Week in Review: March 18 – 22
Welcome to Elizabeth May’s parliamentary Week in Review! This weekly e-newsletter recaps her work in Parliament when the House is in session. Using the links below, you can watch videos of Elizabeth’s interventions in the House, keep up with her media releases, and read articles she has written.
On Monday, the week got off to a busy start with Elizabeth needing to be in three places at once at precisely 3:30 pm. With split-second timing, the Parliament Hill team managed to pull it off. Within the hour she presented evidence to the Fisheries and Oceans Committee on her bill to ban keeping whales and dolphins in captivity, S-203, defended her amendments to the Indigenous languages bill, C-91 and responded to the Prime Minister’s statement on the terrorist attack in New Zealand. Throughout the rest of the evening, Elizabeth had to go between being in the House of Commons and continuing to defend her amendments on Bill C-91.
In the Fisheries and Oceans Committee, MPs finally heard from witnesses about Bill S-203, An Act to End the Captivity of Whales and Dolphins. The next stage for this bill is on April 2nd when MPs will review it clause-by-clause. It is critical that the bill passes committee unamended to have a chance at passing before the election. Stay tuned next week for an email on how you can help make sure that happens.
On Tuesday of this week, the government tabled the final federal budget of their term. This was met with protests from the Conservative Party. In a childish display, they attempted to drown out the Finance Minister as he delivered his budget speech. As with most pre-election budgets, this one is full of lofty promises that the government will not be able to fulfil before the end of this mandate. Many of the major commitments in this budget will only be enacted if the Liberals are re-elected. In addition to the unrealistic expectations set by the Liberals, the budget fails to deliver on climate action. We are in a climate emergency, delaying action is not an option.
Starting late Wednesday afternoon, in an effort to pressure the Liberals into opening an investigation into the SNC-Lavalin affair, the Conservatives used procedural tactics to force MPs to spend almost 36 hours voting on routine measures that usually would have been dealt with as one vote. Elizabeth was one of the few MPs who spent the entire night in the chamber voting.
After voting for 24 hours, Elizabeth headed back to BC where she will spend next week in Saanich-Gulf Islands doing important constituency work. Our next edition of Week in Review will be the week of April 1st.
For further updates on Elizabeth’s activities, you can follow her on Facebook, @ElizabethMayMP and on Twitter, @ElizabethMay.
* If you are having trouble viewing this email, please view it online here: elizabethmaymp.ca/category/publications/week-in-review-publications*
Key Moments in the House
Question Period:
In the House of Commons:
- Statement on the terrorist attack in New Zealand
- Adjournment Proceedings: We are in a climate crisis, when will the government take real action?
- Point of Order: Bringing the House to order during late night votes
- Opposition Motion: SNC-Lavalin Affair
Budget 2019:
Statements and Press Releases
- Elizabeth May renews call for independent inquiry into SNC-Lavalin affair
- Statement on World Water Day 2019
- Statement on International Francophonie Day
- Turning people away at the border same as building a wall
- The figures don’t lie: Budget 2019 short-changes the fight against climate change
- Will the Liberals deliver a budget that acknowledges the climate emergency?
- Local residents deserve credit for Transport Canada action
- Elizabeth May stands with students striking for climate action, in Canada and around the world
In the News
- Elizabeth May talks Budget 2019 on Power Play with Don Martin
(CTV News, Don Martin, March 20)
- Green Party Leader discusses 2019 federal budget
(CPAC, Peter Van Dusen, March 19)
- Elizabeth May feels people are looking at the Green Party with new eyes
(The Ashcroft-Cache Creek Journal, Barbra Roden, March 20)
- Elizabeth May discusses Budget 2019 with CTV’s Joyce Napier
(CTV News, Lisa LaFlamme, March 19)
- ‘It’s pathetic’: Elizabeth May reacts to climate measures in budget
(CTV News, Josh Dehaas, March 19)
- Why Elizabeth May thinks P.E.I. Greens and Maxime Bernier will boost her party’s fortunes
(HuffPost, Ryan Maloney, March 16)
- Federal Green Party leader Elizabeth May makes three stops in Manitoba
(Global News, Marek Tkach, March 16)
- Elizabeth May talks fossil fuels, pipelines and selling out the climate in Alberta
(Rabbel.ca, David J. Climenhaga, March 13)
- The SNC-Lavalin affair and backroom politics
(The Weekly with Wendy Mesley, March 10) starts at 10:40
Petitions
Elizabeth presents petitions once the deadline for signatures has passed. After presentation in the House, the government has 45 calendar days to table a response.
This week Elizabeth presented a petition calling for the House of Commons to enact legislation and policies to ensure pay equity throughout Canada.
You may read the governments’ responses to petitions Elizabeth has introduced here.
View and sign open e-petitions currently sponsored by Elizabeth here.
Learn about the e-petition process or create one of your own here.
Community Newsletters
September 2018 – Immigration and Refugees
Committees, Briefs and Responses
Submission to Fisheries and Oceans Canada on Proposed Regulations on Rebuilding Plans
Submission to the Cannabis Legalization and Regulation Branch on Edible Cannabis
Submission to the Consultations on the Initial Environmental Assessment of the New NAFTA
Submission on the External Review of the Critical Habitat Section for Resident Killer Whales
Submission to the Consultations on an Amendment to Aquaculture Regulation
Submission to the Transport Canada Parliamentary Consultation
Submission to the Consultations on the Federal Carbon Pricing System
Submission to the Consultations on the Federal Leaders’ Debates
Submission to the Consultations on Health Canada’s Proposed Approach to the Regulation of Cannabis
Submission to the Consultations on the Proposed Excise Duty Framework for Cannabis Products
Submission to the Canada-Pacific Trade Consultations
Brief Submitted to the NAFTA Renegotiation Consultation
Brief Submitted to the Minister of Food and Agriculture Canada for “A Food Policy for Canada”
Response Submitted to the Consultations on Tax Planning Using Private Corporations
Private Members’ Bills
Elizabeth May has introduced the following bills:
Bill S-203: This bill will outlaw the cruel practice of keeping whales, dolphins and porpoises in captivity.*
Bill C-401: This bill will lower the voting age to 16.
Bill C-387: This bill will establish a legislative framework for a national passenger rail service.
Bill C-269: This bill will abolish mandatory minimum sentences for all crimes except murder and treason.
Bill C-258: This “Think Small First” bill would require that every new bill introduced in the House undergo an assessment to determine how the bill would impact Canadian small businesses.
Bill C-259: The Open Science Act would require all federal departments to make all publicly funded scientific research available to Canadians on their websites.
For a list of private members’ bills Elizabeth May has seconded, please visit elizabethmaymp.ca.
* Indicates that the bill is a Senate Public Bill
Upcoming Events
March 22
March 23
March 24
March 29
March 31
Green Party of Canada – Community Matters Tour
Starting in February Elizabeth will kick off a national tour starting with visiting communities across Eastern Canada in her role of Leader of the Green Party of Canada in advance of the 2019 federal election. What matters to you? How would you improve our democracy? What can we all do together to secure our future, for humanity, for the natural world?
Come share your priorities, concerns, and vision for Canada’s future at a Community Matters Town Hall near you.