Thank you, thank you Toronto Centre

I'm the first to admit, "Mark Daye becoming the first elected Green MPP in Ontario's history" was a long shot. 

But it's good to have goals. 

Mark Daye,
 Toronto Centre GPO Candidate 2014

On election day, I wanted to double my 2011 results when I was the choice of 1,123 Toronto Centre voters.

I'm proud to report that on election day 2014, 2,265 Toronto Centre residents made the choice for change:

- the choice to fix our school system and say it's time to end the discrimination and waste

- the choice for home retrofits instead of re-tooled nuclear power

- the choice to protect our prime farmland and drinking water

These are not fringe issues. These are good ideas. These are the issues that affect Ontarians every day. 

Unfortunately, good ideas have a tough time in our broken electoral system that is dominated by fear rather than hope.

As we take a moment to catch our breath, I want to thank everyone who donated their time, talents and money to my campaign.

It all helps as we take this small success and continue to grow the Green Party  in Toronto Centre and work for a better future for us all.

I hope you will continue on this journey with me.

Mark Daye,

Toronto Centre GPO Candidate 2014

Ontario Votes 2014 Why we need electoral reform in Ontario.

Your Green MPP’s Plan of Action for 2014

HIGHLIGHTS

 Mike Schreiner and the Green Party of Ontario want to get Ontario back on track.

Click here for the  2014 GPO Platform

We have a realistic, responsible plan for Ontario’s future.

In the next session of the legislature, your Green MPPs will demand that the government:

1. Raise the Employer Healthcare Tax exemption from $450,000 to $900,000 for businesses with payrolls of less than $5 million.

2. Implement dedicated revenue tools to raise $3 billion a year to build and operate the transit we need in Ontario.

3. Put $4 billion over four years into home energy retrofit credits.

4. Save $1.2 to $1.6 billion a year by moving to one public system with French and English public school boards.

5. Double the child tax benefit for half a million children living in families near the poverty line.  

6. Endow a Social Innovation Fund to support social and economic innovation by young adults.

7. Permanently protect Ontario’s Class 1 farmland and source water regions.

8. Increase royalties and levies for mining, aggregates and water-taking. 

9. Close loopholes in legislation that threaten your community and our natural heritage from harmful activities.

Each of the demands is costed, and we show you where the money is coming from.

None of our demands will rely on fairy dust or magic pots of money. None of our commitments will increase the deficit. None of our promises will quietly disappear once they’ve done the work of getting us elected.

All of our commitments will make Ontario a better place in which to live, work, and bring up your family.

Join us and help restore honesty, integrity, and good public policy to Queen’s Park.  

June election leaves democratic initiatives to die

Guelph - Green Party of Ontario leader and Guelph candidate Mike Schreiner criticized the other party leaders for leaving democracy stranded in the rush to jump on the campaign bus. 

 

“Catchy slogans, media stunts, and rally signs do not make good public policy,” says Schreiner. “Political games by the status quo parties at Queen’s Park killed legislation that would strengthen our democracy.” 

 

Bill 83, known as the anti-SLAPP bill, would make it more difficult for vested interests with deep pockets to threaten critics with legal costs and delays. 

 

The legislation was introduced nearly a year ago, but has been stalled by the tactics of corporate lobbyists and the failure of the status quo parties to cooperate. 

 

“Political games forced citizens to take a back seat,” says Schreiner. “All parties said they supported anti-SLAPP legislation, but they failed to pass the bill. What a shame.”

 

Bill 166, the Toronto Ranked Ballot Elections Act, has also been abandoned by the election call. The bill would introduce needed electoral reform to eliminate the need for strategic voting, reduce negative campaigning, and ensure our preferences are more directly represented. It opens the door for proportional representation so that every vote counts. 

 

Politicians of all stripes, business owners, social justice leaders, journalists, and artists have joined together in their support for municipal electoral reform. 

 

“If we want to restore faith and bolster participation in politics, we need to fix the broken electoral system,” said Dave Meslin, a leader in the movement to revitalize our democracy. “We elect MPPs to work together in our interest, not to derail the legislature and waste the thousands of hours that have been invested in these important bills. The early election call only serves to feed cynicism about politics.” 

 

Mike Schreiner issued calls to fast track these and other important bills. 

 

The Green Party is on a mission to restore honesty, integrity, and good public policy to Queen’s Park.