Good Sunday Morning – October 28

Good Sunday Morning

Last week my wonderful local Saanich Gulf Islands volunteer group  (tag teaming editing and formatting Good Sunday Morning) adjusted our normal publication time. We wanted to deliver the election results to you on Sunday morning, October 20!

Well, here we are seven days later, and it remains a nail-biter.  As you know Elections BC is still counting the ballots. Races are tightest in Juan de Fuca Malahat- John Horgan’s old riding, where the NDP has only a 23-vote lead. Also too close to call is Surrey City Centre at fewer than 100 votes, but many more are also quite close. Kelowna Centre, for example, has only a 148 vote difference.

This election could still end up with an NDP majority government, or a John Rustad Conservative majority. It is likely to be a minority legislature in which the two Green MLAs will hold the balance of responsibility.  Until we know for sure, there is not any point in speculating.   We are very lucky that Sonia Furstenau has made it clear she will remain as BC Green leader.  We need her moral compass, her strong voice, and her experience in negotiating in a minority situation.

Meanwhile, on Monday the New Brunswick Greens had a solid showing with 14% of the popular vote, heading off a strong tide in the polarized politics of a two-horse race. As in BC the NB media focused on the two bigger parties, the incumbent Premier Blaine Higgs and his Conservative government versus an untested Liberal leader Susan Holt who went into the election without holding her own seat in the legislature. She not only won her seat, she won a majority Liberal government. Blaine Higgs was roundly defeated, losing his own seat.  The NDP ended up with no seats, and the NB Greens held onto two – David Coon winning his reconfigured and more difficult riding in Fredericton and Megan Mitton re-elected handily in Sackville. It was a tough loss as incumbent Green MLA Kevin Arsenault lost to a former Liberal MP . I felt so awful for him as he had spent much of the campaign in hospital after an emergency appendicitis! No doubt he will be back!

I am usually able to share in Good Sunday Morning what is going on in Parliament, but we remain in a bizarre time warp.  The dispute over a motion of privilege is so arcane that I have not even mentioned it until now.  For more than two weeks nothing has moved at all. All bills are stalled. We are stuck in an infernal limbo as the government refuses to hand over documents the House has requested. I think the documents should be handed over, but meanwhile we could get the matter to committee. Much is already known about the botched work and multiple conflicts if interest in the Sustainable Development Technology (SDTC) Fund. In June, the government shut it down and moved its important work including critical seed funding for innovative clean technologies over to the National Research Council. Ottawa abolishes green fund in response to scathing AG report | CBC News

Still, a motion was approved by the Speaker that it violated the House of Commons privileges that critical documents had not been sent to the House. The last time this kind of stalemate occurred was when Harper refused to hand over documents related to the Afghan detainee scandal, in which it was alleged Canadian military assisted in snatching innocent people off the streets of Kabul to be tortured in US military prisons. That eventually led to an election (2011) but the documents were never handed over. In this case the Conservatives are running out the clock to keep everything stalled. I do not know the real reason the SDTC documents are not being turned over. The plausible excuses from the government are that both the Auditor General and the RCMP have pushed back on the process of involving the House of Commons in what is essentially evidence gathering. Meanwhile literally nothing moves an inch. No bills are put to a vote. The work I have done on anchorages in the Salish Sea, for example, awaits passage in Bill C-33 – now stalled since December 2023.

I end up in a “plague on all your houses” state of frustration.

No one wants to debate climate change, or the neonic pesticide scandal I have shared with you, although I did make it my Question in QP this week.

My work on foreign interference was able to move a bit as the committees continue to meet. Due to an unusual procedural move, the House Committee on Public Safety and National Security (SECU) is meeting under a standing order that gives me the same status as members of the committee. Until Greens have 12 MPs, we are not allowed to be members of standing committees, although we have the right to attend committees. 99.9% of the time the rules requires that Green MPs can only speak with unanimous consent of all members and when another MP gives us some of their time. This recent study into the RCMP allegations of criminal activity directed by the Indian government is a rare exception.  If you feel like watching my explanation of why Pierre Poilievre should seek his top secret security clearance, I was allowed a full 24 minutes to explain in committee on Tuesday. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Av8S8Lafi0k

Basically these are the bread crumbs in plain sight. The parliamentary committee on foreign interference mentions allegations the Indian government interfered in the Conservative Party leadership race that Poilievre won. If he owes any favours to the Modi government that could explain why he does not want to ask for clearance – just in case CSIS were to decide he should not get it. As prime minister he would receive it automatically, so voters only have before the election to demand he get clearance, or at least attempt to receive it. I can only ask questions at this point. I am not alleging he is beholden to the Modi government, but it would explain his reluctance.

Meanwhile, the real issues that threaten our future are not “on pause”. The horrific loss of life continues as the IDF moves into Lebanon and continues to hammer Gaza, its hospitals and civilians. No one can defend or excuse Hezbollah, Iran or Hamas, but the disproportionate death toll among Palestinians is undeniable.  Netanyahu is trying to influence US voters in favour of a Trump win in the US.  The situation in Ukraine is also getting more dangerous as North Korea engages to support Putin. And, of course the climate crisis worsens as the wars rage.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2024/oct/23/we-dont-know-where-the-tipping-point-is-climate-expert-on-potential-collapse-of-atlantic-circulation?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

One last plea, if you are a Green Party of Canada member please look for information in your in-box about the upcoming elections for our national governing body- the federal council. I have one vote only on the council. If we were aligned it would be such a relief. So it does matter that you vote and help empower a federal council to take us to a successful next federal election!

The voting period will run from October 31 to November 14. Watch for instructions on how to vote. In the meantime, visit this page to read the candidates’ personalized messages to you and their bios and backgrounds here.

By next Good Sunday Morning, I hope I have the really important news! About my new baby granddaughter… awaiting her birth does keep the important things in perspective!

Much love and gratitude to you all!

Elizabeth