Ryan Watson's Weblog

The likely sale of New Brunswick Power to Hydro Quebec is a serious blow for Nova Scotia’s energy future, and is likely to turn out to be damaging for New Brunswick’s long term interests as well.

New Brunswick has been working hard to position itself as an energy hub. With its own renewable energy (mostly wind) coming onstream, its nuclear and fossil plants, and its location close to Nova Scotia’s potential vast renewable resources (wind and tidal), Newfoundland’s hydro, and New England’s huge energy markets, the role of energy hub is a natural fit.

That strategy is being thrown out the window, to the immediate detriment of Maritime sister-provinces and the likely detriment of New Brunsick as well. If this sale goes through, the New Brunswick strategy to become an energy hub will be transformed into the New Brunswick hope that Quebec will make the right decisions for NB’s energy future.

On the one hand, snuggling up to a comparative energy giant may be a good move. On the other hand, if push comes to shove in an energy constrained world, who will the government of Quebec look after, Quebec or New Brunswick?

Contrarian makes no bones about this potential disater for Nova Scotia’s energy future, but he also doesn’t think it is that great a deal for New Brunswick, even in the short term. And to strike to the heart of the matter from the “have-not province” Maritime perspective:

If Quebec can use its windfall profits from Joey Smallwood’s disastrous 1969 deal on Upper Churchill Falls to buy up all the available routes that might get Lower Churchill Falls power to market, you have to wonder whether Canada really is a country any more.

OK, so that’s a little extreme. But you have to admit that this is not good for national unity. Quebec fleeces struggling Newfoundlanders for billions and uses those billions to buy up crucial strategic energy resources from other cash-strapped Maritime provinces. The rich use their wealth to get richer and more powerful, and the “have-not” provinces are just supposed to take their handouts and know their place at the bottom of the pecking order.

I’m not sure why this deal gets me so worked up. Nova Scotia has a terrible track record for taking advantage of its renewable energy potential. This deal could make things more challenging, but it is not like we’ve been doing much to move forward on this anyways. Yet the Dexter government has started to show some signs of life on this issue, and it is a real shame that those efforts have just become that much harder.

Congratulations to John Percy, the new leader of the Green Party of Nova Scotia, and his running mate Dawna Toews. I wish them and the rest of the Executive the best of luck in moving the party and the province forward.

Personally, it is a relief to be officially out of my role as leader. It was quite a year, with immense learning for me and for the party. I’m proud of what I did for the party, and happy that I knew when it was time for someone else to step into the leadership.

Once again, thank you to Rob, Kathryn, Brad, all our candidates and volunteers in the 2009 election, and everyone who helped build the party over the past year.

I’ve made some changes to the look and feel of this blog. As I step back from my role as Leader of the Green Party of Nova Scotia I’m not sure what directions my writing will go, but feel free to check back and find out!

Dear Green Party members and supporters,

It has been an honour to serve as leader of our party for the past year. The Green Party is now entering a new phase, and I have decided to resign from my position to open up space for new energy to emerge. I will continue as leader until the Annual General Meeting this fall, where a new leader will be elected. My intention is to continue to work with all Green Party members over the coming months to lift the level of communication, help increase our organizational capacity, and build our energy for the AGM.

The greatest challenge we face is finding ways to work creatively and democratically through our conflicts and differences. We all have great passion for positive change in Nova Scotia, and our diversity will become a strength when we can transform this passion into momentum for the party.

The decision to resign has not come easy. I believe in this party, and I believe that I have something positive to offer as leader. But it has become clear to me that it is time for another transition. We need a new focus on the issues, and a new energy to move forward into the next electoral cycle. But we also need stability and continuity, and I remain committed to working to support the next phase of growth for the Green Party of Nova Scotia.

Thank you to members, friends and supporters who have worked so hard for our party over the past year. I continue to believe that the Green Party has a unique and valuable contribution to make to Nova Scotia politics. I will do everything I can to help this party realize its full potential in the years to come.

