Northern Issues Part of Green Party’s Platform
Wednesday, August 06, 2003 at 17:04
The New Green Alliance has unfurled its party platform in anticipation of a fall provincial election.
President Ben Webster says the environmentally conscious group is committed to social justice, economic reform and a return to grassroots democracy.
Webster says one of the areas clearly overlooked by the NDP government is the province’s North and the economic opportunities available there.
He points to the fact that although a high amount of logging goes on in Northern Saskatchewan, very little of the wood taken is actually processed there. He says European buyers are willing to spend more on products created near the area they were harvested from, and says the government should keep that in mind when handing out big contracts.
Webster recently spent time in Germany where he says it was clear buyers cared very much about the origin of value-added products.
He says his party stands for community-based businesses and co-ops, and feels the province would benefit from more of them.