Week in Review: November 20-24
November 24, 2017
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.
Returning from the UN Climate Conference in Bonn last week, Elizabeth pressed the government on its lukewarm efforts to halt global average temperature increases at 1.5° C. She also intervened twice on the national security bill, C-59, closely evaluating its merits over its disastrous predecessor from the 41st Parliament, Bill C-51.
This newsletter covers Elizabeth’s work in the House from November 20 to November 24, 2017.
* If you are having trouble viewing this email, please view online at: https://elizabethmaymp.ca/category/news/week-in-review/
Key Moments in the House
Debate
Question Period
Adjournment Proceedings
COP 23 UN Climate Change Conference
The 2015 Paris Agreement at COP21 was a landmark achievement in the fight to save our planet. 197 countries recognized that climate change was no longer a future problem, but a very real and unmistakably present danger. Canada, with a fresh-faced delegation following the 2015 federal election, showed leadership on the world stage as it pushed for a more ambitious target of limiting the global average temperature increase to 1.5° C.
This year’s conference took place in Bonn, Germany, but under the presidency of Fiji – just one of many island and low-lying nations that could be completely submerged if sea levels continue to rise. The purpose of this year’s gathering was to establish a Paris rule book, essentially a tool to evaluate each country’s progress in reaching their goals. COP23 was more technical than COP21 had been, less focused on statements of ambition and visionary declarations than on the less glamorous but necessary work of implementation.
Elizabeth took part in the second week of negotiations as part of the Canadian delegation. She blogged about her experience, which you can read by clicking here.
Next year’s COP in Poland will be more significant. It will follow the release of the IPCC’s first global stock-taking of current targets, namely whether they will put us on path to holding the global average temperature increase at 1.5° C. When the Paris Agreement was signed, there was an understanding that countries would “ratchet up” their goals as time went on and capacity increased. Unfortunately Canada, which had pledged an already weak target inherited from the Harper era (i.e., 30% below 2005 emission levels by 2030), has been dragging its heels. In October, Environment Comissioner Julie Gelfand made clear that the Liberals’ efforts thus far have been woefully inadequate.
Canada has the wherewithal to become a global leader in renewable energy production, to provide millions of steady jobs immune to the boom and bust cycle that makes work on the oil sands so precarious. Instead of providing over a $1 billion in oil and gas subsidies, the Liberals should invest that money in decarbonizing our electricity sector, expanding electric-vehicle infrastructure, protecting forests, and improving energy efficiency for our built infrastructure. One hopes the government will commit itself to no less when it attends the One Climate Summit in Paris this December.
In the Media
- “Politics This Morning: MPs return for last legislative stretch in House of 2017; McKenna, Mulroney, May commemorate 30th anniversary of Montreal Protocol“
(Marco Viglotti, iPolitics, November 19)
- “Gould wants to pick new oversight model for leaders’ debates by spring”
(Beatrice Britneff, iPolitics, November 21)
- “McKenna says countries agreed to prevent half a degree of warming”
(Peter Rakobowchuk, National Observer, November 22)
- “Review of MP harassment code yields few suggestions for change”
(Samantha Wright Allen, The Hill, November 22)
- “MPs face the dilemma of figuring out who to invite to election debates and who to leave out”
(Aaron Wherry, CBC News, November 23)
- “Singh’s primary political problem isn’t Trudeau. It’s premiers.”
(Michael Harris, iPolitics, November 23)
- “Elizabeth May, leader of the federal Green Party, comes to P.E.I. in support of provincial byelection candidate Hannah Bell”
(Jason Daley, The Guardian, November 24)
Public Statements
- Celebrating the 30th anniversary of the Montreal Protocol (November 20)
- Statement for Universal Children’s Day (November 20)
- Keystone pipeline authorization a major setback in carbon reduction efforts (November 21)
Petitions
Elizabeth introduced the following petitions to the government this week:
- End violence against all women in Canada, with particular attention to the disproportionate harm done to Indigenous women.
- Designate Saanich Inlet as a zero discharge zone.
- Ban crude oil tankers along the entire coast of British Columbia.
- Streamline the process for creating marine protected areas.
Note: 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. 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 Newsletter
September 2017 Newsletter – Repair our Environmental, Privacy and Security Laws
Committee Briefs & Responses
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
Response Submitted to the “Environment and Regulatory Reviews: Discussion Paper”
Brief Submitted to the Expert Panel Reviewing Environmental Assessment Law
Private Members’ Bills
Elizabeth May has introduced the following bills:
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.
Recent Events
Thursday, November 23
Friday, November 24
Upcoming Events
Saturday, November 25
Tuesday, November 28
Wednesday, November 29
As always, the support of the Green Party of Canada has been invaluable in enabling Elizabeth to hold the government to account on such a large number of issues. For more information on their work, or to get involved, please visit: https://www.greenparty.ca/