The Green Party on Education

WRGreens Richard Walsh (Waterloo), Bob Jonkman (Kitchener-Conestoga) and Michele Braniff (Cambridge) were among the many Green Party Candidates who joined Elizabeth May as she announced the Education portion of the Green Party of Canada's platform at the University of Guelph.
Richard Walsh (Waterloo), Bob Jonkman (Kitchener-Conestoga) and Michele Braniff (Cambridge) were among the many Green Party Candidates who joined Elizabeth May as she announced the Education portion of the Green Party of Canada’s platform at the University of Guelph on September 17th, 2015.

As the 2015 election fades into memory, I am continually astounded to see how much Green Party Policy is being discussed… Apparently people were trying to convince Tom Mulcair to embrace the Green Party education policy as a means of retaining leadership of the NDP Party — although not as Green Party Policy. I tried sharing the link to the Green Party of Canada press release but there’s something wrong with the link, so in the interest of reminding people about this awesome GPC policy, I’ve chosen to reproduce it here.

September 16, 2015

(OTTAWA) – Green Leader Elizabeth May (Saanich – Gulf Islands), unveiled the Green Party’s Youth and Education Strategy that includes a plan to abolish tuition fees for students and their families. The strategy would also implement a debt-forgiveness program for student debt above $10,000.

“We must invest in Canadian youth and the skills, training, and education that is necessary to create jobs,” said May. “Young people are faced with the challenge of finding a job after they finish school, in a tough economy, while battling student debt. The Green Party is committed to investing in youth and removing barriers, like student debt, so young Canadians can find stable, sustainable jobs.”

The Green Party’s National Student and Education Strategy will:

● Immediately cut tuition fees for students and their families without adequate financial means, and remove the inadequate 2% cap on tuition for all First Nations and Inuit students.

● Abolish tuition fees for post-secondary education and skills training for Canadians by 2020 through constructing a system of federal grants collaboratively with the universities and colleges.

●  Eliminate any existing or future student federal debt above $10,000.

● Abolish interest on new student loans and increase available funding for bursaries.

● Create a national Community and Environment Service Corps, which will provide $1 billion/year to municipalities to hire Canadian youth.

●  Help students and their families through the Guaranteed Liveable Income (GLI), to ensure no person’s income falls below what is necessary for health, life, and dignity.

“In these times of high youth unemployment, heavy student debt is a burden that keeps young Canadians from being able to start their post-academic lives on an even footing,” said Gord Miller, former Environmental Commissioner of Ontario and Green Party candidate (Guelph). “The debt forgiveness program and our plan to eliminate tuition fees by 2020 represents positive change for students and their families.”

“I am pleased to be here with Elizabeth today in Guelph to make this announcement,” continued Miller. “Our plan will make education more accessible for students. These critical investments in trades, apprenticeships, and education will ensure that all young Canadians have the skills to build a successful future.”

“It is a bold idea, but we can and must afford it. We can implement this investment in our youth through common sense measures like eliminating subsidies to fossil fuels and restoring the corporate tax rate to what it was in 2009,” concluded May. “We don’t need to continue with the status quo; we can do better.”

The Green Party was the first party to release a fully costed platform, available here.

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For additional information or to arrange an interview, contact:

Julian Morelli
Director of Communications
Green Party of Canada
cell: (613) 614 4916
office: (613) 562 4916 (224)
julian.morelli@greenparty.ca

Or

Debra Eindiguer
Green Party of Canada
cell: (613) 240 8921

debra.eindiguer@greenparty.ca

Or

Kirsten Strom
Executive Assistant to Director of Communications
t: 613.562.4916 (200)
Toll Free 1.866.868.3447
kirsten.strom@greenparty.ca


Photo Credit
I stitched three photos together to create this awesome panorama photo (so the original is absolutely huge), but you can download it in a variety of sizes from Flickr here. And if you’re interested in more photos from the education announcement you’ll find them in my Flickr album

GPC Education Announcement Panorama by Laurel L. Russwurm is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic (CC BY 2.0) License

Kitchener-Conestoga + Kitchener South-Hespeler Greens AGM

Kitchener-ConestogaGreenParty

You’re invited to join us for the Kitchener—Conestoga & Kitchener South Hespeler Annual General Meeting

Bob Jonkman works at the WRGreens Office #elxn42
Bob Jonkman at the WRGreens Office #elxn42

Date: May 1, 2016
Time: 7 pm
Place: Huether Hotel
Barley Works, upper “Operations Room”
59 King Street North, Waterloo, ON, N2J 2X2
RSVP: david.weber@greenparty.ca
Please join other area supporters for our Annual General Meeting at 7 pm on Sunday May 1st, where we will elect our local Green Party executive for the upcoming year and discuss direction and plans for the future.

Elizabeth May joined Bob Jonkman and Richard Walsh for street side sign waving last fall
Elizabeth May joined Bob Jonkman and Richard Walsh for street side sign waving last fall

It is important that we strengthen our membership, engage our fellow citizens, and promote electing Green candidates. For these reasons, we encourage you to consider running for one of the positions on the Executive Board. The positions are not overly demanding of your time. The goal is to meet occasionally, organize info tables at local events staffed by volunteers, and ensure a Green presence in our community all year round.

The following positions on the Executive Board are open, with the first three being the most essential:

  • Chief Executive Officer (GPC) or President (GPO)KitSHAvatarKitConAvatar
  • Chief Financial Officer
  • Secretary
  • Membership Chair
  • Fundraising Chair
  • Organizing Chair
  • Communications Chair
  • Member-at-Large
    Elizabeth May & David Weber
    Elizabeth May joins Kitchener South—Hespeler candidate David Weber in elxn42

    You must be a member of the Green Party of Canada or the Green Party of Ontario in order to vote or stand for a position on the corresponding executive at the AGM.
    Don’t miss out on the fun!
    Any person whose membership has lapsed within the last year may renew their membership at the meeting to acquire voting privileges.  It’s preferable to do this online at the Green Party of Ontario website at gpo.ca or at the Green Party of Canada website greenparty.ca.

Contact David Weber (AGM organizer) for more information at 519-591-5773 or david.weber@greenparty.ca. Hope to see you there!KitchenerSouth-HespelerGreenParty