And the last day of January.

This last week was our first back in parliamentary work. It was a relief when the rules to allow virtual sittings were quickly adopted by unanimous consent first thing Monday morning. (Actually, my “first thing” on Monday was a 5 am meeting of our Global Greens working group to prepare for COP26. It is so cool to meet with Green Party colleagues from over 30 countries. We elected our two co-chairs, Anne Marie Bihirabake from the Burundi Greens and Alice Hubbard from England and Wales GP.  All by zoom across at least a dozen time zones).

Back in Parliament, we had more technical glitches than before the break.  On Tuesday, when Paul Manly was supposed to have the floor (for a great statement against racism) all of us in “zoom-land” could hear him clearly but something was blocking audio to the chamber. The Speaker asked “are there any MPs out there who are not on mute?”  Starting with Minister of Heritage Steven Guilbeault, “I hear Paul here,” voices from across the country were calling out “We hear you fine here from Newfoundland!” “Loud and clear Paul coming into Toronto!” and so on.  They fixed the glitch and the Speaker said “let’s try that again from the beginning as if none of that just happened….”

On Thursday, Paul was up for a speech on the Canada UK trade agreement at 10:30 ET, so 7:30 AM for Paul and me in BC from our own ridings.  I was still getting my zoom links sorted to get “into” parliament when I saw a note from our legislative director that Paul was speaking 15 minutes ahead of time to cover for an MP with “technical difficulties” Turns out Paul and Jenica from her home office in Fredericton could see the MP in question whose technical difficulties turned out to be that he was still getting dressed. Yup, with his camera on.    I wish Canadians could watch when we are acting like normal humans — before the programmic rage and partisanship turns on.  There is much good will and good humour.

For example, sending notes to each other by text and email, the Liberals on the Transport Committee agreed to give me one of their slots so I could ask some questions on the lay-off of air traffic controllers.  Very nice of them since Green MPs only have the right to observe committees. Until we have 12 Green MPs, we are not allowed to be members of committee. Asking questions is only possible if another MP gives up a spot.  Fortunately, I had gotten through almost all my time before the plumber showed up and rang the doorbell.  For some bizarre reason, in my apartment building, whenever the downstairs doorbell rings my internet cuts out. So frustrating. But compared to having to fly to Ottawa in a pandemic, I am grateful to have even uncertain technology for virtual meetings.

We had emergency debates this week on Biden’s decision to kill the Keystone pipeline (Monday til midnight) and on access to vaccines (Tuesday til midnight). I think in both cases we are focusing on the wrong emergency.

The Keystone decision does not constitute an emergency. Ignoring the climate crisis and banking on fossil fuel pipelines worsens the real emergency. – Elizabeth May: Cancelling Keystone XL is not a crisis compared to the climate crisis – YouTube  While on vaccines, our access to them is very important, but why are we not pursuing antibody treatments that can be made here? Elizabeth May: What became of the $200 million invested in antibody treatments for COVID-19? – YouTube And why are we pointing fingers at each other across jurisdictional divides, instead of using the Emergencies Act to ensure a coordinated response?

It may be worth a real emergency debate to discuss how our strategies should change if the new variants take hold.

If you did not read Andrew Nikiforuk’s piece in The Tyee this week, you should.

The message is very distressing, so be prepared for scary. I know Andrew Nikiforuk and he is not an alarmist. He would never sensationalize the science. So the arrival and spread of variants from the UK and South Africa is very bad news indeed.

As he writes:

“Now don’t think of these variants as the same old COVID-19. That’s a big mistake.

They actually represent an entirely new pandemic.”

His prescription will be hard news for our political leaders to accept. And it may be hard for our public health experts as well.  We have to switch gears from bending a curve to getting to zero.

B.C’s Dr. Bonnie Henry was asked about whether we needed to change our strategy to get to zero, in what seemed a clear reference to the Nikiforuk article. Her response was that it was hard to imagine it being feasible. Still more and more experts are arguing we should try to get to zero or “near zero.”

