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The NDP and Green Party candidates in the federal election

On Jan. 23 Canadians go to the polls to decide who will govern the country. The campaign got underway in the last days of November, making it nearly two months long. But because of the holiday period, interest in the election has been less than usual.

In the re-named riding of West Vancouver-Sunshine Coast-Sea to Sky – the largest riding in the country by population – a new MP will be elected. John Reynolds, the long-time Conservative/Alliance/Reform MP is retiring.

John Weston is the Conservatives’ candidate vying to replace Reynolds. He’s being challenged by Liberal Blair Wilson, NDP candidate Judith Wilson, Green Party candidate Silvaine Zimmermann and Anne Jamieson of the Marxist-Leninist Party of Canada.

Last week we profiled Weston and Blair Wilson. This week the NDP’s Judith Wilson and Zimmermann of the Green Party are profiled.

There was a time, and in the not too distant past, when Green Party candidates were dismissed as fringe players in Canadian politics.

Thanks to candidates like Adriane Carr and Dennis Perry at the provincial level and federal party leader Jim Harris – all people with serious business backgrounds and impressive CVs – the Green Party has officially entered the mainstream.

In the last federal election the Green Party finished with more than four per cent of the popular vote, close to 600,000 ballots, earning official party status and government funding. The party did not win any seats, however, despite the fact that they had a third as many votes as the Bloc Quebecois (which captured 54 seats) and over a quarter as many votes as the NDP (19 seats).

If Canada had proportional representation, and people weren’t forced to vote strategically by the first-past-the-post system, Green Party co-founder Silvaine Zimmermann believes Greens could one day be a major factor in Parliament.

Silvaine Zimmerman ”…people are realizing the dire straits we're in globally and that the old political paradigms don't work for us anymore.”

"Once again the NDP is saying they would like to have proportional representation, and the Liberals have said the same thing in the past… and both had the chance to do something in the last Parliament. Neither one decided to implement it because they thought they could get away without it. They’re used to the status quo of politics, the jostling for power," she said.

Zimmermann is the Green Party’s candidate for the West Vancouver-Sunshine Coast-Sea to Sky riding, as well as a founding member of the party, and one of the party tacticians that has helped the Green Party enter the mainstream by enlisting business leaders and community leaders as candidates. The Green Party ran a full slate of candidates in the 2004 federal election, and has managed to do the same again this year – despite limited funding, and the fact that the party does not accept corporate or union donations.

Zimmermann spent her day on Tuesday putting her own stickers on campaign signs that were used by Adriane Carr, which are going up on supporters’ lawns throughout the riding.

Like the other candidates, she believes that this riding, of all ridings in Canada, is wide open. Based on recent federal and provincial elections, she also believes there’s a chance that she could be elected if the other parties split the vote.

As for the spectre of strategic voting – voting for the party you think has the best chance against the party you don’t want to get in – Zimmermann believes there is a lot to be gained by voting Green on Jan. 23.

"There’s a complete disenfranchisement within the voting public because of all the Liberal Party corruption and scandals that have been in the front seat in this election," she said. "The fact is that not a single party is free of this corruption.

"Provincially the NDP got booted out because of corruption and mismanagement, federally the Conservatives… had scandals of their own when Mulroney was in power, and they got booted out as well.

"If you want to make a statement against corruption, my message is that you only have one choice and that’s to vote for the Green Party. No matter what strategic scenario you favour, it very much looks like we’re going to see another minority government, and minority governments don’t last long in our country because of the types of politics that are played out.

"That’s what I would really like to address if elected. Instead of power-mongering over who gets to form the next government – it isn’t going to be the Green Party – we (the Greens) could be holding the balance of power. The minority government could need this riding’s vote to go ahead with anything."

Zimmermann believes that government should be co-operative rather than adversarial, and that parties should be less concerned with the balance of power than doing the job of governing. She would also discourage parties voting as blocks, encouraging more free votes in Parliament.

