Eco-group gives thumbs-up to five candidates

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 11/04/2016 (3535 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A national, non-partisan environmental group is endorsing five candidates from four parties running in the Manitoba election.

GreenPAC, a Toronto-based organization that says it’s committed to “building environmental leadership in politics,” says the five candidates have strong environmental track records. They include:

❚ Ian Wishart (PC — Portage la Prairie)

❚ John Gerrard (Liberal — River Heights)

❚ Eric Robinson (NDP — Kewatinook)

❚ James Allum (NDP — Fort Garry-Riverview)

❚ Janine Gibson (Green Party — La Verendrye)

Endorsed candidates were selected by an panel of non-partisan leaders in various environmental fields, including two with Manitoba expertise, GreenPAC said in a press release.

The panel evaluated candidates based on their environment-related accomplishments in the private, public or non-governmental organization sectors. Political platforms and campaign promises were not assessed.

The endorsements were also informed by a public survey conducted in March that asked Manitobans what they thought of a shortlist of candidates and encouraged them to submit names of candidates they thought were environmental leaders.

GreenPAC said it will encourage Manitobans to make donations of time and money toward the campaigns of the endorsed candidates.

“Traditionally, candidates who put the environment first have had fewer resources than their opponents,” Aaron Freeman, founder and president of GreenPAC, said in a statement. “GreenPAC aims to change that. By harnessing broad support for environmental action and strategically focusing that support on select key campaigns, we believe we can make the environment a top political priority.”

Manitoba, he said, has an opportunity to be an environmental leader in Canada.

“Each of these five endorsed candidates has demonstrated the environment is an important priority for them. We hope Manitobans will learn more about these champions and help them get elected.”

Environmental leadership needs to come from across the political spectrum, Freeman says.

“Regardless of a voter’s party leanings, we want to make sure everyone has a choice to support an environmental champion.”

Political action committees, or PACs, are well-known in the United States. Often they’re used to channel financial donations to particular causes or issues. With strict rules on political donations, PACs are less common in Canada.