A Just Society

Canada can lead the way. 

In the past, Canada was considered a place of diversity and inclusivity. It is up to us whether Canada will in fact live up to the promise of a just society in the years to come.

Over the past few years, we have seen the lived impacts of colonialism and polarization. While the COVID-19 pandemic has forced us to answer the question of “what a life is worth,” other questions have been raised as well. Hate crimes are on the rise: what will be done to end them? Thousands of Indigenous children have been discovered in unmarked graves across the country: how will we atone for this tragedy? Tens of thousands of people poured into the streets demanding a dismantling of systemic racism: when and how will we do this?

The Green Party of Canada believes that we can do better to build a truly just society. We no longer have time for empty words. Now is the time for bold action. 

The Time Is Now

For many, recent events have opened their eyes to issues of injustice and social inequality. However, systemic discrimination long predates the many marches and protests we have seen over the last few years. If we approach systemic discrimination as a novel idea, we have failed to understand its history and its intrinsic nature. 

The Green Party of Canada understands that systemic discrimination comes in many forms, and seeks to combat it in every public arena, through fostering Indigenous self-determination, providing a fair deal for youth, tackling identity-based hate and ensuring that the creation of a Just Society is at the centre of all decision making.

RECONCILIATION WITH INDIGENOUS PEOPLES 

Canada has a profound legal and moral obligation to reconcile and provide restitution for the colonial relations – marked by violent expropriation, displacement, and forced assimilation – that have undermined the cultural, governance and economic foundations of the Indigenous Peoples of this land. 

The Green Party of Canada recognizes the ongoing leadership, resistance and resilience of Indigenous Peoples in the face of systemic oppression and intergenerational trauma. A Green government will support all Indigenous Peoples’ efforts to emerge from the positions of disadvantage in which Canada has placed them, including support for cultural revitalization and healing. 

The Green Party of Canada reaffirms its support for the implementation of the recommendations of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and the Final Report of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls. 

Greens are committed to implementing UNDRIP for those First Nations who support it. The Green Party believes that every nation has a right to decide who will speak on its behalf, and the government of Canada must be led by Indigenous Peoples with respect to designing any UNDRIP legislation. We heard from several FIrst Nations who told us that they had not been consulted on Bill C-15. 

A Green government will ensure that all First Nations are thoroughly involved in the development and design of UNDRIP implementation legislation. Greens would also ensure that any Nations who do not support UNDRIP would not have it imposed upon them. 

The Green Party of Canada is committed to Reconciliation, Nation-to-Nation engagement and self-determination for Indigenous Peoples, and believes that any meaningful path towards reconciliation in Canada must ensure that First Nations, Inuit and Métis Nation leaders are leading the decisions about the future of their people, their lands and their territories.

A Green government will: 

• Provide sustainable funding for new and existing Indigenous Healing Centres to address the harms caused by residential schools;
• Increase funding to Friendship Centres across Canada providing critical social services off-reserve;
• Honour the original request from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission for funding for work on the Missing Children and Unmarked Burials Project;
• Call on the Pope to apologise on behalf of the Catholic Church for its involvement in residential schools;
• Recognize that Indigenous children in residential schools have been replaced by Indigenous children in foster care; Indigenous children account for 7.7 per cent of children in Canada, but 52.2 percent of children in care;
• Stop fighting the Canada’s Human Rights Tribunal orders requiring the government to compensate the child and family victims of Canada’s discrimination; and ensure non-status First Nations’ children living off reserve have access to Jordan’s Principle.

A Green government will respect Indigenous sovereignty over self-defined and self-governed lands – whether First Nations, Métis Nation or Inuit – and respect all rights that their title to land entails, including the right to stewardship. We respect Inuit sovereignty over Inuit Nunangat. We support the full implementation of treaties and other self-government agreements between Canada and Indigenous governments. A Green government will welcome a genuine nation-to-nation engagement with Indigenous Peoples in Canada that is truly grounded in the UNDRIP doctrine of free, prior and informed consent.

Treaties and Land Claims

1. Uphold fiduciary responsibilities, honour treaties, and respect all rights of Indigenous Peoples.
   • Uphold Canada’s fiduciary responsibility, fulfill Canada’s responsibilities in agreements, honour treaties, and respect all rights of Indigenous Peoples, including their inherent rights of self-government.
2. Work towards the creation of an Indigenous Lands and Treaties Tribunal Act.
   • In partnership with Indigenous Peoples, work towards the creation of an Indigenous Lands and Treaties Tribunal Act to establish an independent body that will decide on specific claims, ensuring that treaty negotiations are conducted and financed fairly and that treaty negotiations and claims resolutions do not result in the extinguishment of aboriginal and treaty rights. 
3. Immediately implement the land claims agreements already negotiated and languishing for lack of funding, particularly for First Nations in the territories.
   • Ensure that negotiations of treaties and self-government are not based on the extinguishment of Indigenous title and rights, and on assimilation, but on reconciliation of rights and title, and that negotiations recognize the diversity of traditional self-governance.

Respecting Indigenous Sovereignty, Self-Determination, and Nation-to-Nation relationships

1. Formally repudiate the doctrine of terra nullius, the doctrine of discovery, and other doctrines of superiority.
2. Guided by Indigenous leadership, establish a process to transition out from under the Indian Act.
   • With Indigenous leaders at the helm, establish processes for self-governing Indigenous Peoples and nations to transition out from under the Indian Act, grounding this in the doctrine of free, prior, and informed consent.
3. Implement the recommendations of the 1996 Report of the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples.
4. Affirm the inherent right of First Nations, Inuit and Métis Nation to determine child and family services. 
   • Support kinship ties and ensure sufficient funding and resources so that families are kept together.
5. Work with First Nations, the Métis Nation, and Inuit and their governing institutions on a nation-to-nation basis. 
   • Advance and implement agreements, and work in collaboration with nations to co-develop and co-design policy and programs that will benefit First Nations, Métis Nation, and Inuit. 
6. Recognize the rights of non-status and Métis as “Indigenous.”
   • Accept CAP-Daniels recognition of non-Status and Métis as “Indigenous”
   • Accept UNDRIP recognition of the rights that Indigenous people possess, applying equally to all Indigenous people regardless of distinction, residence or status. 
   • Work towards the settlement of community land and resource rights for Congress of Aboriginal Peoples (CAP) communities 
   • Respect and act on 2018 CAP-Canada Political Accord 
   • Include off-reserve Status, non-Status, Métis and Southern Inuit in the implementation of calls to action in Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples (RCAP), Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), and National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls & 2SLGBTQQIA+.

Cultural Revitalization and Healing

1. Implement all 94 of the Calls to Action from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.
2. Implement all of the Calls for Justice from the Final Report of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls.
3. Build community capacity to support exercising self-determination. 
   • Support self-determination with effective, fully-funded organizations to represent and provide services to communities by expanding Basic Organizational Capacity (BOC) funding for Indigenous representative organizations. 
   • Representation of youth, Elders, 2SLGBTQQIA+, and distinct identities among off-reserve Indigenous people must be adequately funded to ensure those perspectives are included. 
   • Support research and identification of off-reserve Indigenous communities across Canada, with registration and membership systems. 
     • Support the application of trusted research and data on urban Indigenous populations to acknowledge under-counting.
4. Ensure access to quality education for every First Nations, Métis Nation, and Inuit child.
   • Ensure that every First Nations, Métis and Inuit child has access to quality educational opportunities based on the expressed cultural, political and social priorities of the First Nations, Métis and Inuit governments, following meaningful consultation.
   • Support the development of Indigenous education curricula that are language and culture-specific.
   • Increase access to post-secondary education for Indigenous youth by removing the two per cent funding cap, as well as fully funding the program backlog.
   • Support and sustain the transmission, proliferation, and regeneration of Indigenous cultural works and languages.
   • Educate non-Indigenous Canadians on the histories, customs, traditions and cultures of the First Nations, Métis and Inuit peoples of Turtle Island.
5. Honour the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal ruling to compensate every child and family who was taken from their home on reserve.
6. Adopt recommendations on funding for First Nations Child and Family Services from the Institute for Fiscal Studies and Democracy’s 2020 report. 
   • Adopt a results framework for the well-being of children, families, and communities, such as the Measuring to Thrive framework proposed in the report. 
   • Budget for results with a block funding approach[13] that addresses gaps and is linked to the results framework. 
     • Undertake a full assessment of current capital stock. 
   • Establish a non-political First Nations policy and practice secretariat to support First Nations and First Nations Child and Family Services (FNCFS) agencies to transition to First Nations governance. 
   • Establish a group of FNCFS agencies and First Nations willing to be early adopters of the new performance and funding approach to model implementation.

