Link to Householder Winter 2026

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And what a week! Political drama! High stakes! Floor crossing! The Conservative Caucus, (and particularly Pierre Poilievre’s inner circle) were a real-life episode of House of Cards. I really prefer a boring week.

The budget came down on Tuesday and, as I wrote last week, we had a good group of Greens in the lock-up. Beginning at 10 AM, we worked through the 400-page document in hard copy. We had been at it for several hours before it came to light that there was a separate USB memory stick with the whole budget–including key annexes that were not in the printed book. The Bloc has lodged a complaint to be ruled on by the Speaker about distributing an incomplete budget. Needless to say, we were scrambling to catch up. Annex 5 on the memory stick included anticipated legislative changes to 75 pieces of legislation, foreshadowing a likely Budget Implementation Act in coming weeks. I hate the thought of it, but we could have an omnibus (massive) budget bill soon, without adequate time to study or consider the implications.

Meanwhile, in our lock-up room, Mike Morrice, Finance critic David Hachey, small business critic Michael Holbrook, budgetary coordinator for our platform, John Kidder (yup my husband), and key staff from my MP team, Steven Parkinson, legislative director (with help from interns), and I worked to bang out a draft release. All our work was embargoed until the Finance Minister stood to present the budget at 4 pm. Then our team fanned out to get the work distributed while Mike Morrice and I spoke with the media. Below is our release, canvassing as much as we could of an unacceptable budget, while giving credit for line items we liked.

Green release:

The Prime Minister said Canadians should be prepared for sacrifice — Greens ask: Who sacrifices? And who profits?

November 4, 2025

Ottawa — Elizabeth May, Green Party Leader and MP for Saanich–Gulf Islands, joined by former Green MP and Housing and Disability Inclusion Critic Mike Morrice, highlight the winners and losers in the Liberal 2025 budget:

This budget is full of sacrifices for programs Canadians rely on — climate action and nature, and healthcare expansion — but not for billionaires, multinationals, and foreign-owned fossil fuel giants.

Canada’s legally binding climate commitment under the Paris Agreement is completely lost. So too, the oil and gas cap is gone, as well as numerous climate-related programs, while oil and gas production is increased.

The budget’s “Productivity Super-Deduction” is an accelerated capital cost allowance explicitly intended to reduce Canada’s marginal effective tax rate to be competitive with Mr. Trump’s tax-cutting “Big Beautiful Bill.” “Levelling the playing field” by meeting the lowest international tax rates is a race to the bottom — never a winning strategy.

A national electrical grid is a cornerstone for real decarbonization. The budget offers piecemeal tax deductions, but no federal strategy or leadership essential to bring the provincial players together.

The Green Homes program has been abandoned because it was too popular — the new Build Canada Homes has no provision for retrofits of existing housing stock, the most effective way to reduce emissions from the housing sector.

“This budget sacrifices $56 billion in public services — like a program that helped folks in my community retrofit their homes and save money on their energy costs — all while foreign-owned fossil fuel giants and billionaires continue to make off like bandits,” said Morrice.

Losers in the budget are Nature, with no announced funding for meeting 30-by-30 commitments to protect Canada’s nature, nothing for west coast salmon rehabilitation, no mention of the Indigenous Guardians program, and cuts to overseas development assistance when the world’s poor need it most.

Adaptation to climate change is mentioned only in a commitment to lease four new fire-fighting aircraft — a tiny contribution to what needs to be a major nationwide effort.

A $484 million reduction in spending at Indigenous Services is not aligned with true reconciliation.

Losers are Canada’s small business owners — representing 50% of GDP and providing 66% of private sector jobs — small business is barely mentioned in this budget, overshadowed by “Projects of National Significance” (read: major corporations). “The ‘backbone’ of the Canadian economy desperately needs a chiropractor,” said Green Small Business Critic Michael Holbrook.

No funds to help Canadians who want to go electric. No cuts in tariffs that make solar more expensive for Canadians.

Nothing to enhance the disability benefit to raise people with disabilities out of poverty.

The huge cuts in public services will cause years of pain.

On the plus side, Greens welcome funding for the CBC, $1 billion for supportive housing, the continuation of funding for the school lunch program, continuation of expanded dental care, high-speed rail, and the foreign credentials recognition fund. The Building Canada Homes program commits, as Greens demanded, to a clear definition of affordability. The Youth Climate Corps could be transformational, but as a two-year program at $20 million/year, it is at best a pilot project.

The big winners are the multinationals able to access the “Productivity Super-Deduction”—big foreign corporations like General Electric, Hitachi, and others lined up for billions in subsidies for unproven nuclear technology. Multinationals like Shell, Petronas, Mitsubishi, KOGAS, and PetroChina (disguised by the name–LNG Canada), and others able to gain Cabinet designation as “projects of national significance.”

“The bottom line for us as Greens is that, without amendments achieved through negotiations over the next few days, we cannot support this budget,” said Leader Elizabeth May.

Once the immediate flurry of media was done, my efforts to negotiate changes to the budget began in earnest.

On Wednesday, I had my one question for the week, asking if the government was prepared to be flexible and negotiate changes that would allow me to vote yes. The vote will be soon–faster than in ordinary years–on November 17.

