Let’s start with some good news.  The fantastic climate campaigners at University of Victoria scored a major win on February 2^nd .

Divest UVic and the UVSS succeeded, after an eight-year fight, in getting the  University of Victoria to remove fossil fuel investments from the $256 million Working Capital Fund, effective immediately. This is a partial victory as the university also has $440 million in its Long Term Endowment Fund of which approximately $40 million is invested in fossil fuels. But it’s a victory!  I am so impressed with the work of Emily Lowan and all the UVic divestment community. UVic now joins Concordia University, the University of British Columbia, Guelph University and Lakehead University – although those universities have committed to full divestment.

While young people have made a huge impact in university-based divestment campaigns, our own government uses public funds to support fossil fuels. In 2009, Stephen Harper was the first prime minister to pledge to end fossil fuel subsidies. In the 2015 election, the Liberals made it one of their splashy climate pledges.  Yet subsidies to fossil fuels keep increasing. This year Canada tied with Saudi Arabia for the world’s worst record – and those figures do not even include the $17 billion for the TMX pipeline.   Canada, Saudi Arabia named ‘worst performers’ in report on fossil fuel funding | National Observer

So it was certainly more good news to see U.S. President Joe Biden sign an executive order this week, canceling all fossil fuel subsidies under the control of the executive branch. Ending all US fossil fuel subsidies, as he has pledged to do, will require more work through the Congress.  When asked about Biden’s action to end all fossil fuel subsidies, Justin Trudeau replied that he was “pleased to see the U.S. follow our lead in banning fossil fuel subsidies.”  That was – even for Trudeau – a statement of breath-taking hypocrisy.  . When it comes to fossil fuel subsidies and GHG emissions, Liberals don’t know up from down – YouTube

Following the fossil fuel money also leads us to Canada’s big banks. Our major five commercial banks have financed over $610 billion in fossil fuel projects since 2016 alone.  Banking on disaster, they have invested in violating indigenous rights in Coastal Gas Link, the Line 3 pipeline, and the Dakota Access pipeline. RBC alone as ploughed over $178 billion into fossil fuels, the most of any Canadian bank and the fifth most globally. A national youth-led campaign to demand the banks stop putting our money into bad projects was launched recently. Grassroots National Protest Demands RBC & Other Banks Stop Funding Fossil Fuels (newswire.ca)

It is hard not to really hate the banks. Their profits have remained strong through the pandemic, yet they are putting the squeeze on many companies across Canada. This threatens the survival of many small and even quite large businesses. Many across Canada are rallying around our coach line bus companies- a sector very much at risk. Here on Vancouver Island, we are fighting to save Wilson’s Bus Lines, while Greens in Prince Edward Island and New Brunswick fight for Maritimes Bus. Wilson’s is not going to be able to keep service going in the popular route to Tofino without emergency help. While the New Brunswick government put some of the federal funds it received in the Safe Restart plan into helping protect some Maritime Bus routes in that province, the BC government seems deaf to public demands. Please contact Rob Fleming (now transport minister) and sign this petition.

The only NGO to really focus on banks is Democracy Watch. Here is their recent campaign to pressure governments to properly tax the large commercial banks.

It is galling that when we are all being asked to make sacrifices for the public good in a pandemic, the banks are willing to undermine our economic recovery by forcing otherwise strong companies into bankruptcy. We will need our buses and a whole network of ground transportation options, including improved VIA Rail service, in our post-COVID recovery.

As I wrote last week, recovery seems a bit farther away due to the arrival of more infectious variants. On Monday, on behalf of our Green Caucus, Paul Manly asked for an emergency debate on the arrival of the variants. Request for emergency debate on the spread of COVID-19 variants – YouTube . We were disappointed that while last week the cancellation of Keystone was seen to be an emergency, our request was rejected.

As the variants spread, we are slower than many countries in getting our population vaccinated. The larger opposition parties have been quick to attack the federal government for incompetence.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/covid-19-vaccine-deliveries-1.5900853

The government continues to say we will have six million doses of Pfizer and Moderna’s vaccines by end of March. Fingers crossed. Meanwhile, three other vaccines, AstraZeneca, Jansenn and Novavax, are undergoing review by Health Canada. I remain hopeful that the people who want vaccines will be able to get them soon. I do not want to see these issues dealt with in a predictable knee-jerk partisan fashion.

