Resolutions debated and approved at GPS Convention 2003

2003.1. BE IT RESOLVED that the Green Party of Saskatchewan supports a series of initiatives which would result in the creation of a “Quality Saskatchewan” program which would promote Saskatchewan agriculture, industry, products, institutions and communities nationally and internationally as being certified high quality, environmentally responsible and economically sustainable products, institutions and communities.

2003.2. BE IT RESOLVED that a Green Party of Saskatchewan Government would reform Saskatchewan’s taxation system so that it is more just and that it more effectively supports local communities, and a sustainable and self sufficient community-based economy. These reforms would include:

a. Taxes would be imposed or raised on environmentally destructive practices, with any additional revenues realized by these tax increases, to be directed to environmental cleanup, reclamation of ecologically damaged areas, and for the support of community efforts that support environmentally friendly and sustainable economic developments under a “Quality Saskatchewan” program, and would include a reduction of taxes on environmentally “friendly” purchases.

b. The taxation rules would be changed to shift the tax burden from regressive taxes such as property taxes and PST to a larger number of progressive income tax brackets, to a new luxury taxes and greater resource extraction and resource development taxes.

c. The establishment of a “Community Development Tax Return” plan whereby a percentage of the PST, a commerce-based taxation revenue generated within a designated community area, would be returned to local communities and community groups which undertake to provide local services to citizens according to locally determined needs and priorities. As communities and community organizations develop greater capacity and efficiency in providing local governance and in supporting local community needs, a greater percentage of “Community Development Tax Return” would be provided along with the delegation of greater community services currently being controlled and financed by the provincial government.

d. The establishment of a scaled (graduated) revenue tax that would apply above a given threshold to replace the current municipal business tax system.

2003.3. BE IT RESOLVED that a Green Party of Saskatchewan Government would develop a Green Energy policy that protects the environment and creates sustainable and meaningful employment. This policy will place primary emphasis on energy conservation and the development of decentralized electrical generation from sources such as wind, solar, biomass, micro-hydro, geothermal and methane.

and furthermore, the Green Party of Saskatchewan supports the implementation of the Kyoto agreement in Canada.

2003.4. BE IT RESOLVED that a Green Party of Saskatchewan Government will create a special task force to establish a participatory process for developing a sustainable economic policy for Saskatchewan. The goal of a new policy is to cease treating Saskatchewan’s unique ecosystem and communities as commodities for the use and exploitation by both trans and multi-national corporations.

2003.5. BE IT RESOLVED that the Green Party of Saskatchewan supports the rights of the citizens of Saskatchewan and the world by declaring that:
a.. water is a common heritage of human kind, and therefore
i. earth's fresh water belongs to all living species and therefore must not be treated as a commodity to be bought, sold and traded for profit as an economic good.
ii. local human communities have the primary responsibility to guarantee that water is treated as a common heritage.
b. water is a fundamental human and social right, and therefore
i. the right to water in quantity and quality sufficient to life is an individual and collective
inalienable right which cannot be submitted to any constraint of social (sex, age, income) political, religious or financial nature.
ii. the cost to satisfy such a right for all must be financed by the collectivity.
c. water is essential to the security of our communities and societies and therefore,
ii. its ownership, control, delivery and management belong in the public domain.
ii. citizens must be at the heart of the decision process in water affairs.
iii. water management policies must ensure social equity such as gender equity, public health and environmental equity.
(From a United Nations Declaration on Water Rights)

2003.6. BE IT RESOLVED that a Green Party of Saskatchewan Government will immediately engage all levels and sectors of the Saskatchewan Community in a dialogue aimed at creating a “Food Charter” that would apply to all Saskatchewan people,

and furthermore, that once such a charter has been adopted, to engage all levels of government and all local community organizations in a common effort to apply those Food Charter rights to all its citizens.

2003.7. BE IT RESOLVED that a Green Party of Saskatchewan Government will immediately declare its intention to eliminate the need for community food banks, and will seek to meet on-going food and nutrition needs of disadvantaged citizens through new initiatives that arise from a province-wide food charter, and from the devolution of existing food banks into “community kitchen” and community nutrition education programs,

and furthermore, a Green Party of Saskatchewan Government would support local community initiatives to create community food production cooperatives or cooperative ventures with local farmers to grow, store and distribute organically produced vegetable crops, and also support organic dairy and meat products.

2003.8. BE IT RESOLVED that a Green Party of Saskatchewan Government strongly supports the role of Crown Corporations where appropriate in the development of Saskatchewan and in providing essential services to Saskatchewan people, but will prohibit Saskatchewan Crown Corporations from investing their profits in out-of-Saskatchewan ventures unless it is in partnership with a Canadian firm whose primary role and operation is in Saskatchewan,

and furthermore, a Green Party of Saskatchewan government will oppose the private corporate ownership and control of natural resources now held by the Crown for the people of Saskatchewan.