Yours in the vision of a greener Nova Scotia,

Ryan Watson
Leader, Green Party of Nova Scotia

Green candidate Dr. Chris Milburn was recently quoted in a CBC article suggesting that some emergency rooms should be closed. Dr. Milburn was speaking his own opinion as a candidate, as he is welcome to do in the Green Party. He was not expressing an official party position.

Dr. Milburn’s position is not part of the Green platform, but he should be commended for raising sincere concerns about a tough issue, not to gain votes, but because this is something he believes. That’s what the Green Party is all about.

Whether or not ERs are closed, it is clear that in the midst of an economic crisis tough budget decisions will have to be made across the board, including in health care. We have to make sure that we get the most health and wellness for Nova Scotians out of every dollar we spend. If that means keeping ERs open, that’s what we must do. But if that means bringing a community health centre or a family practice to under served communities instead, than we need to stay open to that possibility.

Having worked in ERs as a medical doctor, Dr. Milburn has an educated opinion on this subject. We need politicians that will ask the hard questions and make the hard decisions that need to be made. Sometimes the politically expedient position is not the best for Nova Scotia and must be challenged. I thank Dr. Milburn for his courage to speak the truth as he sees it.

Forward thinking renewable energy policies would create thousands of jobs for Nova Scotians.

This morning I toured Mamanna Renewable Energy in Dartmouth and met some of the folks working there. They manufacture a wind turbine, and also sell solar hot water and other renewable energy products.

They expect to double their workforce and their sales in the next year or two. Unfortunately, the sales for their turbine are mostly exports to other jurisdictions with more progressive policies to support renewable energy.

Nova Scotia has world class wind resources. It’s time for our policies to catch up with the rest of the world. The policy is simple: guarantee producers of renewable energy a fair price for their product. Simple legislation that provided this guarantee would open up a huge market that businesses, landowners, communities, and individuals could all benefit from. It would create jobs in manufacturing, installation and maintenance, financing, entrepreneurship, and more.

Although the feed-in tariff approach is widely viewed as the best approach to develop renewable energy, the Green Party is the only party in Nova Scotia that explicitly endorses this policy. Not only will this legislation build the renewable energy capacity of Nova Scotia, it will also create economic stimulus across the province, particularly in rural areas.

This policy makes sense, and we’ll be doing everything we can to help the next government move in this direction.

This morning we had the opportunity to tour some of the organizations working with poverty and homelessness in Halifax. I spent the morning with John Hartling of Community Action on Homelessness, and Green candidates David Croft (Dartmouth South-Portland Valley), Kris MacLellan (Halifax Needham), and Sarah Densmore (Preston) visiting a number of organizations on Gottingen Street.

This campaign has seen the parties talk about the global economic crisis, but precious little has been said about those living in day-to-day economic crisis. It was a pleasure to hear about the good work that organizations like the North End Community Health Centre, Community Action on Homelessness, and Metro Nonprofit Housing Association are doing.

We can do more for the most vulnerable members of our communities, and we must do more. In the immediate term, we have to start providing core funding to the organizations working to help the homeless. Too many of the social workers I met today were spending their time in the torturous process of grant writing, rather than actually using their training and skills to help those in need. If we are serious about supporting the essential work that these organizations do, we simply must provide them with stable sources of funding.

In the longer term, we have to do more as a province to develop holistic policies. Economic development strategies need to directly address poverty issues. Increasing our food security and our access to healthy local food will stimulate our agriculture sector and reduce health care costs, as well as addressing the challenges of those facing economic hardship. Iniatives focused on energy conservation and renewable energy will create jobs, decrease our dependence on expensive fossil fuels, and decrease the risk of heating emergencies and energy insecurity. This kind of holistic thinking is what the Green Party brings to the political process.

