With the election just around the corner, The Squamish Chief posed three questions to West Vancouver—Sunshine Coast—Sea to Sky Country candidates in an online survey.
Each question was the same, and each candidate was given the same amount of time to answer.
We are publishing each of their responses separately.
Below are Lauren Greenlaw, of Green Party of Canada’s answers:
Q1. As you see it, what is at stake in this election for the Sea to Sky
A: I think we all know that our governance system is not working for us. First and foremost in this election, we are deciding if we want to continue on a right-sliding path towards having a 2 party system that consistently chooses industry interests over people, like in the US.
Second, we are deciding if we want to address climate change in any meaningful way, as it is clear that the Liberal and Conservative parties are actively undermining efforts, funnelling billions of public assets to the fossil fuel industry: public assets that should be returned to us through healthcare, affordable housing and investments in green tech.
Polls show a Liberal majority, but we want minority governments that need to collaborate so they can’t steamroll agendas. We need deep systemic change, like tax and electoral reform, change that our major parties will not make because our current system benefits them. We need bold leaders who are prepared to challenge the system, like myself, and bold voters to support them.
Locally, we, in the Sea to Sky, have all felt the lack of support from the provincial and federal governments. The population in Squamish is increasing rapidly, but infrastructure has not kept up. We need investments to: public transit to reduce congestion on the roads; healthcare to improve accessibility; and affordable housing to alleviate pressures. I am also committed to promoting our local economy through support of small businesses and the removal of barriers they have to accessing their markets and to support tourism, our biggest industry.
What is also at stake in this election is the protection of the waters and lands that make this part of the world incredible. That land cannot be protected by building pipelines and accelerating climate change, nor is it protected by removing federal oversight of industrial projects. We need to invest in our future by protecting our environment, investing in local economies and investing in local agriculture and infrastructure.
Q2. Define the relationship that would exist between you/ your party and the Squamish Nation, should you be elected as MP
A: I am committed to collaborating with the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw council and knowledge keepers to represent their interests federally.
As your MP, I will call for the Government to act on every call to action from the Truth & Reconciliation Commission and every action from the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls enquiry.
I will work with the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw to safeguard the lands and waters they have stewarded, and bring their voices to parliament when it comes to making decisions about this land. I will also take action to reduce discrimination in the justice and child welfare systems that are disproportionately targeting indigenous people with devastating impacts to culture.
Q3. How will things be better, if they will be, for the average working family in Squamish?
A: The highest priority for most families in Squamish is the affordability crisis. The Green Party is proposing an increase to the tax-free income threshold to $40,000, which will keep money in our pockets- about $300/month for anyone making less than $100,000. We will pay for this by closing tax loopholes for big corporate interests, including offshore tax havens, and ending fossil fuel subsidies, which will bring tens of billions of dollars annually back to Canadians.
Housing insecurity and affordability are huge problems in Squamish. We need the Federal government to build more affordable housing, and address the hyper-commodification of housing through REITs and foreign investment, and crucially, we need to introduce rules on what ‘affordability’ really means, so when the Government says they are building affordable housing that will mean that a family or individual can pay their rent or mortgage with 30% of their normal income.
Another way we can address affordability in the near future is grocery prices. I am working with groups throughout the corridor to increase support for local agriculture to make it easier to get local, affordable, healthy food to our tables. I have a team of people working on creating efficiency systems to help build awareness of what local resources exist, including makers and businesses, to help people find local solutions to any of their needs. Keeping local money in our community and building a more resilient economy is how we protect ourselves in the face of political volatility from the US, and also from environmental instability from climate change.
The second biggest concern I hear from families is access to healthcare. The Green Party platform also includes more funding for healthcare from the Federal Government to provinces, expanding community care, hiring more nurses and ensuring access to reproductive care across Canada. We also need to return our system to one of preventative care instead of curative.
And of course: investing in transit! We need to get cars off of the road, and give people the option to take transit North and South from Squamish for people to have access to the outdoors, work, museums, and shows, among other things. Our communities are literally being designed around the promise that transit will come. Let’s work with our Green MLA to get the investments our transit system needs to alleviate our current dependence on vehicles, saving households hundreds of dollars a month by not requiring two cars per family.
