OTTAWA – The interim Leader of the Green Party of Canada, Amita Kuttner, today issued the following statement:
“To the extent that it signals a willingness for political parties to put aside partisan bickering and work together to achieve important policy objectives, the supply-and-confidence agreement announced yesterday by the Liberal Party and the NDP is a welcome development.
“The major disappointment is the absence of ambition. With the exception of a solid plan to provide dental care to low income Canadians, there is little here to inspire confidence that this arrangement will supply the transformational change we need.
“We see so much hedging language – the parties will ‘move forward’ and ‘work towards’ several things but they will not commit to delivery. When will legislation be tabled? What is the target for implementation?
“And where are the important missing pieces: serious emissions targets and real action to meet our commitments under the Paris agreement; a commitment to implement the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples; finally getting rid of our antiquated and undemocratic first-past-the-post electoral system; replacing the patchwork of social supports with a Guaranteed Livable Income.
“Given three years of relative stability covering four federal budgets, this agreement could have set the course for a post-pandemic transformation to a greener and more just society. Instead we get more incrementalism.
“We applaud the spirit of collaboration but the goals could have been so much more impressive. This is very disappointing.”
####
For more information or to arrange an interview:
John Chenery
[email protected]
1-613-562-4916 ext. 215