Unfortunately, it became increasingly clear to me that I could not negotiate a better budget AND be in my seat for the budget vote November 17, as well as go to COP30. I am so sad that, not only have I had to cancel participation, essentially Canada as a country is M.I.A. for COP30. This is my media scrum, which I delivered on Friday, on Canada’s failure to attend COP30.

As the House was in session, and the chamber was generally packed with the key people with whom I needed to speak. I had meaningful conversations and phone calls Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, including with the Minister of Finance, Prime Minister, Minister of Environment, and of Canadian Identity, and Government House Leader–quite a blur. By Friday, I was granted an extra question.

As part of our negotiations, the Liberals gave me one of their slots with the promise of the Finance Minister making some new pledges. The text below is from Hansard.

My question:

“Mr. Speaker, while many Canadians are looking at the $78-billion deficit number in the budget, many others, while concerned about that deficit, are also wondering about our children and grandchildren and the growing ecological deficit from lack of action on climate and lack of action to protect nature. We look at this budget and want to weep.

Those of us who are grandparents and seniors right across this country, and young people, want to know if the government will step up and tackle the generational ecological deficit.”

” Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the member for her advocacy.

In the throne speech, we said we must fight climate change, and our new climate competitiveness strategy includes measures to reduce emissions, including by strengthening industrial carbon pricing, incentivizing investments to reduce carbon and mobilizing private capital. We are also creating a new youth climate corps to empower young people in the fight against climate change. We are committed to protecting nature by halting and reversing nature loss and biodiversity loss through reinforced efforts to conserve 30% (by 2030).”

And now I am home. And not going back to Ottawa until Sunday, November 16. Please keep fingers crossed and send good vibes that during this week, with lines of communication open to the government and we can make real improvements in the budget.

One MP can make a difference!! Thanks so much to everyone who helped my re-election!

Much love,

Elizabeth

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The post The Prime Minister said Canadians should be prepared for sacrifice — Greens ask: Who sacrifices? And who profits? appeared first on Elizabeth May.

This Sunday finds me in the throes of uncertainty about both events. For Budget Day November 4th, I will be joined in the “lock up” by key members of Green Party shadow cabinet, including our great former MP Mike Morrice, to read the embargoed budget. Meanwhile, I have now cleared all the obstacles to attend the 30th Conference of the Parties, opening on November 10th in the Amazon. This is the first COP ever in the Amazon, in the country where the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) was born. It was at the 1992 Rio Earth Summit that the heads of 105 nations, the largest gathering of heads of government to that point in world history, signed key environmental treaties. The climate treaty was signed by all – from Brian Mulroney and George H.W. Bush to Fidel Castro and Brazilian president Collor. Bush refused to sign the second big Rio treaty, the biodiversity agreement, but did sign the UNFCCC and got it ratified through the US Senate. The negotiations and increased focus on climate started with the 1986 Brundtland report. Back then, the climate threat was essentially a future risk. Scientists warned, “If we do not act, we could see the planet’s glaciers in retreat by 2030;” or, “If we do not act, we could experience more extreme and dangerous weather events.” It was all future tense and the science behind the warnings was not treated as uncertain. To the extent the scientists were wrong, it was in under-estimating how much worse things would be and how much faster they would occur. From 1992 until now, we have burned more fossil fuels and released more greenhouse gases than between the beginning of the Industrial Revolution and 1992 when the world’s leaders agreed to take action to avoid “dangerous” levels of climate change. Ironically, when I recall those early steps, I think political leaders were more motivated to act to avoid a climate crisis than they are now, when we are living it.

(NOTE to dear readers: the “too long – too short” debate about GSM continues. I really feel the need to explain multilateral processes. A lot of “climate literate” folks do not understand treaties and protocols and COPS. Providing this background will make this letter too long, To avoid a primer on how treaties work, skip to where you see in BOLD “Start here!”)

Every multilateral instrument follows a process in international law. A predictable pathway, but each has its own bumps in the road. The big signing ceremonies are just the first step. The process moves from “framework convention”, to EIF (entry into force), to negotiating specific and more rigorous steps in “protocols” usually negotiated in Conferences of the Parties (COPs.)

Each treaty’s negotiation process includes agreeing on a ratification formula. Once a sufficiently large number of countries have ratified (through legal action by legislators back at home), the treaty “enters into force.” Every nation that has ratified is a “party” to the treaty. On a regular basis–annually for UNFCCC, every other year for the Biodiversity treaty–the countries gather in a “Conference of the Parties” a COP. A COP is essentially the treaty’s “parliament.” The treaty is not static; it breathes and evolves through its ongoing process, driven by governments. It is at the COP that more general commitments become concrete.

Let’s take the Ozone Treaty process as an example. First in 1985, the world negotiated the Vienna convention on ozone depletion. The convention parties agreed that the process had to be driven by science. As the ozone hole emerged, things sped up. By September 1987, the parties gathered in Montreal and agreed to specific actions. (I was part of Canada’s negotiating team in Montreal.) The Montreal Protocol set legally binding goals, allowing poorer nations to increase use of ozone depleters to allow for greater food safety through refrigeration, and requiring the bigger polluters, the rich, to cut sharply. These commitments were backed by penalties, allowing all countries to apply trade sanctions against any nation that violated the Montreal Protocol. Within a few years the requirement to cut emissions fast applied to all countries, Industrialized and Developing. Over the years the Montreal Protocol has added more substances to the restricted list, with specific legal instruments, like the Kigali amendment in 2016. As some, but not all ozone depleters are also greenhouse gases, the Kigali amendment and the Montreal Protocol itself, not only saved the ozone layer (which is now repairing itself), they were successful in avoiding tons of climate warming gases.

