The Green Party is the only party for grown-ups in this election, says Sudbury’s Green Party of Ontario candidate, David Robinson.

"Grown-ups face reality," Robinson, an economics professor at Laurentian University, says. "They put the biggest issues first. The old parties are refusing to face the facts about climate change. Ignoring it won’t make it go away. Doug Ford says, `Let’s all stick our heads in the sand.’ The Liberals and Glenn Thibeault seem to accept that climate change is here, but they won’t face the fact that they chose cap-and-trade back when economists thought it would work well. We know now it doesn’t."

Robinson also says Andrea Horwath, leader of the Ontario New Democrats, is sweeping the dust under the rug.

"As for the NDP, their leader says, `Something needs to be done, now let’s talk about something else.’ I know many New Democrats who are heartsick at this childish behaviour, but they are still loyal to their party," Robinson says. "As long as they stay committed they don’t have to face the huge hole in their party’s policy platform. They don’t have to work to get the facts straight. They don’t have to learn how the carbon fee and dividend works. That’s not good enough. This spring’s floods in BC and New Brunswick are showing us what climate change is doing to our economy, to our homes and to our health. Maybe it will be fires later in the summer, or climate refugees trying to get into the country. The Green Party is proposing that we act like adults. Let’s lower emissions and prepare our province for a warming world."

Robinson is an economist with expertise in carbon pricing. He says "it isn’t hard to fix the bureaucratic monster the Liberals have built. They have 80 per cent of a carbon tax in place. The other 20 per cent that is the cap-and-trade system is wasteful, bureaucratic, inefficient. It will never work well. We will simply get rid of it."

Fixing how the province collects the money isn’t good enough, Robinson warns.

"Unless we give the money we collect right back to consumers, the carbon price hurts the economy," ho notes. "That’s where the Liberals went wrong. That’s why Greens are completely committed to paying a carbon dividend to every person in Ontario. The other parties see a high carbon price as nasty medicine. Greens know that it is more like changing to a healthy diet for the economy. Moving to a low-carbon economy will create jobs, cut the cost of living, make us safer and give us a better environment to live in. Any candidate that doesn’t put the biggest issue first doesn’t deserve your vote. Greens have the only platform for grown-ups."

. . . .

Election schedule

May 22: All-candidates’ forum for Sudbury and Nickel Belt candidates at the Parkside Older Adult YMCA Centre for Life beginning at 7 p.m. Put on by the local chapter of The Canadian Association of Retired Persons and Friendly to Seniors – Sudbury.

May 23: Greater Sudbury Chamber of Commerce to host all-candidates’ event for Sudbury riding candidates, 7-9 p.m. at Collège Boréal. Visit sudburychamber.ca to find out more.

May 29: Greater Sudbury Chamber of Commerce to host all-candidates’ event for Nickel Belt riding candidates, 7-9 p.m. at Cousin Vinny’s in Hanmer. Visit sudburychamber.ca for more.

. . . .

Candidates

– Nickel Belt

Jo-Ann Cardinal (PC)

Tay Butt (Liberal)

France Gélinas (NDP, current MPP)

Bill Crumplin (Green)

James Chretien (Libertarian)

Kevin Brault (Consensus Ontario)

– Sudbury

Troy Crowder (PC)

Glenn Thibeault (Liberal, current MPP)

Jamie West (NDP)

David Robinson (Green)

Mila Wong (Consensus Ontario)

James Wendler (Libertarian)

sud.editorial@sunmedia.ca

Twitter: @SudburyStar