Green Party platform promises to address multiple 'crises' facing Nova Scotians

Nova Scotia Green Party Leader Anthony Edmonds calls his party's election platform a roadmap for addressing a number of crises facing Nova Scotians.

Edmonds released the party's platform on Sunday, nine days before Nova Scotians head to the polls. It focuses on the cost of living and housing, public health, responsible government, inclusive education and the environment.

"We have one crisis stacking up on top of another," he said in an interview. "We're aiming to address those crises." 

He said the biggest crises facing Nova Scotians are cost of living and housing.

Guaranteed livable income plan

He said the Greens would eliminate poverty by working with the federal government and other provinces to implement a guaranteed livable income plan that accounts for food, shelter, transportation and other resources.

"It's something that's been tried and tested in other jurisdictions," Edmonds said. "It boosts the economy. It produces better health-care outcomes and, in the long term, it can save governments money."

When it comes to housing, the Greens say they would increase investment in public and non-market housing. 

The party would also lower the rent increase cap to three per cent, establish a provincial Residential Tenancies Compliance Unit and ban "renovictions."

Improving access to health care

The Greens say they would increase the number of health-care workers in the province by improving incentives for recruitment and retention, including student debt relief for medicine, dentistry, physiotherapy and nursing fields.

The party would also increase the number of seats for medical and nursing schools in Nova Scotia, as well as expand spaces in residents' programs, and make it easier for those who want to practise in French or Mi'kmaw to get a job.

Funding would be increased for clinics to allow them to provide additional services, such as laboratory tests, and to remain open on weekends, the platform says.

The Greens promise to improve access to mental health services, especially for Nova Scotians who don't have a family physician.

Expertise on climate change

Nova Scotians can expect an expertise from the Green Party that other parties lack when it comes to climate change and the environment, Edmonds said.

The party would fully implement all recommendations from the 2018 Lahey forestry report and reinstate the Coastal Protection Act, according to its platform. 

The Greens would also form a committee of experts to create a plan for modernizing Nova Scotia's power infrastructure.

Greens have never won a seat

The Greens have never won a seat in Nova Scotia, but Edmonds believes this could be the year.

He said the Green Party is willing to collaborate with other parties on solving the problems facing Nova Scotians.

People don't want to see politicians fighting among each other when they are facing serious challenges, they want them to make their lives better, Edmonds said. 

"We don't care about getting credit, we care about getting things done," he said. 

Other platforms already released

The Greens are the last party to release their election platform ahead of the Nov. 26 vote.

The Liberals put out their platform at the beginning of the month promising that more housing will be built and taxes will be cut.

The election platform from the Progressive Conservatives was released days later and vows to be "a continuation of a plan that is already working," while also capping power rates.

Nova Scotia's New Democrat Party released its platform earlier this week promising to build 30,000 affordable rental homes, make Halifax ferries free and temporarily remove the provincial tax on gasoline.