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Shades of green

There have been times in the last month when it felt like Tuesday, May 12 would never get here. Tuesday is the day British Columbians go to the polls and chose either to continue with the Liberal government, or to go in a very different direction.

There have been times in the last month when it felt like Tuesday, May 12 would never get here.

Tuesday is the day British Columbians go to the polls and chose either to continue with the Liberal government, or to go in a very different direction. It's an interesting contrast voters face, made all the more stark by British Columbians' grudging reluctance to acknowledge that, in fact, there is an election. You can blame that on too many federal elections in recent years, the lack of an Obama-esque leader anywhere in Canada, or just plain frustration with the choices.

Across the province, the election is between the Liberals and the NDP, with the NDP spending a lot of effort on about 20 swing ridings that could give them control of the legislature. The West Vancouver-Sea to Sky riding isn't one of those swing ridings, at least not for the NDP.

It may be, however, for the Green Party. As Green candidate Jim Stephenson said at Saturday's all-candidates meeting, in most ridings it's a contest between the Liberals and NDP. In this riding it's between the Liberals and the Greens.

Across the province the Green Party received just over nine per cent of the vote in the 2005 election. In West Vancouver-Garibaldi it was more than 26 per cent.

This election is also about the Single Transferable Vote (STV), which could be part of a radical change British Columbians may decide to make on Tuesday. Polls have shown the yes and no sides in the STV campaign just about even, which would mean a second defeat for STV, given that it needs the support of 60 per cent of voters.

STV is being heavily promoted by the Greens. Stephenson noted Saturday that STV and other forms of proportional representation generally lead to more women being elected. "I think that's a good thing," he said, "Though not necessarily in this riding."

Stephenson is a strong candidate. A Lions Bay resident, he holds joint Economics and Business PhDs and a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering. He is a financial systems consultant and a former business professor at UBC and SFU. He has also run twice for the Green Party in federal elections, finishing third in the North Vancouver riding in 2008, with almost 11 per cent of the vote. He has taken the Green philosophy to heart, recycling his battered federal campaign signs with Green Party "of British Columbia" stickers covering the space where they read "of Canada" during last fall's election.

The Greens, and STV, seem to gather a lot of empathy in Whistler, the meagre turnout for Saturday's all-candidates meeting notwithstanding. The party's general philosophy and thoughtful candidates in 2005 and again this year connect with a lot of Whistler voters.

But then we get down to details. On Saturday Stephenson was asked what his party's policies would cost. His response was that the Green Party hasn't fully costed its platform because it doesn't have the resources that the Liberals and NDP have. The Greens are dedicated to a balanced budget, "over time."

"We'll look at our policies and make sure they're reasonable and funded," Stephenson said.

Most voters, rightfully, expect a bit more than that.

On his website Stephenson says: "Our recovery from the current economic crisis must protect us from the impending challenges of global warming and peak oil." Fair enough, but this isn't Republican territory. Neither the Liberals nor the NDP would argue that global warming and peak oil are myths.

The Green Party talks about "transforming the B.C. economy" through infrastructure renewal, green technological advancements and higher education, ideas that any party could lay claim to. Green Party policies would create "thousands of new jobs... by transitioning to clean industries and technologies."

The Green Party also proposes to reduce the tax burden on "businesses that are responsible and sustainable. BC Greens will work with business and industry to create lasting green-collar jobs while simultaneously addressing climate change by reducing emissions."

Once you get past the "greening of our economy" and "green solutions" rhetoric the Green Party does provide some hints to the direction it would take if in charge of economic policy. The Greens would advocate for "the gradual weaning of our economy away from a dependence on growth toward a steady-state economy that provides opportunities to add value through means other than growth." This idea is not without merit; it's without details on how it would be achieved.

There is a "small is beautiful" theme to many of the Green Party's plans, including support for organic farms, support for local farms to sell to major grocery store chains, and efforts to localize economies. "Bringing production and consumption closer together not only minimizes our ecological footprint, but it leads to increased diversity and decentralization within the economy."

The Greens would increase taxes on industries and individual practices that cause pollution and decrease taxes on industries and individual practices that promote health. What that would mean to a company such as Whistler Blackcomb, or a backcountry tour operator, is open to interpretation.

The Greens are not going to form the B.C. government this time around, as even they will admit. But there is a sense of frustration among many that the Green philosophy is never represented in the legislature in Victoria.

But the fact is the Greens are short on details, particularly about the economy. And as for being green, the Sustainable Prosperity think tank at the University of Ottawa recently ranked the B.C. Liberals' carbon tax as the most effective climate policy in Canada.