Health and Wellness

1. End all drinking water and boil water advisories
   • Invest in and upgrade critical infrastructure to ensure safe water access and to be able to lift boil water advisories in every community.
   • Support Indigenous-led processes to implement safe drinking water and wastewater management systems 
2. Ensure access to high-quality safe and affordable housing.
   • See “Life with Dignity - Ensure access to housing for Indigenous Peoples” (link.)
3. Improve food security in northern communities. 
   • Consulting with residents on Arctic farming, working with non-profit groups to build greenhouses or hydroponic towers and funding education programs in nutrition and horticulture.
4. Increase access to high-quality health care services.
   • Support healthcare services that incorporate traditional practices and recognize the role of extended families and elders.
   • Devote sufficient resources for maternal and infant care, and culturally appropriate reproductive health services that uphold reproductive autonomy.
   • Increase investments in Indigenous-led mental health (See “Life with Dignity - Expanded and enhanced mental health support”)
   • Sustain the Aboriginal Health Human Resources Initiative to continue capacity building in the healthcare profession for Indigenous communities.
   • Expand access to non-insured health benefits (NIHB) to all Indigenous people, regardless of Status, residency, membership or any other factors.
   • Ensure that compensation funds are made available to the spouses and families of all Aboriginal veterans. 
   • Allocate dedicated funding to support communities providing culturally appropriate home and community care for seniors, ensuring that Elders remain connected to their communities and culture.

DISMANTLING SYSTEMIC DISCRIMINATION IN PUBLIC INSTITUTIONS

There is no singular catch-all solution to ending the systematic oppression that Black people, Indigenous Peoples, people of colour, members of the LGTBQ+ community, and members of other equity-seeking groups face. There are, however, steps that the federal government can and must take to address these long-standing injustices. 

The Green Party of Canada is deeply committed to immediate as well as long-term actions that will truly address systemic racism in our public institutions, and will continue to propose bold, just, and necessary solutions.

A Green government will:

Take action on recommendations, calls to action, and calls for justice.

1. Implement recommendations to begin dismantling systemic racism in Canadian institutions. 
   • Implement all of the Calls to Action from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission
   • Implement all of the Calls for Justice from the Final Report of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls
   • Implement the recommendations of the Report of the United Nations Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent on its Mission to Canada

Dismantle systemic discrimination in the federal civil service

Data from a 2019 Public Service Employee Survey indicates that more than 15% of Black public service employees experienced racial discrimination in the workplace. Since the 1984 Royal Commission report on equality in employment, successive governments have known about these kinds of systemic barriers. Labour organizations have also been calling for a review of the Employment Act for nearly twenty years.

It wasn’t until 2021, just before calling the election, that the Liberal government chose to launch a major review of the Employment Equity Act, and it has only given the task force conducting this review until early 2022 to complete its work. Given that the EEA impacts nearly 1.5 million workers in the federal public service, Crown corporations, the Canadian Forces, and numerous federally regulated industries, this timeline will not give the task force sufficient time for meaningful consultations with all stakeholders, especially with ongoing pandemic restrictions.

The Green Party welcomes this review, but calls for:

• More inputs from workers with lived experiences facing systemic racism and discrimination
• An extended timeline and resources for the task force to complete comprehensive consultation with marginalized communities
• A broadening of the application of EEA provisions to non-federally regulated private firms (such as temp agencies) doing outsourced work for the federal government

Dismantle systemic racism and discrimination in policing

A Green government will:

1. Reduce - Limit the RCMP, and its funding, to its core role
   Conduct an immediate and comprehensive review of the RCMP role in policing municipalities and reserves and the RCMP’s other duties and identify areas for detasking police and reducing police spending
   • Work with provinces and municipalities to reduce police spending in those jurisdictions. Urge divestment from services for which the police are not suited, and alternative models and agencies are better able to support individuals and communities. In the majority of cases, this means removing officers from services such as first responders to mental health calls, school resource officers, by-law enforcement, construction traffic policing, and the policing and criminalization of poverty.
   • Advocate for an end to police street checks, carding, and arbitrary stops and detentions. These practices have been shown to disproportionately target Black and Indigenous Peoples in Canada.
2. Reallocate - Invest in community and social services
   • Invest funds that are divested from police services in social and community services, which are more effective in preventing and reducing crime, strengthening individuals and communities, and creating a more just society. These will include alternative responses to mental health calls, investment in afterschool programs for young persons, mental health support for youth and adults, and increased employment opportunities.
3. Review - Design and implement a more effective, transparent, accountable, and independent police oversight system
   • Review the operations and decision-making process of the Civilian Review and Complaints Commission and make changes to ensure that the CRCC is more accountable, effective, responsive, and transparent in its review of RCMP conduct.  End the practice of allowing the RCMP to review and handle complaints made against it.
   • Create a national standard for independent and accountable oversight of policing, in cooperation with the provinces.  Urge provincial and municipal bodies to implement those standards to ensure fairness and accountability in policing across the country.
   • Develop a national standard for police use-of-force, and work with other jurisdictions to ban certain kinds of force, such as chokeholds and neck restraints.
4. Record - National database to record police use-of-force and other incidents
   • Create a mandatory national database on the collection of police use of force data, disaggregated by race, ethnic background, national origin, age, and other identities to track victims of incidents of use-of-force by police and better understand the extent of systemic racism in Canadian policing.

Addressing systemic racism and discrimination in Immigration and Refugee services

A Green government will:

1. Update the citizenship guidebook
   • Update the citizenship guidebook to include a more accurate history of Canada and Turtle Island that includes the harms of residential schools and the Indian Act.
2. Address all forms of hate and xenophobia in all aspects of settlement in Canada
   • Address xenophobia in all aspects of settlement, including temporary visa liberalization, issuing of temporary permits (study, work, visit, etc.) and family reunification (including increasing capacity for family sponsorship and revision of adoption processes)
3. Terminate the Safe Third Country Agreement with the United States
   • The Canadian Federal Court recently ruled that the Safe Third Country Agreement, Canada's asylum agreement with the U.S., violates the Canadian Charter of Rights and  Freedoms guarantee of "the right to life, liberty and security of the person.”  The agreement allows Canada to send refugee-claimants at the Canada–U.S. border back to the United States, despite the risk they will be detained and eventually returned to their countries of origin without their refugee claims being assessed. This agreement must be terminated.
4. Revise Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) practices
   • Revise all Canada Border Services Agency practices, including operation of immigration detention centres, family separation, and developing an oversight mechanism, including a Civilian Complaint and Review Commission

TACKLING IDENTITY-BASED HATE

Hate has been on the rise in Canada. Islamophobia, anti-Asian hate, antisemitism, anti-Black hate, and LGBTQ2S+ discrimination based upon identity has increased in recent years. Doctrines of racial and religious supremacy are an ongoing threat, and it is the duty of our governments to identify, expose and root out supremacist movements and to ensure that those who promote and disseminate such ideologies know that there will be no safe place or dark corner where their beliefs will be allowed to flourish.

Silence emboldens hate; hate dehumanises; and dehumanization facilitates atrocities. It is the responsibility of political leadership to build cohesion within our society through seeking common ground, celebrating diverse identities, and discouraging polarisation.

