Budget 2017: Fossil fuel subsidies, stock option loophole continue; climate action inches forward

Innovation and Environment Canada are the big winners, but the continuation of fossil fuel subsidies and lucrative stock option loopholes are unaffected by Budget 2017. “For the first time, we’re seeing a focus on adaptation to climate change in this year’s budget,” said Elizabeth May. “I’m pleased to see signficant investment in clean tech and ...

Canada’s innovation agenda – can moon shots work?

Canada’s innovation agenda – can moon shots work? February 7, 2017 Elizabeth May. O.C., M.P. Productivity isn’t everything, but in the long run it is almost everything. - Paul Krugman, The Age of Diminishing Expectations (1994) It is not worth the ink to repeat the ways in which Canada has fallen behind in productivity. We can recite ...

‘Panama Papers’ show white-collar tax evasion continues; Elizabeth May opposed Canada-Panama free trade deal over tax haven concerns

(OTTAWA) April 6, 2016 - The Green Party of Canada is renewing its call for meaningful action against Canadian tax evaders and countries that serve as tax havens, in light of documents leaked from Mossack Fonseca, a Panamanian law firm renowned internationally for establishing shell companies. “The Green Party was the first party to condemn ...

The Liberal budget delivered on some promises while breaking others

Analyzing the new Liberal budget for Canada is difficult.  It is so deeply disappointing, yet compared to any budget in the last ten years it represents a huge improvement.  So the key question in deciding whether it gets a passing grade is to determine against what standard it is measured.  Do we compare it to ...

Budget 2016 may deliver for housing and youth, but misses the mark on climate action

The 2016 budget contains encouraging measures for health, education, youth, waste and water works, and public infrastructure, but misses the mark on climate action and the elimination of fossil fuel subsidies. Many Green Party of Canada requests from the pre-budget submission to Finance Minister Bill Morneau have been accepted. These include: energy retrofits to existing ...

Canada to ratify CETA- even with investor-state provisions

It looked as though we had a chance to rid the world of the consistently perverse non-trade aspect of all new trade deals – the so-called “investor-state agreement.”   And then along came a sneaky European Union proposal dressed up as reform of the investor-state dispute mechanism.  It looks like, once again, Canada will agree to ...

Speech on Bill C-2

Elizabeth May: Mr. Speaker, it is an honour to rise today in this House to discuss Bill C-2. I want to start by clearly stating my premise up front, and then speaking to it throughout the 10 minutes I have. My premise is this, fairness for the middle class and societal inequality cannot stand together. ...

Canada-EU trade deal still gives foreign companies upper hand

(OTTAWA) March 1, 2016 – The “legal scrubbing” of the Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) – announced today by International Trade Minister Chrystia Freeland – does little to prevent foreign investors from suing governments through a custom-made tribunal process. “Under CETA, foreign investors will still be able to attack state decisions in areas ranging ...

Time to ditch investor-state agreements

The door has opened for the first time in a long time to rid the world of the consistently perverse non-trade aspect of all new trade deals—the so-called “investor-state agreement.” These provisions allow a foreign corporation to bring a challenge by way of private arbitration against a government if that government’s actions can be interpreted ...

Exclusive: Elizabeth May on climate change, electoral, political, and monetary reform, sexual assault and much more

By Christopher Majka February 27, 2016 Source: rabble.ca Elizabeth May is once again alone. For a period of almost two years she was joined on the Green Party parliamentary benches in Ottawa by former New Democrat and former independent MP Bruce Hyer. However, Hyer lost his seat in the 2015 election leaving the MP for ...