I know it is an awful pun, but the climate negotiations have had “good COPs and bad COPs.”

Unlike the ozone process which, thanks to the negotiation of penalties, worked a treat, the climate process was sabotaged by Big Oil and the emergence of the WTO. In national capitals, trade ministers with more clout than environment ministers decreed countries should never again allow trade sanctions to be used as enforcement mechanisms. So Canada’s position flip-flopped. In 1987 Canada led the charge for the ozone layer and a treaty with sanctions. In 1997 at the UNFCCC COP3 in Kyoto, Canada stood firmly against the very tool we insisted upon ten years earlier.

The Kyoto Protocol was to reduce emissions globally, with the end date of Kyoto targets being 2012. Its architecture was identical to the Montreal protocol, except for the critical lack of trade sanctions. Both were legally binding instruments. After the 1997 COP3, COPs focused on negotiating the post-2012 replacement for Kyoto. The 2005 Montreal COP11, was a very good COP accepting ambitious goals to be finalized at COP15 in 2009. That turned out to be the worst COP ever! Held in Copenhagen, on offer of a left-wing pro-climate Danish government, our hopes were high. But by 2009, that government had shifted from left-wing to right-wing, The Danish PM was taking advice from Bjorn Lomborg and the fossil fuel lobby. Some now think the fact the UN climate process operates by consensus is a flaw. But it was only thanks to the tiny island states of Tuvalu and Fiji that a really bad deal orchestrated by the USA and Denmark’s government was not forced on the COP. Standing against it, rejecting it, rescued the process to allow a good agreement to emerge years later in 2015 in Paris at COP21.

The Paris Agreement is also legally binding on those nations that ratified it, including Canada, but not the USA.

Some are also confused thinking that because the USA has now exited the Paris Agreement (as it also did in Trump’s first term, rejoining under Biden, and now exited once again) the USA will not be at COP30 in Brazil. But the COP is the conference of the parties of the Framework convention the US Senate ratified decades ago (UNFCCC). The US government will still be there, unhelpfully. And many sub-national levels of government, US states and cities, will be there, helpfully. At Glasgow’s COP26, the local US governments were the “We are still in” coalition.

The slow, halting global climate process is not achieving the results the world needs. As my dear friend, and author of the Brundtland Report, Our Common Future, the late Jim MacNeill observed, “at Rio the Carbon Club was formed.” The fossil fuel industry mobilized to stop climate action, using every trick in the book. Nevertheless, the COP is a necessary process.

Each COP is a three-ring circus. Think of a bull’s eye. In the centre small dot is the real work: Nations negotiating with other nations. It is diplomacy. The next outer ring is a combination trade show, high level conference for think tanks and policy wonks, with a lot of boozy receptions, offered by polluters, Big Banks and Big Oil, at hotels far from the conference itself. The outer-most ring is civil society, youth, indigenous peoples, activists in the street. Civil society’s large marches and demonstrations help those trying inside, in the small central dot, push for better agreements. COPs held in dictatorships lose the benefit of actions in the street. The UN system has five geographical regions, and the COPs rotate through them. That leads to horrors like Putin being able to insist when petrostate Azerbaijan offered to host COP 29, the UN had to accept it. Russia vetoed any other location. This year is South America’s turn. With Lula as president and Brazil’s former Green Party leader Brazil’s minister of environment, COP30 is promising. We must move from ignoring the threat to holding polluting wealthy nations like Canada to account.

Start here!

COP30 in Brazil is an important COP. It falls at the ten-year mark since the Paris Agreement. The U.N. system, with advice from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change confirms the world is running out of time to avoid shooting past a two-degree Celsius increase in global average temperatures.

We are on track to smash the Paris Agreement goal, putting human civilization, and a myriad of species at risk. Too many nations have failed to file their targets and deadlines, and countries that have done so, like Canada, are failing to meet them. In 2015, under Stephen Harper, Canada committed to the legally binding target of 30% below 2005 levels by 2030. “Too weak,” I said at the time. Finally, under pressure from then US president Joe Biden, on Earth Day 2021, former PM Trudeau raised our target to 40-45% below 2005 levels by 2030. Still too weak. But it is now clear, Canada is not on track to meet the weak Harper target by 2030, while our newly minted PM, former UN climate finance envoy Mark Carney is slashing climate plans and programmes. Two weeks ago, the PMO confirmed Prime Minister Carney would attend the advance high-level COP30 meetings (November 6-7). On Friday, at the COP30 briefing for MPs, we were told PM Carney is no longer planning to attend any part of COP30. We were also told that both Ministers Julie daBrusin (Environment Canada and Climate Change) and Minister Steven Guilbeault (Canadian identity, Parks with a focus on the 30 by 30 Biodiversity goals) will attend, but both only for a few days. They will be heading home to Canada by November 14. It is in the second week of COP, which runs November 17-21 that key negotiations occur. Canada will be entirely absent at the level of Government MPs or ministers.

Prime Minister Carney cares so little about climate that he chose November 4 for his big budget reveal, with every single one of his MPs being required to be in Ottawa for the budget vote. As a technical sidenote, due to COVID, MPs can now vote without being physically present in Ottawa. We can vote from anywhere in Canada–but not at all from outside of Canada.