A Green government will:

1. Reject and condemn extremist ideologies that promote violence
   • Avoid the dangerous creation and exploitation of division, which undermines the long-term foundations of our democracy. 
   • Undertake all efforts through a lens of seeking to build cohesion within our society through seeking common ground, celebrating diverse identities, and discouraging polarization. 
   • Develop better guidelines to address the weaponization of free expression to promote hate speech and propaganda.
2. Provide funding for data collection on the spread of online hate and real-world violence. 
   • Support research and advocacy groups seeking to address online hate and offline incidents.

Protect democracy in the digital age

1. Enshrine citizens’ digital rights, including ‘the right to not be profiled online.’ 
   • Canada can follow the lead of the European Union, and listen to the recommendations of our national Privacy Commissioner. Regulations must distinguish between demographic profiling, and more manipulative psychometric profiling techniques.
2. Reduce spread of Misinformation. 
   • Support research & development to improve artificial intelligence (AI) solutions for detecting misinformation, hate, and violence online, so that this content can be de-emphasized and corrected. 
   • Position Canada as a global leader in requiring companies who run large-scale online platforms to detect and prevent proliferation of misinformation. Hold publishers of malicious disinformation to account.
3. Support ease of access to accurate information
   • Invest in initiatives and partnerships that increase citizens’ opportunities and abilities to differentiate between misinformation, and higher-quality, verifiable, evidence-based content. This includes enhancing education in media and digital literacy for all age groups.
4. Protect civil liberties and freedom of expression.
   • Limit government to a regulatory rather than hands-on role in monitoring and moderating online content, and build protections that prevent suppression of lawful and accurate content, no matter how critical of government policy it may be.

Advance  LGBTQI2+ Rights

It has never been more important to ensure adequate support for the LGBTQI2+ communities, especially in the area of mental health supports. Over the past year, two national research reports[14],[15] demonstrated that LGBTQI2+ people have been disproportionately impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, especially Black and racialized LGBTQI2+ persons.

An important component of support is to take decisive action against harmful practices that have severe health effects, such as conversion therapy. The Green Party is dismayed by political delays in ensuring the successful ratification of conversion therapy legislation (Bill C-6) before calling this election.

A Green government will:

• Support the 23 recommendations outlined in the LGBT Purge Fund’s report entitled Emerging from the Purge which highlights the reality that LGBTQI2+ people continue to experience significant discrimination in federal workplaces.
• Listen to feedback about the appropriate nature of new 2021 federal census questions attempting to capture data on trans and non-binary Canadians.
• Establish a funding program within Health Canada to support community-based organizations offering targeted LGBTQI2+ youth’s mental health and well-being programs, including suicide prevention, peer support, coming out, and counselling. 
• Fund community-driven education and awareness programs that lead to a greater understanding of intersex realities and the diversity of sexualities and gender identities, and referral programs to direct for trans, non-binary and Two Spirit people to appropriate services. 
• End the discriminatory, unscientific and homophobic blood ban. 
• Ban and condemn the practice of medically unnecessary surgeries on intersex children. 
• Ban and condemn the practice of conversion therapy, in all its forms. 
• Ensure access to comprehensive sexual health care and gender affirming health care, including hormone treatments and blockers, and gender confirmation surgeries. 
• Ensure that trans, non-binary, and Two Spirit people, without undertaking surgeries, are able to alter their sex designation on all federally-issued official documents, consistent with their gender identity. 
• Ensure that the national census is designed to reflect the diversity of sex and gender identity and ask appropriate questions to ensure adequate, safe and effective data collection. 
• Require accessible facilities in all federal buildings, including gender-neutral washrooms, changing facilities, etc. while also re-affirming trans, non-binary and Two Spirit people’s right to use whichever facilities with which they identify. 
• Ensure Canada advocates internationally for an end to state-sanctioned discrimination and violence against LGBTQI2+people. 
• Support all recommendations in the Emerging from the Purge Report, calling on improved workplace inclusion policies and practices.

Protecting Sex Workers

Sex workers still live and work under a criminal regime. In March 2021, The Canadian Alliance for Sex Work Law Reform, which represents 25 groups that work with members of the sex trade, launched a constitutional challenge in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice. They argue the laws violate provisions of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms and have launched a constitutional challenge to most of the sex-work provisions that were implemented in 2014 under the Protection for Communities and Exploited Persons Act. Despite voting against Stephen Harper’s Bill C-36, and after two terms, the Liberals have yet to take action regarding Bill C-36 or the Protection of Communities and Exploited Persons Act.

A Green government will:

• Reform sex work laws in Canada with a clear focus on harm reduction, given the dangers that sex trade workers face. Legalising the industry will allow sex workers to access law enforcement and social services when needed.
• Increase funding of community organizations providing services to those driven to sex work by economic deprivation.

Advancing Gender Equality

According to the Public Health Agency of Canada, the majority of people who have been infected with, and have died from COVID-19 have been women. There is also a high proportion of women who work on the front lines of health services, caregiving, cleaning, and other essential roles. These are roles in which workers are both at high risk of contracting the virus, and at high risk for burnout and long-term effects from the pandemic.

Women and girls who face intersecting barriers and discrimination have experienced additional challenges related to the pandemic, including a widening employment gap between racialized and non-racialized groups that disproportionately affects women. 

Isolation measures imposed to prevent the spread of the virus, resulted in four key gendered impacts[16]:

• Increased rates of gender-based violence 
• More economic stress 
• Increased burden of caregiving and housework
• Reduced access to support services

A Green government will:

• In collaboration with women’s and Indigenous organizations, develop a comprehensive Canada-wide plan of action – with a timetable and dedicated funding – to eliminate violence against women, girls and gender-diverse people. 
• Implement all the recommendations of the Inquiry on Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls. 
• Increase access to shelters by investing $40 million over four years in the Shelter Enhancement Program, providing more than 2,100 new and renovated spaces in first-stage shelters and hundreds of spaces in transition houses. 
• Increase funding to bolster investigations and convictions in human trafficking cases. 
• Oppose any possible government move to diminish access to safe, legal abortion.
• Expand programs in reproductive health, rights, and in sexual and reproductive health education.
• Expand supports for low-income mothers. 
• Pass pay equity legislation, as recommended by the Pay Equity Task Force; immediately implement full pay equity for women employed in the federal sector and develop tax incentives for companies to meet the highest standards of gender and pay equity.
• Establish specific job re-entry programs for women with children who want to restart their working lives either part-time or full-time. 
• Ensure that the criteria for new appointments to public boards and agencies include equal opportunity for women. 
• Support greater engagement of women in the political life of Canada by advocating that all political parties nominate, train, and support more women and gender-diverse candidates.

People with Disabilities

It is time for every person in Canada with disabilities to be able to live with dignity. Canadians with disabilities and their families have suffered disproportionately during the pandemic[17]. There has been an erosion of mental health and confidence in public institutions for people with disabilities, leading to vaccine hesitancy. 

Even prior to the pandemic, people with disabilities lived with disproportionate levels of poverty and exclusion. As we continue to observe during the pandemic, the introduction of basic income support has significantly improved peoples’ ability to sustain themselves[18]. 

A Guaranteed Livable Income would best provide the support that Canadians with disabilities desperately need. This program is a floor for the access to resources for people with disabilities; it is not a ceiling. With additional programs to break down barriers, people with disabilities will have every right to be full, equal partners in Canadian society.

A Green government will:

• Work to create a Canada Disabilities Act (CDA) to express Canadians’ vision of a more equitable society rather than the current confusion resulting from the multiplicity of acts, standards, policies, and programs that prevail.
• Support a national equipment fund to provide equipment such as wheelchairs and accessibility tools to assist persons with disabilities with the tools needed to fully participate in work and community life (This can be a joint program with provinces – the concern is equal access and common standards).
• Invest in social housing adapted as necessary to meet particular needs, with both rental and purchase options. 
• Provide federal health transfer payments to provinces and territories directed to rehabilitation for those who have become disabled, e.g. loss of limbs etc. 
• Enforce the Employment Equity Act to ensure that persons with disabilities have equal opportunity to long-term employment and advancement. People with disabilities are generally the last to find employment and the first to be laid off.
• Institute a Guaranteed Liveable Income for people living with disabilities so that none live in poverty.
• Convert the Disability Tax Credit (DTC) to a refundable credit.
• Redesign the Canada Pension Plan/Disability Benefit (CPP/D) test to incorporate the DTC definition of disability and permit employment.

