Living within our Ecological Means

• Humanity and all other species are an integral part of the Earth’s biosphere. The Earth’s ability to provide resources and energy to meet human demands and to absorb our waste and pollution is limited. Our primary responsibility is to learn to live within the ecological and resource limits of the planet, providing for the needs of all people, while not threatening the existence of other species and future generations.
• We seek a shift from today’s Consumer Society based on perpetual growth to a Conserver Society based on ecological and social sustainability.
  
  
• Because our knowledge is limited, we must take the path of precaution in order that life is not jeopardized and ecosystems are protected.
  
  
• New Brunswickers have a right to healthy air, safe water and a wholesome food supply; a right to know when these are threatened or have been compromised; and a right to participate in decisions that have the potential to do harm to people and ecosystems.
  
  

Local Self-Reliance

• New Brunswick communities must be in charge of their own destiny to the greatest extent possible. Resilient, sustainable communities require economies that meet local needs and are locally controlled, minimizing dependency on external forces.

• Self-reliance and resilience is built on public assets placed in the hands of and dedicated to the service of local communities.

• Local self-reliance is integral to the shift to a society which respects the ecological and social limits of human production.
  
  

Participatory Democracy

• The cornerstone of any democracy is a media independent of vested and political interests, reflecting the full diversity of New Brunswick society. Without this our province’s full democratic potential cannot be realized.

• New Brunswickers must have meaningful opportunities to participate in the decisions that affect their lives, created through responsive and decentralized democratic processes, structures and institutions.

• Enthusiastic participation in elections is contingent on an electoral system in which every vote counts and results in a Legislature that reflects the diversity of political viewpoints of all New Brunswick citizens.
  
  

Social Justice and Equality

• We are all diminished by the presence of poverty amidst great wealth. A caring society ensures that all people have equal access to the necessities of life and to amenities which enhance our collective human experience - health, education, quality housing, meaningful livelihoods, and cultural enrichment. Recognizing that individual wealth is socially created, the greatest burden for ensuring a just society must be borne by those with the greatest means.

• We commit to reducing the gap between rich and poor by identifying and addressing the root causes of economic and social injustice at home and globally.

• The full diversity of New Brunswick society – ethnic, linguistic, sexual orientation, cultural, generational – must be supported and minorities protected.

• Women have the right to full and equal participation in all aspects of society.

• We recognize and respect the treaty rights of First Nations and seek a trusting and respectful relationship between aboriginal and non-aboriginal communities.
  
  

Self-Determination and Citizenship

• Understanding that it takes a village to raise a child, we assert our collective responsibility for ensuring that every child is raised in a healthy nurturing environment where they are afforded an equal opportunity to develop physically, emotionally, socially and intellectually to their reach their full potential.
• Each person must be granted both the right and opportunity to reach their full potential as autonomous individuals, empowered to assert control over their own circumstances and to assume the responsibility of active citizenship within supportive communities.

• To counter the cynicism and detachment of individuals from the political life of our province, people must be seen as citizens in communities contributing to a common good, not as self-interested consumers in a Consumer Society.
  
  

Non-Violence

• We declare our commitment to strive for a culture of peace and cooperation between individuals, within communities and in relations between governments and citizens.

• We commit to reducing the vulnerability of women and children to violence by building caring and protective communities.

• We seek a justice system centered on rehabilitation and reconciliation rather than retribution and revenge.

• We believe that local, national and global security should rest on cooperation, just economic and social structures and relations, ecological security, and vigorous protection of human rights.
  
  

These principles are the basis of a just, equitable and sustainable future for our children and our province, and the philosophical foundation on which the policies and platforms of the Parti Vert NB Green Party are built.