Our children deserve better

I am so honoured to be the Green Party candidate in Toronto-Danforth again.  My very great thanks to all those who participated in the nomination.  I look forward to working with you to paint this riding a rainbow of green!  Here is a part of my nomination speech:

Our children deserve better.

In my lifetime, we will burn through 80% of the available oil. Our generation has enjoyed unprecedented luxury. It’s our solemn duty to leave something for our kids.

Our children need a great transformation. They deserve homes that don’t require heating, like those built in Europe by the hundreds of thousands, more economically than the homes we have.

We need to electrify the way we travel. Electric cars use less electricity than gas cars. Incredible but true.

Our children need to be sure their food and water are safe. They need us to protect their healthcare system at a time when health threats will be growing.

And in a rapidly changing world where everyone wants to point fingers, what our children need most of all is leaders who will face our challenges by bringing people together to build a brighter future for everyone.

Instead, according to the Potsdam Institute, almost 90% of humanity will perish in the second half of this century because of what we’re doing in the first. None of the other parties offer a realistic plan that’s fast enough to give our children hope.

We don’t need another New Democrat suggesting we should subsidize home heating. We don’t need another Liberal imagining that the tar sands can be made sustainable. And we definitely don’t need another Conservative systematically dismantling our very democracy.

We urgently need new voices in Parliament. Voices that understand the scale of the crisis. Voices that know how to confront that crisis. Voices that are unswerving in their commitment to what is true and needed, rather than what is momentarily popular or sounds good. We need passionate and persuasive voices to lead people forward.

Anything less is just not enough.