Still, questions abound. Why did we not start sooner building our capacity to manufacture vaccines in Canada? Did we really lose precious time in dealing with a China-based Sinovac in the early days of the pandemic? When this is over, a more thorough review of the scientific capacity of the Public Health Agency and of Health Canada will be a priority. Provincial governments will have to answer for their decisions. For example, it is startling how much worse COVID has been in Quebec.

For now, we have to observe strict protocols. So turn your attention to positive campaigning from home. Sign those petitions. Join zoom chats. Write letters to the editor – on climate – saving our buses – stopping logging our ancient forests! Reach out to each other by phone and zoom chat. This could be lasting a while longer.

Stay safe! Be well!

Love,

Elizabeth

PS

Today!

Global Assembly on Climate: What Can We Learn for Electoral Reform? With me, former greens leader for UK Natalie Bennett and more!

When: Sunday, February 7, 2 PM Eastern, 4 PM Pacific, 8 PM Atlantic

Register here.

And an appeal for a great Green….

Former Leadership contestant Judy N Green needs help to cover her remaining campaign expenses. Judy’s campaign is short roughly $3000. If you can help, please reach out at donate@judyngreen.ca or send a cheque made out to “Financial Agent for Judy N Green” to:

Krista Grear

Box 151, Lawrencetown, NS, B0S 1M0.

Thank you!!!!

The post Good Sunday Morning – February 7 appeared first on Elizabeth May.

Speaker: Ms. May
Time: 04/02/2021 15:08:59
Context: Question

Ms. Elizabeth May (Saanich—Gulf Islands, GP): Mr. Speaker, yesterday in question period, the Prime Minister said he was “pleased to see the U.S. follow our lead on banning fossil fuel subsidies.” Liberals promised in 2015 to end fossil fuel subsidies and to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. On the contrary, though, between 2014 and 2018, both went up. Greenhouse gas emissions were up and fossil fuel subsidies were up, even before adding the $17 billion for Trans Mountain.

My question to my Liberal friends is: how is the vertigo that they are now experiencing from no longer being able to discern up from down?

Hon. Jonathan Wilkinson (Minister of Environment and Climate Change, Lib.): Mr. Speaker, in November our government introduced a climate plan that demonstrates how Canada will exceed its Paris agreement targets and will create jobs and economic prosperity for the future. As part of this our government is committed to phasing out inefficient fossil fuel subsidies by 2025, and we are on track to do so. We were pleased to see the Americans follow our lead in committing to phase out fossil fuel subsidies. Canada has already eliminated eight tax measures in that sector, and we are working with Argentina on a peer review of fossil fuel subsidies. Our government will continue working with Canadians to cut pollution and to grow our economy.

The post When it comes to fossil fuel subsidies and GHG emissions, Liberals don’t know up from down appeared first on Elizabeth May.

Elizabeth May (Saanich—Gulf Islands)
2021-01-26 13:29 [p.3532]

Mr. Speaker, I was pleased that the hon. member moved from Bill C-14 to talk about the climate crisis as well. I am disappointed that the current level of spending of federal money on the Trans Mountain pipeline will total $17 billion, which exceeds the amount of money for the good programs the member mentioned. I wonder if he does not believe we should stop subsidizing fossil fuels while we move forward to transition our economy.

Ryan Turnbull (Whitby)
2021-01-26 13:29 [p.3532]

Mr. Speaker, I have the utmost respect for the member opposite and I really appreciate the question. I believe the government in its new climate action plan has made a strong commitment to end fossil fuel subsidies by the year 2025, phasing those out over time. I believe that the new climate action plan is looking at hydrogen and other renewable energy sources to transition industries to that direction in the future.

We know that the economy can be grown and developed and that we can protect our environment. There is incredible opportunity for Canada to be a global leader in sustainable business. We are not there yet, but rest assured that we will get there.

The post We must stop subsidizing fossil fuels while our economy transitions to clean energy appeared first on Elizabeth May.

