Green MPs share speaking slots with Independent MPs on a rotation. Recently, an increasing amount of MPs have been expelled from their caucuses, joining the rotation shared by Greens. Though Green MPs are in excellent standing, they must share their time with MPs whose reputations have been disgraced. When Elizabeth was first elected, she got to ask one question per week. Now, her next scheduled question is not until March 8. Elizabeth, Paul and Jenica have sent letters to the Speaker and the House Leaders of the recognized parties; they have also issued press releases and held a press conference to raise awareness about the anti-democratic nature of this issue.

This week the House debated Bill C-15, to implement the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) at the federal level in Canada. Under article 19 of UNDRIP, Canada must obtain the free, prior and informed consent of Indigenous peoples before beginning any development project that might impact them. Elizabeth asked the Minister of Justice how Canada can claim to respect Indigenous rights while spending $17 billion of public money on the Trans Mountain Pipeline.

In his question, Paul pressed the government to improve coordination between the provinces and territories to stop the spread of COVID-19 by creating a special task force. Paul also joined Green Party Leader Annamie Paul in a press conference calling for the government to decriminalize the possession of opioids.

Paul requested an emergency debate on Canada’s crisis in housing affordability. Citing structural issues, Paul said that government spending alone will not solve this problem, but that regulation and a coordinated government approach is necessary. Paul and Jenica held a press conference with Vancouver City Councilor Jean Swanson on this subject as well.

When Andrew Scheer, former leader of the Conservative Party, tabled a Private Member’s Bill, he launched into a partisan speech attacking the Liberal government’s environmental record. Elizabeth agreed that the Liberals have a terrible environmental record, though not as bad as the former Conservative government. Elizabeth put Scheer in his place with a Point of Order telling him that the tabling of a Private Members’ Bill is not the place to make a partisan speech.

Jenica closed off the week with a debate in adjournment proceedings, a response to a Minister’s statement, and a question! In adjournment proceedings she reminded the government that Canadians needed income support before the pandemic, and that they will need it after. She urged the government to transition the current COVID-19 relief benefits into a permanent Guaranteed Livable Income for all Canadians.

Responding to a statement from the Minister of Economic Development and Official Languages, Jenica spoke in English and French to express her enthusiasm for the long-awaited modernization of Canada’s Official Languages Act. She encouraged the government to protect Canada’s official languages as well as Indigenous languages, while modernizing the Act.

And one year since Parliament held an emergency debate on the Wet’suwet’en Nation’s assertion of their inherent rights on their ancestral territory, Jenica asked the government if anything had changed for the better for Indigenous peoples in Canada.

Key Moments

• Elizabeth May: Blocking Greens from asking questions during QP is antidemocratic
• Elizabeth May: Can Canada meaningfully commit to obtaining the free, prior and informed consent of Indigenous peoples?
• Paul Manly requests emergency debate on housing affordability crisis in Canada
• Elizabeth May: Tabling a Private Members’ Bill is not the time to make a partisan speech
• Elizabeth May: Could taking action on the Uighur genocide mean more difficulty repatriating the two Michaels?
• Elizabeth May: How much sovereignty has Canada lost under the Canada China FIPPA?

Question Period and Member’s Statements

• Paul Manly: Canada needs to coordinate more with the provinces to halt the spread of COVID-19
• Jenica Atwin: Canadians needed income support before the pandemic, and they will need it after. Implement a GLI!​
• Jenica Atwin: Let’s protect French, English and Indigenous languages when we modernize the Official Languages Act
• Jenica Atwin: One year since the Emergency Debate on Wet’suwet’en land rights, has anything changed?

Press Conferences and Media Releases

• Press Conference: Green Party reiterates call for decriminalization of possession of opioids
• ​Online Press Conference: Canada’s Housing Affordability

In Their Own Words​

• Elizabeth May: Good Sunday Morning – February 14

Petitions

• e-3071 Discontinue GDP measurement and shift to a wellbeing economy (closes Feb 27)
• e-3108 Enhance Canadians’ access to holistic health services and natural products (closes March 3)
• e-3094 Reduce dependency on China (closes March 8)
• e-3184 Make Bill C-12 a world-class climate law (closes March 20)
• e-3177 Condemn discrimination in Poland (closes March 20)
• e-3058 Ban fracking, transition to renewable energy (closes March 21)
• e-3014 Modernize the complaints review panel of the Canadian Judicial Council (closes May 7)
• e-3075 Halt all transfer of Canadian made weapons to Saudi Arabia (closes May 27)
• e-3138 Make Election Day a paid holiday when it falls on a weekday (closes May 29)
• e-3159 Ban new strip mines in the Rocky Mountains (closes June 5)

The post Green Caucus Week in Review: Feb 16 – 19 appeared first on Elizabeth May.

