From the New Brunswick Green Party:
For those who are satisfied with the way this Province is and has been run, please feel free to skip over this article. For those who are interested in exploring something different, then maybe this will be of interest to you. AS Einstein said ” insanity is doing things over the same way expecting different results”. The New Brunswick Green Party (NBGP)has what we think is an approach that has the potential to put the destiny of this Province back in the hands of the people. If we continue on the path this Province is currently following, what kind of future will our children and grand-children face?
The NBGP was formed to respond to the challenges we face so that future generations can have a meaningful and fulfilling lifestyle in this Province. To that end the principles which guide the NBGP on this quest are: Ecological rights and responsibilities, Local self-reliance, Social justice and equality, Participatory democracy, Self-determination and citizenship, and Non-violence. As we delve into these principles we will see that they are intertwined and that all of us will have to play our part in rebuilding democracy if we want a sustainable future.
Continuous growth is a myth propagated by greedy big business and their political minions. We live on a finite planet with finite resources. The global economy is a house of cards propped up by cheap oil. We have already passed the point where supply meets demand, otherwise known as “peak oil”. The price consumers have to pay for products and services that depend on oil will continue to raise. A brief list of these includes transportation, food, clothing, plastics, and certain medications.
The evidence that continuous growth is a myth is all around us. Big business and it’s executives continue to make obscene amounts of money while the middle class is shrinking and poverty is increasing. For decades New Brunswick has exported much its youth; for the baby boomer generation it was to Ontario and now it is to Alberta. Where is the evidence that continuous growth has been good for New Brunswick, or Atlantic Canada for that matter? We are quickly reaching the point where we will have no choice but to react to the fact that for the most of us the tap will be turned off. Would it not be prudent for us to take the steps necessary to try and mitigate the severity of the situation before we hit the proverbial brick wall?
Any person one talks to who is not figuratively comatose will tell you that they sense things cannot go on as they are. The “Arab Spring” and the “Occupy Movement” are evidence that there is large scale unrest with business/politics as usual. As this unrest grows change will occur either through violent or nonviolent means, but occur it will. While we still have a choice should we not seek the nonviolent way? The NBGP along with the Green Party of Canada believe we have the frame work necessary to facilitate these changes without bloodshed. In future articles I hope to be able to expound on our principles in such a way that you will see that we do have a viable alternative to politics as usual.
Wayne Sabine
President of the New Brunswick Green Party Victoria-Tobique Riding Association
