ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT – While the territory already has a lot of renewable energy, there needs to be more, says Lenore Morris, the candidate for the Green Party.

Greens’ prospects are the best ever, candidate says Lenore Morris is gunning for a seat in the House of Commons as the Yukon’s first Green Party member of Parliament. By Gabrielle Plonka on October 18, 2019

Ed. note: here, the Star presents profiles of the territory’s five federal election candidates in alphabetical order. All five candidates’ profiles are available for free to view.

Lenore Morris is gunning for a seat in the House of Commons as the Yukon’s first Green Party member of Parliament.

She is running on a platform of climate action, affordability, electoral reform and reconciliation.

“Voting Green means acting now for our children, our planet and our future,” Morris told the Star.

“Voting Green means growing our economy in ways that don’t impair the ability of future generations to support themselves.”

Morris, 56, said she was inspired to work with the Green Party because she is passionate about the environment. She picked up the cause while working in the forestry industry in British Columbia in the late 1980s.

“I saw forests turned into wastelands,” Morris wrote of the experience. “Every place has its own issues to tackle. The lesson I’ve learned is that it’s worth tackling them.”

Morris has focused on renewable energy solutions during her campaign.

“We already have a lot of renewable energy here, but there needs to be more,” Morris told the Star.

The transportation sector in the Yukon is the biggest source of greenhouse gases, at 62 per cent, she added. She is championing a territory-wide move to electric vehicles and the expansion of Yukon power production.

Last June, Morris told the Star she would advocate for geothermal energy in the territory if elected on Monday.

“These changes not only will protect our planet, they will create jobs in communities,” Morris said.

She placed the onus on manufacturers for the reduction of single-use plastics, as well as with citizens. At an Oct. 3 forum, she suggested regulations for single-use plastics could be increased.

Under the affordability umbrella, Morris is focusing on housing, local food production, pharmacare, supporting small businesses and poverty reduction.

She has pledged to work with local governments and businesses to address the housing shortage, and advocates a $15 per hour minimum wage.

Morris has publicly supported the federal party’s push toward electoral reform and committed to advocating for proportional representation.

Reconciliation has been another point of focus during Morris’ campaign. Over the past several weeks, she has met with the leaders of the Selkirk First Nation, Little Salmon-Carmacks First Nation, and the Council of Yukon First Nations.

Morris told attendees at a forum Wednesday evening in Whitehorse that her party strives for a shared vision with First Nations when tackling environmental issues.

“We recognize Yukon First Nations people have a special connection to the land,” the candidate said. She highlighted the importance of working alongside First Nations governments to utilize traditional knowledge.

Morris is a Whitehorse-based lawyer who has run her own practice since 2006.

She holds a Bachelor of Arts, a Master of Business Administration and a Master of Law from the University of Victoria.

Prior to opening her own firm of Morris & Sova, she worked for four years at the territorial Department of Justice and for two years at a local law firm.

Morris has volunteered for the Kluane Mountain Music Festival and Whitehorse Soccer Legends, earning her the Yukon Soccer Association’s Volunteer of the Year award in 2013.

Her hobbies include paddling, hiking, skiing and cycling. She is the mother of two adult sons.

Morris has a long history with the Green Party. She has been a member since 2012 and previously served as the Yukon chapter’s financial agent.

In an interview with the Star last spring, Morris said the global movement toward climate activism inspired confidence in her campaign.

“I have no doubt at all this is the best opportunity a Green candidate in the Yukon has had to get elected,” Morris said.

Her campaign has focused on finding balance between the environment and fiscal responsibility. Both issues, she argues, centre around achieving sustainability.

“Every generation should pay for itself — not leave behind monetary debt or ecological debt that our children and grandchildren will have to repay with interest,” she said.