Clearly, post-pandemic, demand for oil globally will improve. But the degree of that recovery is debatable. Royal Dutch Shell’s chief financial officer recently said it was unclear if demand would ever return. We are in an energy transition; fossil fuels will be used, but with likely declining consumption, and bitumen will be priced out of the market as too expensive to produce and of inherently low value requiring upgrading before refining. Meanwhile, the cost of renewables continues to drop, and demand for it continues to grow.

We should not count on market forces to avert climatic catastrophic impacts. Post-pandemic, governments should pursue the sweet spot of rebooting our economy – investing in what delivers the biggest bang for buck, for both the economy and the climate.

Elizabeth May OC, MP, Saanich-Gulf Islands; Sidney, B.C.

Published in the Globe and Mail, May 25, 2020

The post OIL REDUX? appeared first on Elizabeth May.

And to all mothers reading this, Happy Mother’s Day!

My Mother’s Day was made on Friday with a delivery call from the door of our building to say I had flowers.  It was the first time my 28-year old Cate has ever sent me flowers. And what a gorgeous bouquet of local flowers and ethically sourced and packaged! (A shout out to the Victoria florist Cate found on line, for COVID precautions and ecological blooms – Bespoke Blossoms). And a note: “Happy Mother’s Day – Sending lots of contact-free love and hugs!”

So, in an odd way, I can thank this oppressive time of pandemic and distancing for my first-ever Mother’s Day flowers. If we had hugs, I would not have needed the flowers nearly as much. John says I light up whenever I look at my bouquet – as if I am smiling at Cate.

I got back Thursday night from the stretch of 10 days in Ottawa. I was able to cover two face-to-face sessions in Parliament– now held every Wednesday – as well as the non-stop, all day long sessions of various standing committees, as well as virtual sittings by zoom on Tuesday and Thursday. The 24-7 work on COVID19 and responding to pandemic hit a milestone yesterday – the 50th daily briefing for parliamentarians by telephone conference from senior civil servants and officials. We deal daily, and, for most of the last few weeks, seven days a week, on the wide array of problems and technical details of new well-intentioned and invariably flawed programmes.

As Greens, we have not had any media coverage in quite a while so we decided to hold a news conference on Wednesday morning May 6th. My theme was to discuss the various options under study for virtual parliament.  I had no intention of creating a media storm. Nor had I planned to say what I wrote in last week’s GSM: “Oil is over.”

CBC reporter Julie Van Dusen asked about a bail out for the oil sands and attempted to summarize my response. I shared with the media the many reports I wrote about in last week’s GSM. She asked “are you saying oil is dead?”

Would the outraged protestations been any different if I had said “oil is over?”  I doubt it.

I am not uncomfortable with being attacked. It is not a happy place to be, but someone had to be the first one to say what a gathering global consensus knows.

We are being bombarded with demands that the federal government provide a further $20 billion in bail out funds for an industry that is struggling against market forces, an historic plunge in demand, Saudi-Russian manipulations to push the price through the floor, inherent low value, with the added reality that “saving” it poses a threat to our future.

The defense of oil has a predictable number of recited facts, most of which are exaggerations. John Ivison wrote what was, at least, a respectful piece disagreeing with me. His column in the National Post gives me a perfect opportunity to confront some of the wild and false claims about our dependence on oil and gas. (I have written a reply to the NP. We’ll see if they decide to print it!)

It never ceases to amaze me how frequently the so-called facts are cited as a compelling reason that we absolutely must prop up a dying industry.

Ivison: “It is the country’s largest export industry, responsible for 10 per cent of GDP; employs more than half a million people; and, contributes around $8 billion in tax revenues.”

Fact: Oil and gas are 5.6% of GDP; 169,000 jobs (1%) and $2.13 billion revenue and taxes combined at federal and provincial level.

425 foreign owned, so 42% of dividends go offshore.

Source: https://www.nrcan.gc.ca/science-data/data-analysis/energy-data-analysis/energy-facts/energy-and-economy/20062

Ivison: “The price of Western Canadian Select has stabilized, trading at around $22 on Thursday, but that’s still below break-even for many producers.”

True enough, but does a $22/barrel price make bitumen viable?

