MAY EYES B.C. SEATS

Disgruntled conservatives, pot smokers and working moms should all
consider voting for the Greens, federal party leader Elizabeth May
said Friday in Kelowna.

The party appeals to "fiscally conservative, but socially
progressive," people, May said after arriving at Kelowna's airport.

About as many Green party members as members of the media were on hand
to greet May, the first national party leader to visit the Okanagan
this campaign. However, she said the small turnout of supporters was
not surprising, as the event had been organized in a hurry.

A big rally was planned for Friday night in Polson Park in
Vernon.

"We really do think we're within striking distance of winning seats
here in B.C.," May said.

One reason for her optimism, she said, is that large numbers of former
Progressive Conservatives and Reform party members are unhappy with
the direction taken by the Conservative party under Prime Minister
Stephen Harper.

She described the Conservatives as far more right wing than the PCs
were, and said Harper had "betrayed the early idealism" of the Reform
party.

Rather than regularly consult party members and allow MPs a degree of
freedom in their voting, as Reform had pledged to do, May said Harper
had fashioned a Conservative party that is more "autocratic" than any
in Canadian history.

On other issues, May said the Greens would create family-support plans
that would financially benefit both working and stay-at-home moms who
rely on day care, because "one size doesn't fit all."

Asked about the party's plan to legalize marijuana, May said the
current situation, which she called a form of prohibition, was not
working.

Criminalizing the cultivation and sale of marijuana just works to the
advantage of organized crime, May said, while describing its use as
"fairly socially acceptable." A better approach, she suggested, would
be for the government to control and tax the distribution of
marijuana, much as it does with alcohol and tobacco.