Vote Justin Trottier

Question: I am taking the Power Your Vote pledge. I pledge to vote on October 6th for clean energy, new jobs and healthy communities.  I am joining with people from all across this province to power my vote. We want a race-to-the-top for the clean energy economy. We want to see the best plan to build on the successes of the Green Energy Act. I will vote for the candidate who I think will do the best job of moving Ontario forward to a clean energy economy. The question we’re asking each of our candidates is simple: what will you do to earn our votes? You can see the pledge at  http://www.leadnow.ca/power-your-vote-ontario

Thank you for your email—and thank you for taking the Power Your Vote pledge. I truly believe that engaged citizens like you can make a real difference this election by speaking out on this important issue.

As the Green Party of Ontario candidate in Parkdale-High Park, I plan to earn your vote on October 6th by actively campaign on behalf of a clean energy economy—one that puts communities and local decision-making first.

One of the key issues for our riding is to push for the immediate electrification of the Pearson Air Rail Link. The Liberal government has opted for a more expensive and longer duration process of first building diesel trains and then later converting them to electric. This is to say nothing of the pollution, noise and health effects of having diesel trains running practically through our backyards. Our Party has long championed the Clean Train Coalition’s goal for immediate electrification, which has the added benefit that electric trains can start and stop much quicker than diesel trains, which means
we’d have the option of using electric trains as an added transit option within the city.

We believe the Green Energy Act is an important first step on the road to energy sustainability. If elected, I want to improve the effectiveness of the Act by pushing for a community- based Feed-In-Tariff program that prioritizes local decision making, local
ownership and benefits for communities.

Furthermore, the Green Party will prioritize energy efficiency and conservation to reduce Ontario’s energy consumption. This is the only way that renewables can effectively replace dirty energy sources. At the moment, our party is the only one calling for the implementation of a carbon pricing system similar to BC’s that will cut income taxes to make it revenue neutral for hard-working Ontarians.

As your MPP, I will fight for good jobs by supporting research and development in jobs that will power our economy in the coming decades, including clean technology and knowledge-based services. I will also work to expand training and certification programs in job growth areas such as green buildings, renewable energy and sustainable
transportation.

Finally, I’m committed to building healthy communities by promoting healthy lifestyles based on delicious food from local farmers. In fact, the Green Party’s platform emphasizes programs and incentives to make it easier for family farms and local food processors to earn a living while ensuring local food security.

For more information about our platform, I encourage you to read the Green Party’s Five-Point Plan for Ontario at itstimeforgreen.ca (our energy policy can be accessed directly at itstimeforgreen.ca/energy/).

If you would like to support my campaign, you can volunteer or order a lawn sign at www.votejustintrottier.ca.

Again, thank you for contacting me, and for making sure that I earn your vote on October 6th!

I had the pleasure to join my fellow candidates at the Bloor West Village Residents’ Association candidates’ debate. We covered a lot of ground, from improving transit affordability by re-uploading TTC expenses back from the city, to each party’s Green Energy vision, to our perspective on attack ads, taxation and wireless radiation.

I was happy to hear so many questions that show the Green platform really addresses some key areas that aren’t clearly articulated by the other parties, in particular Food security. Only the Greens are calling for a Food and Farming Strategy to break down the monopoly we have between big agribusinesses and just a handful of food purchasing middlemen, providing tax breaks to farmers who donate to food security agencies, and prioritizing food banks as well as school-based healthy snack programs and education in nutrition.

Another area that got considerable attention was the need to immediately electrify the Pearson Air Rail Link, instead of undertaking a costly and time consuming unnecessary step of first building diesel trains, which the McGuinty government favours. This is to say nothing of having the noise and pollution from diesel engines in our backyards.

Finally, I enjoyed a question about the role of the arts, history and preserving the heritage buildings in Toronto. As a big fan of the Revue Roncesvalles Art Gallery and an Egyptian history buff myself, I know how history, culture and the arts serve as important creative outlets. Ironically, when I returned home from the debate, I heard news that The Canadian Air and Space Museum, a little known hangar near Downsview Airport that preserves the proud legacy of Canada’s aerospace industry, and where I’ve helped build Toronto’s only exhibit celebrating and providing youth education regarding Canada’s small but significant space program (best known by the Canadarm) faces eviction to make way for a “four-pad ice complex”. Sadly, I think I understand the question even better now, as well as the importance of preserving these often overlooked spaces, especially for those who have never had the opportunity to stumble into them.