CRIMINAL JUSTICE REFORM

The criminal justice system is in dire need of transformative change. For the most part, crimes are a result of gaps and failures in our socio-economic structures. Systemic racism, the criminalization of poverty and serious mental health issues are endemic in our system. We have a harmful over-reliance on the outdated and inhumane prison system. 

Prisons are not the solution. Prisons have proven themselves to be an ineffective and harmful response to the societal problem of criminal conduct. In most cases, there are alternative responses that better serve victims, society, and offenders. 

There are many systemic problems inherent in the prison system. Systemic racism, as well as the over-incarceration of Indigenous and Black peoples, are pervasive problems in the prison system, and prisons are often used to warehouse people with serious mental health issues -- mental health disorders are estimated to be 2-3 times more prevalent in the prison population, compared to the general population[19]. Prisons have also been shown to result in increased recidivism, render rehabilitation and reintegration more difficult, and they are extremely expensive, with often inhumane conditions[20]. In addition, solitary confinement continues to be overused and inappropriately used in Canadian institutions, with little transparency[21]. Furthermore, the number of legally innocent persons held in pre-trial detention has increased, in some cases outnumbering the number of people actually convicted and serving a sentence. 

It is clear that Canada must drastically decrease its reliance on prisons. Investment in prevention, rehabilitation, and alternative models of dealing with crime are far more effective, humane, and responsive to those impacted by crime and the conditions that lead to it. 

Not only are prisons not an effective deterrence to crime[22], but studies show that both women and men are more likely to reoffend if they are sent to prison than if they are given a different penalty[23]. 
While the national incarceration rate has been decreasing over the past few years[24], this decrease is not consistent across the provinces and territories. The incarceration rate of Indigenous Peoples continues to increase at an unconscionable rate. Further, the incarceration rates of Indigenous persons and Black persons are disproportionately high compared to their population.

Indigenous Peoples, in particular, are over-represented in Canadian prisons[25]. This is so despite  Supreme Court of Canada decisions in R. v. Gladue[26] and R. v. Ipeelee that direct judges to  impose other sanctions on Indigenous offenders. 

The over-representation of Indigenous Peoples in correctional institutions also means that Indigenous inmates are not only more disproportionately the subject of victimization in prisons, but they also face greater health risks as a result of their incarceration. Indigenous inmates were particularly vulnerable to Covid-19 -- just over 57% of inmates infected in the pandemic’s second wave were Indigenous[27].

In addition, Black persons are more likely to be arrested and taken to police stations for processing after arrest, more likely to be held overnight, even once age and criminal history are taken into account, and are more likely to have more conditions imposed upon release. They are also over-represented in federal prisons[28].

Prisons, while they provide some sense of “justice” to victims, often do not help in bringing healing to victims of most crimes. Studies show that restorative justice is an alternative model that can improve healing for PTSD victims, increase accountability for offenders, and reduce recidivism[29]. 

Too often, prisons have become the “answer” to our failure to provide appropriate and early mental health support. Most people in custody have experienced serious adverse events in childhood and have a mental disorder as defined by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. Mental health disorders are estimated to be 2-3 times more prevalent in the prison population, compared to the general population[30].

The continued use of solitary confinement (now called Structured Intervention Units) leads to long-term negative mental health consequences for offenders. These consequences, in turn, make rehabilitation and reintegration extremely difficult, with ensuing economic, psychological, and physical harm caused to individuals, their families, and society at large. 

There are about 70% more adults detained in remand than those in sentenced custody. This means that the number of people who are waiting in pre-trial detention, and are legally innocent, significantly outnumbers those who are serving a sentence after their trial[31].

An Approach Centred on People

We need alternatives that better serve victims, reduce recidivism, and help the integration and rehabilitation of individuals. Prisons, while they provide some sense of “justice” to victims, often do not help in bringing long term healing to victims of most crimes. Restorative justice is an alternative model that can foster healing for victims suffering from post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), increase accountability for those who cause harm, and reduce recidivism[32].

A Green government will:

• Develop a restorative justice model that will allow for transformative justice, meaningful accountability and rehabilitation of those who cause harm, greater healing for those who are victimized and those who are criminalized and imprisoned, and ultimately decreased involvement in the traditional criminal legal system[33].
• Design a comprehensive evaluation of restorative justice programs across the country.

A focus on rehabilitation and mental health

Design and implement a human rights based model focused on meeting peoples’ needs in the community, rehabilitation, and addressing the issues that contributed to their criminalization.

A Green government will:

• Revitalize and resource social, economic, physical and mental health supports, particularly in light of the mass incarceration of Indigenous, Black and other racialized people. 
• Ensure that prison is a last resort, where public safety necessitates imprisonment. 
• Implement laws that reduce the incarceration of those with mental health issues through preventative measures.

Decolonizing, decriminalizing, and decarcerating

Bolstering laws and policies aimed at decolonizing, decriminalizing and decarcerating will help address the mass incarceration of Black and Indigenous Peoples, as well as other racialized peoples.

A Green government will:

• Expand on, and codify the requirement for sentencing judges to take into account systemic and historical racism when dealing with Indigenous persons, and the requirement that they act to  reduce the impact of systemic racism.
• Develop clear laws and guidelines aligned with the principles set out by the Supreme Court in R. v. Ipeelee and R. v. Gladue, and implement additional laws to reduce incarceration of Indigenous Peoples in provincial and federal prisons. 
• ​​Implement the calls to action of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission that deal with justice (sections 25-40).
• Develop laws and policies aimed at providing social, housing, health, economic and educational support in order to reduce the over-policing and over-incarceration of Black and Indigenous peoples.

Eliminate mandatory minimum sentences

A Green government will:

• Eliminate mandatory minimum sentences and enable courts to determine appropriate sentences  based on the circumstances of each individual case and established sentencing laws and principles. 
• Take steps to ensure that, where some form of incarceration is necessary, individuals are, as quickly as possible, held close to their community to allow for more effective reintegration and  rehabilitation.

Eliminate solitary confinement

With the passage of Bill C-83, the government committed to end the use of solitary confinement and segregation in Canada. The use of solitary confinement (now called Structured Intervention Units) has been shown to cause irreparable physical, psychological and neurological harm. Consequences, in turn, make rehabilitation and reintegration extremely difficult, with ensuing economic, psychological, and physical harm to individuals, their families, and society at large.

A Green government will:

• Immediately ensure that the Federal Advisory Committee on Prisoner Isolation receives access to all required information to monitor the state of “structured intervention units” (solitary confinement) within Canada’s prisons. 
• Ensure that the recommendations of the Office of the Correctional Investigator with respect to SIUs are implemented. 
• Implement the Senate amendments to Bill C-83, particularly the increased use of non-carceral and therapeutic options, judicial oversight and remedies for correctional interference and mismanagement of prisoners’ sentences

Dramatically reduce the number of people held in pre-trial detention.

There are about 70% more adults detained in remand than those in sentenced custody. This means that the number of people who are waiting in pre-trial detention, and are legally innocent, significantly outnumbers those who are serving a sentence after their trial[34].

A Green government will:

• Revisit and develop clearer laws to reduce the number of people held in pre-trial detention.

Youth in the Criminal Justice System

When young people engage in criminal acts, it is most often a reflection of inadequate social interactions, family life, mental health, and other essential supports and systems. Despite efforts to reduce the number of youth detained in Canadian jails, youth numbers in pre-trial detention are consistently high. 

While the proportion of white youth in secure custody decreased overall since the enactment of the Youth Criminal Justice Act, that has not been the case for Black and Indigenous youth[35], who remain overrepresented in the criminal  justice system[36].

