We have finished reviewing all the parties that were elected in office last session. The digital issues of all those parties were interesting, even if they were surprisingly disappointing. So now we are including the Green Party in our reviews.
Note: This is an article I wrote that was published elsewhere first. It has been republished here for archival purposes
We have already finished reviewing the platforms of the Liberals, Bloc Québécois and NDP. So we have chosen to move on to the party that garnered the next most votes. While not winning seats, the Green party did garner a large vote base and came close to winning a seat in two elections in a row.
The party platform can be found on their official website. The link is on the right column that says “(Download Platform PDF)”.
The Green Party Platform
We tried looking through the platform for issues surrounding surveillance, but nothing was found. We tried looking for issues surrounding copyright and there simply was no reference to it. So we tried something more general and looked for any mention of the word “Internet” and found this:
Strong communities means creating opportunities for young Canadians. Young people build community, both where they live and where they connect through the internet in virtual communities. Energized youth are part of a real green future.
So, in general, forget about privacy and surveillance. Forget about copyright. The most you’ll get out of the platform is a simple mention of the internet. There is one word that comes to my mind when I see this: “Sad”.
Overall Impression
Normally, I would sum up what I’ve read in this platform, but I’ll have to go to the track record instead. I’ve personally spoken to members of the Green party about these issues in the past. I asked at one meeting what their position was on privacy and I was told that it was shocking that the government is considering implementing such surveillance laws in the first place. The consensus was that they aren’t aware of anyone that would support such a thing. I didn’t get the opportunity at the time to discuss copyright. Bear in mind that this was a meeting two elections ago now, so whether or not things have changed is actually hard to say.
So, overall, if the election were held specifically on this issue, I can’t say such a track record is good enough for my vote. Since it almost sounds more like lip-service for the internet community, I’d say I wouldn’t vote for the Green Party.
Drew Wilson on Twitter: @icecube85 and Google+.
