By Stephen Rees

If I were to be elected it would send an extraordinary signal. I would be the first Green Party candidate to be elected to the provincial legislature, and I would have defeated a Liberal cabinet minister in one of the safest seats in the province. It would show that the people of Richmond East have decided that real action to tackle pressing issues is needed—not posturing and spin.

The cancellation of the Gateway program would be my first target as the newly elected MLA—as well as pressure to both raise the carbon tax to an effective level and the use of its revenues to dramatically improve transit in the region.

I would also try to turn attention to the need for a metropolitan police force and the creation of a provincial police agency to replace the RCMP. Legalization of marijuana is also an urgent necessity to cut off the flow of money to the gangs, and divert that money to worthwhile social programs, starting with housing the homeless and greatly extending health services to the addicted and those with mental health problems.

If I were elected, I would not be alone, and B.C. would start the process of transforming its economy from cyclical boom and bust cycles to a steady state, locally self sufficient, and sustainable one in the longer term. The Agricultural Land Reserve would be strengthened, more food would be grown locally, and the forest industry would be transformed into a new value added enterprise.

More emphasis would be placed on making the best use of what we have—conservation of energy, more people moving on our existing transportation networks, making our towns and cities places where people want to stay and thrive, and recreating hope for towns in the interior now dependent on the capricious market for selling their resources.

Stephen Rees is the B.C. Green candidate for Richmond East.