Green Party Response

This is the response we received from Janine Gibson, Provencher Green Party Candidate http://greenparty.ca/platform2011

Topics you have covered are topics I live my life by:

·       Organic Gardening For Food- have gardened organically all my life- that is what my Gramma taught me- so I have taught distance education organic crop and livestock production courses through a local college, and train organic inspectors, and work as an organic inspector to be of service to organic farmers & gardeners.

·       Green Construction- my home is a recycled railway car, super insulated with passive solar heat. The sauna I helped build is straw bale. I have actively supported our designer G. Dekker in his Green construction experiments- provided much needed capital for many of  his projects

·       The Global Energy Crisis- actively write and promote organic ag as a means of sequestered carbon and reducing greenhouse gas emissions via organic methods- due to no synthetic chemicals up to 2/3 less emissions  than chemical agriculture.

·       The Unhealthy Food Industry- have eaten primarily local organic food, and have lectured and taught across North America on the many benefits of doing so. Have helped to found Northern Sun Farm Co-op to live and farm more sustainably, eat more healthily; helped to found and currently chair the Organic Food Council of MB a chapter of Canadian Organic Growers to promote the benefits of organic production to both eaters and growers. Past national president of COG striving to build an alternative Food production and delivery system!

·       Energy Efficiency- live off grid on solar and wind energy, minimize car use as far as possible.

·       Alternative Energy- see above, have supported the work of Gerhard Dekker for 30 years to increase the local visibility of alternative energy. Northern Sun is a model as you well know, deemed the most technologically advanced alternative community in Canada

·       Green Funerals- did the research for Northern Sun Farm to outline how we can act as lay funeral directors and be buried here on our land, in our own Green cemetery-for which Hanover has issued us a permit.

·       Sustainable Woodlot Management- researched that our 160 acres of woodlot could support 10 households burning 5 cords of wood a year, then set the # of sites on our co-op based on this research- the sustainable harvest level from our mixed aspen, green ash, oak forest. Actively manage our forest and harvest wood to this plan.

QUESTIONS

1.     Do you believe that peak oil is here or near?  Yes and I work to educate about this issue by promoting local sustainable organic agriculture so we become less dependent on imported food and petroleum based food production. Have studied permaculture and gardening with forests to this end as well. Harvest from the wild as a regular part of my diet and teach others how to do the same. 

We are using up all our oil resources without planning for a shift to a more sustainable fuel source like solar or wind or electric vehicles. I wish I could afford a hybrid vehicle, as they are a good start to building awareness and reducing dependency on oil products.

2.      Do you believe that climate change is happening? Yes of course! I see it on the farms all across the praires! I already am involved in training folks on organic farming where they minimize dependence on petroleum products to produce food- we have a long way to go but I have been lecturing about the need for a more sustainable food production method due to the challenges of climate change for many years now. 

3.     Do you believe that peak phosphate is here or near? Near, but we could be capturing and recycling a lot more P if there was more awareness, Composting helps a great deal rather than slurry manure land applications, where P is lost to the water, when we need it in our soils. To this end I have helped found the MB Composting Association ( am currently their Executive Secretary) so we can compost livestock mortalities from Ag accidents instead of wasting them in the land fills. We also promote manure composting as a P capture and recycling of nutrients to reduce off farm input use. I support farmers across the country in learning these important skills. 

4. Do you believe it is appropriate to produce bio-fuels with food to supply our energy needs? NO, as we burn more calories in producing the fuels than the fuels give us! It is completely non sustainable and a short sighted view of alternative energy. It is unconscionable when so many people are starving in the world. 

We need to simplify our North American lifestyles to more equitably share the world’s limited resources. This is why I live and work as I do and why I support the Green Party and urge you to do the same!

Thank you for these important questions, the opportunity to discuss them with your members and raising these issues in our community! If I may be of assistance to your efforts in the future please contact me! I regret that my travels as an educator and inspector have interfered with my participation in your  fine programs.