Every effort should be made to decrease the involvement of youth in the criminal justice system, and to provide the support needed so that young people can lead healthy, fulfilling lives.

A Green government will:

Invest resources in youth mental health, and in social and educational supports

• Collaborate with provincial partners and communities to invest in youth mental health, education, opportunities, and success, in order to decrease the involvement of youth in the criminal justice system, with a particular focus on communities that have traditionally been either at greater risk or a greater target of law enforcement.

Collect data and assess the use of diversion and alternative measures 

• Review the treatment of young persons in the criminal justice system, assess the use of diversion and alternative measures across the country, with a particular focus on when and to whom these alternatives are offered, and the impact of diversionary programs versus full involvement  in the criminal justice system. 

Child trafficking and online threats to young persons 

• Examine and assess the online threat to young and vulnerable persons, and take steps to address this situation through education and updated laws, as needed.

IMMIGRATION AND REFUGEE ISSUES

Canada prides itself in multiculturalism in our society and in projecting a welcoming image towards immigrants and refugees. As the Green Party of Canada, we believe Canada has more work to do to achieve an equitable and just multiculturalism. 

Over the past few years, there have been increasing calls to address systemic racism and colonialism within all branches of the government, from healthcare to employment, to housing, to transportation. Immigration and refugee policies and practices should not be left out of this conversation.

Unless you are an Indigenous person or your ancestors were brought to this land by forced slavery, we are all immigrants and settlers on this land. It is our mission as the Canadian Greens to move towards a more just, democratic and equitable approach to immigration, refugee and citizenship in Canada.

The Green Party aims to strengthen our communities and set an international example by bringing more skilled workers, better family reunification strategies and addressing current inequalities within the existing systems in Canada.

Foreign skills recognition:

A Green government will:

• Review and update accreditation policies and licensing programs to better and more accurately reflect the current needs of our Canadian society.
• Collaborate with accreditation institutions in Canada to recognize foreign training and education.
• Allocate greater funding to provide training language skills, employment skills. and accreditation recognition for any newcomer legally eligible to work in Canada.
• Create incentives for employers to hire newcomers and refugee claimants.

Pathways to permanent residency and citizenship: 

A Green government will:

• Introduce exceptions for permanent residency and citizenship application costs based on household income (for many refugees, the $1,000 application fee for citizenship is unaffordable).
• In recognition of the role temporary foreign and frontline workers played in our healthcare and economy during the COVID-19 pandemic, introduce lower barrier, more accessible pathways to permanent residency for these workers.
• Improve conditions for refugees and asylum seekers by addressing the years-long processing time, unaffordable application fees and eliminating status-based service requirements.
• Develop safe strategies for temporary foreign workers and whistle blowers to report abusive employers without losing their status.

Family reunification: 

A Green government will:

• Increase support for parent and grandparent sponsorship by IRCC by increasing the number of accepted applications and decreasing processing times.
• Review adoption bans from Muslim majority countries so that adoptive parents can remain together through their immigration process, as well as allowing adoption from these countries by Canadian citizens.
• Lower barriers for convention refugees to reunite with their children and bring them to Canada by making the process more accessible
• Remove visa requirements for most parents visiting their children - including international students, temporary workers, Canadian citizens and convention refugees.

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS AND DEFENCE

Canadians want to be proud of our international reputation. We want to be responsible international neighbours who can offer our support and resources to our allies. This requires the government of Canada to live up to its commitments, to be a reliable partner on the international stage, and to demonstrate leadership in areas that matter the most.

Over the past six years, the government has not lived up to its responsibilities as a member of the international community:

• Even as the Liberal government announced that the COVID-19 pandemic “cannot be defeated anywhere until it is defeated everywhere”, it was taking vaccines from the international COVAX facility, designed to ensure that low and middle-income countries had access to vaccine supply.
• Even as the Liberal government was insisting that it was committed to tackling the climate emergency, it was increasing Canada’s greenhouse gas emissions through its policies, leaving those least responsible for the causes of climate change to bear the burden of its impacts.
• Even as the Liberal government promised to protect the Afghans who supported the Canadian mission in Afghanistan, fighting and dying alongside Canadian soldiers, it made the decision to call an election, rather than to focus on how to rescue the thousands of Afghan support staff behind with little hope of safety or rescue.

Countries are constantly evaluating who they will look to for allyship and support in pursuit of their diplomatic, developmental, and economic interests. We need to re-earn the trust of the international community through our actions. This begins with the federal government.

Climate change-induced natural disasters, infectious diseases, forced displacement, and the weaponization of information have become the world’s leading international security risks. We can confront these issues through new forms of cooperation and collaboration.

We must engage in more egalitarian forms of collaboration with a more diverse set of international partners. This requires re-tooling and preparing our military to support disaster preparedness and response, while maintaining combat readiness. It requires that Canada reconsider trade and diplomatic alliances that have made us overly dependent upon traditional allies and authoritarian states, while restraining our ability to take principled stands in defence of our values. 

The evolving nature of international affairs and defence presents new challenges and opportunities for Canada. In an increasingly multi-polar world, Canada needs a new approach to foreign affairs and defence. We must stand for the promotion of human security and global goods, giving precedence to political support first, and military support as a final resort. 

Canada must live up to its commitments, and demonstrate renewed leadership and reliability on issues like the climate, so that we can act and react with credibility in the pursuit of a more just, democratic, peaceful and resilient world.

Respect for International Law

A Green government will:

• Pursue a foreign policy centred on the promotion of human security, and respect for the rule of law in dealing with state and non-state actors.
• Sign and ratify the Treaty to Abolish Nuclear Weapons, and press urgently for global nuclear disarmament and the conversion of military industries in Canada into peaceful and restorative industries.
• Lead national and international discussions to define ‘environmental refugee’ and its inclusion as a refugee category in Canada, and accept an appropriate share of the world’s environmental refugees into Canada.
• Strongly condemn and raise international awareness of the evidence regarding violations of international law, and lead discussions with international allies to explore all options for bringing perpetrators into compliance.

Pursuit of an International Fair Trade Policy

The Green Party of Canada will pursue an international fair trade policy centred on the promotion of environmental, social and governance principles, a more egalitarian regime for the exchange of intellectual property and clean technologies, and a narrowing of the equality gap between high- and low-income countries.

A Green government will:

• Shift the direction of international trade away from “free trade” to “fair trade” in order to prioritize the protection of human rights, labour standards, cultural diversity, and ecosystems around the world. 
• Support global calls for the reform of the World Trade Organization to ensure more equitable international mechanisms that can effectively tackle the ongoing pandemic and climate crisis.
• Strengthen the mandate and tools available to the Canadian Ombudsperson for Responsible Enterprise (CORE) to independently investigate Canadian companies operating abroad and report publicly on its findings.
• Cease all federal support to Canadian exporters of arms and fossil fuels, with the exception of potential necessary sales of peacekeeping equipment in cooperation with the United Nations.
• Develop and implement carbon border adjustments to ensure Canadian businesses do not face unfair competition from polluting jurisdictions.
• Lead international discussions to reform TRIPS (The Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights) to ensure that intellectual property rights are not barriers to the achievement and furtherance of international human rights and clean development.
• Remove the current model of Investor State Dispute Settlement mechanisms (ISDS) in all existing trade agreements and prohibit its use in any new agreements. 
• Mandate and equip Canadian missions abroad to expand partnerships among civil society organizations centred on the promotion of human rights, resilience, scientific cooperation and the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals. 

Importance of Sustainable Development Goals

The Green Party of Canada will pursue an international development policy centred on the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals, while emphasizing support for the development of carbon-free economies, and emergency and disaster relief.

