Dez Loreen
Northern News Services

Yellowknife (Jan 23/06) - Mary Cox is worried that Canada is headed down the wrong path with its current leadership.

Cox chooses to vote Green because she shares the ideas the party has for a better Canada.

Mary Cox, age 23, is a Green Party supporter because she likes the economic platform. - Dez Loreen/NNSL photo

The 23-year-old Ontario-born ecologist said that as a country, Canada over-consumes its resources, is guilty of wasting energy, and its economic practices could be done better.

She pointed out that at the present time there is no party representation in House of Commons that really stands for environment issues.

Ensuring that the country meets its deadlines by the Kyoto Protocol is one of the more important issues that should be addressed immediately, she said.

That can be done simply by everyone doing their part to stop pollution by not idling cars and wasting garbage.

"Just recycle as much as you can," said Cox.

She also thinks Canadians are digging themselves into a large hole by not starting to live cleaner lives.

"We're screwing ourselves over, and we'll pay for it 200 years down the road," said Cox.

Having a representative in the House of Commons who will stand for environmental issues should be a priority for all Canadians, Cox said.

"We can all work towards this goal," she said. "We all have a responsibility to do the right thing."

As for the future of the Green Party, Cox is hopeful for the years to come.

"We have candidates in every riding, so it would be really awesome to get a member in - or two, or three," Cox said.

Noting that the Greens have as much as 30 per cent of the vote in some European countries, Canada shouldn't be far behind.

But: "I don't see us ruling the country soon," said Cox.

People should start to open their eyes to the problems around them, like climate change, and wasted resources that could be used here like natural gas, Cox said.

Once more support is gained in regions all over the country, Cox has strong hope for the Greens. "One day the Green party could be the official opposition for the prime minister."