Speaker: Ms. May
Time: 21/09/2022 15:13:34
Context: Question

Ms. Elizabeth May (Saanich—Gulf Islands, GP): Mr. Speaker, last week, a new study reviewed those points of no return called tipping points, stalled ocean currents, permafrost collapse and forest dieback. The conclusion: Even at 1.5° global heating, irreversible and globally damaging thresholds are exceeded. The nine most dangerous within them, the loss of the Labrador current, looms large. This is dangerous for Canadians. We can avoid this, but only with urgent action.

When will the government wake up and cancel TMX and Bay du Nord?

Mr. Terry Duguid (Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Environment and Climate Change, Lib.): Mr. Speaker, on this side of the House, we share the member’s concern about our climate future, and we hear about it every day, every week from our constituents. Just to remind the hon. member, we have an ambitious sector-by-sector path for Canada to reach its 2030 targets and to move onto net zero by 2050. It is a very practical road map. A couple of examples are incentives in infrastructure for electric vehicles, energy retrofits for greener homes and buildings, reducing oil and gas emissions, and supporting our farmers.

The post When will this government wake up and cancel TMX and Bay du Nord? appeared first on Elizabeth May.

Speaker: Ms. May
Time: 27/04/2021 13:39:00
Context: Debate
Ms. Elizabeth May (Saanich—Gulf Islands, GP): Madam Speaker, I am pleased to finally be able to speak to Bill C-12, the climate accountability act to reach net-zero. It was introduced in November and now we find ourselves with time allocation. It really does need to be debated in this place.

I know how very carefully the parliamentary secretary and the minister, when they speak of all parties in this place ready to support this bill, somehow do not mention the Green Party of Canada, the party that is known and trusted by Canadians more than any other to put climate at the centre of what we do to ensure sustainability, to ensure future generations have a hospitable climate, one that will sustain the human civilization going forward.

Therefore, when we hear the words “climate accountability act” and we hear the words “net-zero by 2050”, it really does sound good. I know a lot of people will be stunned to realize that as someone who has worked on the climate issue for as long as I have, starting in 1986 working through the early stages of negotiating the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, being at the Rio Earth Summit and being at far too many conferences that I do not even want to go back and remember all of them, how it is that I am struggling with how I am going to vote on this bill. How is it that I think that it could be dangerous?

Let me explain why that is, and I will take my comments in two parts: first, to the science. This is all about the science. We have to get it right. There are such things as carbon budgets, which are not included in this legislation. We know that the Liberals are talking about net-zero by 2050. Let me reference for a moment Greta Thunberg. We all know she is a very dedicated climate activist. What Greta Thunberg says about net-zero by 2050 is that it is “surrender” because it gives politicians the illusion that we have time, we have a couple of decades, we can work toward this and we can figure it out. That is not the case anymore.

Let me quote someone the Liberals will have heard of, Mark Carney in his book Values: Building a Better World for All, who explains carbon budgets probably better than anyone I have ever heard. This is what he has to say in his book Values at page 273:

The carbon budget to limit temperature rises to below catastrophic levels is rapidly being exhausted. If we had started in 2000, we could have hit the 1.5°C objective by halving emissions every 30 years. Now, we must halve emissions every 10 years. If we wait another four years, the challenge will be to halve emissions every year. If we wait another eight years, our 1.5°C carbon budget will be exhausted.

Therefore, how can we have a climate accountability act that has its first milestone year at 2030? Clearly, that is too late.

Transcription in progress / Transcription en cours

They cannot get much clearer than that: 2030 is the new 2050. Here we have legislation that tells us we will be all right, we will have our first milestone year in 2030. That is past any accountability to the current government and past any accountability to probably the next one too. What we need to do is make this bill work.

I think it can be fixed, but I am very worried because the Minister of Environment and Climate Change asked me and the Green Party to propose amendments back in December. We have proposed the key thing and without consulting Parliament, without waiting until we got to second reading and committee, he has already negated one of the key things that needs to be fixed in this bill.

Turning now from the science to the policy, there are climate accountability acts in about 12 countries around the world right now.

The post I may not be able to support Bill C-12. Here’s why. appeared first on Elizabeth May.