A Green government will:

• Articulate a plan to meet Canada’s commitment to achieve the target of 0.7% of GDP to ODA by 2030.
• Tackle COVID-19 everywhere by investing in stronger global health systems that will prevent future outbreaks.
• Ensure a COVID-19 recovery plan that addresses the growing gap in the care economy, particularly magnified through the pandemic, and that provides more resources to women and girls around the world so they are able to access education, health care, proper nutrition and maintain autonomy over their sexual and reproductive rights.
• Mobilize Canada’s fair share of international climate finance, calculated at approximately $1.84 billion per year to 2025, and lead negotiations towards the achievement of a post-2025 international climate finance target. 
• Enhance Canada’s development aid efforts and economic investment in the specific key areas that: 
  1. Foster alternative fuels and energy sources that dramatically reduce the need to import oil and natural gas and further allow the growth of recipient nation independent and/or majority ownership of these sectors and/or businesses as they develop; 
  2. Focus on agriculture sectors that provide for adaptation and food sovereignty through both subsistence farming and domestic commercial farming methods that are in keeping with green environmentally sound and gender equality principles; 
  3. Increase bilateral trade, where possible, to facilitate the export of value added products from small island economies; 
  4. Support and strengthen cooperation with regional organizations to further the goal of regional independence and sovereignty.
• Mandate and equip Canadian missions abroad to expand partnerships among civil society organizations centred on the promotion of human rights, resilience, scientific cooperation and the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals. 
• Fulfill Canada’s obligations under the Convention on Biological Diversity by providing new and substantial funding for nature conservation in developing countries and by implementing policies aimed at protecting biodiversity throughout the world.

Defence Policy

The Green Party of Canada will pursue a defence policy centred on the pursuit of disarmament, support for disaster preparedness and relief, defending Canada’s Arctic sovereignty, and adherence to the Geneva Conventions.

A Green government will:

• Urgently implement the recommendations of the 2015 External Review into Sexual Misconduct and Sexual Harassment in the Canadian Armed Forces (the Deschamps report).
• Sign and ratify the Treaty to Abolish Nuclear Weapons, and press urgently for global nuclear disarmament and the conversion of military industries in Canada and worldwide into peaceful and restorative industries.
• Re-align our defence spending to increase our capacity and speed in delivering disaster assistance (e.g. through the DART − Disaster Assistance Rapid Response Team), responding to domestic crises (e.g. pandemic outbreaks in long-term care homes), our contributions to UN peace forces and missions, and cyber defence initiatives.
• Reinforce Canada’s Arctic sovereignty through expanded patrols, and funding for community infrastructure development, regional sustainability projects, northern research, northern culture, and other regional socioeconomic activities.
• Assess Canada’s membership in military alliances including NATO and NORAD to ensure they are meeting Canada’s priorities of diplomacy, development, and defence, and enhance Canada’s contributions to promote the advancement of cyber defence capabilities.

DEMOCRATIC REFORM

The strength of Canada’s democracy is consistently rated amongst the highest in the world - but better is always possible.

There are abundant signs that we need democratic revitalisation: many people feel like their votes and their voice don’t make a difference, and share a sense that corporations and the wealthiest individuals have more control than the rest of us. Trust in democracy has been declining, both in Canada, and worldwide. Cynicism and political polarization are increasing. Even Canada’s strongest allies, longstanding liberal democracies, have faced serious threats to their democratic processes.  

In the same way that we renovate our historic buildings, it’s time to renovate the 19th-century foundations of our democracy: retaining the strongest parts of our traditions, while bringing our democratic systems up to date, ready to face the many challenges of the modern era.

The newest emerging threat to our democratic practices is the rapid spread of misinformation and disinformation through online echo-chambers. Diversity of values and perspectives leads to productive and democratic dialogue, only in the presence of an agreed set of verifiable, evidence-based facts. Distinguishing facts from misinformation will be one of the key challenges of our digital era.

Canadians want, and deserve, policy that is developed deliberatively, in the light of evidence, and through respectful discussion across party lines. We can develop tools to deal with this growing challenge, to protect our democracy from the polarization and fracturing that we have seen internationally.

With the right policies, Canada can strengthen and modernize our democracy, fit for the 21st century, and inspire increased public participation and trust in our democratic institutions. We can improve on our historic democratic strength, and become a country where truly all citizens - no matter how much money you have, what part of the country you live in, or your identity or occupation - feel that their voices are being heard, and that they have equal opportunity to influence the government policy, and the future of our nation.

Diverse, truly representative democracy

A Green government will:

• Require political parties to publicly report on their plans to recruit candidates from under-represented groups, in every fixed-date election year, and to publicly report on the success of those plans after every federal election.

Better elections

A Green government will:

• Require political parties to tell the truth: Give power to the Commissioner of Canada Elections to oversee political advertising during elections and referenda, to ensure that political advertising is subject to the same type of ‘truth in advertising’ regulation that already applies to businesses.
• Restore the “per-vote subsidy” model for funding political parties, which was scrapped in the Harper years and has not been restored under the Liberal government. The current system of political donations and tax rebates heavily favours the wealthiest citizens. Restoring the subsidy, and reducing personal donation limits, will ensure that every citizen has an equal voice in politics, regardless of their personal wealth.
• Always support modernising our electoral system, to be based on Proportional Representation. The evidence of the benefits for citizens, and for parliamentary outcomes, are overwhelmingly clear.

A Citizens’ Assembly on Democratic Renewal

Greens will push for a Citizens’ Assembly on Democratic Renewal to be convened as early as possible under the new Parliament. Recognizing the conflict of interest in having politicians re-design the system that elected them, the Assembly would be a diverse and randomly selected body of citizens, brought together with a mandate to consider and to provide a set of recommendations to our Parliament on four interrelated issues:

• Modernizing Canada’s electoral system
• Lowering the Voting Age to 16
• Online Voting
• Mandatory Voting

The process would be supported by a public service secretariat, and facilitated by an independent and non-partisan organization, who would bring in expert witnesses, as well as individuals and groups directly affected by the issue.

Properly constituted Citizens’ Assemblies, such as Ireland’s Assembly of 2016-18, are viewed as equitable, free from political interference, and acting in the public interest. Their composition can be more reflective of Canada’s diversity than Parliament; their procedures can be more deliberative and consensus-driven; and they can make recommendations on sensitive foundational questions that elected officials avoid. Acting in this way, Citizens’ Assemblies can help renew the trust and confidence of Canadians.

Integrity, Ethics & Transparency

A Green government will:

• Strengthen the Conflict of Interest Act to include financial and other penalties for politicians who break Conflict of Interest laws.
• Impose strict conflict of interest screening criteria for appointments to federal regulatory boards and agencies, minimizing the potential for bias and preferential access by the regulated industry.
• Allow an independent oversight committee to review MPs’ salaries, expenses and office budgets, replacing the secretive Board of Internal Economy.
• Strengthen the Lobbying Act to require greater transparency and prevent “revolving doors” between political life, the public service and lobbying.
• Strengthen whistle-blower protections for public service employees and reaffirm the independence and integrity of the public service.
• Expand the Access to Information Act to include the Prime Minister’s Office, minister’s offices, and administration of parliament.

ARTS, CULTURE AND HERITAGE

Artists have more influence on public policy than an army of politicians. We need to support them to fully engage with the climate emergency.

It is said that poets are the true legislators of the world. Today it can be said that singers, actors, authors, playwrights, painters, makers of public art, multimedia creators and the producers and publishers who make their works accessible have more influence on people’s thoughts and lives than an army of politicians. 

The arts are frequently a creative outlet for the soul, and many who feel strongly about climate and social justice use the arts to express important messages in the most impactful way possible. Artists rely on their creations to motivate and invigorate. By aiding artists in achieving their goals, we support creative methods of energizing the world towards climate action and social change.

Federal support for our cultural infrastructure must be increased.

We recognize and support the existing programs of Heritage Canada and its agencies. The Green Party of Canada seeks to protect and promote creativity on both an individual and global level. While support is provided for the many artists who have been negatively impacted by the COVID pandemic, efforts are also being made to bring the arts to rural and distant communities, and to promote young artists from those same regions.  

Our collective future requires us all to fully embrace Indigenous cultural values with regard to nature.

The Canada Council must continue to support Indigenous creation through direct grants to artists and support for agencies and Arts Services Organizations to be full partners in this effort. The full reflection of our diverse society must be built on our relationship with nature. We can all learn from the peoples who have been here before colonization.

