May sets sights on balance of power
Greens hoping to win 12 seats, official status
Green party Leader Elizabeth May has been at this a long time. She was elected leader of the Greens nine years ago last month, and in all the time since, her main adversary has been Prime Minister Stephen Harper.
May’s dislike of Harper’s policies and how she says these have altered the country’s political landscape is visceral.
“Canada is now an elected dictatorship,” she declared during a session Tuesday with the Citizen’s editorial board. May railed about how just a handful of cabinet ministers can make crucial decisions, in secret, on behalf of the entire country.
The B.C. member of Parliament said that when she introduces the topic of how the country is being run, her constituents are shocked. “This matters,” May said.
She vowed that Green caucus members — assuming they increase from the current total of two — would be permitted to speak from their own experience. There would be “no talking points” she said, “no message tracks.”
But mostly, Tuesday’s editorial board discussion revolved around Harper, and what she views as an unparalleled and unhealthy centralization of power in the Prime Minister’s Office.
Should she ever be in position to force the issue, she said, she would insist on the PMO’s diminishment — something she doubts either Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau or New Democratic Party Leader Thomas Mulcair would be willing to do.
The question, of course, is whether that day will ever come. This is her third federal campaign as leader of the Greens — who won 6.8 per cent of the popular vote in 2008 and no seats, and just 3.9 per cent in 2011, when May became the party’s first elected MP.
It’s possible that May next month could lead a handful of Greens into the next Parliament: She said Tuesday she would be disappointed with fewer than 12, which would give her official party status in the House of Commons.
In a race as tight as this one seems to be, such a result could give her some leverage over policy in a minority Parliament.
When prompted as to her priorities, May put forward a sizable list, starting with climate change and a repeal of Bill C-51 — which grants police significant new powers to investigate activities that might constitute a terror threat.
Pharmacare — a program that would give Canadians universal access to key medicines — was also on this list.
But in light of the fact that the NDP and Liberals are also examining variations of a pharmacare program, May noted that “maybe we’ll get it without making it a condition” of Green support for a potential coalition.
May’s odds of winning more seats next month could depend on her ability to convince debate sponsors to invite her to participate.
The Green leader is taking part Thursday in the French-language leaders’ debate but has been disappointed by organizations such as the Aurea Foundation — which is sponsoring next week’s leaders’ debate on foreign policy without input from May.
She said these types of events are turning into “private elite debates that are diversionary tactics.”