Green Caucus Week in Review 07/06-10

Week in Review: July 6 – 10 (le français suit)

This week Elizabeth returned to Ottawa for the first of four hybrid summer sittings of the House of Commons.

Wednesday was a big day for Greens. In the morning, Green MPs, alongside Senator Kim Pate, announced a Senate inquiry into wellness checks, following the death of Chantel Moore and many other Indigenous, Black and People of Colour (IBPOC) at the hands of RCMP and police. The inquiry will be initiated when the Senate resumes this fall.

In the afternoon, MPs met in a hybrid sitting to debate the government’s response to the ongoing pandemic, and to hear the economic snapshot tabled by the Minister of Finance. Elizabeth again pressed the Minister of Public Safety to prevent Americans from crossing the border for non-essential purposes. She again addressed the inquiry into wellness checks, launched by Greens. She also asked the government to waive cabinet privilege in the SNC Lavalin investigation. Finally, noting that the BC legislature is already voting on legislation virtually, she asked the government when they would be ready to follow suit.

Later on in the House, Elizabeth gave a speech in response to the economic snapshot. She called it “encouraging,” despite reporting significant debt and increased unemployment. “We are facing it,” she stated, referencing the government’s willingness to spend what is necessary to keep Canadians afloat during the crisis, though urging swift action on funding for people with disabilities. Elizabeth later held a second press conference to comment on the economic snapshot.

That evening, the Green Party hosted James Shaw, co-leader of the New Zealand Greens and that country’s Climate Minister, in a discussion with Elizabeth.

Paul continued his work on the Guaranteed Livable Income file this week. On Tuesday he talked about the different models and approaches to a Guaranteed Livable Income with Senator Kim Pate and Iglika Ivanova, Senior Economist and the Public Interest Researcher with the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives. Later the same day he was briefed by the authors of the Parliamentary Budget Office report “Costing a Guaranteed Basic Income During the COVID Pandemic”

Next week Paul will host the fourth in his series of Community Conversations, which will continue throughout the summer. On Wednesday July 15th he’ll be joined by United Way Central & Northern Vancouver Island executive director Signy Madden for a conversation about serving vulnerable populations in times of crisis.

This week, Jenica was interviewed by Global News and CBC Shift NB about the federal inquiry into wellness checks. She was also interviewed on CBC Shift with Terry Seguin regarding Air Canada’s decision to suspend key routes in New Brunswick.

The House will sit next on July 22nd. Until then, stay safe, and thank you for reading the Green Caucus Week in Review.