NANAIMO, B.C. – Member of Parliament for Nanaimo-Ladysmith Paul Manly is calling on the government to pass his motion to declare housing unaffordability a national crisis and to clamp down on the financialization and commodification of the housing market.

“While Canadians are struggling to make ends meet during the pandemic, house prices are reaching new highs and more people are on the edge of becoming homeless. If this continues unchecked, we will miss our chance at a just recovery from COVID-19,” said Manly.

“The goal of Canadian housing policy should be to provide safe homes for everyone who lives here – not to drive a profit for wealthy corporations and provide a haven for money laundering. We’ve seen the consequences that an out-of-control housing market has on cities like Vancouver and Toronto. It means fewer opportunities for locals, a worsening homelessness crisis and deepening inequality. Now the crisis has spread, including to my community of Nanaimo-Ladysmith, and it shows no signs of stopping.

“The government needs to recognize that housing affordability and homelessness are twin national crises and take urgent action to clamp down on the financialization and commodification of our housing market.”

Member of Parliament for Fredericton, Jenica Atwin, is seeing similar trends in New Brunswick. “The population of individuals experiencing housing insecurity and homelessness in Fredericton has grown this year due to the overlapping challenges facing Canadians: financial insecurity and job loss through the pandemic, and rapid changes in the housing and construction markets driven by interprovincial migration to smaller, safer cities. There are very few tenant protections in New Brunswick, meaning many of my constituents are even more vulnerable to predatory behaviours in the housing market,” said Atwin. “We need federal leadership to recognize housing as a human right and to look out for those most in need.”

Manly has given notice of his private member’s motion to declare housing affordability a national crisis on the House of Commons order papers. In addition to the declaration of the crisis, it calls on the government to update the definition of affordable housing, remove tax exemptions for real estate investment trusts that are not being used to protect affordable housing units, do more to crack down on foreign ownership of real estate and money laundering, and to protect affordable housing units.

“As we begin our recovery from COVID-19, we must recognize that simply pumping money into the housing market is not a sound economic strategy. While an out-of-control housing market might help drive GDP growth that the government loves to tout, it creates a host of other problems as people struggle to save for their futures and meet their basic needs. We need a recovery that creates opportunity and makes life better for all.”

-30-

For more information or to arrange an interview:

Laurie MacMillan
Communications Coordinator, MP Paul Manly
250-668-2732
laurie.macmillan@greenparty.ca

M-66 HOUSING CRISIS
43RD PARLIAMENT, 2ND SESSION
That the House recognize that:
(a) housing unaffordability is a national crisis affecting every part of Canada;
(b) 1.8 million Canadian households spend more than 30% of their income on rent, and 800,000 of those households spend more than 50%;
(c) an estimated 2.4 million Canadian households experienced core housing need in 2020;
(d) the definition of affordable housing is out of date and out of touch with the economic realities faced by millions of Canadian individuals and families;
(e) Canadian real estate is being inflated due to the financialization and commodification of housing;
(f) the inflation of the Canadian housing market is exacerbated by our market being used to launder money and as a tax haven for domestic and international investors;
(g) corporations, numbered companies and real estate investment trusts (REITs) are investing billions of dollars into residential housing stock with the goal of extracting maximum profits;
(h) REITs inflate the real estate market while benefiting from massive tax exemptions;
(i) while some parts of Canada have rent controls and/or vacancy controls, there are no national standards to protect renters in Canada; and
(j) some of Canada’s current policies for increasing housing stock amount to a transfer of tax dollars to private-for-profit entities, and do nothing to protect existing affordable housing stock;

and that, in the opinion of the House, the government should:
(i) recognize housing unaffordability and homelessness as twin national crises;
(ii) re-define affordable housing using a better, updated formula;
(iii) remove tax exemptions for REITs, unless they are being used to protect affordable housing units;
(iv) do more to regulate foreign investment in residential real estate;
(v) require restrictive covenants on affordable housing units built with taxpayer subsidies to ensure that those housing units remain affordable;
(vi) create national standards to establish rent and vacancy controls;
(vii) create an empty home tax for foreign and corporate residential property owners that leave buildings and units vacant;
(viii) increase access to affordable properties for Canadians buying homes by regulating investors out of the market for residential real estate priced below median regional prices; and
(ix) prioritize funding for non-profit and cooperative housing.

