Meet the Green Party’s West Island candidates

Quebec’s Greens are focused on transit the environment, and social issues

The Green Party of Quebec has candidates running in all four West Island ridings.

The Green Party of Quebec has never had an elected member of the national assembly. Its strongest showing was in the 2007 election, with 108 candidates garnering 3.85 per cent of the votes.

In 2014, the party ran 44 candidates and received 0.55 per cent of the vote.

Led by Alex Tyrrell, the party is described as eco-socialist, with environmental protection, social justice and access to health care at the core of its mission. Its 2018 campaign slogan is Back in Force!

Here are the Green Party of Quebec West Island candidates:

ROBERT-BALDWIN

Cathy Richardson teaches social work at Université de Montréal and has a private therapy and counselling practice.

“I am a Métis woman with Cree, Dene and Gwichin ancestry, and I work with various First Nations, Métis and Inuit communities, doing violence prevention and healing work related to the residential school experience,” Richardson said in an email.

“I would like to be an advocate for poverty reduction, access to services and human rights. I am against the Quebec Charter of Values, which discriminates against those from non- Québécois backgrounds,” she said. “We must remember that the Indigenous people were here first and they are often eclipsed in these conversations about who has the right to belong in Quebec.”

MARQUETTE

Kimberly Salt has lived in Lachine since 1997. She is pursuing a specialization in urban planning degree, with a minor in anthropology at Concordia University, and is the vice-president of Compeer, a non-profit organization that offers workshops to people coping with mental illness.

If elected, Salt would focus on the state of public transit by advocating for free transit, improving bus service and seeking permanent status for the now-temporary Du Canal commuter train stop in eastern Lachine.

JACQUES-CARTIER

Growing up in Beaconsfield, Catherine Polson was involved in and volunteered for various sports organizations. She believes that “volunteer engagement and community involvement are the key to building vibrant communities.”

Polson completed a political science degree at Concordia University and is currently working in marketing.

If elected, she would promote the protection of Angell Woods and the L’Anse-à-l’Orme nature park and work to protect the shorelines and quality of the drinking water. And she would focus her energy on making sure the public transit grid would serve the West Island at large, not just neighbourhoods adjacent to future REM (light-rail stations).

NELLIGAN

Guiseppe Cammarrota lives in the east end, but worked in the West Island before quitting his job to focus full time on the campaign. He worked in sales and was taken aback by the waste he witnessed, becoming an advocate of thoughtful consumerism.

Caring for the province’s natural resources and strengthening the security net for members of marginalized populations are two of his priorities.