Elizabeth May (Saanich—Gulf Islands)
2021-04-15 15:09 [p.5684]

Mr. Speaker, Canada’s climate record just continues to get worse. The most recently released data shows that our greenhouse gas emissions were rising at the beginning of COVID. Today’s report from Environmental Defence demonstrates, once again, that fossil fuel subsidies are also going up, while a report from the Breach tells us that the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers secured its own special committee with cabinet.

Next week, when the Prime Minister stands up in President Biden’s climate summit, we will at long last announce a target that is meaningful and holds to 1.5°C?

Hon. Jonathan Wilkinson (North Vancouver)
2021-04-15 15:09 [p.5684]

Mr. Speaker, certainly, we have developed a comprehensive climate plan that enables Canada to move forward with the rest of the international community to meet our international obligations. A credible climate plan requires increased ambition. The parties to Paris agreed that all would need to do more and increase ambition overtime. Countries around the world are doing that, and Canada will be playing its part in the international community and seizing the economic opportunities.

I believe that all parties in the House, with perhaps the exception of the Conservative Party, agree on the need for greater ambition, and Canada will be bringing forward a new climate target next week at the Earth summit.

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I have been thinking a lot lately about the nature of Canadian federation and the challenges, in so many areas of public policy, caused by jurisdictional boundaries and sensitivities.

In managing the COVID pandemic, it is very clear that we are ill-served by having divided responsibilities. For example, the federal government must contract and purchase vaccines. But delivering the vaccines is provincial jurisdiction.

So far the federal government has spent $1 billion on vaccines from seven different manufacturers for a total of 414 million doses. Two have been approved so far – Pfizer (for 76 million doses) and Moderna (for 56 million doses) – with more contracts from other companies once approved by Health Canada.

It is true we have committed contracts for more doses/capita than any other G7 country. But it is also true that the rate at which Canadians are being vaccinated lags behind many other countries. The best global vaccination rate is in Israel, which has set up 150 vaccination clinics. Compare that to Ontario which has set up 15 vaccination sites. (A quick note to forestall a flood of complaints. It is contrary to international law that Israel has not provided vaccinations to Palestinians in Occupied Territories. So I am not praising their record. And I agree with this finding from the U.N. Special Rapporteur on Palestinian Human Rights.

We watch as federal and provincial finger pointing seems to outpace vaccination rates.

Some provinces are doing a better job of protecting teachers in school than are others. I support BC Greens leader Sonia Furstenau (by the way, a former school teacher) in calling for the BC government to put in place a masks policy in schools (sign here! Masks in schools – BC Green Party)

Meanwhile, the death toll mounts in long term care (LTC). So far, of the nearly 19,000 deaths due to COVID across Canada, over 70% have been in LTC homes.

We know what must be done. Green Leader Annamie Paul held a brilliant expert panel on LTC setting out the necessary immediate steps to save lives.

But is it really down to the provinces to act? Is there nothing for the federal government to do to save lives? Well, there is an act expressly for this purpose. It is called the Emergencies Act.

Passed by Parliament in 1985, it replaced the War Measures Act. From the moment I pulled it off the government website and read it last March, I was convinced it was what we needed to deal with the pandemic. Have a look and see what you think.

Originally, the Trudeau Cabinet was looking at invoking it. Once invoked, parliament would have to meet within seven days to debate whether it was needed and Parliament would have rights of oversight over the temporary measures. If the government wanted to, it could limit the extent of its new emergency powers to getting inside LTC homes and taking over protection of staff and residents.

Back in the spring, as soon as provincial governments heard the Emergencies Act might be used, they pushed back and Trudeau dropped the idea. I asked Health Minister Patty Hajdu about it again last week. She may be right in saying that the government is making better progress in dealing with the pandemic by keeping relations with the provinces collaborative. But people are dying in LTC at higher rates in Canada than in any other OECD country. We know this is without a doubt the responsibility of the provinces. How many deaths are justified in order to maintain good relations with the provinces? (Personally, I would say “none.”)

Meanwhile, we have the same “blame game” in climate debates. The federal government pretends it cannot do much to limit GHG without provincial cooperation. It is true cooperation would be the best way forward, but it is not true that we can only move as fast as the least compliant province. There are many aspects of energy policy that are purely provincial, like regulation over electricity producing utilities. Some other areas have shared federal and provincial roles, such as development of fossil fuel resources. But the tools the federal government already has and does not use would be sufficient to drive much deeper cuts in emissions.

