Sudbury Green Party candidate Bill Crumplin thinks move to greener economy benefits workers

When Mike Schreiner was elected as MPP for Guelph in 2018, he became the first ever Green Party candidate to hold office in Ontario. The Green Party has been making waves on either coast, with two federal seats in British Columbia and minority government status in PEI's provincial legislature.

Laurentian University professor Bill Crumplin hopes to be the next Ontario politician elected under the Green Party banner. He is the party candidate in the Sudbury riding.

Positions

The Green Partyhas made an effort recently to change public perception that it is solely focused on the environment, but that's still central to their message.

"I always talk about a three legged stool, with the economy, the environment and social issues being the legs," Cumplin said, "I want us to improve all those things, but it has to be built on saving the environment."

When asked about potential conflicts between the Green Party'senvironmental platform and Sudbury's mining industry, Crumplin said there are none. In fact, he believes that Sudbury's economy will strongly benefit from the move to a greener economy.

"There are far more jobs in the green, or electric economy, than people realize. That's the place to go, it's where growth is going to take place. I don't see there being a contradiction there at all."

"We need lead, we need nickel, we need copper, we do all that here, and we do it, arguably, the cleanest and the most environmentally safe way in the world," he said.

Crumplin is a strong believer that the world isin a climate crisis. He says humans, as a species, need to start acting as if the house is on fire.

"Quite frankly, we need somebody to champion the environment," he said.

Background

Crumplinhas been living in Sudbury for 17 years. He moved from Sault Ste. Marie after accepting a position at Laurentian University's School of the Environment.

Sincerity, he says, is what he brings to the table, and a fundamental understanding and concern for the environment.

"I feel it's important for me to take the bull by the horns and see what I can do for the community and for young people."