"I have to say that there are some really good programs that have been put forward (in this election) as a result of the NDP pushing the Liberals, and the Conservative Party trying to look more left wing than the Liberals in some cases. Unfortunately it’s all B.S. because none of them will ever be implemented because whoever is in power is going to undermine it."

Getting the Green Party platform across has not been easy nationally. Part of the reason is that party leader Jim Harris has been excluded from all of the national debates.

"Meanwhile the Bloc Quebecois were invited, and they’re not a national party but a provincial party, and it’s their goal to break up Canada," said Zimmermann.

Locally, the Green Party has had a lot more success. Zimmermann feels she has been given a lot of attention by local media, on par with other candidates, while her bilingual status has given her some national coverage. She has been on Radio Canada in Quebec twice and will be on the CBC this Friday.

"That’s extremely important for getting the message out because it’s possible to reach every door," said Zimmermann. "Without that attention, it takes years to get that message across properly.

"I haven’t had to make one phone call to the media, the media has been coming to us. I don’t know what’s going on in other ridings, but in this riding it’s been incredible."

Zimmermann originally helped form the Green Party out of concern for aboriginal issues and for the environment, which First Nations rely on for their livelihoods. That’s still a huge motivating factor for Zimmermann, although her scope has broadened to include other issues as well.

"We have been successful in recruiting mainstream community leaders and business leaders, and better late than never, and I think that’s because people are realizing the dire straits we’re in globally and that the old political paradigms don’t work for us anymore," she said. "These upstanding citizens, all non-flakes, are certainly helping our credibility, despite the fact that we haven’t been included in any of the leadership debates. People know people who know people who are Greens, and they’re saying ‘I can vote Green, too.’

"At the Bowen Island debate… some Green Party issues came up, like the need for long-term planning and sustainability, making sure we consider the social, environmental and economic issues in making decisions and the effects down the road. Most parties are looking four years down the road at the next election, but the Green Party is the only party that is really about planning for the future… which automatically brings you into a fiscally responsible mindset."

Most of the constituents that Zimmermann has talked to are more focused on federal issues in this election than local issues, but one concept that has come up a lot is the idea of a federal solution to affordable housing.

"I think if people can no longer afford a roof over their heads there’s something fundamentally wrong with our society and in our riding we’re definitely heading down that road. One of the problems is the developers buying up huge tracts of land, putting in developments and turning around and flipping the properties… driving up the cost of so-called affordable housing to over $400,000 a home, which is ridiculous. That’s not concomitant with increases in peoples’ salaries by any means – housing costs have to be in step with salaries."

Zimmermann would tax people who flip properties, and use the proceeds to build non-market housing in the riding for young families, seniors, and anyone who can’t afford to buy into the current real estate market. Zimmermann says the situation has gotten so bad that some people can’t even afford rents, which are high to pay off the increased cost of housing.

The Olympics have also come up in a few discussions. Zimmermann is concerned that the Games are losing their green component, as well as the fact that there is no public transportation legacy other than the RAV line.

"Every other country I’ve been in that has had an Olympics, from Mexico City to Munich, they have used Olympic money to build up public transportation infrastructure which is still being used," she said. "I wish we could turn back the clock a bit and reinvest the money spent blasting the road into the side of the mountain and invest in some proper public transportation infrastructure."

Zimmermann has been a student of politics and political philosophy for over two decades, on top of her position as an executive assistant at a tutoring company and the owner and operator of a bed and breakfast on Bowen Island. She has two children, speaks four languages, and has a Bachelor of Science in Ecology and a Masters in Science in Oceanography. She was born in Germany, grew up in Quebec, and has lived in Europe, Latin America, and the high Arctic.

For her the appeal of the Green Party is that the economy is not the central focus of policy – "unlike the mainstream parties" – but part of an overall big picture approach to governing that includes social justice, protecting the environment for future generations, and representing people rather than special interests.

But of all her credentials, there is one that interests Zimmermann the most – the fact that she is a woman. She has attended a school for female political candidates, where she learned that her gender – with a few exceptions – generally practices a different kind of politics.