Since 2005, when former Environment Minister Stephane Dion changed the regulations, greenhouse gases have been a listed chemical under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act. This means the federal minister already has the power to pass, by regulation, new levels of permissible emissions for GHG from every facility in Canada, just as the feds do for pollution levels from pulp and paper mills or refineries.

Then we have Jason Kenney in his mad flailing against the new US Administration for doing the right thing and canceling a pipeline that would have driven up Canada’s GHG emissions. We should be thanking him. The federal response? Pandering to Alberta once again and ensuring Trudeau’s first phone call with the incoming US president is to complain about Keystone being killed. How embarrassing.

We should be pressing for economic advantage for Alberta, and all of Canada, by setting in motion a bi-lateral set of economic plans for a post-COVID, post-carbon recovery.

Our federal-provincial sensitivities mean that Canada has done much less to deliver on shared climate commitments than have the 27 (post Brexit) separate sovereign nation states of the European Union. That’s right. One federal government, ten provinces and three territories are less capable of pulling together in a shared purpose than are 27 separate nations. The EU is currently 24% below 1990 levels in GHG emissions, while Canada is 21% ABOVE 1990 levels.

Never mind the absurdities of inter-provincial trade barriers on everything from wine to electricity.

Oh Canada!

Whether in a pandemic or a climate emergency, we are not prepared to use the tools we have to act in an emergency for fear of provoking a provincial premier. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we were as concerned that we not offend indigenous governments?

Tomorrow, parliament reconvenes. I hope that there will be all-party agreement to reinstate the rules we had before Christmas to allow virtual debates and votes!

Stay well and stay safe!

Elizabeth

PS

Just a happy note that January 22 was the day that the Treaty to Prohibit Nuclear Weapons became law- without Canada.

Read about my press conference here.

Here’s a lovely idea to plan for Valentine’s Day to cheer up a veteran!

This year, you can encourage Canadians to send a valentine to a Veteran by joining the conversation on social media.

For more information and to get involved, visit veterans.gc.ca

—

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News from south of the border makes us want to seal the border ever tighter. My constituency office is deluged with calls of concern about foreign license plates. I raised the so-called “Alaska loophole” again in parliament last week. Meanwhile, our local tourism businesses – from iconic Butchart Gardens to Wilsons bus line – are wondering how they can hold on without those tourists.

Starting a sentence, “the worst thing I have seen from the US this week…” invites a fierce competition of possible contenders. But this week, I was chilled to the bone by the news out of Portland, Oregon. Peaceful protesters were nabbed by armed men in camouflage, thrown into unidentified, unmarked cars. It turned out the abductors were federal agents. The head of Homeland Security Chad Wolf described the protesters as violent mobs, laying siege to the city. “The city of Portland has been under siege for 47 straight days,” he wrote. “Each night the violent anarchists destroy and desecrate property, including the federal courthouse, and attack the brave law enforcement officers protecting it.”

The mayor and governor said they had not been consulted and wanted federal officers out of their city and state. The Oregon Attorney General has announced a law suit against the federal government’s unjustified use of force and unlawful detention “without probable cause.” Nancy Pelosi called the federal officers “storm troopers.” There is speculation Trump is using Portland as a test case for using federal troops to shut down on-going anti-racist protests.

(News article here)

Trump’s America is more dangerous by the day as Trump himself becomes increasingly erratic. Again, a sentence that can be re-used and repeated as with each day the previously unimaginable becomes a headline.

On a more positive note, I have been enjoying the many gatherings by zoom from all manner of groups promoting a Green Recovery. This week, I did a webinar with Green leadership candidate Dr. Courtney Howard about the report she co-authored from Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment.

Her team asked me to adapt my activist training manual, “How to save the world in your spare time” (Key Porter 2006) to a “top ten list” for how to be an activist in a pandemic.

I found it a fun challenge and thought it would be good to share with Good Sunday Morning readers. The philosophy underpinning the book came from my grandmother who raised my mother on it, and my mother raised me with the same mantra: “Thought without constructive action is demoralizing.”