The work to eliminate poverty in Nova Scotia is a tremendous challenge, but it is a challenge that we must rise to meet. We have great wealth in our province, and we must make the political choices to value each person and ensure that we all have access to the basic necessities and the opportunities we need to build our lives.

Greens will be participating in the leaders debate this evening through the online forums at the Chronicle Herald and CBC Live Blog sites. Though we’ve been excluded from the televised debate, we’ll be adding to the conversation in any way we can. I’ll be on the CH site. Come join the conversation!

Opening Remarks from Green Leader Ryan Watson

Thank you to CBC and the Chronicle Herald for hosting this debate, it is my pleasure to participate

What the Green Party is working to bring to this campaign is a focus on systemic issues, and new solutions that can move our province forward. From the global economic crisis to the global climate crisis, from our health care challenges to the hardships faced by our farmers, it is imperative that we understand the systemic context that frames these issues.

Band-aid solutions and political soundbites will not overcome our challenges. But right now we have the opportunity to do more, we have the opportunity to take a bigger view. Right now, in this election we have the opportunity to step forward in a new direction towards a prosperous, bright green future.

If there is one thing that we need from government, it’s the ability to ask the hard questions, and get beyond 30 second answers to work with Nova Scotians on the issues that matter.

Amid hopes that the recession has reached a bottom, the price of oil has quitely crept up to close to $70 per barrel. 60% of Nova Scotians depend on heating oil to keep warm through the winter. What will we do if the price of oil shoots up during the heating season?

The combination of decreasing government revenues, an aging population, and increasing health care costs threaten the viability of our health care model. Adding a few hospital beds or keeping emergency rooms open a few extra hours will not address the root issues. How can we re-imagine our health care system to serve Nova Scotian’s health needs?

These are just a few of the hard questions that we face, not just as a government but as a society.  We are at the end of a cycle and we need new ideas and new perspectives to move forward.  We need to find the new possibilities that can come out of these times of crisis, with innovation and daring.  Nova Scotia possesses a wealth of resources. We can become a model of self-sufficiency and sustainability.  We can build a more sane and productive government.  We can do more, for our environment, for our economy, and for each other.  The Green Party is dedicated to helping bring to Nova Scotia the best possible government.  As leader of the Green Party of Nova Scotia I challenge the province to join me, to do more, to vote Green.

The first televised leaders debate was this evening. The Green Party was excluded.

I stand by my assessment earlier today. This province needs politicians who are steering the ship, not arguing about the positioning of the deck chairs. There is a clear opportunity in front of us, and a clear danger. Without intelligent leadership and management, we will miss the opportunities, and sail straight into the dangers.

The opportunity is staring us right in the face: renewable energy is the industry that can create jobs for thousands of Nova Scotians, reduce our pollution, and bring new life into our economy. We need to seize this opportunity with both hands.

The danger is equally clear. We depend on insecure, polluting sources of energy with volatile prices. For the sake of Nova Scotian businesses and households, we urgently need to reduce this dependence.

The Green plan that will be released later this week calls for immediate action to support the renewable energy industry. The beauty of this opportunity is that it doesn’t require drastic government intervention, and it doesn’t come with a high price tag for taxpayers. Simple regulations will quickly shift the business climate and provide opportunities for thousands of Nova Scotians to participate in a booming renewable energy sector based on a strong business model.

We can do more for our economy, our environment, and our province. We can do more to build our prosperity. Do more, vote Green!

We’re creeping up on 30 candidates as of today, on our way to a full slate of 52  Greens across the province!

If you want to help put a Green option on every ballot in Nova Scotia, please consider stepping forward to be a candidate. Even if you cannot commit much time or energy to the campaign, just offering your name will give thousands of Nova Scotians an option to vote for the Green Party. Of course if you want to run a more lively campaign, that is most welcome!

If you’d like to help us amplify the Green voice in Nova Scotia by putting your name on a ballot, please get in touch with Green Party Managing Director Patrick Webber at patrickwebber@greenparty.ns.ca

Thank you!