Elizabeth May: Mr. Speaker, I was pleased when the hon. member for St. Paul’s mentioned a book that I think is critical to this debate: The Spirit Level: Why Equality is Better for Everyone, by British researchers Richard Wilkinson and Kate Pickett. It is a substantial body of work and its data shows a wide variety of indicators such as rates of violence, successful child rearing, infant mortality, crime and health outcomes.

In every one of the indicators that they checked, wealthy countries like the U.S., U.K. or Canada, where income disparity is wide, they found that people were less well off than in those countries where, relatively speaking, people were more equal. The strength of the middle-class then is a key to our health as a society.

I would like to ask my hon. member what other insight she took from that book.

Hon. Carolyn Bennett: Mr. Speaker, I think the other piece that comes from The Spirit Level: Why Equality is Better for Everyone is the issue of social inclusion, that we are all in this together and it does not pit one level of society against another, as our leader said this morning. This is actually about being all in the same boat and people coming together with their neighbours.

We know that social inclusion is important just as not smoking is to health outcomes. The fact is that inequality begets division and jealousies.

We are calling on the government today to admit the problem of the diminishing middle-class, the bigger gap between the rich and the poor, and the damage that does to our country and to its spirit of getting along.

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“Our planet’s population reached 7 billion last October,” observed Green Party Leader Elizabeth May, MP Saanich-Gulf Islands.  “Because of this, many try to blame ‘over-population’ for increasing global suffering, but it is more about political will.”

May noted that the Harper Conservatives’ slashing of $377.7 million from CIDA and Overseas Development Assistance (ODA) indicates that their political will is seriously lacking when it comes to honouring Canada’s stated commitment to reach the Millennium Development Goals by 2015.

The Goals, endorsed by Canada and 188 other UN members in 2000, vowed to minimize extreme poverty, hunger, and disease, and promote gender equality, education, and environmental sustainability.  Even in 2010, Harper urged world leaders at a major UN summit on development aid to focus on results, not “lofty promises.”  He argued that:  “Together, we must keep our promises and work towards practical, durable solutions.”

The Harper Conservatives have also taken a dangerously wrong turn concerning access to legal abortions in the developing world.  Every year, at least 330,000 women die from complications related to pregnancy and childbirth.  Of these, the World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that almost 70,000 women die due to complications caused by unsafe abortions. 

During the 2010 G-8 Summit, the Harper Conservatives promised up to $1 billion in nutrition and health-care initiatives to promote maternal and child health in the developing world.  However, they also ended Canada’s traditional funding for legal abortions – ignoring global data showing that such restrictions only serve to increase the number of unsafe abortion procedures and complications.

“As the Harper Conservatives break in another CIDA minister, this is an excellent time for them to reverse their backward and cruel policy on legal abortion funding,” said May.  “This would help improveCanada’s increasingly negative international reputation – as well as saving lives,” May said.

Harper will also have an opportunity to develop more humane policies during a Family Planning Summit to be held in London, UK, on July 11. 

“I urge the Conservatives to use this summit to announce increased funding for sexual and reproductive health rights, including the rights of women and girls to have access to contraceptive information, services, and supplies, without coercion or discrimination,” said May.

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The award will be presented at a luncheon co-hosted with the Canadian Club Ottawa on Wednesday, December 14, 2011 at 12 noon in the Ballroom of the Fairmount Chateau Laurier. Ms. May will speak about her role as Leader of the Green Party and her experience making history as Canada’s first Green Party Member of Parliament.

Past EVE Award recipients include: the Rt. Honourable Kim Campbell, Hon. Belinda Stronach, Hon. Anne McLellan, Hon. Flora MacDonald, Hon. Frances Lankin, Hon. Carolyn Bennett, Her Worship Hazel McCallion, and Hon Leona Aglukkaq.

Tickets for the event may be purchased at: http://www.canadianclubottawa.ca/en/events/tickets.html

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