Staying focused on making progress on key issues in the COVID19 pandemic that advice is more important than ever. We must not become demoralized.

My top ten list is guided to these times and the tools that work best to confront the emotional and mental toll of isolation and thousands of deaths.

1) Take action every day. No action — no matter how small – is unimportant.

2) In pandemic, more people are relying on their local newspapers and more conventional news sources. Letters to the editor are more effective now than pre-COVID. Letters to individual MPs- less so.

3) Take action in education- far too few people understand the nature of “tipping points” and the risk of unstoppable self-accelerating global warming. Set the respect for science on climate in the context of respect for COVID public health science.

4) Consider writing opinion pieces for local and national newspapers, focusing on how the climate emergency is not paused during the COVID emergency.

5) Build relationships – expand your network working remotely.

6) Join on line rallies and webinars.

7) Send donations to climate action groups- in COVID revenues are down, but staff still needs to be paid.

8) Expand your impact on social media – Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

9) Respond constructively on social media and comment pages adding links that educate others.

10) Share and promote those post-pandemic plans that meet the goals of a climate stable world, such as the CAPE report “A Healthy Recovery,” the Green Party of Canada’s “Reimagining our Future”, “Green strings” the report from a coalition of groups, LeadNow’s Just recovery.

With all that is going on in the world, positive action for a better world is essential.

The range of work of your Green caucus is wide-ranging. This week we took stands on how to help students in the wake of the WE debacle, what to do about Meng Wanzhou and how to get parliament fully functional with remote voting. (links to releases below).

This week coming Parliament will be sitting in person and in hybrid fashion. Our heroic Jenica Atwin will be driving through the night from Fredericton to reach Ottawa. What a world!

Stay safe and well!

Love

Elizabeth

This weekly newsletter is published by Elizabeth’s EDA in Saanich-Gulf Islands. You can sign up for it here.

https://www.greenparty.ca/en/media-release/2020-07-15/greens-call-charges-against-meng-wanzhou-be-dropped

https://www.greenparty.ca/en/media-release/2020-07-16/its-time-make-parliament-work-and-vote-remotely-say-greens

https://www.greenparty.ca/en/media-release/2020-07-13/green-party-calls-clear-plan-help-students-left-high-and-dry-we-scandal

The post Good Sunday Morning – July 19 appeared first on Elizabeth May.

In this fight I developed a deep level of loathing for the two regulatory bodies – the Canada-Nova Scotia Offshore Petroleum Board (CNSOPB) and the Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador Offshore Petroleum Board (CNLOPB).  Created by federal-provincial accords and legislation, these bodies have a mandate to expand offshore oil and gas. They also decide who gets the permits. But ever since Stephen Harper (C-38 in 2012), with mild tweaks, Catherine McKenna (C-69 in 2019), they also assess the environmental impacts of the projects they have a mandate to promote.  The empirical problem of conflict of interest aside, my loathing comes from dealing with the CNSOPB and finding them actually dishonest.

My daughter’s summer job in 2013 was as an intern with Sierra Club in Halifax.  She asked her god-father, Farley Mowat, to become a spokesperson for the effort to stop the drilling of a deep-water oil well in the Gulf of St. Lawrence (yup, as deep and for the same stuff as the BP Deep Water Horizon in the Gulf of Mexico). The site for the proposed drilling was dubbed “Old Harry.”

Farley told the media, “The oil companies mistakenly – and I think this is wickedly sardonic – have called it Old Harry because they liked the sound of Old Harry. It has such a familiar, pleasant, uncle-y name.” Farley knew the term was used by sailors as the devil himself. He said. “They don’t realize that, what they are doing, is they are calling their company after the devil’s own domain.”

The off-shore boards have approved seismic testing in the most sensitive time of whale migration.  Whenever a fossil fuel company wanted some accommodation, they obliged. This week a coalition of groups, including my old organization, won an unprecedented victory against the CNLOPB.  The Supreme Court of Newfoundland and Labrador agreed that the CNLOPB did not have the right to extend the length of the permit for exploratory drilling for many years more at the request of the company.  The victory should also help similar efforts to extend license terms in the Arctic as well.  Score one for Farley – always on the side of the angels!

