I want to talk about Hope.

Not a Hope that is wishful and naïve but a Hope that is purposeful and realistic.

The Hope represented by the Green Party as a new force for renewing Canadian politics and Canada.

You can see it when the leading candidate for the Liberal leadership race - Michael Ignatieff – advocates for a Carbon Tax & Green Tax Shift.

You can see it when the NDP tries desperately hard to out-green the Greens on their environmental platform in every election.

You can see it when the Conservatives are at least willing discuss the idea of higher mandatory emission standards on new cars.

You can see it in recent polling numbers for the Green Party that show support edging and breaking into the double digits.

But, these are just early signs that something is changing, shifting in the political sphere. A much greater impact is still to come when the first Green members enter Parliament and Legislatures as a new M.P.’s & M.P.P”s.

And that “Tipping Point” is closer than we think. I was speaking to Elizabeth May recently and told her I that I thought she had became the Green Party leader at the perfect time – when the Green Party and her were both in the best position to benefit each other the most.

And I believe we will finally get into the national T.V. leadership debates in the coming federal election. Imagine the misstep it would be for the other political parties to even tacitly go along with a plan to exclude a Party now polling equal to the Bloc and running in every Riding and all regions of the country for the third election in a row. It also frankly would not make good television because I believe a lot more people (including youth) would tune in to hear and see a dynamic Elizabeth May debating the other leaders.

We have worked very hard over many elections to get to the point we are at now. We should be proud of this accomplishment and the exciting potential that unfolds before us.

But, let’s not be fooled into thinking that the finish line is near and that all we need is a final sprint and we are home free. No, we still have a long road ahead before we see a Canada that is environmentally sustainable, politically united, socially just and economically responsible.

Until now we have been largely ignored by the two biggest parties – that will no longer be the case in the next election and beyond. We are now fully on their radar screens. I am going to be running hard again in the next federal election so that in the future I can tell my children and their friends, that our generation knew it could not afford the luxury of either despair or apathy when faced with the possible end of so much beauty and diversity and well-being.

That at first a few, and then many, joined in common cause for protecting life on Earth. That we met with much resistance and inertia but we persevered and in the end that made the crucial difference.

Thank-you.