The budget vote is clearly going to be close. No one in Opposition knows what will be in the budget. The Liberals need three votes from non-Liberal MPs to pass the budget. As you can imagine, reporters want to know how I wilt vote. I need to read it first! But I know I cannot vote for a budget that throws billions to fossil fuels, Big Oil or pipelines. But I have a real dilemma. Not only do I wonder how I should vote – knowing no one wants an election – I wonder IF I can vote. If I go to COP, I will be there a scant few days before having to head back to Ottawa. My one “out” would be if , once I know if I am a vote for or against the budget, I can pair my vote with another MP who would vote the other way, so if we are both absent, we cancel each other out.

As you can imagine, there are so many contingencies, eventualities and tricky eddies to navigate as I look to next Sunday and my next letter to you!!

For now, as I finish this letter on a Saturday, I hope for the source of a potential national point of happiness. Believe it or not, I am all caught up int the World Series. Go Jays!

And I will be telling the media next week how entirely unacceptable it is that Prime Minister Mark Carney is forcing Canada to skip this key COP. Not an encouraging sign about what awaits our climate policies on November 4!

Love to all,

Elizabeth

The post Good Sunday Morning! Issue #289 appeared first on Elizabeth May.

The next day (and again as far as I know a coincidence) the organization Canadian Leadership for Nuclear Disarmament held an event at the University of Ottawa to present its Distinguished Achievement Award to Canada’s former Ambassador for Disarmament, the Hon Douglas Roche. Doug is also an Officer of the Order of Canada, former MP, and former Senator. At 96 years old, Doug shows no signs of closing down. He is an absolute inspiration. His lecture at the award ceremony was titled “Creative Dissent: A Politician’s Struggle for Peace.”

Definitely by sheer luck, my weekly Question in Question Period was right before the event in Ambassador Roche’s honour. And double luck, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Hon. Anita Anand was in the House. As is my custom, I alerted her ahead of time what I would be asking. I asked if Canada would step up and re-engage in the work for nuclear disarmament. Her reply was more positive than I had expected, saying Canada is committed to a nuclear-free world.

That exchange is linked here on youtube:

Question Period

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9bliAnmCl0A

What was not a coincidence was my decision to mark United Nations Day with a press conference on Friday. October 24, 2025 was the 80th anniversary of the creation of the United Nations. For weeks ahead of time I had asked my amazing Chief of Staff Debra Eindiguer to watch our in box for invitations to celebrate United Nations Day. There was evidently nothing planned. And as it turned out, the Green Party press conference was the only event that day in Ottawa. Thanks to events through the week I had opportunistically snagged Alex Neve and Doug Roche to attend and speak about the importance of the United Nations. Another great piece of timing was that local Victoria peace activists and Green Party members Miles Craig and Frances Litman have been working for months to launch a Peace Charter- hoping for more grassroots activists to join in the effort. I announced their new initiative at our Friday press conference. I was so honoured to be joined by two extraordinary Canadians to mark the day and call for Canada to do more for peace, peace-keeping, ending poverty and for climate action.

https://www.cpac.ca/headline-politics/episode/elizabeth-may-marks-80th-anniversary-of-the-un?id=f2ce485d-47f5-4a21-ae82-8b88eecd4350 I am reeling from the news that according to polls, most Canadians, even most British Columbians, support another oil pipeline across Canada. Climate action appears to be missing as a political issue. Even in a year when tens of thousands of Canadians were displaced by wildfires, politicians, federal and provincial (other than Greens) appear to think climate action was some sort of fad, now sadly out of date.

Quite casually this week, Prime Minister Carney announced another $2 billion to the building of a so-called Small Nuclear Reactor at Darlington, I add “so-called” because there are no such things operating in any modern democracy, none operating commercially. You may recall I wrote about this project as one of the first five on the Liberal government’s list of projects of “national significance” to be fast-tracked under Bill C-5. I did not expect that these projects could get massive subsidies on top of having the wheels greased for speedy approvals. The GE-Hitachi SMR project for Darlington already received a $1 billion federal loan from the Canada Infrastructure Bank. In the same week the prime minister gave a speech to university students about how sacrifices would have to be made, a $2 billion gift to a dangerous and untested prototype reactor does not fall in line with the argument that we need to sacrifice.

This morning finds me in Halifax to speak to a gathering of Nova Scotia Liberal women. Unusual, but a kind offer to hear from me about women in politics. I plan to share the evidence that it is the First Past the Post voting system that holds back women from getting elected at levels that approach our proportion of the population. We are half of Canada but only one third of the House of Commons. More reasons for proportional representation! By tomorrow morning, I will be back in Parliament where I feel more needed, and more effective, than ever. If only there were more Green MPs! I am hopeful that soon there will be!

All for now.

Lots of love,

Elizabeth

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I am grateful to readers who are also members of the Green Party of Canada and were able to vote in the leadership review. Thanks to all who did vote – whether you voted “yes” or “no”, but I do have to say it was a boost to receive strong support for my leadership from over 80% of those who voted. I think all Sunday letter readers know I support a leadership transition and hope to hand over the role to a new leader or co-leader whenever council feels we have to financial stability to support a leadership race.

We have another important election coming up soon!

