STOP DEEP INTEGRATION WITH THE USA: The Liberals and Conservatives both support the "Security & Prosperity Plan" which will hand over much of Canada's sovereignty to American regulators and corporate tribunals. The NDP has created the Stop the SPP working group and MP Peter Julian has recently forced the government to hold hearings so the public can learn the truth about plans for deep-integration.

END MARIJUANA PROHIBITION: I believe in ending the failed "war on drugs" which causes more harm than it prevents. Canada should join other nations who are developing drug policies based upon harm reduction, human rights and accurate science. I believe that we must end marijuana prohibition, implement supervised injection sites such as InSite in any communities that want and need them, and develop better policies which treat drug use as a health and social issue, and not a primarily criminal one.

END THE AFGHAN WAR: Our current strategy in Afghanistan is not the right mission. The original reason for the invasion of Afghanistan was to capture Bin Laden, a goal which seems to have been forgotten. It is not possible for an invading army to impose democracy at the point of a gun. Also, our aggressive poppy eradication strategies are impoverishing farmers and generating support and funds for the Taliban. The best route to stability in Afghanistan begins with licensing and regulating their illicit opium crop for medicinal use, an increasingly popular plan proposed by many groups, including the International Council on Security and Development.

CIVILIAN OVERSIGHT OF THE RCMP: No police force should be in the position of investigating their own officers. The RCMP must have an independent civilian oversight which ensures the safety of officers and investigates allegations of misconduct by police.

MANDATORY LABELING OF GMO FOODS: Consumers must have a free choice which includes mandatory labeling of all genetically-modified food products. The use of genetically modified plants and animals should be closely monitored and restricted mainly to study and research. We must also examine the important issues around the patenting of life forms and corporate ownership of genetic codes, and restrict the use of "terminator seeds."

NORTHERN SOVEREIGNTY: Canada should assert our national sovereignty in the Arctic and ensure that we do not lose control over territory or valuable waterways. This includes strengthening our northern navy, but also supporting Arctic community infrastructure.

POLITICAL SOVEREIGNTY: We must also ensure that our government, our military and our police work to enforce Canadian laws for Canadians, and to further our national interest. We must not allow our institutions to become servants to the interests of the White House or transnational corporations. Cases like the rendition of Maher Arar and the impending extradition of Marc Emery show how our government is failing to enforce Canadian law for Canadians.

DEMOCRACY: I believe that we must preserve and reform our democracy. I support changes to our electoral system to make it more fair and representative, including ideas such as proportional representation, preferential ballots and ballot initiatives. I also oppose the use of black box electronic voting machines which have become widespread in the US.

HEALTHCARE: I believe in quality healthcare for all Canadians, but with a focus on prevention and ensuring good health, instead of last-minute interventionist healthcare. We must better regulate the pharmaceutical industry, to ensure both safety and fair pricing. Health Canada must once again actually test new drugs coming onto the market, instead of just looking over the tests performed by the corporation promoting the new drug. Also, Health Canada should run trials and tests on the unpatentable but often very useful plant-based medicines.

GROW MORE HEMP: Cannabis hemp is an excellent industrial crop with many applications as a source of fuel, food and fibre. Canada's hemp industry remains under a stifling regulatory scheme which severely limits our farmers' ability to take full advantage of this crop. I believe that Canada should ease the rules around growing hemp, allowing Canadians to take advantage of the growing global market for hemp food, fuel and fibre products.