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Welcome to Jodie Emery's 2009 provincial election campaign website

Jodie Emery ran for office in the May 2009 provincial election. She is the BC Green Party's policing & crime critic, and was elected as a Director-At-Large at the 2010 BC Green Party Annual General Meeting.

Jodie was the BC Green Party candidate for Vancouver-Fraserview in the May 12th, 2009 provincial election. The previous police chief of West Vancouver, Kash Heed, was MP Wally Oppal's replacement as the Liberal candidate. Chinese media commentator Gabriel Yiu was the NDP candidate. Kash Heed is now the MLA for Vancouver-Fraserview and BC's Solicitor General. Jodie got 4.95% of the vote on election day and was pictured in The Province newspaper as a "big name" the next morning. (Click here to see the results from the election.)

Jodie's campaign focused on addressing gang violence by ending drug prohibition, calling for better law enforcement oversight and accountability, critiquing Olympic spending and security, and promoting economic sustainability and efficiency.

Jodie knows drug prohibition is the cause of gang violence and murders plaguing Vancouver, and understands that more law enforcement and stiffer prison sentences only makes the problems worse as proven by a comprehensive study by Canadian researchers which concluded that "tough on crime" prohibition laws have no effect on drug supply and may boost rates of violence in the country.

The BC Green Party understands that ending prohibition and implementing drug policy reform will drastically reduce the black market, eliminate gang violence, save millions in law enforcement costs, and shift much-needed revenue to our provincial treasury. Read the "Ending Prohibition" policy in the BC Green Book, linked to below.

Click here to go to the BC Green Party webpage for Jodie Emery

BC residents, click here to register to vote!

BC Green Party platform

The Green Party has a better plan to govern our province and we need your support to make it happen. The old politics of the NDP and Liberals are responsible for the social and economic problems we now face. Fortunately, there are other ideas. The Greens have gathered solutions from you, the people of BC. Individual citizens, community groups, businesses, and First Nations peoples have helped us put together a better plan for our province. This plan is your voice and ensures you regain a say in governing this province. It includes measures to invest in a new green economy, improve healthcare, build affordable housing, and care for our families and neighbours. Our plan is all about solutions – solutions that will allow us to flourish for generations. With your support, we can work together for a prosperous future. With your support, we can build a better BC.

Click here to see the BC Green Book

Official BC Green Party Policy

Ending Drug Prohibition: Regulating Substance Use

The BC Green Book (page 37)

British Columbians recognize that substance use should be dealt with as a public health concern rather than a criminal matter. The Green Party understands the wisdom of this approach. We are prepared to support an end to prohibition on psychoactive substances and begin regulating and controlling modes of production and access. This means we will focus on the principles of human rights and harm reduction rather than criminalizing substance use.

The Green Party’s new “Green Strategy for Substance Use” is an evidence-based, public-health centered approach that will take away power from organized crime without criminalizing those who struggle with addictions. We believe that enforcement can and should play a role in a public health approach to substance use. However, it should be focused on protecting the public from serious crime, rather than on personal substance use.

Key Goals:
• Establish drug policies based on clear scientific evidence
• Treat substance abuse as a health problem, not a criminal problem
• Reduce crime associated with marijuana prohibition
• Help addicts to stop abusing drugs

BC Greens Will:
• Support the use of evidence-based, harm reduction practices such as needle-exchange, substitution treatments, and safe consumption sites in order to reduce the potential personal and public health harms of substance use
• Work toward regulation and control of the production and distribution of cannabis through licensed outlets
• Support regulated access to currently illegal drugs through a physician’s recommendation
• Implement school-based drug education focused on science, reason, and evidence-based public awareness. This kind of effective prevention campaigning can be seen in the use of tobacco, which has dropped dramatically over the last 40 years.
• Ensure that regional health authorities in British Columbia offer a variety of options for treatment of addictions of all kinds
• Regulate access to substances traditionally used for spiritual purposes and provide funding for research into their therapeutic potential.