May Celebrates Decision to Keep Plant Health Centre Open

Elizabeth May, MP for Saanich-Gulf Islands and Leader of the Green Party of Canada, is today celebrating the Conservatives’ reversal of their decision to close the Centre for Plant Health on the Saanich Peninsula. “I am grateful to Minister Ritz for listening to our concerns and for re-thinking the earlier decision to move its quarantine ...

Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-Food (AGRI)

This week the committee finished its study of the supply chain of red meat products, and undertook a study of Bill S-11, the “Safe Foods for Canadians Act”. The October 23rd meeting was undertaken ‘in camera’, but the October 25th meeting saw the Committee meet publicly for the first time since the XL Foods beef ...

Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-Food (AGRI)

This week the committee met in camera to resume its studies of the food supply chain (overview) and the animal products supply chain (red meat). The Minutes for the meetings can be found here and here. Print this page...

Emergency Debate – Food Safety

Elizabeth May: Mr. Speaker, I want to take this debate to a different level. I want to quote from the Weatherill report. In addition to the fact that we have lost food inspectors and we are concerned about food safety, we may not be addressing the big picture. The Weatherill report reads: The risks of ...

Joint Statement on Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement

As the Green parliamentary political parties of three nations whose governments are currently in the process of negotiating the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA), we are issuing this joint statement to express our serious concern at the fundamentally undemocratic and non-transparent nature of this agreement.  Following the leaking of the draft investment chapter of the TPPA ...

Oshawa Ethanol Plant More Greed Than Green?

The Harper Conservatives’ latest move to support the building of a $200-million ethanol processing plant on Oshawa’s valuable waterfront is tainted in several ways important to Canadians.  The corn-based biofuel ethanol has long been considered a questionable alternative to oil and gas; there has been no valid environmental assessment, even though it is close to sensitive ...

Canada still has no plan to address climate change

There is no shortage of compelling issues to discuss in a Hill Times Environmental Policy briefing.  Even listing, without describing, the catalogue of assaults on environmental law and policy by the prime minister in the last 12 months is enough to occupy the whole issue. Canada undermined global climate negotiations in Durban in December, negotiated ...

Clarifiying the deliberately confusing Bill C-38

As a long-time environmental lawyer who has watched, and, in some cases, played a role in the development of Canada’s environmental laws, I am devastated at the cynical, manipulative, and undemocratic way the Harper Conservatives are weakening or destroying those crucial laws. The Conservatives have hidden their destructive, anti-nature, health, and even jobs agenda in ...

Bill C-38: the Environmental Destruction Act

Usually when the Harper Conservatives bring in a new law, there is a big roll-out. The prime minister or one of his heavy-hitters goes to a prime location, usually not Parliament Hill. A factory or a mall or a friendly backyard. Tens of thousands are routinely spent on a “branding” of the new act. There ...

Opposition Motion—Health and safety of Canadians

That, in the opinion of the House, the government, and specifically the Minister of Finance, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and the President of the Treasury Board, has failed to learn the painful lessons from Walkerton which proved that cuts to essential government services protecting the health and safety of Canadians are reckless and can ...