Green Caucus Week in Review 08/10-14

Week in Review: August 10 – 14

This week, Jenica Atwin represented the Green Caucus in Ottawa for the third of four scheduled summer sittings. No new legislation was tabled. Instead, MPs engaged in an extended question period.

Jenica began the day with a statement in response to the tragic explosion in Beirut last week, calling for support from Canada to aid Lebanon in its recovery.

She then covered a wide range of issues in her questions. She challenged the Minister of Health to protect reproductive rights in New Brunswick by saving Clinic 554 from going under financially, and pressed for the Official Languages Act to receive a long-awaited overhaul. She also called for the Minister of Official Languages to adopt gender neutral language in all internal documents and both official languages, and asked the Minister of Labour to support businesses as they transition to e-commerce in response to the changing realities caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Finally, praising the Minister of Public Safety’s announcement of an inquiry into the shooting in Nova Scotia, Jenica called on the Minister to reflect on the equally recent, and equally unjust killings of Indigenous people at the hands of police, and launch an inquiry into how legal and law enforcement systems have failed Indigenous peoples in New Brunswick.

Jenica closed the day with a speech. She mused on how families and particularly students are weathering this pandemic, with parents being asked to juggle childcare and full-time work, and youth facing a school year filled with risks and uncertainties. Her thoughts were very well received by her colleagues, who engaged her in questions afterwards.

Last week Paul hosted his sixth Community Conversation. He talked with Aaron Stone, Mayor of Ladysmith, about what it means to build back better after the COVID-19 pandemic.

The next scheduled sitting of the House is August 26th. Until then, stay safe, and thank you for reading the Green Caucus Week in Review.