The post Green Party calls on government to declare housing and homelessness national crises, clamp down on commodification of housing market appeared first on Elizabeth May.

On Monday, the Green Party of Canada called for an emergency debate on the spread of COVID-19 variants. On behalf of the Green Caucus, MP Paul Manly said, “we believe there is an urgent need to debate whether now is the time to shift gears from ‘bending a curve’ to ‘going to zero’ cases – or as close to zero as possible.” Unfortunately, the request was not granted.

While MPs debated the Standing Orders of the House of Commons, Elizabeth spoke up for decorum and decency among parliamentarians as crucial components of a healthy democracy.

In adjournment proceedings, Paul dove deeper into a debate on regulation in the housing market, and pressed the government to protect Canadians from prohibitive rent increases caused by distorted markets.

Marking the one-hundred year anniversary of the invention of insulin, Jenica called on the government to develop a National Framework to address the epidemic of diabetes in Canada.

Elizabeth noted that many of her fellow MPs have spoken negatively of the new Biden administration since the Keystone XL Pipeline was cancelled. She reminded them that Canada should be celebrating President Biden, since he is serious about taking action to address the climate crisis.

On Friday, she presented a petition with over 27 thousand signatures calling on the government to cancel the Grassy Mountain Coal Mine in Alberta.

On Saturday at 11:00 am PST, Elizabeth will participate in a panel discussion alongside Annamie Paul with the Green Party of England and Wales in support of their Co-Leaders’ bid for the London Mayoralship. Click here to register. On Sunday at 11:00 am PST, she will appear in FairVote Canada’s Global Assembly on Climate: What can we learn from electoral reform? Click here to register.

Parliament is scheduled to resume on Monday, February 15th. Until then, stay safe, and thank you for reading the Green Caucus Week in Review.

Key Moments

• Paul Manly: Request for emergency debate on COVID-19 variants
• Paul Manly on the Fall Economic Statement: Canadians deserve better
• Elizabeth May: Canadians deserve a Parliament where respect and efficiency reign
• Elizabeth May: Why weren’t Conservatives as concerned about Trump as they are about Biden?
• Elizabeth May: Canada should be celebrating a US President who is serious about climate change

Question Period and Member’s Statements

• Paul Manly: Canada needs to address the forces driving the affordable housing crisis
• Jenica Atwin: 100 years after the discovery of insulin, diabetes is still an epidemic in Canada
• Elizabeth May: When it comes to fossil fuel subsidies and GHG emissions, Liberals don’t know up from down

Press Conferences and Media Releases

• Greens Call for Emergency Debate on COVID-19 Variants

In Their Own Words / Media​

• Elizabeth May: Good Sunday Morning – January 31st
• Bigger Parties Are Blocking Greens From Asking Trudeau Questions: May

Petitions

• e-3028 Accede to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (closes Feb 6)
• e-3037 Reject CP Logistics Park in Pitt Meadows (closes Feb 14)
• e-3071 Discontinue GDP measurement and shift to a wellbeing economy (closes Feb 27)
• e-3094 Reduce dependency on China (closes March 8)
• e-3058 Ban fracking, transition to renewable energy (closes March 21)
• e-3014 Modernize the complaints review panel of the Canadian Judicial Council (closes May 7)

The post Green Caucus Week in Review: February 1 – 5 appeared first on Elizabeth May.

The post Federal support for Modular Housing appeared first on Elizabeth May.

Mr. Speaker, I am going to pick up on a point made by my friend from Courtenay—Alberni. I am not out of sympathy with the efforts of the government to emphasize affordable housing. It is really nice, after 10 years of the previous government, to have a government that understands affordable housing. I certainly know there are many members opposite who care about it as passionately as we do on the opposition benches. It really is difficult to have it described as a long-term vision when it is so clear in all the categories, whether it is spending on climate change, infrastructure, child care spaces, or help for the homeless, that very little money will be spent before the next election.

If it had been described differently, if the government were making a historic contribution to fight homelessness of $300 million before the next election, that would be honest. I have to say it seems to be a bit of a shell game to say that the government is spending $11 billion on helping to deal with the homelessness crisis, but only $300 million will be spent before the next election.