"We tend to have a different method of doing things," said Zimmermann. "We’re more co-operatively oriented, we try to find consensus, we tend to be team-oriented and solution-oriented, and we can take the long-term perspective.

"As a member of the Green Party, and as a woman, I would do my utmost to find commonalities between all parties and ideas and government, and work to find solution to our short-term problems while practicing a long-term planning type of politics."

Judith Wilson says it’s unfortunate that Canadians have to endure another federal selection – coming so soon after provincial and municipal elections, and just 18 months after Paul Martin’s Liberal Party came to power in a minority government.

But she puts the blame squarely at the feet of the Liberal Party, which she believed governed as if it held another majority in Parliament to the exclusion of other parties – not to mention the growing number of scandals being blamed on Liberal Party members.

"Most people I run across are pretty polite, but you do get a sense from some voters that they’re upset that we had to have this election," said Wilson. "That’s when I point out the Gomery commission report, which is the reason why this election is being held. I tell them they shouldn’t be upset because with the election rises an opportunity to pass judgment on something pretty serious in Canadian politics. People are the watchdogs of the system, and when there’s political wrong-doing people are the bottom line as to how the system is going to be policed.

"Most people don’t feel so bad about (the election) when you put it in those terms."

For the NDP, the retirement of MP John Reynolds creates a real opportunity within the West Vancouver-Sunshine Coast-Sea to Sky riding. In the last federal election the NDP gained almost 10,000 votes in this riding alone, as well as some momentum from the provincial elections. Nationally, NDP leader Jack Layton has also made an impact on voters who want to send a message to the Liberal Party, but won’t vote Conservative.

While Liberal Party candidate Blair Wilson was not in government for any of the scandals, Judith Wilson believes that any member of the party will have a difficult time in this riding – "with the Gomery inquiry hanging around their neck like a millstone."

For Wilson, the Liberal Party’s greatest failure is not the inquiry, or the income trust scandal, but rather the fact that the party has been in power for 12 years and has broken so many election promises. "Even now they’re busy re-promising the same old things as they did before, and I think people are getting tired of those promises," she says.

While this riding voted for a conservative in the past four elections, she also believes that a lot of people voted for Reynolds rather than the party he represented. Reynolds was a member of the Progressive Conservative, Reform, and Conservative Alliance parties before they became the Conservative Party of Canada less than two years ago.

"The fact is, John Reynolds is being replaced by someone who doesn’t have a track record locally like Reynolds had, or the kind of support that Reynolds attracted by being a strong constituency person in many areas," said Wilson.

"The result is that we have a wide open election, and it’s very exciting. There is a good chance that the NDP will take this riding this time."

This is Wilson’s first time running for Parliament. She ran for the position of school trustee in Gibsons, where she was acclaimed, and launched a late campaign for a seat on her regional district, which she lost by 300 votes.

Seeing a genuine opportunity for the NDP, Wilson has been an aggressive candidate since the start of the federal campaign.

She already has a lot of support on the Sunshine Coast, as well as Squamish, and she’s starting to put up signs in West Vancouver as well. In between campaign stops – and she has been going non-stop since the New Year – she is meeting with as many people as possible.

"I’m finding lots of support for myself and the NDP in parts of the riding where we haven’t had much of a profile in the past," said Wilson. "(In) some parts of West Vancouver we’ve been doing some doorbell ringing and reaching out to people who haven’t heard from the NDP in a long time, and it’s encouraging to see how welcoming they are."

In her talks with constituents she is also discovering that there is no shortage of issues to discuss – including the possibility of another minority government.

Wilson does not believe that minority governments are a bad thing if political parties can find a way to work together, but she also believes that Canada’s Parliamentary system is at a crossroads whatever happens.

"The way I look at this whole issue of minority governments is that this is a country in transition to proportional representation," she said. "It isn’t here yet, it will be an election or two down the road before we’re going to get there, but one of the things we have to learn in Canada is to work together even though we have differences.

