The Green Party of Canada
Platform 2006

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outline

Empowering Cities and Rural Communities

Decentralization is a core principle of the Green Party. Decentralization means that citizens have a more active role in building their communities through direct local action. Rather than relying solely upon politicians, citizens may take charge of community well-being through collective decision-making, which is made easier through government cooperation with local non-governmental organizations and community groups.

With demographic shifts and globalization, Canada’s urban centres need greater support in order to appropriately plan for sustainability and build durable infrastructure for future health and shared prosperity. Our rural communities also face a host of new challenges such as water safety and access to adequate health care services. The federal government must provide the necessary tools in order to develop stronger support structures. Local issues in Canada require a clear national focus on shared challenges and a flexible federal government sensitive to local concerns.

Green Party MPs will press the federal and provincial governments to work together to:

117.	Create new funding networks for more locally-run housing, child care and health programs.
118.	Expand the agreement to redirect a greater share of federal tax revenues toward municipal needs.
119.	Establish dedicated federal-provincial-municipal funding arrangements to support municipal wastewater management and safe water supplies.
120.	Support “smart growth” transport-oriented development (TOD) to encourage the redesign of urban areas and towns into walkable communities linked by transit to reduce the need for automobile ownership.

Authorized by the registered agent for the Green Party of Canada