The new provincial Green Party leader is expecting to make some headway in Ontario in the next election.
Mike Schreiner — elected as leader on Saturday — tells Bayshore Broadcasting News he’s optimistic about the party’s chances in Ontario, particularly in the Bruce Grey Owen Sound riding.
He says with Shane Jolley as the candidate and a great team of volunteers and supporters in the riding, he thinks it could be one of the first in Ontario to elect a Green M-P-P in 2011.
Schreiner also sees the creation of a financially sustainable agriculture system as one of the larger issues in the riding.
He says farm groups and local producers in Grey Bruce are looking at seizing opportunities to build prosperity within the ag sector.
When it comes to the possible side effects of wind turbines — a big issue in the riding — Schreiner says he’d like the province to do more research.
But Schreiner also says he’s found that wind turbine projects started at the grass roots level — benefiting the entire community — tend to have much fewer complaints than do the wind farm projects imposed by the provincial government.
He says in those cases, communities tend to fight back.
For the first time in the Green Party’s history — Schreiner will be a full-time party leader focusing on growing the party through support and fundraising.