"What the NDP was able to achieve in the last minority government was to show that you can achieve some positive results from a minority situation. I would suggest to people that they take heart from this. We were able to turn back a huge corporate tax cut the Liberals wanted and basically put that money to work for programs that work for people – affordable housing, reduced tuition fees, the environment, a big chunk went to energy efficiency measures and transit, money went to foreign aid.

"Even if we do have a minority this time, and it looks like we will, there will be people there who are going to work hard to get results for Canadians.

"I feel we’re moving into a period of Canada’s history where we can’t afford to be at each others’ throats, we need to be at each others’ tables, figuring out ways to address the situations that are challenging our families, our communities, and our country."

Local issues that have come up that Wilson would like to address include the ongoing issue of CN trains derailing and the pulp mill closing in Squamish.

"It’s not exactly a surprise it was going to be shutting down, it was something that was foreshadowed for quite a long time, and yet we have a national government that basically has done nothing to assist forest industry towns make the transition into other industries, or to put money and resources into doing something to retool the facilities to maybe address other markets like in other communities," said Wilson.

"Days before the Liberal government fell they said if they were elected there would be mega dollars available for transition programs… but we will have to wait until Parliament convenes again to settle it, which will be too late for Squamish. It’s like the promise for day care, it was too little too late. What were they doing for the past 12 years?"

The 2010 Olympic Winter Games are also important to Wilson. If elected, Wilson said her priority would be to make sure that people get the Games they were promised.

"Frankly I think it’s going to occupy more and more attention as we deal with the potential consequences of cost over-runs," Wilson said. "We have already experienced an increase in construction costs that was significant, and it’s of great concern that this might impact the intention of making these Games the greenest ever.

"Certainly Whistler can be commended for the efforts made so far, but (VANOC and Whistler) could use some more help from the federal side of things."

Her own pet issue in this campaign is health care. Wilson is concerned that a second tier of health care is already growing unchecked in Canada, and that it threatens the national Medicare program.

"We have Medicare in this country because people worked very hard to get it, and it’s threatened by today’s political world, basically by an ideology that if you put profit into the mix that’s somehow going to improve it," said Wilson. "What’s at stake is many years of history building a system, and a political opportunism to find ways to allow people who want to make a profit to get their foot in the door because our health care system is not perfect and there are some things that need to be fixed.

"I would urge people to think hard about this system and how important universal health care is to this nation. It’s something we can take pride in… and we mustn’t let it go, or allow ourselves to be persuaded that allowing huge corporations to come in and make a profit will benefit us.

"That’s the issue in this election. Yes, there’s the corruption issue and it’s important because it undermines our democracy and we count on elected people to serve the public interest, but health care dwarfs even that."

Wilson is a widower after her husband of 21 years passed away in 2004. She lives in Gibsons with her 15-year-old son, and has been practicing law on the Sunshine coast since 1995, when she set up her own firm. She has served as vice chair of the B.C. Benefits Appeal Board, vice chair of the school board, and maintains a membership in the Sunshine Coast Conservation Society.

Although she is concerned that people will be convinced to vote strategically – the Liberal Party has said that a vote for NDP will help the Conservative Party – Wilson believes most people will vote their values and conscience, and that many people vote for the person as much as for the party.

When asked what qualities she could bring to the MP position, Wilson said her strongest attributes were her passion for the riding and her ability to work with people to solve problems.

"I grew up in North Vancouver, so I’m familiar with issues in an urban environment, and I’ve lived for a long time on the Sunshine Coast, so I’m very familiar with the coastal community and the differences we have to other communities. I haven’t lived in a resort like Whistler, but I still feel really comfortable there because you can still smell the wildness in the air," she said.

"We have in this riding some of the most fabulous areas in the country and they need to be protected. I would be a spokesperson for the environment, as well as for the people in this riding.

"I’m a lawyer by practice, but I’m a family lawyer and I think maybe it says something about me that 90 per cent of my cases are settled, and they’re settled by working together and talking to my clients and finding solutions that will work.

"I think of myself as someone who can bring people together, can see the forest for the trees, so to speak."