Silvaine Zimmermann, Green Party candidate for West Vancouver-Sunshine Coast-Sea to Sky Country, has been working for changes in Canadian's lives for more than 30 years.
The 50-year-old mother actually helped launch the Green Party in the early 1980s.
"There was a huge lack in two areas for all the parties at the time we created the Green party," she said, "Those were concern for aboriginal people and their way of life and their way to choose that way of life, and the environment, which was linked to the aboriginal people's issue, as there were hydro projects being launched in Northern Quebec which threatened their way of life.
"I was also quite involved with the peace movement in Montreal," she said. "Ironically, my father worked for a nuclear reactor. He believed in the peaceful use of nuclear technology.
"Before he actually got the job at the reactor, I was in a huge march against the building of the same facility," she said. "Very ironically, the money he earned at the reactor helped with my education."
Zimmermann has used that education as an oceanographer and ecologist to work in environmental research and assessment in Europe, Latin America and the High Arctic.
Over the past 30 years she has initiated groups promoting grass roots democracy, world peace, social justice, intercultural harmony and environmental sustainability.
But for her, the issue at the forefront of this election is one the other parties are not discussing.
"The most important issue of the campaign is not one that is being talked about, and that is electoral reform," she said. "If there was one thing we could do, all together, all parties it would be to revamp our democracy to be more representative.
"It would make Canada a better place and make politicians more accountable, which brings us to what people are talking about, and that is corruption and lack of accountability," she said. "I have a feeling that is linked in part to the incredibly low voter rate amongst younger people from 18 to 35. Partly it may be apathy and partly a realization that our political system and the kinds of politicians it attracts in general are not of the highest caliber. There are a lot of vested interests and a lot of self -interest."
Zimmermann said that was not the case with her party.
"This is still one of the places where the Green Party differs," she said. "I am not saying this is a guarantee it will always be that way, but because we have such an unfortunate system and people keep saying Greens can't be elected, it doesn't attract self-serving politicians to the party. It attracts more idealistic candidates."
That idealism translates to ecologically sustainable and socially progressive solutions to the issues of the day, such as health care, which Zimmermann said is linked to the state of the environment.
"The Green Party view of health care involves trying to be proactive instead of reactive," she said. "That doesn't just mean sending out glossy pamphlets saying people should stop smoking and run on treadmills or eat organically."It means we have to do things to try to make organic food affordable for everyone, we have to legislate against dumping of toxins and pollutants into our environment and using toxic stuff on our food and grow things organically," she said. "It also means we can use intelligent things like tax shifting to punish with heavy taxes polluting industries and use money from that to reinvest in alternative solutions."
On the issue of gun violence in Canada, Zimmermann said it was better to focus on the root cause, not just restrict gun use.
"Most of these shootings don't happen with hunting rifles up north, but with handguns in big cities, and I think the root of the problem is not in the fact we have more guns than we should have, but it is the societal ills that lead to gangs, drug addiction, poverty and hopelessness."
If elected, Zimmermann said she would address the affordable housing issue in the district.
"Morally speaking we need to take care of what may seem a statistically insignificant number of people who can't afford proper housing," she said. "It has become incredibly expensive.
"Where does it leave young families or people who do not have high paying jobs or a rich uncle to help them buy a house," she asked. "We have to have some sort of control on housing prices and prices for rentals. Homelessness exists in our district, and we need to address that issue as soon as possible."
Citing high support for the Green Party in the area, Zimmermann said the time is ripe for the first Green MP and a change for the better.
