Suzuki’s remarks on Green Party were distorted

OTTAWA – Dr. David Suzuki has commented on a recent article where his views on the role of the Green Party in Canadian politics were severely distorted.

After a teleconference with Lakehead University students on Tuesday, an article appeared in the Thunder Bay Source suggesting that Dr. Suzuki said Canada’s political landscape should not include a Green Party. Commentators and bloggers were quick to spin the misleading article and have erroneously claimed that Dr. Suzuki believes the Green Party impedes environmental progress.

Dr. Suzuki has informed the Green Party that the article was misleading and does not accurately represent his opinion.

“The article is a grotesque version of what I said,” said Dr. Suzuki. “I said I look forward to the day when there is no Green Party because as long as there is one, the environment is a political football when it should be the basis of every party's platform. But until that time, I said I was glad there was a Green Party and that Elizabeth May got into the leaders’ debates. I did not ‘rebuke’ Greens. I wish these reporters would listen and report, not hear what they want to hear.”

Green Party leader Elizabeth May agrees with Dr. Suzuki that the old-line political parties must accept the environment and climate change as critical issues in order to arrest the climate crisis before it is too late.

“The Green Party has the best policies to deal with the climate crisis,” said Ms. May. “This is why we have continually urged the other parties to adopt our policies and embrace the changes we propose.

As Dr. Suzuki said in June, “We need to be at a point where the values that are talked about by the Green Party are all values that Canadians have."