The Federal Council is the key governance body for the Green Party of Canada. The council is essentially the board of directors for the party. I am so deeply grateful to the current council members. We had a very rough patch leading up to the snap election last spring. We lost two executive directors in six months due to internal conflict within the previous council. And since the election, the stability and professionalism and focus of this council has been a source of real strength. There are reasons a well-functioning council is built on mutual respect. It matters for the success of Greens federally. The new council will make all the decisions related to the pending leadership race. I am so grateful to Anne-Marie Zajdljk, our wonderful Guelph candidate, for putting her name forward. I long to see her elected as MP for Guelph. And women in leadership, as a theme, continues with Naomi Hunter, leader of the Green Party of Saskatchewan. Rather than name others, I am grateful to all of them for their engagement in the party. The link below takes you to the full list of candidates and their biographies.

Voting opens tomorrow: please watch for your ballot and vote.

https://www.greenparty.ca/en/council-elections-2025-candidate-profiles

In what one can only hope and pray may be good news, the peace proposal for Hamas and Israel may have some hope. Canadian Middle East expert Janice Stein believes there is reason for tentative optimism. Please that the hostages be released. Please that the bombing and drone attacks cease. Please that there be peace. All of this becomes increasingly painful as we come to the anniversary of the horrific attacks of October 7, 2023. It is almost more than one can bear to reflect on the fact it has been two years since that harrowing day. The deadline is tonight for elements to come together.

https://www.reuters.com/world/china/trump-gives-hamas-until-sunday-evening-reach-gaza-deal-2025-10-03/

This week started with the very sad news of the death of one of my heroes, who was also one of my friends through our work on the Earth Charter. Sharing this photo from May 1992 of me with my 10 month-old-daughter Cate as Jane taught her chimp noises. As she watched me lug my baby to all meetings, she said “you are a good chimp mom!” and said she had raised her own son, Grub the Bush Baby, the same way. The last time I saw her, in Victoria, maybe two years ago, I asked her if she was getting any time to rest. She told me that in the previous year she had spent one night in her own bed. And she was, as ever, doing her work, on the road in Los Angeles, inspiring other humans to connect to the Earth and its creatures. God bless her amazing self.

Elizabeth May with Daughter Kate and Jane Goodall

Forgive me for adding to length and including the full column that appeared in the Toronto Star last week. I was very pleased they agreed to publish my critique on the new Prime Minister and his dismal climate record.

Where is the Carney who warned of climate change? Toronto Star Sunday September 29

“When anyone hears Pierre Poilievre talk about climate, one could wish he would read a book on the subject, or even the Cole’s notes version. On the other hand, listening to our prime minister, one could wish he would read his own book.

On page 273 of his 2021 book Values, he wrote: “The carbon budget to limit temperature rises to below catastrophic levels is rapidly being exhausted. If we had started in 2000, we could have hit the 1.5°C objective by halving emissions every 30 years. Now, we must halve emissions every 10 years. If we wait another four years, the challenge will be to halve emissions every year. If we wait another eight years, our 1.5°C carbon budget will be exhausted.”

It was ten years ago, nearly to the day, that Mark Carney first made his mark as a climate aware citizen. In his famous speech to Lloyd’s of London, (delivered September 29, 2015), he changed the international conversation.

That speech, “Breaking the Tragedy of the Horizon – climate change and financial stability.” focused on the deep and complex reality that only action in the short term can prevent global catastrophe that will be felt long term, and forever. It was brainy and thoughtful.

He warned that to stay within the level of global warming that would allow human civilization to remain viable, most of the known reserves of fossil fuels have to remain in the ground;. He explained that they would become “stranded assets” of “unburnable” carbon. “While there is still time to act, the window of opportunity is finite and shrinking.”

And yet, here we are, barreling toward the levels of global warming that Carney himself described as “catastrophic” and the entirety of his actions as prime minister amount to weakening Canada’s response. Worse, he has refused to confirm he remains committed to achieving the minimum – that Canada will deliver on our own targets under the Paris Agreement. We pledged to reduce GHG to 40-45% below 2005 levels by 2030. The targets embedded in the UNFCCC and are legally binding under international law. The most recent Canada Climate Institute report estimates that we are very far from our goals, with Canada on track to achieve 20-25% reductions against 2005 levels, confirming our record as the worst performer of the G7.

What gives? Has Carney, as prime minister and newbie politician, been unable to extricate himself from the same political traps that he described ten years ago? Is he a captive of the tragedy of the horizon ? Is the science of atmospheric physics and chemistry up-ended by the overwhelming force of Liberal short-term thinking and opportunism? Does power corrupt so thoroughly that our own children’s futures disappear through the economists’ lens of the discount rate?

As prime minister he has faced climate disaster upon climate disaster. Wildfires that threaten to bankrupt provinces, heat domes that are life-threatening, persistent prairie drought that decimates crops — all of them calling for federal bail-outs, while failing to connect the dots to oil sands expansion.

Deep down I have to hope the former Governor of the Bank of England who delivered that speech, who wrote that book, is still in there somewhere.

Please Mark Carney, where did you go?”

I did not have to wait long to pursue this question.