COVID-19 Recovery

A Green government will:

• Increase support for indoor or outdoor arts performances required to adapt to become compliant with COVID regulations. 
• Provide $25 million in additional funding to aid museums and cultural organizations in both post-pandemic reopening and continuing to offer accessible digital offerings. 
• Ensure the viability of our cultural infrastructure in consultation with Arts Service Organizations, professional associations, trade associations and unions across the creative sector.

Canadian Cultural Identity

A Green government will:

• Increase funding to $1 billion over 3 years to all of Canada’s arts and culture organizations including the Canada Council for the Arts, Telefilm Canada, orchestras, theatres, galleries and publishers. 
• Increase support for community arts programs and facilities across Canada by establishing stable base funding at a set percentage of the federal budget. 
• Protect Canada’s cultural identity during trade negotiations and ensure arts and cultural representation on international trade missions.
• Enact Copyright reform as envisaged by the current Heritage Committee report.
• Reform the Canada Revenue Act to allow arts and culture workers to benefit from a tax averaging plan that will take into account the fact that lean years often precede and follow a good year when a show is produced, a book is published, or a grant or a prize is won.
• Establish permanent funding for festivals and events that celebrate Canadian Heritage.

Indigenous Cultures and Heritage

A Green government will:

• Provide protection for Indigenous intellectual and artistic property rights. 
• Support the creation of historical information that sheds light on our colonial past wherever related statuary or plaques are currently in place.
• Ensure that every First Nations, Métis, and Inuit child has access to quality educational opportunities based on the expressed language, cultural, political, and social priorities of the First Nations, Métis, and Inuit governments, following meaningful consultation. 
• Provide $100 million in funding and incentives over three years for the creation and conservation of Indigenous art forms, particularly creative knowledge that is passed through the generations.
• Provide funding and incentives for artists to travel to Indigenous communities to stimulate young artists, as per one of the original aims of the PNIAI.
• Provide funding and incentives for artists to travel to Indigenous communities to stimulate young artists, as per one of the original aims of the PNIAI.
• Support the Canadian Museums Association in ensuring, in collaboration with Aboriginal peoples and in accordance with the 94 Calls to Action, continued compliance of museum policies and best practices with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
• Establish a dedicated national funding program, in collaboration with Aboriginal peoples and the Canadian Museums Association, for commemoration projects on the theme of reconciliation.

Climate and Social Justice

A Green government will:

• Increase funding to all federal agencies including the Canada Council for the Arts, the National Film Board and Telefilm Canada to initiate programs to support creative programming that addresses the climate crisis.

Outreach to New Artists, Youth Artists and Rural Communities

A Green government will:

• Provide funding to promote and encourage artists and art events to tour Canada’s rural regions, as well as to provide funding incentives in support of artists from rural communities. 
• Provide incentives to all provinces and territories to restore and improve arts and culture components in schools and extracurricular activities, not only in urban but also in rural communities, with particular focus on encouraging new and emerging artists. 
• Establish a universal broadband strategy to give Canadians across the country and in remote areas access to reliable internet.

CRTC, Media and CanCon

A Green government will:

• Proceed with regulating the powerful platforms and streaming services through the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) as envisioned in Bill C-10 
• Ensure that the CRTC reserves more bandwidth for independent and non-profit stations.
• Ensure that the CRTC maintains and updates their Canadian Content (CanCon) regulations and definitions. 
• Provide stable base funding for the CBC so it can continue to provide quality Canadian content television and radio programming in both official languages, as well as programming both in and to encourage the learning of Indigenous languages. 
• Call for an Independent Commission to undertake a comprehensive study of the concentration of media ownership in Canada in comparison to other western countries and recommend how to diversify media ownership and strengthen the depth and breadth of news reporting, especially local news, in Canada.

Protecting Minority Language Rights

The principles laid out in the Official Languages Act were the basis for Section 16 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, which recognizes the equality of status, rights and privileges for Canada’s French and English linguistic communities. Respect for and protection of the Charter and all its values are non-negotiable. A Green government will commit to defending Canada’s two official languages and protecting Indigenous languages in our communities and across our country.

A Green government will:

• In the first year of the next parliament, promote and implement a modernized Official Languages Act to protect both national languages, in consultation with minority language communities.
• Guarantee access to federal services in both official languages in every province, thereby supporting immigration of French-speaking communities all across the country.
• Ensure funding for the protection of Indigenous languages at risk of disappearing, across Canada.

Ensure the protection of education in a second official language

• Provide increased funding for French immersion and French second-language programs across the country, to ensure that children are able to pursue education in their official language of choice.
• Ensure permanent, stable funding for post-secondary educational institutions in minority language communities across Canada, to provide urgently needed support to institutions such as Campus Saint-Jean at the University of Alberta, the Université de l’Ontario français and other institutions across the country.

FAIR TAXATION

To achieve our Green Future, everyone needs to contribute their fair share. Even before the pandemic, rising inequality was a problem, and Greens recognize that the burden of taxation is not fairly distributed in Canada.

Corporations: 

A Green government will: 

• Apply a corporate tax on transnational e-commerce companies doing business in Canada by requiring the foreign vendor to register, collect and remit taxes where the product or service is consumed. The e-commerce sector – giants like Netflix, Facebook, Amazon, and Google - command a significant share of the Canadian market but pay virtually no tax. 
• Impose a financial transactions tax of 0.5 per cent in the finance sector as France has done since 2012. 
• Increase the federal corporate tax rate from 15 to 21 per cent to bring it into line with the federal rate in the United States, our biggest trading partner. Mark Carney, former Governor of the Bank of Canada, said corporations are holding “hundreds of billions of dollars in their bank accounts,” rather than reinvesting in the economy. This dead money needs to be mobilized for the transition to a green, renewable economy. 
• Charge a five per cent surtax on commercial bank profits. Commercial banks accumulate huge profits – $43.15 billion for the five largest banks in 2018 alone. Credit unions, caisses populaires and co-ops will be exempt. 
• Work with our international partners to implement a global minimum tax so that the biggest companies in the world are not able to escape the taxes they owe here in Canada.
• Prohibit Canadian businesses from deducting the cost of advertising on foreign-owned sites such as Google and Facebook which now account for 80 per cent of all spending on advertising Canada. 
• Eliminate the 50 per cent corporate meals and entertainment expense deduction, which includes season tickets and private boxes at sporting events.

Wealthy Individuals

A Green government will:

• Apply a one per cent tax on net (family) wealth above $20 million.
• Close stock options tax loopholes that benefit the wealthy. Executives with stock options as part of their remuneration package only pay half the rate of income tax on this portion of their income. 
• Close capital gains tax loopholes. The capital gains loophole allows people and corporations to only add half of their capital gains to their taxable income, while those with only employment income pay taxes on their entire income. Over 90 per cent of the value of this tax break goes to the richest 10 per cent, and about 85 per cent goes to the top one per cent. 
• End offshore tax evasion by taxing funds hidden in offshore havens and requiring companies to prove that their foreign affiliates are actual functioning businesses for tax purposes. 
• Focus the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) on identifying people who hide vast wealth, rather than conduct random audits of ordinary Canadians, as recommended by several Auditor Generals. 
• Provide adequate funding to the CRA to collect tax revenue hiding in offshore tax havens. 
• Apply a tax on luxury goods, such as planes, and luxury cars.

Real Estate

A Green government will:

• Create an “empty home” tax for foreign and corporate residential property owners who leave buildings and units vacant
• Close tax haven loopholes that allow foreign investors to hide the names of beneficial owners of properties in Canada

Tax Reform

A Green government will:

• Establish an arm’s length Federal Tax Commission to analyze the tax system for fairness and accessibility, based on the principle of progressive taxation. The last Tax Commission was in the 1960s, so reform is long overdue. This will include recommending an appropriate way to tax cryptocurrencies. 
• Eliminate all fossil fuel subsidies, including payments and tax write-offs, valued at several billion dollars annually. These include the accelerated capital cost allowance on liquefied natural gas (LNG) and tax write-offs for oil and gas wells, coal mining exploration and development, flow-through share deductions for coal, oil and gas projects, and oil and gas properties.

