the world according to garth...and the green party?

So newly minted independent MP Garth Turner is going to make an "announcement " and reveal "distrubing" behavior from the PMO office. Speculation is that he will go over to the Green Party. Is anyone else kind of tired of this guy? It's one thing if he was quietly getting things done for your constituents, but the guy loves the cameras and the publicity. He even seems to have a persecution complex: "who me - what did I do to deserve all this from the big mean Stephen Harper?" But leaving that aside, if he does go Green, and thus confering official party status and giving them an opportunity in future election debates and a higher profile in elections, what does that do to the already fractured political scene in this country? Do the greens take votes from the NDP? The Conservatives? both? Here's their website; policywise, I just don't know where the votes from. Last election they pulled in about 5% - could that double? Ok, maybe not. I'd been led to believe that they were fiscally conservative and envorinmentally responsible, but I think they are a little more "fringe" than I thought. For example, they have 8 statements on toxicity and only 4 on taxes. Check out their platform here, from which I pulled these random policy planks: Green Party MPs will work to

2. Prohibit the use of pesticides for cosmetic purposes. (I didn't make this up) 64. Support pedestrian, cycle and car-sharing infrastructure in towns and cities.

108. Establish a federal program to end "roadside zoos," reduce the number of animals held in captivity, and create clear and enforceable standards for zoos across the country. (I also did not make this one up - the word zoo just jumped out at me) 137. Ban all non-natural pesticides and insecticides by the year 2010 and provide alternatives for farmers.

159. Fund a national housing program to build energy-efficient co-ops and affordable housing units. And my personal favorite: 216. Propose a reform of the WTO, the IMF and the World Bank, placing these institutions under the authority of the UN general assembly, and shift the direction of international trade away from "free trade" to "fair trade" focusing on the global protection of human rights, labour standards, cultural diversity, and ecosystems.

If I could sum up their perspective on a very non scientific (opportunistic skim reading) look at the platform, it would be: heavy handed government regulation of almost every aspect of our lives, personal liberty be damned.