Sierra Club Article and Times-Colonist Article

As previewed in last week’s message, Bill Morneau provided his economic “snapshot” this week.  No surprises. Huge deficit. Huge debt.

So far, Greens are the only ones in Parliament suggesting really large scale changes so that we are not mired in debt forever.  As I call for us to really embrace Modern Monetary Theory, I have had a lot of questions about what that means.

What the proponents of Modern Monetary Theory argue is the same debate that has raged in Canada for years. That there is an alternative to borrowing from commercial banks and paying that billions in interest to banks. Many Canadians want to revisit the role of the Bank of Canada. Monetary policy could shift to reduce the high levels of interest-bearing debt. The counter- argument has always been that a country printing its own money is inflationary, and potentially dangerously so.  But in our current situation, we are at close to zero risk of inflation. We face a much larger risk of deflation.

The call for countries to be able to transfer assets within a domestic economy, much as a family can borrow and re-pay loans over time, is gathering strength.  The notion fits neatly among much of our ecological economics. For years we have talked about the “circular economy.” (As described here by the European Union)

We can also look to making human well-being and ecological sustainability the highest goals of a society – measuring genuine progress instead of GDP.  We can imagine an economy aiming for a steady-state condition of prosperity. We can look to the “doughnut economy” described by Kate Raworth.

The current leading voice for MMT is Professor Stephanie Kelton. She argues that as long as the practice does not become inflationary, a country can print more money.  What Morneau has been doing to create needed liquidity is borrowing to buy bonds.  Kelton would say, no need. Just print more money.

(Read more here)

It is certainly provocative, but is it wrong?  I cannot see how it is wrong as long as the central bank is carefully monitoring to ensure that if inflation becomes a risk, the brakes are applied. As I said this week in the House, humanity cannot re-write the genetic code of the COVID19 virus. Nor can we re-write the laws of physics and atmospheric chemistry that tell us we are perilously near the tipping point to unstoppable, self-accelerating global warming. We have to live within those laws.  But we can re-write the rules that govern the economy. Greens are calling for a new global evaluation along the lines of the post WWII Breton Woods Conference,

It’s about time.

Have a great Sunday wherever you are. Stay safe. Stay Well. Be kind.

Elizabeth

PS This week in the House, I had a lot of speaking time and held two press conferences.  Find them at these links.

This weekly newsletter is published by Elizabeth’s EDA in Saanich-Gulf Islands. You can sign up for it here.

• Elizabeth May: Full response to the federal Economic Snapshot 

• Elizabeth May: We need a federal inquiry into the “wellness checks” that are killing BIPOC Canadians
• Elizabeth May: Will the Prime Minister waive Cabinet privilege in the SNC Lavalin inquiry?
• Elizabeth May: When will the government allow electronic voting?
• Elizabeth May: Will CBSA prevent Americans from crossing the border for non-essential travel?

• Canadians need answers: Parliamentarians launch inquiry into Wellness Checks
• Greens demand a full inquiry into the RCMP

• Greens and Senator Kim Pate announce Senate inquiry into wellness checks
• Green Party reaction to federal economic snapshot

The post Good Sunday Morning – July 12 appeared first on Elizabeth May.

This Sunday marks the beginning of my tenth year as the Member of Parliament for Saanich-Gulf Islands. Thanks to many of you, I have been re-elected twice and hope to hold the seat in the next federal election. (Yes, I am running again!)

If you are a constituent living in Saanich-Gulf Islands, I invite you to our second Virtual Community Meeting. It is this coming Friday, May 8^th at 7 pm. Please RSVP so the team can send you the zoom link. Email: Elizabeth.May@parl.gc.ca, or phone 250-657-2000. If you want to send a question in advance, write Elizabeth.May.C1@parl.gc.ca.

Nine years have flown by. Bringing back memories, the Green Party office sent out this picture by twitter of the victory party May 2, 2011.

Seeing those happy faces makes me think about how far we have come from that night. I had hopes for more Greens in provinces across Canada – and we now have strong and effective Green voices in four provinces, from coast to coast, and our small, but mighty, caucus of three MPs in Ottawa. Since May 2, 2011, eighteen more Greens have been elected in British Columbia, Ontario, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island and federally. There are also many more (under the Green banner or not) elected in local governments.

