The Green Party would reduce the GST on products that cut pollution and improve the health of Canadians, while comparably raising it on products that do the opposite.

By staking out the pro and con sides over GST cuts, the Conservatives and Liberals have forgotten that the GST is one tool available to the federal government to improve the overall health and direction of society, said Green Party of Canada leader Jim Harris.

"The GST should guide the social, environmental and economic priorities of Canadians by linking its rate to the impact of specific products," said Harris. "In the dying days of Parliament, MPs were able to find the time to fast-track a bill to scrap the 8 per cent luxury tax on Canadian-made jewelry, but couldn't find time to reform the GST system to better reflect the needs of ordinary Canadians."

The Green Party would reduce the GST on products that cut pollution and improve the health of Canadians, while comparably raising it on products that do the opposite. As part of its overall strategy to reduce poverty, the GST would also be gradually eliminated on education supplies, books and children's clothing. GST rebates would be more accurately indexed to reflect the buying patterns of low-income Canadians.

The existing GST is the federal government's double-edged fiscal sword, pumping up government revenues on the one hand, while contributing to increased public costs on the other. According to the Green Party, the underlying flaw of the GST is that the same rate applies to gasoline or Doritos as it does to a fitness club membership or Margaret Atwood's latest bestseller The Penelopiad."

In March 2005, the New England Journal of Medicine published a report that children born today have a life expectancy that could for the first time in recent history be shorter than that of their parents. The author of the report blames rising mortality on disease related to obesity and lack of exercise.

"When one-third of Canadian female single-parent families report worrying about not having enough to eat or eating the quality of food desired, it's a bit rich of the Conservative party to call a news conference in front of plasma TVs to promise a GST cut on SUVs," said Harris.

The Green Party also drew attention to the Liberal Party Red Book, released for the 1993 election that proposed fiscal measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, increase efficiency and move towards a healthier Canada. "Regrettably, the Liberals have chosen budgetary surpluses over honouring their 1993 pledge."