I met with the Prime Minister on Thursday. Part of me worried that when he saw my Toronto Star column, my meeting would be cancelled. Time will tell, but we had a cordial meeting with good moments. He seemed genuinely grateful that I brought him a copy of Bill McKibben’s efforts at a verbatim transcript of Pope Leo’s speech on climate. https://billmckibben.substack.com/p/a-different-kind-of-leader-gives

I will share more as I reflect on what I can share for next week. In the meantime, as we approach Thanksgiving, let us all count our many blessings.

I am so very very grateful to enjoy this weekly conversation, my letter to all of you!

Much love,

Elizabeth

The post Good Sunday Morning! Issue #287 appeared first on Elizabeth May.

Parliament will be closed Monday and Tuesday for the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, or as we used to observe it, “Orange Shirt Day.” This is a significant, but inadequate, step in reconciliation. It is remarkable how Phyllis Webstad’s story touched so many hearts, ultimately leading to a new statutory holiday. Phyllis is from the Secwepemc (Shuswap) nation and lives in Williams Lake BC. The story of how her grandmother managed to scrimp and save and buy little 6-year-old Phyllis a bright shiny orange shirt to wear for her first day of school in Mission BC is now well known. At the place of abuse, mis-named a “School,” the nuns stripped her of all her belongings and she never saw her little orange shirt again. I will head back to Ottawa for the national ceremony honouring all the Indigenous children taken from their families who never came home. All invitees are reminded to wear orange. The ceremony on the lawn of Parliament Hill will be broadcast live across Canada, beginning at 3 PM ET on Tuesday.

To start your day with wonderful news, our dear Rainbow Eyes, Angela Sue Davidson, will not have to serve her full sentence until October 17. I received this wonderful news from her lawyer, former Victoria Council member, Ben Isitt: “BC Corrections has deemed Rainbow Eyes eligible for earned remission. We anticipate she will be released on Saturday October 4 (2 weeks earlier than anticipated [had she been required to serve the fullsentence]).”

Yahoo! Rainbow Eyes was first in Nanaimo prison and then they transferred her to Maple Ridge. I am so happy that she will be released before I can reach her! I am so proud and honoured that such a brave Indigenous land defender is my Deputy Leader in the Green Party of Canada.

I met this week with courageous Indigenous women from Guatemala fighting a Canadian silver mining company, Pan American. Marta and Marisol came to Canada thanks to two NGOs, Mining Watch Canada and the Canadian Network for Corporate Accountability. They toured Canada representing the Xinka people. When I told them our deputy leader was in jail as an Indigenous land defender, it solidified our bond. In addition to this press release, it was also my question to the Minister of International Trade in QP on Friday. It is his ministry that is responsible for the Office of the Canadian Ombudsperson for Responsible Enterprise (CORE). Currently there is no Ombudsperson named to that role. That is where Canadians should be able to pursue remedies against Canadian companies violating human rights around the world.

In other news this week, the Green Party of BC has a new leader! Three great candidates had been in the inspiring race. The new leader won with 60% of the vote on the first ballot. Deep thanks to Jonathan Kerr and Adam Bremner Akins, both of whom ran great campaigns, but it was 25 year old climate campaigner Emily Lowan who won by a landslide. All three have expressed willingness to keep working together. Meanwhile, Emily’s first big speech was to the municipal leaders of BC at the Union of BC Municipalities annual convention. She received enthusiastic applause and is off to a great start! One last reminder to vote (if you have not yet) in the review of my leadership (deadline is September 30, Tuesday!)

As we age, we lose our heroes at too fast a pace. But this particular tribute was one I want to share. Many of you may never have heard of Jim Bradley, former Liberal Environment Minister from Ontario. When I was in the office of the federal Red Tory Environment Minister Tom McMillan, we were in a friendly competition with the brilliant Liberal Quebec Environment Minister, still a great friend and activist now in his 90s, the Hon. Clifford Lincoln, and the Ontario minister, Jim Bradley.

Those were the days! Imagine federal and provincial environment ministers racing each other to do more! We stopped acid rain largely due to the courage of Jim Bradley. Bradley’s young staffers formed a crusading team called ‘Bradley’s Brats’ by their detractors. The largest point source of acid rain causing emissions was the Inco smelter in Ontario. Inco used the tried-and-true corporate tactic of job blackmail. Inco went to Bradley and threatened to close down and blame him for the job losses if the regulation calling for 50% cuts in SO2 emissions were passed. Meanwhile, the Mulroney PMO was pressing for such cuts across the seven eastern provinces emitting sulphur dioxide, in order to be able to press Reagan’s White House to match our cuts. When Bradley told Inco he was sure the company could meet the new standard, Inco went over his head to his boss, Premier David Peterson. Peterson backed Bradley! These days I cannot see this happening, as the political clout of corporations over governments has grown. David Peterson told Inco he was confident that Inco could figure out how to cut pollution and stay profitable. And Inco did! Adding scrubbers to the stacks, they captured and sold the sulphur, creating a new profit centre for the company! And in the end, we had deals with all the polluting provinces and Mulroney charmed Reagan into agreeing to do the same. Honestly, I did not know at the time that would be our Valhalla. But now, oh dear! The competition is a race to the bottom.

This article by Steve Paikan made me cry, but likely that was because of the photo of the ‘Bradley’s Brats’ team, including one of my favourite friends Gary Gallon who died so very young in 2003. BC readers may remember Gary as a founder of SPEC. The good work of strong and brave activists does not die with them.

