do we want to be as short-sited as those who fought against mixing the races? Or do we want to lead the Americas into an era of open-mindedness and inclusion as we did with the underground railroad?

The choice is yours.

25 days 'til election - Business Cards and Ecological Wisdom

2005-12-29T10:47:00.000-08:00

It took me almost the entire evening yesterday, but with the help of Jordan and Flo (Staples printing team) we managed to get some cards printed out so that more people can know that they have an alternative to the old school big three political parties. We also got some signs out to the constituents who requested them; thank you all for donating your lawn space!

Now for what you have all been waiting for... actual policy talk:

Over the next six days I will talk about the six green values:

1. Ecological Wisdom
2. Social Justice
3. Participatory Democracy
4. Non-Violence
5. Sustainability
6. Respect for Diversity

Today's talk will be on Ecological Wisdom.

ECOLOGICAL WISDOM

To me, this value means that the human race must realize that we live in a planet with finite resources. Everything we have - our food, water, air, clothes, our homes and our bodies are derived from what is contained in this little blue sphere. This recognition will allow us all to put a value on resources that are seemingly abundant. For instance, in BC no one is really worried that we will run out of water, especially when it is raining outside. This resource seems to be in abundance here, but what would happen if our water could simply be sold to the highest bidder like the city of Las Vegas. We would very soon realize the scarcity and value of our water resources. There are thousands of examples like this where we as Canadians and especially British Columbians, take for granted the bounty of nature we enjoy. Waking up to the reality that even our resources are finite and building communities and lifestyles that are sustainable within the limits of the planet is what I call Ecological Wisdom.

27 days 'til election - Science World and Dosti

2005-12-27T23:43:00.000-08:00

I love Science World. I guess it's brings out the inner science-geek in me when I get to hook up electrodes to my head and compete to reduce my brain waves. I had an excuse to go today because we were entertaining my 3 year old sister Faith.

I did learn a few things today from science world; the brain activity of children under 5 is totally off the chart, and the next generation will have better ideas on how we can deal with future scarcity of natural resources, thanks to places like Science World.

This is why it is so important for the government to really focus on supporting families with young children because they are the ones who will have to deal with any environmental problems that we cause today. Only by ensuring that every child has a nutritious diet, stimulation for their minds and a stable and loving home, is Canada going to raise a generation of citizens who will be able to creatively deal with the situations we have laid out before them.

After Science World I got to go to 'Dosti' at Raja Theatre. It's a repeat of the old one with Amitabh Bachchan but it can still manage to wrench a few tears out of even the most stoic of us. We are pretty lucky to live in a city where you can see new Bollywood releases any night of the week. It's a great break from the usual hollywood flick at any rate.

28 days 'til election - 4am Future Shop

2005-12-26T04:53:00.000-08:00

Man, respect to those people who lined up at 7pm last night in order to be first in line this morning. Thank you to all the people I met in the line this morning, your ideas on how this country can be better were all great. I heard a lot of people say that the existing political system is not really working for them and that the other major parties don't really listen, or they just feed everyone a pretty line.

Well, I guess I'll try to do my part to change that trend. Here are my comments on what I heard from all of the lined up Future Shoppers:

"A flat [income] tax for everyone would be good."
I agree that this would be a fair way in which to tax everyone, and I think that moving in this direction would be positive because this type of tax will not punish people for earning more money. I feel that the right flat tax% should be zero. What I will work for is the elimination of income and corporate taxes (because you have worked for your money) and instead tax the use of our natural resources. This will reward efficient businesses who hire employees to manage their consumption and punish innefficient or wasteful business practices.

Labour is good, let's not tax it. Burning piles of trash is bad, let's tax it.

"West Coast Express [and other transit] is too expensive and/or inconvienient to provide an alternative to a car."
So true. There are a few things wrong with this situation:

1. Roads are subsidized entirely by our taxes so we can use them as much as we want for free, whereas a person has to pay each time they make the effort to take transit.

2. With the current insurance system, you have to drive your car as much as possible to get the best value for your dollar. There are no reduced rates for people who really try to reduce their driving.

3. Investment in public transit infrastructure is dwarfed by the amount of money spent on roads, we need new smarter transit systems to wean people off their car dependance.

The lady that made this comment also informed me about a really cool book "Divorce your Car" by Katie Alvord.

For all of you that I met in the line-up, let me know what deal you managed to find and if it was the one you wer looking for.

30 days 'til election - Family Time Christmas Eve

2005-12-24T23:59:00.000-08:00

I got to spend the whole day with my wife, her mom and brother as well as my dad, stepmom and little sister. We were so lucky to be able to convince them all to come all the way west from the prairies and spend some time with us.

Days like this with family remind me why it is so important for Canadian families to be supported. The love and laughter you get from your family outweighs any material possesion or toy you can ever have. It is so easy to take the people closest to you for granted, so it's good to have Christmas every year where we can all slow down a bit and thank our loved ones for being there for us.

Now for something completely different:

Tonight as we were playing the name game, there was an argument over whether fictional characters can really be considered famous people? What do you think, is Tom Sawyer just as relevant as Catherine the Great when we talk about famous people?

31 days 'til election - "Agruably Unwinnable"

2005-12-23T16:47:00.000-08:00

This campaign is yet another story of the underdog trying to get his voice heard. In Wednesday's Province, Ian Austin put it lightly by mentioning that I fight an "arguably unwinnable battle". At least he said "arguably".

This afternoon I had the opportunity to sit down with Epoch magazine's Jason Wang to talk about opportunities to get my message out. The magazine is a non-profit organization that is trying to raise awareness of human rights issues in China and throughout the world. What I was really impressed with was Jason's passion for his paper and his willingness to volunteer to get his voice heard. We are very lucky to live in a nation where people are allowed to voice their opinions.

This respect for each individuals voice is what I will work to protect by changing our electoral system to be proportionally representative. It's unfortunate that under our current electoral system, citizens feel that they have to vote for a party they don't particularily like just so that the party they fear doesn't get into power. We have to all work together and vote for what we believe if we want democracy to work in Canada.

33 days 'til election - progress with pamphlets!

2005-12-21T22:32:00.000-08:00

Well, Matthew and I went through our first batch of pamphlets today -- just the generic Green Party ones, nothing custom done up yet.

Good response from the residents, they were all polite and friendly, even if it seemed we'd interrupted them.

We met this great guy, Cory, today who was born in the '20's in Norway and learned to dance the Tango in Argentina. Sounds like he's a staunch NDP supporter, but he still wished us luck on the campaign.

This riding has such a rich mixture of cultures and origins, I never really know what part of the world I will hear about when someone opens their door.

Here is a challenge for all those blog readers, tell me your most fantastic immigration story so that everyone can learn about how diverse our nation really is.

There will be more to come on this topic in future posts.

34 days 'til election - blog up and running!

2005-12-20T21:56:00.000-08:00

A hello to all visitors!

My name is Scott Janzen, and I'm the Green Party candidate for Burnaby-New Westminster in the 2006 Canadian Federal Election.

I've put this blog together as a way to foster feedback from the web community. I'm looking forward to hearing from everybody; I'd like to create a dialogue around issues of concern to the community and country.

This blog will continue after the election, as a venue for voters to voice their opinions, thoughts, and concerns... ...so that I can represent you well, as a member of the Green Party -- and eventually, as an M.P. (I'm an optimist. :-) )