Tisdale Recorder Questionnaire - October 23, 2021
Elaine Hughes, Archerwill, Sk - Candidate, Green Party of Saskatchewan,
Kelvington-Wadena constituency.

Consider further research on our policies and platform by going to our
election website at www.greenpartysask.ca

The top three topics that you consider vital to Saskatchewan voters?

1) threat to the health of Saskatchewan residents (including the unborn) and
the environment posed by the expansion of the uranium/nuclear industry

2) loss of our small family farms, rural communities, rural schools and
rural lifestyle

3) poverty

1. What would you do to reopen the Weyerhaeuser mills in Carrot River and
Hudson Bay?

A Green Party of Saskatchewan Government, in consultation with local
communities, including First Nations, and workers, initiate a process by
which all of Saskatchewan's Crown forests and forest products achieve
certification by the Forest Stewardship Council of Canada. Principle 1 of
this document states: "Forest management shall respect all applicable laws
of the country in which they occur, and international treaties and
agreements to which the country is a signatory, and comply with all FSC
Principles and Criteria." Subsequently, all Crown forest operation license
holders will be required to follow operating procedures compliant with these
certification standards in all of their forest operations within
Saskatchewan. If the Weyerhaeuser mills meet these standards, re-opening
them without subsidies, would be seriously considered. It's important to
note that the same kind of forest protection would also apply to a majority
of privately held forest lands since many of these parcels are harvested by
companies that also operate with leases on Crown lands. (See Principles of
the Forest Stewardship Council Canada: http://www.fsccanada.org/)

2. What are your plans to keep youth in Saskatchewan?

The Green Party of Saskatchewan believes that the key responsibility of any
government is in regulating, encouraging and supporting on behalf of the
total society. The Party also believes that Saskatchewan has incredible
opportunities to be the best place in Canada in which to live and if we
build a healthy society in a healthy land with healthy economies, there will
be quality and enduring employment opportunities for our citizens from many
different fields of knowledge, skill and ability. Saskatchewan still has a
relatively clean environment, we have an abundance of resources, and we have
people with a tradition of friendly and cooperative community undertakings.
This heritage can produce that "Quality Saskatchewan" experience over the
long term that will not only entice young people to remain and be part of
this land into the future, but will also attract many others who want to
share in a healthy economy based on a healthy environment that seeks to
support a just and caring society for all of our citizens.

3. In light of several school closures this past year, what is your position
on provincial funding for schools?

The Green Party of Saskatchewan believes that education is the
responsibility of society as a whole - it is for all members of that society
to contribute to the education of its young people and adults. It also
believes that through the creation of local School Councils, with adequate
funding, local decision-making powers, and the participation of students,
teachers and parents, there will be a collaborative effort to educate our
children in vibrant and sustainable communities. To this end, a Green Party
of Saskatchewan Government would support a shift away from property-based
taxation for education to a general revenue source. However, if we remove
education funding from property taxation, as well as reduce property taxes
as the Green Party of Saskatchewan also proposes, we need to reform other
elements of our taxation system. It is the conviction of the Green Party of
Saskatchewan that resource extraction industries and larger corporate
entities are under taxed, while small property owners (most homes and farms
included) are over taxed. A graduated system of revenue taxation should
replace the education portion of property taxes for businesses. If this were
done, businesses would pay taxes that reflect the revenue they generate as a
result of being part of the Saskatchewan economy rather than being based on
the assessed value of land on which they are situated.

4. What changes would you make to current healthcare?

The Green Party of Saskatchewan recognizes that an effective health system
requires a healthy environment - clean air, water and food for all
residents; we need to focus our efforts to preventing illness and restoring
the voice of local communities in the decision-making process on matters
which affect them directly. A Green Party of Saskatchewan Government will
support preventative health care considering social, economic and
environmental factors. It will also create a democratic participatory
process for an effective community voice in determining health policy at the
local level through boards that are 100% elected; will support the
introduction of more community health centres, pharmacare, alternative
medicine, dental care and home care; will ensure adequate funding is
available to maintain the five principles of Medicare; and will support the
transition to a salaried team of health personnel. The Green Party of
Saskatchewan is opposed to the privatization of health care services.