YOUTH

Young people are the future of Canada. Too often, our youth are overlooked and underrepresented when it comes to politics and policy changes. When youth are empowered, our communities emerge stronger. 

From the unaffordable cost of post-secondary education, to the crisis of youth homelessness, the Green Party of Canada will create a political culture that gives young people the tools in which they need to succeed.

A Fair Deal for Youth

The COVID-19 crisis has damaged the Canadian economy. During the pandemic, youth were often overlooked, and left feeling like a disposable member of our society.

Greens believe that our youth are not expendable. A Green government would ensure that affordability and the protection of young people is prioritized.

A Green government will:

• Institute a Guaranteed Liveable Income
• Boost apprentice program opportunities, specifically in sustainable fields
• Establish a federal student minimum wage of $15 to provide parity with the general minimum wage
• Establish federal youth employment programs that would be active year-round

Rural Youth Retention

Over the last 50 years, our economy has become more dependent on large urban centres. This reality has resulted in a concentration of services and opportunities, having negative impacts on surrounding regions. Young people have been forced to leave their communities in pursuit of higher education and job opportunities. The COVID-19 pandemic has revealed the risks associated with a concentration of activities and the possibility that we can do things differently.

We need to support regions outside of large urban centres to allow youth to remain in their communities with equal access to opportunities as youth in urban centres and to be able to actively participate in their communities’ growth. Greens advocate for youth retention strategies that would touch upon a number of factors.

A Green government will:

• Ensure access to strong internet connection by investing in broadband connectivity
• Invest in inter-municipal and rural public transit infrastructure such as buses and railway systems
• Work with provinces to offer preferential tariffs for youth using public transit systems
• Support the development of educational programs targeting sustainable degrees for rural/small-urban developments
• Open the path for more apprentice programs and local post-secondary branches with online training for the time being and support towards the co-op model
• Develop a new working model that will allow for more young people to work remotely from home if it is their preference
• Help youth looking to move into rural areas have access to land, property for sustainable farming

• [13] - Funding First Nations child and family services (FNCFS): A performance budget approach to well-being (July 2020) - https://www.ifsd.ca/web/default/files/Blog/Reports/2020-09-09_Final%20report_Funding%20First%20Nations%20child%20and%20family%20services.pdf
• [14] - https://egale.ca/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Impact-of-COVID-19-Canada%E2%80%99s-LGBTQI2S-Community-in-Focus-2020-04-06.pdf
• [15] - https://egale.ca/egale-in-action/covid19-impact2/#FullReport
• [16] - Canadian Women’s Foundation: https://canadianwomen.org/the-facts/women-and-pandemics/
• [17] - https://abilitiescentre.org/Abilities/media/Documents/Covid-survey-report-Dec-18_1.pdf
• [18] - The Caledon Institute - https://www.crwdp.ca/sites/default/files/documentuploader/ont_cluster_report_accessible.pdf
• [19] - See this mega-study: Kouyoumdjian, F; Shuler, A Matheson, F; and Hwang S. Health Status of Prisoners in  Canada Canadian Family Physician (2016 Mar) 62(3): 215–222. 
  https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4984599/
• [20] - In 2018, the average annual cost per federal inmate was over $125,000. See https://www.statista.com/statistics/563028/average-annual-inmate-federal-correctional-services-canada/
• [21] - See, for example: Solitary By Another Name. (Nov. 2020) Prisoners’ Legal Services, West Coast Prison Justice Society. https://prisonjustice.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Solitary-by-another-name-report.pdf; and Ling, Justin. Ending Solitary Confinement in Canada’s Prisons, Take 2.  (July 23, 2021) Maclean’s
• [22] - See, for example, : https://nij.ojp.gov/topics/articles/five-things-about-deterrence
• [23] - There are several studies on this question. See Criminological Highlights, (Centre for Criminology and Sociological  Studies, University of Toronto) Volume 12 No.2 for an overview
• [24] - The last available statistics are from 2018: https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/85-002-x/2020001/article/00016-eng.htm
• [25] - In 2018/2019, Indigenous adults accounted for 31% of admissions to provincial and territorial custody, and 29% of  admissions to federal custody, while representing 4.5% of the adult Canadian population. In Manitoba and  Saskatchewan, Indigenous adults represent 75% of the admission, but 16% and 14% of the general adult population,  respectively. The figures are even more disheartening when we look at the incarceration of Indigenous women, who  accounted for 42% of the female custody admission. Indigenous youth are also overrepresented in the correctional  system, at a shocking 43% of admissions, while they comprise 8.8% of the general youth population in Canada. https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/85-002-x/2020001/article/00016-eng.htm
• [26] -  R. v. Gladue [1999] 1 SCR 688 https://scc-csc.lexum.com/scc-csc/scc-csc/en/item/1695/index.do and R. v. Ipeelee [2012] 1 SCR 433 https://scc-csc.lexum.com/scc-csc/scc-csc/en/item/8000/index.do
• [27] - Third Covid-19 Status Update. Office of the Correctional Investigator (Feb 23, 2021) https://www.oci bec.gc.ca/cnt/rpt/pdf/oth-aut/oth-aut20210223-eng.pdf
• [28] - Race, Crime and Justice in Canada (October 19, 2017) John Howard Society of Canada  https://jhscan.wpengine.com/blog/race-crime-justice-canada/
• [29] - While the results vary, restorative justice programs lead to an overall decrease in recidivism: Restorative Justice and Recidivism. Research Summary, Volume 8 No 1.Public Safety Canada. https://www.publicsafety.gc.ca/cnt/rsrcs/pblctns/jstc-rcdvs/index-en.aspx See also: https://restorativejustice.org.uk/resources/moj-evaluation-restorative-justice
• [30] - See this mega-study: Kouyoumdjian, F; Shuler, A Matheson, F; and Hwang S. Health Status of Prisoners in Canada Canadian Family Physician (2016 Mar) 62(3): 215–222. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4984599/
• [31] - https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/85-002-x/2020001/article/00016-eng.htm
• [32] - While the results vary, restorative justice programs lead to an overall decrease in recidivism: Restorative Justice  and Recidivism. Research Summary, Volume 8 No 1.Public Safety Canada. https://www.publicsafety.gc.ca/cnt/rsrcs/pblctns/jstc-rcdvs/index-en.aspx See also: https://restorativejustice.org.uk/resources/moj-evaluation-restorative-justice
• [33] - From the Department of Justice: “A meta-analysis by Strang et al. (2013, 12) showed that victims and survivors who  go through a RJ process are more satisfied about the handling of their case than those who do not go through an RJ  process. The study also found that victims and survivors who go through a RJ process are more likely to receive an  apology from the offender and to feel safer (Ibid.). Many victims and survivors have reported that the opportunity to  participate in RJ and express themselves reduces their desire for revenge, and they would recommend the process  to others (Umbreit et al. 2002; Wemmers and Canuto 2002; Ministry of Justice 2011; 2016). Victims and survivors  have also reported that after participating in RJ processes, they experienced psychological benefits such as  decreased fear and anxiety about a new victimization, decreased anger, increased sympathy towards the offender  (Strang et al. 2006), and in some cases, even a decrease in post-traumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) (Angel et al.  2014; Angel 2005). Some participants also reported experiencing positive changes in their physical health, in addition  to positive psychological changes (Rugge and Scott 2009).” https://www.justice.gc.ca/eng/rp-pr/cj-jp/victim/rd11- rr11/p5.html
• [34] - https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/85-002-x/2020001/article/00016-eng.htm
• [35] - Unequal Justice. John Howard Society of Ontario (March 2021) https://johnhoward.on.ca/wp content/uploads/2021/03/Unequal-Justice-Report-Final.pdf
• [36] - https://johnhoward.on.ca/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Youth-Bail-Highlights-Final.pdf