Not according to the Government of Alberta (2019): “the breakeven [WTI] price for a new stand-alone mine is currently within the US$75-85/ bbl range,” while in-situ production is lower, at around US$55 or US$60 per barrel”

Source: https://open.alberta.ca/dataset/4170759/resource/e5c850e9-d479-494c-9343-284320d10ac7

I hope to continue this conversation. You can watch my debate with former Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall today on CTV “Question Period” -11:00 AM ET/8:00 AM PT. It also airs on the CTV News Channel at 2:00 PM PT.

See below in the post script a number of important announcements and the links to my full press conference and my article in Policy magazine setting out the case for the end of oil sands bitumen as a viable product.

Stay well. Stay safe.

We will get through this together – and Happy Mother’s Day!

Love and thanks,

Elizabeth

P.S.

The results of the Green Party federal council election will be released today.

On May 13, please join Paul Manly, Jenica Atwin and me for a national bilingual webinar on what kind of world we want after the pandemic.

Register at this link: https://www.greenparty.ca/en/content/what-kind-world-will-emerge-post-covid-19

May 6th Press conference: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ALOcQ6SDPSM

Speech: Elizabeth May speaks on the 75th Anniversary of the Liberation of the Netherlands

Policy magazine article explaining why “oil is dead:” https://policymagazine.ca/the-reports-of-oils-death-are-not-greatly-exaggerated/

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 10 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.

Minister of Environment and Climate Change

House of Commons

K1A 0A4

April 30, 2020

RE: Consultation Submission on the Ministerial Regulatory Proposal to Designate Offshore Exploratory Drilling East of Newfoundland and Labrador for Exclusion under the Impact Assessment Act

 Dear Minister Wilkinson,

I am writing today to provide feedback on the proposed regulation which would exclude offshore exploratory drilling east of Newfoundland and Labrador from assessments under the Impact Assessment Act (IAA). I am very grateful for this consultation opportunity.

This consultation ignores the elephant in the room. Neither the Canada- Nova Scotia Offshore Petroleum Board nor the Canada-Newfoundland & Labrador Offshore Petroleum Board (C-NLOPB) should have any role in environmental assessments (EAs). Prior to 2012, they never did. The Harper administration’s CEAA 2012 put the National Energy Board, the Canada Nuclear Safety Commission, and offshore boards in the position of running EAs. The Liberal 2015 platform pledged to repair environmental review. The EA expert panel convened by your predecessor, the Honourable Catherine McKenna, strongly recommended that these regulators have no role. Yet, C-69 continued to give these regulators roles as members of panels, and in the case of the offshore boards, through an amendment, are allowed to chair a panel.

This proposal, like the regional EA on which it is based, completely ignores this large and, in my view, insurmountable problem: The C-NLOPB has a conflict of interest because of its mission to expand offshore oil and gas drilling. Although the federal environmental assessment process is deeply flawed, excluding a federal assessment would further lessen transparency between the oil and gas industry and the Canadian public. Below, I explain my views in greater detail.

Exclusion of Climate Change Considerations in the Regional Assessment

I was pleased to review the regional assessment and see that it was very comprehensive. However, I am still firmly opposed to excluding offshore exploratory drilling east of Newfoundland and Labrador from assessments under the IAA, because the regional assessment ignored a key consideration: climate change

It is irresponsible to exclude the consideration of climate change when conducting an environmental assessment. Climate change is Canada’s single greatest threat, and without studying the impacts of offshore drilling on Canada’s carbon emissions, the regional assessment — comprehensive as it may be — is useless.

C-NLOPB’s Conflict of Interest

The Atlantic Accord, which outlines the C-NLOPB’s mandate, states that its primary purpose is: “a) to provide for the development of oil and gas resources offshore Newfoundland for the benefit of Canada as a whole and Newfoundland and Labrador in particular”.

Clearly, a regulatory board whose mandate is to provide for the development of oil and gas cannot at the same time be the board who reviews whether a project has met the environmental assessment requirements.

It is exactly this conflict of interest that led to the largest oil spill in Newfoundland’s history, which was deemed “impossible to clean up.” The Husky Energy spill was preventable, but the body that oversees regulations cannot be the same body that promotes project expansion.

