If I were Prime Minister

If I were Prime Minister what would I say and do?

What is important to the people of Canada – Jobs, Jobs, Jobs!

Our greatest resource is the people of Canada. We will put working people of Canada back to work. Any able-bodied citizen of Canada who wants to work must be given the opportunity to work.

First and foremost, we will implement a basic living wage to every Canadian citizen 18-years and older. With this in place, unemployment insurance, social security and old-age benefits can be eliminated.

Every Canadian citizen has the right to healthy food, shelter, education and healthcare.

We will put Canadians working in the agricultural industry. We will increase our local food production so that we reduce our dependency on imported food and hence drastically reduce food miles, the distance food has to travel before it gets to our dinner table.

We will put our workers to building more affordable homes. Since we are blessed with an abundance of home construction materials that are renewable, we will coordinate sustainable natural resource development and extraction with our local construction industry.

We will expand our education system with free education from early childhood to post secondary education all across Canada. An enhanced educational system will bring a happier populace, reduce social tension and crime and reduce the need for policing and correctional institutions. We will be proactive rather than reactive.

With our aging population, more universal health care will be provided where it is most urgently needed. We will collaborate with the pharmaceutical industry to deliver prescription drugs and medication in a cost effective manner.

In order to drive our economy, we need a national energy plan. Such a plan will be principled on conservation and use of clean renewable energy. Coal fired power plants and nuclear generating stations will be phased out. The growth of renewable energy is the path to a future of clean energy. We will promote the known forms of clean renewable energy, wind, wave action, hydro-electric, solar and geothermal.

A solid national energy plan would be meaningless if we squander our energy supply. There must be a rational balance between our energy needs and energy wants. Towns, cities, municipalities, industrial and residential users of energy must plan with an eye on conservation. Green energy projects focused on sustainable, renewable as well as energy conservation must be promoted.

Transportation issues with increasing traffic jams and grid-lock are approaching crisis levels. Lost productivity, increasing fuel consumption and rising air pollution are all serious consequences. This can only be addressed by proper city, urban and population planning. Creating local, walk-able people-centric communities in every city and municipality would be our top priority in order to address this crisis.

Climate Change is the elephant in the room. Extreme weather is increasingly more disruptive and destructive to our lives, community and productivity. The financial cost of not tackling the problem far exceeds the cost of being proactive. The short term strategy would be to reduce our dependency on fossil fuel. In the long term we can look towards the day when all fossil fuel will be left in the ground where it belongs.

Finally, we address the significance of the financial sector in our local and global economy. Interest rates play a key role not only on the growth of the money supply but also on the growth of the economy. Our current growth imperative is not sustainable. In order to correct this, there is an urgent need for monetary reform. The Bank of Canada will return to its charter of being the lender to the people of Canada. New rules and regulations will be put into place which will direct how banks, financial institutions and lenders are allowed to conduct business. There will be in place controls and regulations in order to halt predatory lending practices.

On foreign policy, we believe that a sound foreign policy begins at home. We can demonstrate that a progressive democratic government and society works best for everyone. Our foreign policy will be principled on cooperation, mutual respect and non-intervention. Our best export to other sovereign nations is a visible working model of a truly social democratic society based on compassion, tolerance, sharing, openness and fairness.