We are seeing different approaches in different provinces. The on-going scandal in Long Term Care (LTC) has a great deal to do with provincial government decision-making. It is not the case that all the mistakes are being made at the provincial level, but I am beyond enraged that seniors with COVID in LTC in Ontario, just recently, were not segregated from healthy seniors.

Elizabeth May: Using the Emergencies Act would help address the tragedy in Long Term Care Homes – YouTube

It may be that the only way to get to zero- or near zero – in Canada is to turn to the Emergencies Act.

In the meantime, I will close this morning’s missive with reminders to stay safe. Wear double layers of masks and be sure masks fit properly.  Take extra Vitamin D.  Above all else, remind everyone you know not to relax their vigilance.  Keep distance and be aware the variants are already among us and they are more easily transmissible than the COVID19 that stalked us over the last 11 months.

That light at the end of the tunnel is still there, but I am adjusting my line of sight to a more distant light.

Love and thanks,

Elizabeth

P.S.  Next Sunday, join me and the former leader of the Greens of UK and Wales, Natalie Bennett, and others in a Fair Vote webinar:

The post Good Sunday Morning – January 31 appeared first on Elizabeth May.

Elizabeth May (Saanich—Gulf Islands)
2021-01-27 18:15 [p.3652]

Madam Speaker, I am thankful for this opportunity.

I will start by acknowledging that I am speaking from the traditional territory of the WSÁNEC first nation, the indigenous people of the territory that I am honoured to represent in Parliament.

Today, we are addressing Bill C-14, which, of course, includes the legislative changes that are required as part of the fall economic statement that was tabled November 30. Although our commentary today should be limited to the legislative changes before us, and I know that some of speeches have been quite wide-ranging, I want to reflect briefly on the fall economic statement itself, then turn to the legislation before us, and then to the things that are missing from it and that we wish were there.

The fall economic statement, at over 200 pages, is definitely wide-ranging. It references a lot of hard work, and I want to acknowledge the hard work of our Minister of Finance, indeed, the government as a whole, with a good dose of gratitude.

There is no perfection to be found in the actions of any government around the world in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Some do better than others, and some do worse than others. I think we do better as Canadians when we try to work together.

That is the intent of Greens, whether we are elected federally or in the provinces across this country. We prefer collaborative efforts, co-operation and working through consensus. However, in looking at this document, it is extraordinary in detailing ambition around a wide range of issues.

First, on the question of a safe restart, there was about $20 billion put into a safe restart. We know that this was transferring money to the provinces for things as important as personal protective equipment, PPE, and getting the vaccines rolled out, which is a subject we debated until midnight last night with a lot of emotion and different opinions, but we have vaccines. We wish that they were being rolled out more quickly, but it does take federal-provincial co-operation. It also takes dealing with global multinational pharmaceutical companies. We are also looking at day care, so for the safe restart and a number of other aspects, there was $20 billion.

There are priorities in the fall economic statement that are not COVID-related but are high-priority items for Greens, particularly working towards indigenous reconciliation and moving towards pharmacare. I do not know why it is taking so long, but pharmacare is flagged in the fall economic statement.

Specifically, we should start looking at pharmacare in relation to rare diseases. I am part of a caucus, quite an informal caucus, with members of Parliament from every single party in this place, and that is a great place for collaboration. We are working with the CF Foundation and trying to get the life-saving drug Trikafta to patients in the CF community. We work together, and I think we are better when we do so.

On the opioid crisis, again, referenced in the fall economic statement, Greens favour decriminalization. We need to move fast to stop the deaths from opioid addiction, which is an extension of a mental health issue. It is a health issue. It is not a criminal issue.

On climate, which is also referenced in the fall economic statement, Greens are very keen on improving our east-west electricity grid and also improving its potential to reach north. We applaud the focus on interties that we have begun to see out of the Canadian Infrastructure Bank. However, we need more. We need more work on the electricity grid. We need more work on public transit, but it is flagged, as is the importance of electric vehicles.