Transparency to the Canadian Public

While I lament the federal environmental assessment process, I still think that in this context, two environmental assessments are better than one. Not only because the IAA may pick up on an issue that the regional assessment didn’t pick up on — such as climate change considerations — but also for the media and public attention a federal environmental assessment tends to garner. It is in the best interest of our democracy that the public is familiar with the undertakings of their government.

It would be cynical to suppose that the government wants to exclude offshore oil and gas projects from federal review because of this, therefore I will not suppose it. Instead, I hope that this is merely an oversight of the government, and that you will re-consider your proposed regulation.

Thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely,

Elizabeth May, O.C.

Member of Parliament

Saanich-Gulf Islands

Parliamentary Leader of the Green Party of Canada

The post Offshore drilling east of Newfoundland & Labrador appeared first on Elizabeth May.

OTTAWA – The price of a barrel of oil is in free-fall and, while some COVID-19 related issues may be involved, the overwhelming reason is the global glut of cheaper oil caused by the Saudi-Russia price war.

Green Party caucus trade critic Paul Manly (MP, Nanaimo-Ladysmith) points out that Saudi Arabia has the ability to keep prices at levels so low that the barrel itself is worth more than the oil sands bitumen it contains.

“The Saudi strategy is to put U.S. Bakken shale producers out of business,” said Manly. “Like oil from Alberta’s oil sands, Bakken shale oil is very polluting and expensive to produce. As long as the Saudis keep the taps open, both will be squeezed out of the market. Saudi Arabia can afford to keep prices so low for so long it makes no sense to continue oil sands production.”

“It is critical that policy makers differentiate between supporting businesses that are suffering in this pandemic, and bailing out businesses that are going through market shifts that industry observers have long predicted.

Mr. Manly points to Western Canada Select (WCS), a mix of bitumen and light crude that is currently selling for less than $5 a barrel. “Light crude is worth far more than bitumen so WCS is close to giving bitumen away at this point. West Texas Intermediate is light crude and is selling at $25 per barrel. There should be no bailing out bitumen’s sinking boat. It is expensive to produce so its breakeven point is closer to $35 to $45 a barrel and as high as $60 per barrel for some mines. We need to acknowledge this and invest in the future, which is in renewable energy.”

The Green Party’s 2019 Platform outlines a clear and comprehensive strategy to transition towards a zero-carbon economy through the creation of new industries and well-paid jobs. Mission Possible is a just and fair transition plan that demonstrates the path to a stable and prosperous green economy.

“We support helping the people of Alberta, the workers and the businesses we will need in the recovery period and beyond,” said Green parliamentary leader Elizabeth May (MP, Saanich-Gulf Islands). “The whole services sector for oil and gas has transferable skills in a post-carbon economy. We should provide funding for the remediation of the toxic legacy of the oil sands and the clean up of the 100,000 orphaned and abandoned wells in the province. We should support a cross-Canada economic stimulus in retrofitting every building to become carbon negative- producing more energy than it uses. Greens want to support transition jobs for fossil fuel workers, in economic activity that has a chance of building for the future.”

The Green Party underscores the importance of substantial investments in renewable energy in Alberta, including converting orphaned wells, where viable, to generate geothermal electricity. Now is the time to begin the transition.

“We should be investing now to not only put money in people’s pockets today but to also give them hope for the future,” said Interim Leader Jo-Ann Roberts. “Support is also needed for Alberta’s farmers, the forestry sector, small businesses and the tourism sector, to ensure that the transition to a new high-tech economy is in place when COVID-19 recedes. Investing in workers and green jobs now means energy workers in every province will thrive in the future in a healthy Canada.”

“To avoid a global climate emergency, which is a far greater threat to humanity than COVID-19, we need to pivot away from fossil fuels, begin a significant Just Transition Strategy for fossil fuel workers and ready the next economic stimulus package to Mission Possible and the Green New Deal,” concluded Ms. May.

# # #

For more information or to arrange an interview:

Rosie Emery

Press Secretary

613-562-4916×206

rosie.emery@greenparty.ca

The post Fossil fuels must not get a lifeline due to COVID-19, says Green Party appeared first on Elizabeth May.