2003.9. BE IT RESOLVED that the Green Party of Saskatchewan supports a process that will result in all of Saskatchewan’s Crown forests and forest products achieving certification by the Forest Stewardship Council of Canada, and that all Crown forest operation license holders be required to follow operation procedures compliant with these certification standards in all of their forest operations within Saskatchewan.

2003.10.(1)  BE IT RESOLVED that a Green Party of Saskatchewan Government would support the elements of the Federal - Provincial Agricultural Policy Framework Agreement that encourage the development of high quality and safe food products all along the value chain, and certification that such food production is from environmentally sound and sustainable practices,

And furthermore, a Green Party of Saskatchewan Government would work diligently within the broad elements of the Agricultural Policy Framework to support and sustain Saskatchewan family farms and rural communities,

And furthermore, a Green Party of Saskatchewan Government would work to a full reform of the existing farm safety-net programs to create a system that supports environmentally sustainable practices and which supports independent farm operations and farm cooperatives, but would not support corporate agribusiness ventures.

2003.10. (2) . BE IT RESOLVED that a Green Party of Saskatchewan Government would promote the idea of a “fair vote” proportional representation electoral plan for all levels of government within Saskatchewan, and after extensive public discussion on various forms of proportional representation, would submit several options to the Saskatchewan people for decision in a binding referendum,

and furthermore, will 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.

2003.11. BE IT RESOLVED that a Green Party of Saskatchewan Government, recognizing the heritage and riches gained for all Saskatchewan people by the good stewardship of the earth practised by First Nations peoples for thousands of years, will commit to applying a portion of all resource development revenues obtained by the government of Saskatchewan, to Community Development programs determined by First Nations communities under a “Quality Saskatchewan” program,

and furthermore, that this portion of resource revenues committed to Community Development Programs will be the same as First Nations people are within the whole Saskatchewan population.

2003.12. BE IT RESOLVED that in the interests of creating a more just society, the Green Party of Saskatchewan declares its belief that the full letter and spirit of Treaties signed between the Crown and First Nations in the past be respected and fulfilled by present governments at all levels.

2003.13. BE IT RESOLVED that in the interests of creating a more just society, when the Treaty Land Claims Commission process finds that treaty obligations have not been fulfilled or that the fiduciary responsibilities of the Government of Canada have been violated, that redress and compensation be negotiated with First Nations in absolute good faith and in a timely manner by current Federal, Provincial and Municipal governments.

2003.14. WHEREAS private banks presently create virtually all money in circulation in Canada, existing only as debt to the bank that lent it,
AND huge amounts of tax dollars are spent servicing such borrowed money (40b per year in interest alone),
AND said banks are accrued a disproportionate amount of political and economic power as a result,

BE IT RESOLVED that the Green Party of Saskatchewan will be a voice advocating the utilization of the Bank of Canada to create new money for low or zero-interest loans for indebted federal, provincial, and
municipal governments,
AND will advocate the gradual return of "full reserve lending" for private banks to prevent inflation and to reduce private influence on the Canadian monetary system.

2003.15. BE IT RESOLVED that a Green Party of Saskatchewan Government would limit non-resident ownership of farm lands and prohibit foreign ownership of farm land.

2003.16. BE IT RESOLVED that a Green Party of Saskatchewan Government would limit the spread of intensive livestock operations and carefully monitor and control those already in operation for sound, humane, environmental and health considerations. We will encouraging smaller scale operations.

2003.17. BE IT RESOLVED that a Green Party of Saskatchewan Government would oppose all patent claims on living organisms or genetic information.

2003.18. BE IT RESOLVED that a Green Party of Saskatchewan Government will immediately begin a dialogue with existing Aboriginal and Metis organizations in order to explore and address the issues associated with inherent First Nations and Metis rights, including rights to land and resources, as well as discussing urban and taxation issues.

2003.19. BE IT RESOLVED that a Green Party of Saskatchewan Government will accept responsibility for funding early childhood intervention and “pre-school programs” where required, in addition to traditional responsibility for the K-12 education system.

2003.20. BE IT RESOLVED that a Green Party of Saskatchewan Government will ensure the implementation of an “Ecological Literacy” curriculum in all Saskatchewan schools which also has practical application components.

2003.21. BE IT RESOLVED that a Green Party of Saskatchewan Government will mandate the democratic establishment of “School Councils” for each Saskatchewan school, these School Councils to have the responsibility , along with adequate funds, to make appropriate school-based decisions.

2003.22. BE IT RESOLVED that a Green Party of Saskatchewan Government recognizes that an effective health system requires that healthy air, water and food is available to all Saskatchewan citizens.

