The Saskatoon Northwest by-election press conference we held in Saskatoon yersterday was not attended by Global, CTV, or CBC, so I am publishing my comments directly to the voters of this constituency and the people of Saskatchewan (and beyond):
"Good morning and thank-you for attending. I am Larissa Shasko, leader of the Green Party of Saskatchewan and candidate in the Saskatoon Northwest Provincial By-election. My purpose today is to provide an update on the by-election. A pamphlet has been delivered to all the households in the constituency. Canvassers have been talking and will continue to talk with voters up to election day.
I have a very important message for the voters of this by-election and for the people of our province. A nuclear waste dump is coming to Saskatchewan, and the voters of Saskatoon Northwest have the chance to stop it by voting Green on October 18th. My first act as MLA for Saskatoon Northwest will be to introduce a private members bill. We need legislation to ban the transportation and storage of nuclear waste into Saskatchewan. Manitoba and Quebec form the borders for Ontario. They already have such legislation in place.
Green Party canvassers have been told by a few people that they haven’t heard about high-level radioactive waste being imported into Saskatchewan for disposal. The public needs greater transparency from government and industry. Drilling test sites is already occurring. The Northern Saskatchewan communities of Pinehouse Lake and English River are the current targets for the high-level radioactive waste dump. And they are hearing one-sided industry promotions.
Through public consultations held in 2009 the people of Saskatchewan told government and industry “no” to locating a nuclear waste dump in our province. The Government of Saskatchewan has chosen not to listen. The Opposition NDP is not making it an issue. They will hear if they do not get elected. They will understand if they don’t receive votes in this by-election.
The Green Party of Saskatchewan is a member of a coalition that is about to launch a campaign to stop a nuclear waste dump from coming to our province. We want legislation similar to that in Manitoba and Quebec. It will stop the trucking of radioactive waste along our highways and through our communities. The decision on the importation of high-level radioactive waste from other jurisdictions into Saskatchewan affects all of us.
Manitoba passed the HIGH LEVEL RADIOACTIVE WASTE ACT in 1987 following a test to determine the feasibility of burying the waste; it isn’t feasible. So now by law, high-level radioactive waste can not be imported into Manitoba. It can pass through Manitoba to us, but it cannot be dumped in Manitoba. Where is the Premier of Saskatchewan?
Where is the Leader of the Opposition? Why aren’t they taking action, in accordance with the expressed wishes of the people of Saskatchewan, to prohibit dumping of radioactive waste here?
In public consultations in 2009, the people of Saskatchewan told government “we don’t want the nuclear industry in our province.” Why isn’t the Premier listening? Why is the Leader of the Opposition silent on this issue? In a democracy, the people are supposed to be in charge. This Government will hear if they do not get votes on October 18th. They will hear if they do not get elected.
This by-election is a year before the next provincial election. This issue must be central to the 2011 Provincial Election. The governing parties are complicit with industry and are fast-tracking or stepping out of the way.
The nuclear industry’s plan is for the transportation of high-level radioactive waste into Saskatchewan for the next thirty years. The transportation of nuclear waste from Ontario and points elsewhere into a centralized site in Saskatchewan does not make sense. The only reason for centralizing the high-level radioactive waste is so that is it available for reprocessing. In the 2009 public consultations, the people of Saskatchewan specifically rejected reprocessing of nuclear waste along with the national security risks it imposes.
In the case of the shipment of radioactive waste through the Great Lakes en route to Sweden, seven U.S. Senators have told Canada to consider safer options to the transport of radioactive waste, such as on-site storage.
The voters of Saskatoon Northwest have the opportunity this by-election to ally with the one hundred communities that are opposing the transportation of radioactive materials.
This is a national issue, a provincial issue, and a local issue. The voters of Saskatoon Northwest are central to the outcome.
My first act as MLA for Saskatoon Northwest will be to introduce a private members bill for legislation to prohibit the transportation and storage of nuclear waste into Saskatchewan. With a five party split of the vote, the path is paved for a Green win."
Saturday, October 16, 2010
By-election questions from the Star Phoenix, my replies as submitted
(note which questions are relevant and which seem out of place, and note my effort at creative & meaningful responses anyhow)
Name: Larissa Shasko
Party: Green Party of Saskatchewan
Age: 28
Profession: Political Science Student, U of R
Years in Saskatoon: I am Leader of the Green Party of Saskatchewan and it is a political convention for the leader of a party to run in a by-election if not yet elected. I have proudly lived in Saskatchewan all of my life.
