Protecting Canada’s universal health-care system is job No. 1

There is a constellation of serious issues piling up on the desk of our new Health Minister, Jane Philpott. There’s how to legalize cannabis, while ensuring medicinal marijuana is accessible and of high quality. Simultaneously, the government must manage health warnings that should be applied as healthy people look to cannabis as a recreational drug. There’s ...

Elizabeth May Statement on anniversary of Health Accord’s expiration

OTTAWA – Elizabeth May, Leader of the Green Party of Canada and Member of Parliament for Saanich – Gulf Islands, issued the following statement on the anniversary of the expiration of the Canada Health Accord: “The Harper Conservatives’ decision to let the Health Accord expire and turn health care into a mere accounting entry in ...

Green Party Marks International Day for Biodiversity

The Green Party today celebrates the UN International Day for Biodiversity (IDB), designed to promote and protect the diversity of our ecosystems, species, genes, even our landscape. The IDB was first celebrated on December 29 when the UN General Assembly adopted the Convention on Biodiversity in 1993.  Canada played a leading role countering George Bush’s ...

May 11th is the First-Ever World Lyme Disease Day

The Green Party of Canada wishes to mark the first-ever World Lyme Disease Day on Saturday, May 11th. Green Leader Elizabeth May introduced a Private Member’s Bill in June 2012 calling for the development of a national strategy to address the challenges of the timely recognition, diagnosis, and treatment of Lyme disease. The bill also ...

World Lyme Disease Day Rally

Public event for Green Party of Canada Leader Elizabeth May for Saturday, May 11th is: 1:30 p.m. PDT – Green Leader Elizabeth May will participate in the World Lyme Disease Day Rally in Victoria. Legislative Assembly of British Columbia Victoria, BC Notes: Event from 1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. local time. Ms. May will speak ...

Standing Committee on National Defence (NDDN)

This week The Standing Committee on National Defence (NDDN) held two meetings, including one in camera. On Monday March 18, 2013 the committee met in camera to discuss committee business. The minutes for the meeting can be found here. In this meeting, it was agreed that the committee travel to Washington D.C. and Colorado Springs, ...

Flaherty has changed – and more than just his footwear

There is a distinct change of tone in the 2013 budget. It is a matter of tone more than substance, but the jackboot style of Budget 2012 — the “we will build pipelines and the environment be damned” tone — has been replaced with a kinder, gentler message. This budget shows a sensitivity on issues ...

Standing Committee on Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development (ANNO)

This week the Standing Committee on Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development met on Tuesday March 5, 2013, and Thursday March 7, 2013.  The meeting on March 5, 2013 was held in camera. In this meeting, the committee commenced its study of the controversial Bill C-428, An Act to amend the Indian Act (publication of by-laws) ...

Federal Court Challenge on Constitutionality of Refugee Health Cuts Supported

Green Party Leader Elizabeth May, MP Saanich-Gulf Islands, has thrown her support behind Canadian Doctors for Refugee Care (CDRC), the Canadian Association of Refugee Lawyers (CARL), and three refugee patients who have asked the Federal Court to declare the Harper Conservative health cuts to refugee claimants – even children – unconstitutional and illegal. “This legal ...

Governments keep saying they’re going to fix health-care system

Governments keep telling Canadians how they are going to “fix” the health-care system. Yet many problems are actually getting worse, including longer wait-lists for diagnosis and surgery, over-crowded emergency rooms, and increasing shortages of family doctors. While in general we are living longer, there are worrying developments. Particularly disturbing is the numbers of illnesses and ...