To all observing the solemn high holy day of Yom Kippur, beginning on Wednesday’s sunset October 1, ‘Gmar hatimah tovah’. Following closely on Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur is also connected to the Book of Life, which determines an individual’s fate for the coming year. The book opens on Rosh Hashanah, and is sealed at the end of Yom Kippur, following the period of repentance.

In these times of raw emotions in the face of Netanyahu’s war crimes, we must ensure that our friends and family in the Jewish community know we do not associate them with the horrors of Netanyahu’s genocidal policies. Speaking at the United Nations this week, Netanyahu faced a nearly empty hall. Meanwhile, where to look to escape the distractions of Donald Trump’s conduct?? Attacking the United Nations over trivial events – an escalator stopping, likely due to the White House videographer, and the loony moment his teleprompter did not work, the late night comics have a veritable buffet of laugh-a-minute moments. But oh my, even as I cannot help laughing, this is not funny. Yesterday morning I woke up to the news Trump is sending the National Guard to Portland Oregon, where protesters have been regularly demonstrating outside local ICE offices. Trump clearly wants to increase violence. He has told the National Guard to use “full force if necessary.” The Oregon officials, mayors and congresspeople, all Democrats, are urging calm, knowing Trump hopes to create chaos.

Pray for Portland, and Gaza and Ukraine and the old growth of the Walbran and Elder Bill Jones who is feeling poorly, and thanks for prayers answered that Rainbow Eyes will be free soon.

And if you wonder why I pray, I know for my atheist friends it does seem odd. Please just know that it is one of the ways I stay sane, keep my sense of humour and keep doing the work.

For now, have a great week!!!

And I will write again for the first Sunday letter of October,

love,

Elizabeth

Saanich-Gulf Islands Greens
https://www.sgigreenparty.ca/

The post Good Sunday Morning! Issue #286 appeared first on Elizabeth May.

SOURCE: MiningWatch Canada and Earthworks

(Ottawa) Today, two delegates from the Xinka Parliament of Guatemala held a press conference on Parliament Hill calling on the Canadian government and Vancouver- based mining company Pan American Silver to respect the Xinka People’s decision to seek the permanent closure of the Escobal mine in accord with their rights to self- determination under the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UN Declaration).

On May 8, the Xinka People announced their unequivocal refusal to consent to the mine’s reopening in the culmination of a seven-year, court-mandated process. Yet Pan American Silver — the Vancouver-based mining company that owns the Escobal mine — continues to ignore the Xinka people’s decision to deny consent and is misrepresenting the consultation process as a dialogue between the company, Guatemalan authorities and the Xinka people to reopen the mine.

“This is not and has never been a negotiation process. ” said Marisol Guerra, President of the Xinka Women’s Commission. “The Xinka People participated in good faith in the consultation. We decided that we don’t need the mine; we need clean and abundant water, land, health and peace in our traditional territory.”

In the face of the company’s blatant disrespect for the Xinka decision, Xinka leaders have returned to Canada for the second time this year to sound the alarm about the company’s bad faith engagement, and meet with parliamentarians, Indigenous leaders, and civil society organizations in Halifax, Fredericton, Toronto, Peterborough, and Ottawa.

“We are calling on Canadian authorities to publicly express support for our right to self- determination and our decision to deny consent for the Escobal mine,” said Marta Muñoz, a delegate to the consultation process. “Canada must also implement the Voices at Risk guidelines in favour of our safety and security as land, territory and environment defenders. Now more than ever, we fear reprisals due to our decision to protect our land and water.”

“The culmination of this historic consultation process comes at a time when Indigenous peoples rights in Canada and globally are increasingly under threat from a new push for fast-tracking and de-regulation in the mining industry”, says Viviana Herrera, Latin America Coordinator with MiningWatch Canada. “Yet pushing ahead with mining projects against the will of Indigenous nations is a recipe for long term conflict, which is exactly what we are seeing in Canada with the ongoing resistance encampments in the so-called Ring of Fire and major protests against the provincial Protect Ontario by Unleashing our Economy Act, and the Federal Building Canada Act”.

The court-ordered consultation has faced numerous obstacles, including the co-optation of the country’s justice system, as well as persistent harassment, threats, and attacks against Xinka leaders and community members. Notably, the last President of the Xinka Parliament and his family fled the country late last year, along with others who have left out of fear for their lives.

”The Canadian government has an international duty to protect Indigenous rights and a responsibility to hold Canadian companies accountable when they infringe upon those rights. The government must take a firm stance in support of Indigenous self- determination by affirming that Pan American Silver must respect the clear denial of consent from the Xinka people and close down its operations at the Escobal mine permanently,” said Aidan Gilchrist-Blackwood at the Canadian Network on Corporate Accountability.

“The decision by the Xinka people is clear: the Escobal mine, owned by the Canadian company Pan American Silver, must be shut down. I stand in solidarity with their efforts. We will never accept that a Canadian company continues to violate the human rights of the Xinka people, and pose grave environmental risk to the ecosystems near the mine.” Said Green Party Leader Elizabeth May.

Media inquiries:

• Miriam Shaftoe, MiningWatch Canada, miriam@miningwatch.ca
• Aidan Gilchrist-Blackwood, Network Coordinator at the Canadian Network on Corporate Accountability (CNCA), agilchristblackwood@cnca-rcrce.ca, +1-438-872-0401

The post Xinka Indigenous Leaders Call on Canada to Respect their Self-Determination over Canadian-Owned Mine in Guatemala appeared first on Elizabeth May.