Wayne Long – Saint John—Rothesay, NB

Mr. Speaker, again, to run a government, to look at the big picture, there has to be a long-term investment. I am absolutely thrilled that our finance minister and our government stood up and put their money where their mouths are with a long-term 10-year investment, a strategic investment in a national housing strategy. I just came back from travelling coast to coast to coast. If one talks to people across the country on the front lines, those dealing with people in need day in and day out, they are absolutely thrilled with our commitment. They are thrilled with our investment. This is going to change the lives for tens upon hundreds of thousands of families living across the country.

The post Parliament: Question on large delay in affordable housing spending announced in 2017 budget appeared first on Elizabeth May.

In her letter, the Green Leader and Member of Parliament for Saanich-Gulf Islands emphasizes the need to diversify Canada’s energy portfolio while placing a price on carbon: “The key point is that, within the constraints of your own policies, action is needed now on climate and some portion of your budget should speak to the necessity of carbon pricing.  As well, the existing commitment to end subsidies to fossil fuels should be accelerated.”

Ms. May offered her suggestions to increase revenue and curb spending. Suggestions include:

• Fulfill commitments made at the G-20 and eliminate subsidies to fossil fuels. (+$1.2 billion)
• Cut the Prime Minister’s Office budget by 50% to levels of the Chrétien government. (+$5 million)
• Reduce government spending on advertising to 2005 levels. (+$90 million)
• Implement Estate taxes on estates exceeding $5 million. (+$1.5 billion/year)

Investment propositions include:

• Fund and expand the Eco-energy Retrofit programme. Expand it to include hospitals, schools and universities. ($1 billion)
• Invest in renewable energy and mass transit. ($1 billion)
• Invest in First Nations Education, housing, water and health care. ($1 billion)
• Establish a National Affordable Housing Program. ($834 million)
• Replenishment of the Sustainable Technology Development Fund, critical for Clean Tech.

A detailed summary of variations in revenue and spending, as well as deficit reductions, is included in the letter to Mr. Flaherty.

The post Elizabeth May Budget Consultation Letter Made Public appeared first on Elizabeth May.

Bill C-400, the Act to ensure secure, adequate, accessible and affordable housing for Canadians, is presented by NDP MP Marie-Claude Morin (Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot).

“It has been a long-standing policy of the Green Party to promote affordable housing. Ending homelessness is possible. The Greens have always advocated the inclusion of a clause in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms that specifically states that everyone living in Canada is entitled to safe shelter or affordable housing,” said May.

“I urge my fellow MPs to support C-400 and I urge Canadians to contact their MP and express their support for this important bill,” added May.

The Greens’ Leader took part in yesterday’s press conference launching the Homes for Women, a broad-based, long term, national campaign to prevent, reduce and eventually end women’s homelessness.

“Homelessness is a now, sadly, a women’s issue. The development and delivery of adequate universal housing and emergency accommodation must be a high priority. Only a long-term vision will end poverty in this country and tonight’s vote is part of the solution,” added Rebecca Harrison, Green Party Status of women and Poverty Elimination critic.

The post Green Leader Urges MPs to Vote in Favour of C-400 appeared first on Elizabeth May.

Fortunately, a great deal of my life is spent working with wonderful initiatives in Saanich-Gulf Islands. It is well recognized that the area, like much of Canada, has a housing crisis. We need low-income housing and we need affordable housing. With the federal government having backed out of housing in the previous Liberal deficit-cutting era, the current federal government has only extended its reach to help for housing for the disabled, seniors and First Nations. And even in those categories the federal help is minimal.

The good news is the great variety of local initiatives in housing. These tend to be volunteerrun, charitably funded and largely under the radar. One of the champs in this area is the Royal Canadian Legion. It was a wonderful surprise to me to realize that all those poppy sales not only help veterans (and do a lot of powerful good in funding programmes for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, and other programmes the Department of Veterans Affairs should be doing, but isn’t), but also support projects for housing for any low-income senior—regardless of whether they are veterans or not.

Out on East Saanich Road, Legion Manor is a fabulous, wellrun facility for low income seniors. It includes 77 rooms for independent living for individuals as well as 66 units for supported extended care and for seniors with disabilities. Legion volunteers run great activities at the Manor, in arts and crafts and music. (By the way, if anyone on the Peninsula is a competent weaver, Legion Manor has a table loom and no one able to teach courses using it at the moment. Send me a note if you can help out.) There is a full restaurant and fitness centre—all built with donations through the Legion.