Many climate-related measures are in the fall economic statement, including nature-based climate solutions. On the commitment to planting two billion trees, which we have heard of many times and look forward to seeing, it is critical that they are trees appropriate to the ecosystems in which they are planted. It is critical that we do the tree planting in ways that enhance carbon sequestration and protect biodiversity, such as along stream banks to help protect our wild Pacific salmon where they have lost so much habitat.

These are measures we support, but they are not enough. We have seen Bill C-12, and they are referenced in the fall economic statement for climate accountability, but without major strengthening, such as a fixed dark target date of 2025 for carbon reductions, it will not be worth supporting.

When we look south of the border we see the steps the new Biden administration is taking, pursuing some of the courses Barack Obama left in place. This is also encouraging. Canada has scope, as is mentioned in the fall economic statement. With carbon and border adjustments, we can move our economies in the same direction and create more jobs while doing so. These are encouraging things.

We support Bill C-14 as far as it goes. The measures are important in order to get more COVID assistance to people to get more relief.

What is missing? There are many sectors that are not just falling through the cracks, but plummeting through a chasm. They need more help. I refer specifically to all the businesses in the tourism sector, particularly restaurants, but also bus services.

The fall economic statement refers to the highly affected sectors having more credit availability, but it is capped at $1 million per piece of assistance. I will specifically mention Wilson’s bus lines, which provides not only charter service but also regularly scheduled service into first nation communities. It is an integral part of our tourism ecosystem here. It is being pressured out of existence by the commercial banks. The banks are demanding repayment. The $1-million capped loan will not be enough to save Wilson’s.

For other parts of our transportation infrastructure, such as regional airports, $1 million in loans is not going to help them. We need to focus on what is needed to save all of our transportation infrastructure that is at risk right now. I think the best way to do that would be for the Minister of Finance or the Prime Minister to talk to all the CEOs of the big commercial banks and remind them they are making profits every quarter.

This is the most recent news. If we just scan the headlines of BNN Bloomberg, we see the new quarter, post-2020 into 2021, news. It is a kick off of big bank earnings. They are doing great. They have adjusted fourth-quarter profits above the average analyst estimates. When the banks are doing well, maybe not as well as before the pandemic, but they are not struggling or about to go under, they need to help.

Similarly, we should not be leaning on Canadians who got the CERB in good faith because they thought they made $5,000 in the previous year. The qualifications to say they did not qualify came out later. Come on. Let us fix it in this bill to say that anyone who received CERB who received $5,000 gross income in 2019 is entitled. That would clear up a misunderstanding and remove the cloud over the heads of over 440,000 Canadians who received, and I think this is an Orwellian turn of phrase, an education letter.

The critical issue of long-term care homes is referenced quite a lot in the fall economic statement. It mentions long-term care home workers. One of the more disturbing stories I saw in the last few months was of an outbreak of COVID in an Ottawa shelter for the homeless. It turned out the homeless who were living there were actually workers in long-term care. They were earning so little as long-term care workers, they were living in the Ottawa homeless shelter because they could not afford a roof over their head.

We need to do much more. We need to get into those long-term care homes and make sure our seniors are vaccinated. We need to stop the senicide. We need to make sure we pay our workers adequately, whether they are front-line workers in long-term care or anywhere in our society. We really do need a guaranteed livable income to ensure equity and decency for every single Canadian.

This is just a quick scratching of the surface of what we see as a challenge to us as Canadians. The fall economic statement gives us a good direction, but it needs to be more ambitious. We need to ensure that as we come out of COVID we repair our social safety net so it is not a net full of holes, but an actual place of stability, decency and respect for every single one of our human beings in this society, whether homeless, indigenous, or a woman who cannot figure out how to go back to work. We need to rebuild. We need a society that lives up to our greatest aspirations, including acting on the climate emergency while we still have time.

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Ms. Elizabeth May (Saanich—Gulf Islands, GP): Madam Speaker, I am very concerned, as is our Green Party leader, Annamie Paul. I look forward to the day when the Speaker will chastise me for using her name out loud, which would mean that she finally has a seat in Parliament. However, Annamie Paul has been very clear that this is a senicide, that we are seeing the equivalent of a genocide among seniors as 70% of all the deaths in Canada from COVID so far have been in long-term care homes.

