OTTAWA—NDP leadership candidate Niki Ashton says she wants to wrest power from the corporate interests she blames for climate change, so “grassroots” groups and a new Crown corporation can manage Canada’s environmental policies better and reduce emissions.

The MP from northern Manitoba plans to release her “environmental justice” platform on Wednesday, which will include her proposal for a new government entity called Green Canada. In an interview with the Star, Ashton described it as a Crown corporation that would direct federal funds to publicly owned and private green energy enterprises.

She also wants to set up four advisory boards that would develop environmental “best practices” in the forestry, agriculture, fishery and energy sectors. They would include workers, Indigenous groups, scientists and industry representatives.

Coupled with her plan to invest $10 billion annually to create 40,000 green public housing units, the environment platform would cut Canada’s greenhouse gas emissions to 30 per cent below 2005 levels by 2025, Ashton’s campaign says — five years before the current Liberal government says it will get there.

“Climate change didn’t just happen; it is the result of neoliberal policies and corporate greed. And, therefore, the solution is not going to come from corporations. It is going to come from the ground up,” Ashton said, speaking over the phone from her home riding of Churchill—Keewatinook Aski.

“That’s how we will transition to a carbon-free economy,” she said.

Ashton is squaring off against three other politicians in the race to replace leader Tom Mulcair, who lost a vote of confidence from party members last year after failing to seize what many saw as an historic chance to win the 2015 election.

Ashton’s three remaining rivals — provincial MPP Jagmeet Singh, Quebec MP Guy Caron and northern Ontario MP Charlie Angus — have also identified climate change as a key issue. (B.C. MP Peter Julian dropped out of the race last week.)

They have signalled their desire to shift to a low-carbon economy, and all candidates, at Ashton’s urging, have announced their opposition to Kinder Morgan’s $7.4-billion pipeline expansion project from the Alberta oilsands to Vancouver’s Burrard Inlet, which the Liberals approved late last year.

Singh, like Ashton, wants to meet the Liberals’ emissions cuts by 2025, not 2030. His green platform also includes a national transit strategy, methane emission reductions and affordability measures for electric cars.

Angus, meanwhile, has called for a “carbon budget” to cap emissions and wants to appoint an independent panel to set emissions allowances on a sector-by-sector basis.

Ashton told the Star on Tuesday that she stands out from her opponents on the environment, with a “very strong” position against new oil pipelines and a willingness to pursue public ownership in the energy, banking and health sectors.

Other policy proposals in her leadership pitch include ending gender violence, raising taxes on the wealthiest Canadians, creating national pharmacare and dental programs, and eliminating post-secondary tuition.

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“Our (platform) is the one that’s most centred on citizen power and community-based approaches, plus public ownership,” she said.

The campaigns have until Aug. 17 to sell new memberships before a new leader is chosen in October by a vote based on ranked ballots.

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