Good Sunday Morning!

And a huge thank you to everyone who came out to one of the nine community meetings throughout Saanich-Gulf Islands between Labour Day and Friday night when we wrapped up on Pender Island. Sometimes the rush gets to be a blur. Every year I have conversations with people I seem to meet just once a year – the Saanich Fair over Labour Day, Salt Spring Island the following week, Mayne and Pender Islands in August and at the wonderful Salt Spring Pride parade yesterday! I am so lucky to represent so many thoughtful and dedicated people. As I head to Ottawa today for the opening of Parliament tomorrow, I am buoyed up by the support from home and by knowing as I fight for climate action and protecting our whales and salmon and old growth forests, pressing for action to end conflict in Gaza, I do so with the support of the constituents who send me there. First thing tomorrow I will hold a press conference to set out the Green Party fall priorities for the fall session of parliament.

In case you missed it, on Thursday, the Toronto Star (under the Federal Politics heading) carried this devastating report:

Mark Carney won’t endorse greenhouse gas targets, says he’s focused on ‘results, not objectives’.

The prime minister advocated for a “grand bargain” that could see regulations changed to facilitate a new export pipeline from Alberta’s oilsands — if a major project to reduce emissions gets built. 

Let’s hope some functionary jumps up soon to say the PM “misspoke” or was misreported.

I dashed off a quick memo which the Green Party sent to media:

Memo to Prime Minister Mark Carney from Green Party of Canada Leader Elizabeth May

Consult international lawyers if you are in doubt, the Paris Agreement targets are legally binding. The Government of Canada has made a commitment, and it is not a political commitment. Canada was the first industrialized country to sign and ratify the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in 1992. The Paris Agreement, negotiated in 2015, was confirmed by Canada and is legally binding within that UN treaty.

Under international law targets can be changed at any time, but only to ratchet up and increase ambition. Mr. Carney, your words are dangerous and irresponsible, especially coming from someone who has a strong global reputation of concern about the climate crisis. Your statement today is completely at odds with the rapidly closing window to meet the dictates of global scientific consensus that human civilization could be at risk if we fail to hold global average temperature as far below a 2 degrees C rise as possible (compared to global average temperature prior to the Industrial Revolution). The atmosphere is not interested in negotiating with humanity. There is no “grand bargain” we can make. We can only act as responsible leaders, live up to our commitments and move Canada from climate laggard to climate leader.

Wish me luck!

Meanwhile, I want to share some excellent news! The Green Party has confirmed our first nominated candidate for whenever the next general election comes. Mike Morrice, once and future Green MP for Kitchener Centre is our candidate!!

Please help his campaign by signing up for his monthly donor group – the Evergreen Circle.

This group has made the difference to convince Mike he has the support to keep going – knocking on every door again and again! Mike wanted me to share:

Evergreen Circle members – monthly donors – are powering our grassroots organizing over the months to come. This is the most helpful thing anyone in the country can do right now to support re-electing a Green in Kitchener Centre! With just 300 people contributing the amount that maximizes their tax credit ($33/month = $400/year) we would have the support we need to keep building momentum until whenever the next election is called.

As a national party we want to get going as soon as possible, nominating great candidates so they can be going door to door soon. Having time at the doorstep – not just to say “vote for me” but more importantly to listen to local concerns is critical. The snap election last spring did not give candidates enough time. With so many candidates who were vetted and approved by local Greens for the April 28 election, ready and willing to run again, I certainly hope candidates will step up, following Mike’s great lead!  We start campaigning to elect more Green MPs now! Which reminds me, I had better get my paperwork done to run again as the Green candidate in Saanich-Gulf Islands. I will be stepping down as leader as soon as the next leader, or co-leaders – are elected – but I will NOT be stepping down as a Green MP.

We also have elections for the Federal Green Party council. Every year about half the council’s terms are up and we have critical elections for our governing body. Watch for news of that if you are a GPC member. And of course the voting on the leadership review starts tomorrow as well. PLEASE remember to vote and vote YES! This vote gives me and the Federal Council the time to be stable and debt free as the next leadership race unfolds. Thanks again for all your support!!

In other hopeful news, as I work on my next book making the case that it is NOT too late to secure a livable planet, I was encouraged to see some of what I have not yet published included in this thoughtful piece by Kate Marvel in The Guardian.

Kate Marvel: “Some days it can feel as if climate catastrophe is inevitable. But history is full of cases – such as the banning of whaling and CFCs – that show humanity can come together to avert disaster.”

It is one of the most remarkable things about my life that I can look back on so many campaigns we have won. I have been so very fortunate to have been able to be part of stopping the destruction of the ancient temperate rainforests of Gwaii Haanas, stopping the spraying of Agent Orange in Nova Scotia, and to working in government as we negotiated the Montreal Protocol, to protect the ozone layer. Even from a small Green caucus, I have been able to pass into law three private members bills! It is these, and many other successful grassroots campaigns, that inspire me to know that we can avert disaster.

Next week, I hope I can report on some good news of progress in the House of Commons.

Much love,
Elizabeth

Saanich-Gulf Islands Greens
https://www.sgigreenparty.ca/

The post Good Sunday Morning! Issue #281 appeared first on Elizabeth May.

Link to Householder Summer 2025

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