5. What prevention plans do you have for the abuse of illegal drugs?

Causes for drug abuse may include a combination of poverty and any or all of
the following: breakdown of the family unit, low self-esteem, peer
pressure, inadequate coping skills, curiosity, absence of mental or
emotional resources against stress, an over dependence on others, and a
history of drug abuse in the family. We must begin to rebuild our familyunits, re-establish caring communities, alleviate some of the underlying
emotional stresses, - all towards a "quality" Saskatchewan society in which
the economically and socially marginalized members of our community are
treated in a just and supportive manner. To this end, a Green Party of
Saskatchewan Government will immediately raise the social assistance rates
to satisfy basic needs and index it to the cost of living; provide free
publicly funded childcare with fairly paid and competent staffing, and
increase the number of spaces in day care centers to at least the Canadian
average; support affordable, quality housing through rent controls and
inspection systems, and develop social housing and programs which will
encourage home ownership and co-operative housing; and support a "guaranteed
annual income" system of social support.

6. What would you do to ensure work on highway infrastructure occurs?

Saskatchewan's resources belong to Saskatchewan people of today and to all
future generations but we are losing revenue by giving them away to large
foreign corporations. Unless we are willing to confront this issue, we will
continue to have cuts in government services such as roads and highways, and
high personal taxes. A Green Party of Saskatchewan Government will reform
the province's taxation system from a property-based system to an
income-based one, making adequate funds available for maintaining government
programs, including our roads and highways.

7. With the flooding of past years, what would you do to prevent such
disasters as those experienced at Fishing Lake and Red Earth First Nation
from repeating?

To prevent this type of flooding from happening again, a Green Party of
Saskatchewan Government would apply one of the Party's founding principles,
the Principle of Ecological Wisdom, which states: "Human societies must
operate with the understanding that we are part of nature, not separate from
nature. We must maintain an ecological balance and live within the
ecological and resource limits of our communities and our planet. .we must
live in ways that respect the integrity of natural systems." Geologists,
engineers, residents of the surrounding communities, including First
Nations, and others would be brought in to the decision-making process to
decide how best to return the land and its natural drainage to its original
formation. There would be an immediate halt to illegal ditching, as well as
strict enforcement of regulations concerned with the placement of buildings
in relationship to the levels and movement of the water in the area.

8. What is your stance on a fixed election date in Saskatchewan?

Rather than a fixed election date for the province, the Green Party of
Saskatchewan believes that emphasis should be placed on an electoral system
which would ensure that every voter's voice would be heard in government -
Saskatchewan people deserve a proportional representation electoral system!
During its first four-year mandate, a Green Party of Saskatchewan Government
will introduce a system of proportional representation accepted by the
people of Saskatchewan through a referendum process. It will also pass
legislation to limit contributions to political parties to individuals and
will support public funding of the electoral process by giving a grant to
Saskatchewan's official political parties equal to $1.00 per vote received
by party candidates in the previous provincial election.

9. What is more important - spending time in Regina or in your
constituency?

Since the Green Party of Saskatchewan believes in the principle of
Participatory Democracy in which all citizens must be able to directly
participate as equals in the environmental, economical and political
decisions that affect their lives, it would be essential to spend the
majority of my time in the constituency rather than in Regina.

10. What would you do to establish a funding program for paper and cardboard
recycling in the province?

The Green Party of Saskatchewan "supports a sustainable society that
utilizes resources in such a way that future generations will benefit and
not suffer from the practices of our generation, and that we must live in
ways that respect the integrity of natural systems." It is not acceptable
that corporations become wealthy while requiring the general public to clean
up after them. Ultimately, however, it is the consumer who decides what to
buy and responsibility for the waste from those purchases, whether it's junk
mail or excessive packaging, lies with all of us. What is required is a new
attitude that demands that the polluter be required to pay for damage done
and, if there's money to be made, industry will comply with citizen demands
for responsible behaviours. A Green Party of Saskatchewan Government would
make those demands on behalf of all citizens of today and of the future, and
through increased revenue from royalties collected on our precious
resources, it would support the development of provincial recycling programs
for paper and cardboard. It will also reduce taxes on environmentally
'friendly' purchases and support funding for continued public education of
the three R's - Reuse, Reduce and Recycle.