This week we will also celebrate the first anniversary of Paul Manly’s election in the May 6, 2019 Nanaimo-Ladysmith by-election. We two, plus Jenica Atwin from Fredericton, are a formidable force! I love working with Paul and Jenica. Actually, I just love them.

I also wanted to share that photo this morning to thank the lady in the hot pink jacket! Marilyn Redivo gave me the hand-made lovely green face mask I wore into parliament on Wednesday, which you can see in this tweet.

On that night nine years ago, who could have imagined I would wear gloves and a face mask, carrying Lysol wipes in my bag, to enter parliament. For that matter, I wouldn’t have imagined it a few months ago!

We are already beginning to think of “what’s next?” The phrase, “we must not bounce back; we must bounce forward” is catching on.

I like to think of it as the next normal. It will not look anything like the world we knew before.

For one thing, oil is over. The pandemic-induced massive drop in demand could not have come at a worse time for the industry, reeling from the Saudi and Russian efforts to drive prices down. Even now that they have agreed to reduce production by 10%, experts are anticipating historic low prices will persist. We never really know what will happen post-pandemic. But even if misguided governments attempt to prop up fossil fuels, it is hard to see how they survive these strong headwinds.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) is an Establishment authority on energy demand. It is not a left-leaning enviro-group. Yet, it is saying the COVID19 pandemic could permanently hurt the future of fossil fuels. According to an article in The Guardian:

“The International Energy Agency said the outbreak of Covid-19 would wipe out demand for fossil fuels by prompting a collapse in energy demand seven times greater than the slump caused by the global financial crisis.

“In a report, the IEA said the most severe plunge in energy demand since the second world war would trigger multi-decade lows for the world’s consumption of oil, gas and coal while renewable energy continued to grow.”

Taken directly from the IEA press release:

“A new report released today by the International Energy Agency provides an almost real-time view of the Covid-19 pandemic’s extraordinary impact across all major fuels. Based on an analysis of more than 100 days of real data so far this year, the IEA’s Global Energy Review includes estimates for how energy consumption and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions trends are likely to evolve over the rest of 2020.

‘This is a historic shock to the entire energy world. Amid today’s unparalleled health and economic crises, the plunge in demand for nearly all major fuels is staggering, especially for coal, oil and gas. Only renewables are holding up during the previously unheard-of slump in electricity use,’ said Dr Fatih Birol, the IEA Executive Director. ‘It is still too early to determine the longer-term impacts, but the energy industry that emerges from this crisis will be significantly different from the one that came before.’”

And note that line, “Only renewables are holding up…” The IEA sees renewable energy growing by 5% this year, to make up a full third of global electricity demand.

The reliability of solar and wind in particular is now being proven as fossil fuels collapse. Another nail in the coffin of the dangerous lies in the film I wrote about last week.

It is not too early to begin to think post-pandemic. What is the world we want?

I leave you hoping you are safe; hoping you are able to cope in isolation; staving off cabin-fever and being able to feel love — at a distance. I leave you with these wise words from my friend Vandana Shiva:

“Post Covid19, let us regenerate the economy with the consciousness that all lives are equal, that we are part of the Earth, we are ecological, biological beings, working is our right and is at the heart of being human, and care for the Earth and each other is the most important work. There are no disposable or useless people.

“We are One Humanity on One Planet. Autonomy, meaning, dignity, work, freedom, democracy are our birth-right.”

Love and peace,

Elizabeth

PS I thought you might like links to my statements in parliament this week and to an article I wrote about virtual parliament.

Virtual Parliament: https://policymagazine.ca/working-from-zoom-adventures-in-cyberdemocracy/

My whole speech on Wednesday April 29 in Parliament:

Question Period

• Elizabeth May: What is the government doing to help seniors?
• Elizabeth May: How will the government safely house evacuees from Fort McMurray?
• Elizabeth May: Has the PM considered an All Party Cabinet Committee on COVID-19?
• Elizabeth May: International students need financial help during COVID-19
• Elizabeth May on how Canada is paying for COVID-19 measures

This weekly blog is published by Elizabeth’s EDA in Saanich-Gulf Islands. You can sign up for it here.

The post Good Sunday Morning – May 3 appeared first on Elizabeth May.

And for those of you who observe Christian holidays, Happy Palm Sunday!