Past election political positions (if any): Elected as Leader of the Green Party of Saskatchewan in April 2009 and re-elected in May 2010. Was a Green Party candidate in the 2006 & 2008 Federal Elections & the 2007 Provincial Election. Also received over 2000 votes as a candidate in the 2009 Moose Jaw Civic Election.
Family (Name of spouse, name and ages of children) (Optional): Husband- Ryan
Favourite book: The Decline of Representative Democracy
What do you do to relax (in one or two sentences): I work to find solutions to the environmental crisis so that we all can relax! I am also actively involved with the arts community and get plenty of fresh air and exercise.
Top three issues (Please condense to three phrases or sentences):
1. Corporatocracy vs. Democracy
2. Improving our overburdened healthcare system by including prevention of illness as part of its mandate
3. A nuclear waste dump is coming to Saskatchewan & we want to introduce legislation to ban the transportation and storage of nuclear waste into our province.
What do you most often hear from constituency residents when going door todoor? (Please keep to two or three sentences.): Voters are unhappy with our democratic deficit and they are worried about the economy and our overburdened healthcare system. They are supportive of the nuclear waste ban legislation I plan to introduce, and they want to see a real plan for renewable energy in Saskatchewan. They do not want foreign ownership of Saskatchewan resources or land.
Why are you the best candidate to represent the people of SaskatoonNorthwest? (Two or three sentences please.)The people of Saskatchewan have already said "no" to a nuclear waste dump in public consultations (2009), but the Premier isn't listening and the Leader of the Opposition is silent on this issue. In a democracy, the people are supposed to be in charge. I will be accountable to the people and bring transparency to this government.
Website: www.saskgreen.ca & http://revolution-solution.blogspot.com
Name: Larissa Shasko
Party: Green Party of Saskatchewan
Age: 28
Profession: Political Science Student, U of R
Years in Saskatoon: I am Leader of the Green Party of Saskatchewan and it is a political convention for the leader of a party to run in a by-election if not yet elected. I have proudly lived in Saskatchewan all of my life.
Past election political positions (if any): Elected as Leader of the Green Party of Saskatchewan in April 2009 and re-elected in May 2010. Was a Green Party candidate in the 2006 & 2008 Federal Elections & the 2007 Provincial Election. Also received over 2000 votes as a candidate in the 2009 Moose Jaw Civic Election.
Family (Name of spouse, name and ages of children) (Optional): Husband- Ryan
Favourite book: The Decline of Representative Democracy
What do you do to relax (in one or two sentences): I work to find solutions to the environmental crisis so that we all can relax! I am also actively involved with the arts community and get plenty of fresh air and exercise.
Top three issues (Please condense to three phrases or sentences):
1. Corporatocracy vs. Democracy
2. Improving our overburdened healthcare system by including prevention of illness as part of its mandate
3. A nuclear waste dump is coming to Saskatchewan & we want to introduce legislation to ban the transportation and storage of nuclear waste into our province.
What do you most often hear from constituency residents when going door todoor? (Please keep to two or three sentences.): Voters are unhappy with our democratic deficit and they are worried about the economy and our overburdened healthcare system. They are supportive of the nuclear waste ban legislation I plan to introduce, and they want to see a real plan for renewable energy in Saskatchewan. They do not want foreign ownership of Saskatchewan resources or land.
Why are you the best candidate to represent the people of SaskatoonNorthwest? (Two or three sentences please.)The people of Saskatchewan have already said "no" to a nuclear waste dump in public consultations (2009), but the Premier isn't listening and the Leader of the Opposition is silent on this issue. In a democracy, the people are supposed to be in charge. I will be accountable to the people and bring transparency to this government.
