Week in Review: October 15 – 19
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.
This week the House of Commons held a historic emergency debate on climate change to discuss the new report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. MP Guy Caron and the NDP caucus along with Liberal MP Nathaniel Erskine-Smith joined Elizabeth in calling for a debate to address this critical issue in advance of COP24, climate change negotiations in Poland. On Monday, October 15, the House of Commons went late into the evening discussing this dire report. Members of Parliament from across party lines urged the government to take stronger action to ensure the global average temperature does not exceed 1.5°.
If you have not seen Elizabeth’s speech yet, you can watch it here. If you have seen it, share it with your friends!
The time for climate action is now. Our government must step up and put in place stronger targets to protect our collective future. Sign the Green Party of Canada’s letter to pressure the government to take stronger action on climate change.
In addition to fighting for real climate action in the House of Commons, Elizabeth spent much of her time in Ottawa at the Procedure and House Affairs committee advocating for her important amendments to Bill C-76, the Elections Modernization Act. Of primary concern was the need to protect Canadian’s personal information and, by extension, the integrity of Canadian Elections. Elizabeth’s amendments were strongly supported by her NDP colleague MP Nathan Cullen, however, they were ultimately rejected by the committee.
For further updates on Elizabeth’s activities, you can follow her on Facebook, @ElizabethMayMP.
Key Moments in the House
Question Period:
Emergency Debate:
- House of Commons emergency debate on the IPCC special report
- Requesting an emergency debate on climate change
Statements and Press Releases
- Strange bedfellows: Canada’s power couple join forces to override privacy concerns
- IPCC report must be debated in parliament. “Time is not on our side,” says Elizabeth May
- Canada must present stronger targets at the next climate negotiations
In the News
- Look to Indigenous people to fight climate change and prosper: Elizabeth May
(Nation to Nation, APTN, October 19)
- Elections debate commissioner coming before 2019 election, but not through legislation: Minister Gould
(Charelle Evelyn, The Hill Times, October 17)
- Prominent Canadians tell if they’ve toked
(Louise Dickson, Times Colonist, October 17)
- Trudeau Government urged to step up climate action in emergency debate
(Althia Raj, Huffpost, October 16)
- House to hold emergency debate on UN climate report
(Anna Desmarais, iPolitics, October 15)
- Experts, critics urge feds to ‘ratchet up’ climate change efforts, seize the political leadership, after ‘landmark’ UN report
(Laura Ryckewaert, The Hill Times, October 15)
- MPs debate climate change after UN report warns of dire consequences
(The Canadian Press, Times Colonist, October 15)
- Democratic Institutions Minister rejects call to subject political parties to privacy laws
(Bill Curry, The Globe and Mail, October 15)
- “There were far too many jobs eliminated,” May urges feds to restore staffing capacity after departments found failing on marine mammal protections, toxic substances
(Laura Ryckewaert, The Hill Times, October 8)
- Green Party leader Elizabeth May on Energy East and TMX sagas
(Mike De Souza, National Observer, October 5)
Petitions
This week, Elizabeth presented petitions supporting the following:
- Marine Protected Areas (MPA) – call upon Minister of Fisheries to work with other levels of government to simplify classification of MPAs
- Trans Mountain – halt the plan to purchase/expand Trans Mountain pipeline
- Mutual Disarmament – call upon the government to create a Department of Peace
- Galiano Island – call upon Minister responsible for Parks Canada to buy Cable Bay North on Galiano Island and protect it by adding it to Gulf Islands National Park Reserve
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 2018 – Immigration and Refugees
Committees, Briefs and Responses
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 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.