Housing initiatives are also in bloom on Galiano Island. I recently toured the innovative Galiano Green housing site. As Island Tides readers will know, Galiano volunteers have secured the land, beautiful and forested, and will be leasing building sites to those who qualify. This project envisions helping younger people get an affordable roof over their head. The homes are required to have a low ecological footprint—literally designed to fit among the larger trees, none of which will be felled to allow the 20 homes to be built. Each home is to be no more than 1,000 square feet. The cost is low, both because the footprint is small and because the biggest obstacle to home ownership–being able to afford to buy the land—is removed by leasing the land. When Galiano Green volunteers explained the concept to Vancity, they got very excited about the innovation of leasing land for low cost housing. Now the model is being applied elsewhere.

On Salt Spring Island, there have been many laudable efforts. The Murakami family donation of land for housing continues to provide shelter, but the needs are growing. The Salt Spring Island Foundation did a community survey recently and found that the need for affordable housing topped the list of community concerns. There are many local charities on Salt Spring working to provide affordable housing. One of the innovative proposals has been advocated by Salt Spring’s Copper Kettle Community Partnership. Their vision is of a ‘wagon wheel’ housing development, offering many services in a hub, with residents living more independently at the spokes. In an April article in Salt Spring’s Driftwood, organizer Cherie Geauvreau said, ‘At this time, School District No. 64 could use two or three wagon wheels to house couch-surfing students.’

The immediate challenge is to obtain the land. The Copper Kettle group believes that even half-an-acre will allow the first of the wagon wheel housing projects to be built.

Nationally, the First Nations housing crisis is receiving a lot of media attention, but real solutions seem to defy policymakers. One Pender Island resident has spent several years, due to his links with the Arctic, devising affordable, modular, extendable, housing, insulated for extreme conditions; Mike Barnes briefed me on an approach with transportability, speed of assembly, and energy-efficiency benefits.

In the ’90s, Mike worked on the Pender Community Hall Community’s building committee. Anyone who gets a glimpse of his proposed healthy housing design for remote communities will immediately see the similarities with the iconic trussed roof of the Pender Island hall.

The need for low-income, affordable housing is critical and growing. It is a national crisis and touches the lives of seniors, the disabled, young people, and First Nations. This short review does not even cover all the efforts in the riding of Saanich-Gulf Islands. We also have Habitat for Humanity housing, among other charitable efforts.

As is the case in so many ways, Saanich-Gulf Islands is an innovative and creative place, leading the country. But for all this good news of local innovation, there is no replacement for solid, long-term support for low-income and affordable housing by provincial and federal governments. Pushing for federal support, so that every Canadian can count on a decent roof over their head, is one of my goals in my work in Ottawa.

The post The Good Things That Are Happening appeared first on Elizabeth May.

Poverty is not only a reality for hundreds of thousands of Canadians, it’s a national problem that costs all Canadians.

“Canada has a filthy little secret,” Elizabeth May, leader of the Green Party of Canada and MP for Saanach-Gulf Islands B.C., said of Canada’s levels of poverty. “And it’s one that costs us 5.5 per cent to 6.5 per cent of our GDP.”

That’s $86.3-billion to $102-billion annually.

View the full original article >>

The post Canada needs a national housing strategy to help end poverty appeared first on Elizabeth May.

The Wellesley Institute reports that as of 2010, in Canada there are between 150,000-300,000 visible homeless, between 450,000-900,000 hidden homeless, 1.3 million households residing in substandard housing in need of major repairs, and 3.1 million households residing in unaffordable housing (requiring greater than a 30% share of income).

The petition to be presented by May calls on the Government of Canada to create a National Affordable Housing Program and to reform the tax system to provide tax benefits to rental investors for the construction, maintenance and upgrading of affordable rental housing.

“The federal government must consider all measures that would maximize the affordability of market rental housing,” said May.

“Rental and real estate prices have skyrocketed to a point where the lack of affordable housing options jeopardize Vancouver’s liveability.  With Vancouver having one of the lowest vacancy rates in Canada, the highest average rents in Canada ($1,181 per month), and a dependence on rentals of condos which, according to CMHC, rent for 45% to 60% higher than purpose built apartments, it is clear that we need federal tax incentives now to support the construction and maintenance of affordable rental housing,” said Adriane Carr.

The post May presents Housing Petition appeared first on Elizabeth May.