It is hard to keep track of time. It is almost Passover. One week until Easter, but each day is like the one before. For most of us, we are working from home and only going out for essential things.

I continue to work at a fever pitch to resolve issues for constituents stranded in various places around the world (and making real progress getting people home!) and helping businesses access help and arguing for more help with the government for those (far too many) falling between the cracks.

When did this all start? I look back to late December and early January as the news from Wuhan spread. This business news site from the US sets out its timeline: I reflect on my own timeline.

I remember a hurried hallway conversation with Health Minister Patty Hajdu in Parliament about moving ahead on pharmacare. She sighed and said that all anyone wanted to talk about was COVID19. At that point, neither of us could have imagined that Canada would be in lock-down within weeks. When did we have that conversation? My best guess is early February.

February 18th I was on CTV Power Play. The MP panel was supposed to discuss the Wet’suwet’en situation but, at the last minute, the topic shifted to COVID19.  Before going on air, I did a quick research into advice from Dr.Theresa Tam and the World Health Organization. We “knew” that Canada would largely be unaffected; it was countries that lacked good primary health care that should worry. I repeated this as well as that COVID19 could not be spread by touching surfaces. We now know that was wrong, but the picture was evolving and this is, as we know, a very tricky virus previously unknown to science.

By March 13, I was standing in the House to give unanimous consent to adjourning until April 20.

I am going to somewhat arbitrarily pick March 9 for Day One of my timeline. That was the day of first tragic death at the Lynn Valley Care home in BC.

So, as I write you are now at the end of Week 4. It seems like longer.

I hope wherever you are as you read my weekly missive, you are safe and well. If by yourself, I hope you have good connections by phone and internet with people you love. I am lucky. It is almost one year since John Kidder and I were married, so for the first time in many years, I am not alone. Our plans for our anniversary have changed, as we anticipate another night at home! At least, I will be with Paul Manly and Jenica Atwin in an Earth Day virtual town hall! If you are a Green Party member, you should have already received an invitation by email. If you did not, let me know.

To bring you up to date on GOOD NEWS with nothing to do with COVID19:

At long last, Grassy Narrows First Nation has a signed deal for a long-term care facility for those poisoned by industrial mercury pollution.

The re-opened Donkin coal mine in Cape Breton, opened by a US corporation with a terrible record as anti-union and lax on safety, announced a permanent shut-down due to geologic instability.

The environmental assessment panel on the proposed Roberts Bank expansion at the Port of Vancouver found it would have “significant adverse effects” on the southern resident killer whales and on indigenous rights. It is also a huge threat to the endangered western sandpiper. The recommendation goes to Environment Minister Jonathan Wilkinson and, from there, to Cabinet.

Woodfibre LNG on Howe Sound has asked for a one year delay. Nothing to do with the uneconomic conditions for LNG, they say, but due to COVID19… And we have a bridge in Brooklyn…

And HUGE news, (not sure if good or bad), COP26 is postponed.  The all-important climate summit cannot take place as the preparatory meetings simply cannot happen. If Trump loses in November 2020, the postponement could be very good news. If the COVID19 pandemic significantly reduces GHG in 2020, we could have breathing room to hold to 1.5 degrees. Conversely, if economic stimulus post-COVID19 ignores the climate imperative, it could be disastrous.

Stay well, stay safe! (Please read the P.S. about opportunities to hear from candidates in the Green Party federal council election)

Elizabeth

This weekly blog is published by Elizabeth’s EDA in Saanich-Gulf Islands. You can sign up for it here.

Virtual Green federal council “Meet the candidates”

April 5 Young Greens 6 pm Eastern https://zoom.us/j/866777980
April 6 Ontario 7 pm Eastern https://zoom.us/j/847525053
April 7 Sask & Territories 7 pm Mountain https://zoom.us/j/792791972
April 8 BC 7 pm Pacific https://zoom.us/j/473167148
April 10 Executive national (VP English& Fund Rep) 6 pm Eastern https://zoom.us/j/201253583

RSVP: write <m.ardyche@gmail.com> to confirm your participation in the Zoom session for your region.

The post Good Sunday Morning – April 5 appeared first on Elizabeth May.

A mixed week (March 29, 2020)

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