And, if it isn’t the Ides of March…

Not to be superstitious, but on Friday the 13th, Parliament adjourned.  We set the date of April 20 to return, but essentially pre-approved staying out longer if required – or coming back sooner if economic and other pressing matters require it.

We are in uncharted territory.

The words I write now will be outdated by the time you read them.  The global pandemic that is COVID19 hangs over us like a fog. It could cause the deaths of tens of millions of people.  It has already caused a massive disruption of our way of life and our economy in Canada and globally.

The much lamented “threat” to our economy from indigenous blockades is already dismissed as a “blip” by the Parliamentary Budget Officer.

 Our economy must brace for something closer to the 2008 collapse.

But, it is not COVID19 alone.  The world faces something like the economic equivalent of the four horsemen of apocalypse as Russia’s war over oil pricing with the OPEC nations rides down on global economies.  The death knell of the oil sands can be heard, as the US shale deposits and fracked gas sputter their last.

What do we know of COVID19?  We know it is spreading fast and globally. China’s massive efforts at quarantine bought us time.  (“us” being the rest of humanity.) It is a stealth virus. We can carry it without symptoms and infect many others. It can be mild in its impact on the young and deadly to those who have other health conditions, particularly the elderly.

It spreads and grows faster than exponentially.  It was a shock that Tom Hanks could have it. Then Sophie Gregoire Trudeau. And Bolsonaro of Brazil.  (caution caution — one must not root for the virus.)

We root for the vaccine – not yet invented.  We cheer for the world’s nurses, doctors, caregivers and first responders. We know they will be weary.  We pray they not be overwhelmed.

Thomas Homer Dixon wrote a brilliant piece for the Globe a week ago. He set out how this global pandemic is spread by our sameness- our uniformity.  Our same airports, same banking systems and interlocked supply chains.

“When we look at this larger picture, we see a striking reality: The SARS CoV-2 virus seems well-tuned to exploit the specific characteristics of the world we’ve created for ourselves – with our massive population tightly linked together by air travel, exotic tourist excursions and just-in-time supply chains, and marked by brutal inequalities in health care and physical well-being.

“Taken together, humanity is now among the largest bodies of genetically identical, multicellular biomass on Earth; all told, we weigh nearly a third of a billion tonnes. Combined with our proximity in huge cities and our constant travel back and forth around the globe, we’re now an enormous petri dish brimming with nutrients for cultivating new diseases.”

This is a moment in which we might change how we do things. Realigning how we live and work and put together our economies to reduce the risk of pandemics-and in so doing reduce the connectivity of economies that requires the burning of so many fossil fuels.

Or it could go the other way. In panic, we may ignore the climate emergency with its far graver threats to human survival in favour of the immediate threats.

We could, if we chose to, not let this emergency go to waste.  We could demand that the inevitable stimulus packages to keep the economy moving be consistent with climate action.  In this public health emergency, we cannot waste $16 billion on a dilbit pipeline. We must focus on what matters.

We need guaranteed livable income – for events just such as this. We know we’ll need it as automation and artificial intelligence spread. Let’s do it now.

We know we need improved public health systems- including universal single payer pharmacare. Let’s do it now.

We know we need to fly less, communicate through cyberspace and reduce our carbon footprint. Let’s do it now.

We know we need to massively reorient our economy while stimulating it with job-creation. Let’s direct those essential injections into our economy to renewable energy, improved energy efficiency in our built infrastructure and a zero-carbon future. Let’s do it now.

I find great hope in the closing words of Homer-Dixon’s column:

“Today’s emerging pandemic could help catalyze an urgently needed tipping event in humanity’s collective moral values, priorities and sense of self and community. It could remind us of our common fate on a small, crowded planet with dwindling resources and fraying natural systems.

“We won’t address this challenge effectively if we retreat into our tribal identities and try to wall ourselves off from each other. COVID-19 is a collective problem that requires global collective action – just like climate change.”

And with that- have a Good Sunday. For the first time in many years, Canadian streets may look as though we still observe the Sabbath, but of course – from Rome to London to Tokyo – they will look like that on Monday as well.

Stay safe- stay well – and obey the most cautious advice you hear from public health experts,

Love,

Elizabeth

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

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