The leader of the Green Party of Quebec, Alex Tyrrell, took the floor on Tuesday to introduce the candidacy of Jean-Pierre Duford, official candidate of the Green Party for the 2022 general election, in the riding of Saint-Henri-Sainte-Anne. Together, they took a public stand on the whole issue of local food, an essential step in the energy transition. The Green Party of Quebec proposes to tackle the problems of imported food by building a vast network of public urban and rural greenhouses powered by hydro-electricity. The GPQ also wants to promote local food and food security, while providing greater accessibility to organic and Quebec-based products.
At the event, Alex Tyrrell and his candidate spoke about the Green Party of Quebec’s urban agriculture policy, the National Greenhouse Project. The Green Party of Quebec proposes to address the problems of imported food by building a vast network of public urban and rural greenhouses powered by hydro-electricity. These greenhouses will be built by Hydro-Quebec through a new subsidy program before being handed over to local communities in every neighbourhood in Quebec. The greenhouses will benefit from financial support and free electricity provided by the government. They will be managed democratically by users and community members. The food produced will be distributed to residents at very low cost to avoid food waste. Beyond local food, job creation and the creation of vibrant local communities, this program aims to concretely reduce the role of capitalism in the Quebec food system while stimulating a culture of mutual aid, local solidarity and cooperation. « This is something we want to do province-wide. We are fortunate in Quebec to have a surplus of hydroelectricity and we should put this energy to good use in our communities by producing local food year round, here in Quebec, » said Alex Tyrrell, leader of the party.
The Green Party of Quebec also proposes to subsidize the construction of small-scale passive greenhouses to promote local food and food security.