2003.23. BE IT RESOLVED that a Green Party of Saskatchewan Government will create a democratic participatory process for an effective community voice in determining health policy at local levels.

2003.24. BE IT RESOLVED that a Green Party of Saskatchewan Government will support the introduction of more community health centres, pharma-care, alternative medicine, dental care and home care.

2003.25. BE IT RESOLVED that a Green Party of Saskatchewan Government will support preventative health care, considering social, economic and environmental factors.

2003.26. BE IT RESOLVED that a Green Party of Saskatchewan Government will provide free, publically-funded childcare, with fairly paid and competent staff, and increase the number of spaces in day care centres to at least the Canadian average.

2003.27. BE IT RESOLVED that a Green Party of Saskatchewan Government act to limit truckers work hours to protect truckers and all citizens on our roadways.

2003.28. BE IT RESOLVED that a Green Party of Saskatchewan Government will introduce pay-equity legislation.

2003.29. BE IT RESOLVED that the GPS will work with other interested groups to press the federal government to present a resolution to the UN General Assembly with the following objectives:
a. To empower the UN to permanently employ international teams of weapons inspectors who are mandated to search for and destroy all weapons of mass destruction found in any national territory, and who will report to the UN General Assembly any cases of non-compliance with this resolution
b. To end all cultural, economic and political ties with any nation that continues to produce or maintain within its borders biological, chemical and/or nuclear weapons.

2003.30. BE IT RESOLVED that the GPS will work with other interested groups for the passage of legislation that will minimize the influence of third party advertising by seriously limiting this advertising during elections and referenda.

2003.31. BE IT RESOLVED that the practice of clear cut logging, where the natural forest is destroyed and replaced with a monoculture forest which is unsuitable for many of the plants and animals which need a natural forest for habitat, be replaced with selective logging, which is compatable with the natural ecosystem.

2003.32. BE IT RESOLVED that the Green Party of Saskatchewan move the location of its Annual Convention withing Saskatchewan such that it is held in a smaller community in one year and in one of Regina or Saskatoon in the second year of an alternating sequence, provided that if it is not feasible to hold the GPS Convention in a smaller community, then it would revert to the larger city in that half of the province.

2003.33. BE IT RESOLVED that a Green Party of Saskatchewan government will
a. broaden the mandate of the Department of Social Services Community Living Division to include programs, supports and services to parents who have children with physical and /or intellectual disabilities, so that children are supported in the home and can remain in a healthy home environment, and that other supports, programs, and services will include community group homes for children with disabilities, more education resources, recreational opportunities, and other services to address the needs of children and families
b. increase funding to Social Services Community Living Division to ensure that effective programs, services, and trained staff are addressing the needs of families with children with disabilities, and
c. fund, support, and respond to research that indicates the environmental and social factors relating to the cause and/or development of physical or intellectual disabilities in children.

2003.34. BE IT RESOLVED that the Green Party of Saskatchewan Convention 2003 supports the following declaration:
“ The Green Party of Saskatchewan affirms its strong opposition to the illegal, unjust and unnecessary war of the United States and Great Britain against Iraq.

The convention expresses its support for Jean Chretien's government for its decision not to participate in this war. We support the government's commitment to the principles of the United Nations Charter and international
law and the respect the government has paid to Canadian public opinion.

The Green Party of Saskatchewan calls on the Canadian government to join with other countries in introducing the Uniting for Peace Resolution at the UN General Assembly. When action by the UN Security Council is blocked by veto, or threat of veto, the UN General Assembly can assume the role of peace maker.
This worked well in 1956 when Great Britain, France and Israel attacked Egypt. In 1956 the Canadian government supported the Uniting for Peace Resolution, and the General Assembly Played a key role in ending the war. Canada can do this again. The UN General Assembly represents the international community of nations and better reflects world public opinion.

This war is illegal under international law and violates the basic principles of the UN Charter. It is a war crime, "waging aggressive war," a principle well established in the Nuremberg War Crimes trials. The mass bombing of cities in Iraq by US and UK forces has led to untold losses of life of innocent civilians. The Green Party of Saskatchewan calls on the Canadian government to work with other countries to initiate charges of war crimes against the political leaders of the US and UK governments in either the World Court at The
Hague or the new International Court of Justice.

The Green Party of Saskatchewan stands in solidarity with the Green Party of the United States in calling for the destruction of all weapons of mass destruction in the United States.”

 

Tabled till Convention 2004: BE IT RESOLVED that the Constitution of the GPS (Name) be amended by adding the words “Saskatchewan’s Green Party” so that the clause would read: “The Green Party of Saskatchewan, Saskatchewan’s Green Party, is a political organization registered under the Election Act of Saskatchewan, and is hereinafter referred to as the GPS, the Party, or the Alliance.”