MOOSOMIN — Running for the Green Party in Souris-Moose Mountain is Rémi Rheault, who also serves as the Saskatchewan Green Party’s vice-president.
Rheault, who lives in Grenfell, is relatively new to the area, moving from Kenora, Ont, in June 2022. Rheault says based on his experience with multiple political parties and working in union and non-union environments, one prevailing theme rises to the surface.
“Humanity needs to prevail,” he says. “We are too busy expecting that the top is going to help the bottom. We don’t need a pyramid structure anymore; we never really did, and I don’t think it works. What we need is a funnel.
“We need to be a Canadian goose,” he said. “We are Canada from coast to coast.”
Rheault says what sets the Green Party apart is their political structure.
“The Green Party has no whips, we also don’t get corporate funding,” Rheault said. “If you keep voting for big money, you’re never going to get ahead. So, first thing you got to do is vote for somebody that doesn’t have corporate funding. That leaves you Independents, and that leaves you Greens. Those are your two choices today, or stay with the status quo and keep complaining.”
Voter apathy, the need for proportional representation, and a changed system are strong ideals for Rheault.
“In Quebec, we have the parliamentary system from France, and in Ontario, which was Lower and Upper Canada,” he explained, “we have the British governance system. We do not have a Canadian governance system. We have incorporated those two, they merged together to make a federal system. But then there was a third one that they never acknowledged, and that is the First People of Turtle Island’s governance system, and that needs to be corrected.”
Another priority for Rheault is ensuring people have their basic needs met with policies that are adaptable to change with the times.
“A lot of the policies in the Green Party are what I would call foundational policies,” he said. “They are a starting point, they’re not carved in stone. They can change because they need to change with society.”
A few top items Rheault listed as needs today are access to good food, clothing, WiFi, and formats to share information.
“I’m not a leader, I’m just a human being who’s pretty much sick and tired,” he said. “We need to protect the next generation and the next seven after that, which goes back into the First People of Turtle Island’s teachings. Everything we do is what we are going to leave to the future, and if we do nothing, all we’re leaving them is debt and destruction.”
Rheault says the goal of his campaign is to show constituents that there is another option.
“My personal goal is to help people realize they do have another option,” Rheault says.
He says a system comprised of independent candidates will not always be cohesive.
“If there’s 343 independent candidates sitting in the House, there’s going to be a lot of bickering,” Rheault said. “But does that mean anything’s changed? Look at what’s happening today, and yet, maybe they’re going to be able to collaborate together and do something.
“I keep telling people that in today’s day and age, for the future generations, in order to make the changes that are really required, like going into proportional representation, we need to get rid of the money. We need to get rid of the historical big three. Get them all out of there.”
