A HEALTHY PLATFORM

It's a simple equation. Drugs plus guns equals violent crime.

Repeal the prohibition on drugs, and replace it with a health-based
regulatory framework, and you will see all manner of crimes -
including handgun violence - drop dramatically, says Dr. Rick
Mathias, Green Party candidate for Richmond.

"Prohibition has failed," he says.

Mathias, who teaches public health at the University of B.C., is a
member of the British Columbia Health Officers Council, which
published a paper on repealing prohibition on drugs.

It was that paper - plus an absence of anyone in his riding he felt
comfortable voting for - that prompted Mathias to run for the Green Party.

"The science (on prohibition) is clear, and now we have to move it
through the policy and political arena," says the 61-year-old
political neophyte.

Born in Agassiz, Mathias has lived in Richmond for the last 25 years.
Mathias was B.C.'s first field epidemiologist and was a founding
member of the National Advisory committee on AIDS. He has held
consultancy positions with the World Health Organization on issues
like immunization and hepatitis B.

Due to his background in public health, Mathias was appointed the
Green Party's shadow critic for health, and has helped write the
party's platform on health.

Not surprisingly, many of his own platform planks are health related.
For example, Mathias believes obesity, which is a contributing factor
to high rates of Type Two diabetes, is a major national health issue.
Preventing obesity would go a long way to addressing many health
concerns and costs.

"We're going to have to take on the food industry," Mathias said.

By that he means heavily taxing - or even banning - certain unhealthy
foods or substances, like sugar, salt and fat.

"We're going to have to deal with sugar much like we have to deal
with marijuana or tobacco."

At the same time, while he favours outright prohibition on some
harmful food substances, he's in favour of repealing prohibition on
narcotics. That doesn't mean he's in favour of legalization. That
would send the wrong message to youth, he said.

"We do not want a free market. We want a regulated market," he said.

Mathias said the Vancouver police estimate 70 per cent of crime is
related to drugs, particularly property crimes. Repealing prohibition
would deal with the problem of illegal marijuana grow operations and
drug labs, Mathias said, as well as the growing problem of handgun
violence in Canada.

"We will probably get rid of 90 per cent of the gang wars, because
most of the shootings here_particularly in the Indo-Canadian
community are over drugs. We'll get rid of the handgun problem by
getting rid of prohibition."

But for those who do end up getting shot and have to go to the
hospital, Mathias believes there should be a choice between public
and private facilities.

The Green Party supports a publicly funded health care insurance
program, but with a mix of public and private delivery - much like
the models in place in many European countries.

Under the current global funding system, Mathias said hospitals get
rewarded for "doing as little as possible." The Green Party proposes
to pay hospitals on a fee for service basis. Hospitals would
therefore compete with private clinics.

The Green Party would also include dental care and pharmacare in the
Canada Health Act. Under such a system, all Canadians would get basic
coverage for both dental care and drug coverage. Catastrophic health
care would also be covered.

On the environment, Mathias said Canada - despite having signed the
Kyoto Accord - is failing miserably to meet its emissions targets.

"The gap between what we said we were going to do and what we have
done is growing. Emissions are going up, they're not going down."

Addressing gridlock and other transportation issues have emerged as
major election issues in many Lower Mainland communities.

Rather than spend money on roads and bridges, Mathias said he would
have the government invest in alternatives that address
transportation issues while reducing emissions. He would also give
citizens free bus passes.

Unlike Liberal MP Raymond Chan, Mathias said he would not spend $100
million or more on the Blundell interchange and George Massey tunnel
expansion - projects that would only increase truck traffic on Lower
Mainland roads.

If he had that much money to spend on transportation, Mathias said he
would some of it into research into alternatives that address
transportation issues while reducing emissions. He would also give
citizens free bus passes.

While some politicians view all economic growth as positive, Mathias
said that's not always the case, and said it needs to be checked.

"Growth is necessary; uncontrolled growth is cancer," he said.

One area in Richmond that will certainly see some growth is the
136-acre Garden City lands. Mathias would like to see some of he land
used for energy efficient, affordable housing for seniors, and urban farming.

"Let's take a piece of that and turn it into a demonstration
project," he said. "It's great farmland."