Website: www.saskgreen.ca & http://revolution-solution.blogspot.com
SK Greens put forward a plan to advert the hostile takeover of PotashCorp by BHP Billiton and to prevent foreign concentrated ownership altogether
PRESS RELEASE
Monday, September 13, 2010
The Green Party of Saskatchewan held a press conference in Regina this morning at the Saskatchewan Legislative Building to put forward a plan to advert the hostile takeover of PotashCorp by BHP Billiton and to prevent foreign concentrated ownership of Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan altogether. The Green Party of Saskatchewan’s plan calls for Ottawa to use their power to stop the hostile takeover of PotashCorp by BHP. “Foreign concentrated ownership does not equate to a ‘net benefit’ to Canada or Saskatchewan,” states Larissa Shasko, Leader of the Green Party of Saskatchewan. “Under foreign concentrated ownership, profits would not be staying in Saskatchewan where they benefit our local economy, and foreign concentrated ownership leaves our local economy extremely vulnerable,” Shasko continues. The Green Party is concerned that the takeover of PotashCorp by BHP Billiton would result in profit-oriented actions such as wage freezes and requests to government to lower royalty rates. “Ottawa has an obligation to stop this takeover, and they have the power to do so,” states Shasko.
The Green Party of Saskatchewan plan calls for royalty rates to be raised substantially to ensure a fair portion of the wealth from potash production in our province goes to benefit all of our people and is also preserved for future generations. “As the people of Saskatchewan, our ownership of this resource is largely based on royalty rates, which are currently too low for Saskatchewan people to be realizing a fair portion of the sales of potash production occurring in our province,” states Shasko. According to Shasko, increases in royalty rates on potash are long overdue: “Had the Government of Saskatchewan raised royalty rates when potash prices spiked, PotashCorp may not be in the hostile takeover situation it is now in.”
The Green Party of Saskatchewan plan also suggests a new business model that invests in workers and communities. “A Worker Co-operative would have the potential to create local ownership of PotashCorp while bringing democracy into the workplace through the ‘one worker, one vote’ system, states Shasko. “Worker Co-operatives can empower workers and create healthier communities, and better decisions are made in areas such as the environment because the owners and decision makers are the very workers who are seeing the environmental destruction first hand,” Shasko continues.
The plan put forward by the Green party of Saskatchewan at this morning’s press conference also offers solutions for better decision-making practices in areas such as the environment and public health/safety. According to Green Leader Larissa Shasko, "Saskatchewan’s resources should not be depleted by aggressive foreign ownership, inadequate royalties, and lack of government protection."
Monday, September 13, 2010
The Green Party of Saskatchewan held a press conference in Regina this morning at the Saskatchewan Legislative Building to put forward a plan to advert the hostile takeover of PotashCorp by BHP Billiton and to prevent foreign concentrated ownership of Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan altogether. The Green Party of Saskatchewan’s plan calls for Ottawa to use their power to stop the hostile takeover of PotashCorp by BHP. “Foreign concentrated ownership does not equate to a ‘net benefit’ to Canada or Saskatchewan,” states Larissa Shasko, Leader of the Green Party of Saskatchewan. “Under foreign concentrated ownership, profits would not be staying in Saskatchewan where they benefit our local economy, and foreign concentrated ownership leaves our local economy extremely vulnerable,” Shasko continues. The Green Party is concerned that the takeover of PotashCorp by BHP Billiton would result in profit-oriented actions such as wage freezes and requests to government to lower royalty rates. “Ottawa has an obligation to stop this takeover, and they have the power to do so,” states Shasko.
The Green Party of Saskatchewan plan calls for royalty rates to be raised substantially to ensure a fair portion of the wealth from potash production in our province goes to benefit all of our people and is also preserved for future generations. “As the people of Saskatchewan, our ownership of this resource is largely based on royalty rates, which are currently too low for Saskatchewan people to be realizing a fair portion of the sales of potash production occurring in our province,” states Shasko. According to Shasko, increases in royalty rates on potash are long overdue: “Had the Government of Saskatchewan raised royalty rates when potash prices spiked, PotashCorp may not be in the hostile takeover situation it is now in.”
The Green Party of Saskatchewan plan also suggests a new business model that invests in workers and communities. “A Worker Co-operative would have the potential to create local ownership of PotashCorp while bringing democracy into the workplace through the ‘one worker, one vote’ system, states Shasko. “Worker Co-operatives can empower workers and create healthier communities, and better decisions are made in areas such as the environment because the owners and decision makers are the very workers who are seeing the environmental destruction first hand,” Shasko continues.
The plan put forward by the Green party of Saskatchewan at this morning’s press conference also offers solutions for better decision-making practices in areas such as the environment and public health/safety. According to Green Leader Larissa Shasko, "Saskatchewan’s resources should not be depleted by aggressive foreign ownership, inadequate royalties, and lack of government protection."
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