I am horrified, I think we all are, to hear over the national news that in Ontario in long-term care homes, people with COVID-positive tests were kept in the same bedroom as other residents who did not have COVID. These are basic public health rules that we have known for decades, and yet in the second wave of this pandemic we are seeing mismanagement in these homes under provincial jurisdiction.

I know it is a sensitive matter, but I am going to raise again the question my hon. colleague just asked the parliamentary secretary. I am asking this as question, because I am not sure, but is it not time that we used the Emergencies Act, which allows a coordinated approached and emergency help, and at least apply it to long-term care homes specifically? We do not have to extend it to all aspects of the COVID response or vaccinations. We could apply it specifically to long-term care homes so that we would not have to beg Premier Doug Ford to send in the military, the federal government could do it.

Gary Anandasangaree (Scarborough—Rouge Park)
2021-01-25 18:10 [p.3450]

Madam Speaker, I think that there are additional measures that can be taken without imposing the Emergencies Act. I believe that the province can do more, and as a federal government we are ready to do more. We have the military on standby and we have the Red Cross already deployed in many of the homes.

We have expended a great deal of funds to the provinces themselves. It is essential that we do everything we can to support those in long-term care homes. However, I do not necessarily think that imposing the Emergencies Act will solve that. I think there are deeper-rooted issues that may not be resolved overnight. What we need to do is mitigate the losses we have had.
It is not too late. There are still outbreaks taking place that we can intervene in, and that is why I am asking Premier Ford to call in the military.

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OTTAWA – As Parliament begins a new sitting on Monday, the Green Party of Canada reminds Members of Parliament that people in Canada are counting on them to stay focused. The urgent needs of the people, not any pre-election posturing and positioning, must be our priority.

“Unfortunately, much of the spirit of cross-party collaboration that delivered a lot of essential support for people in Canada has disappeared,” said Green Party Leader Annamie Paul. “Despite marketing a ‘Team Canada’ approach to fighting the pandemic, the Prime Minister has not invited other party leaders to a COVID-19 briefing for months. This has prevented parties from presenting a united front to the public that would have increased confidence at this critical time.

“And while cooperation does not exclude healthy and necessary opposition in Parliament, it does preclude the kind of unnecessary brinkmanship we witnessed several times in the last sitting. As we continue to face down the pandemic – whether it’s vaccine procurement and distribution, or messaging – there should be no place for politics in any aspect of Canada’s COVID-19 strategy.

“As this new sitting begins, we note the government is straying further and further from the Prime Minister’s promise to ‘keep doing whatever it takes, for as long as it takes, to beat COVID-19 and protect Canadians through the crisis.’ Whether it’s sick pay, a long-term care (LTC) strategy, universal pharmacare, dental care or relief for students, the Green caucus will be working to see that the government’s commitment is fulfilled.

“The government of Canada has failed to address the humanitarian crisis that is unfolding in LTC. Canada has the worst record for protecting LTC residents during this pandemic, and it has been described as a senecide. With hundreds of outbreaks and thousands of deaths in LTC, the Prime Minister must convene a First Minister’s Meeting to agree on an urgent action plan to implement the clear, actionable recommendations that experts say will save lives immediately and that the Green Party has laid out. The health and security of every person in Canada is the Prime Minister’s responsibility and he must show leadership.

“In the case of Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB), the government admits it made a fundamental mistake but refuses to correct it, placing the burden on vulnerable recipients instead. In December, it acknowledged that it had communicated wrong eligibility information to applicants. Despite this, and in the midst of a pandemic, the Prime Minister insists that cancelling repayments is ‘off the table.’ Recipients who did not earn $5,000 dollars gross in the previous year must repay the full amount (up to $14,000 dollars).

“Green Party MPs are hearing from constituents who have no hope of paying back the amount and who are fearful and overwhelmed,” said Ms. Paul. “The Green Party has said that the government must do the right thing and confirm to these good faith recipients they will not be required to pay back the CERB they received.

“The CERB debacle underlines the fact that a patchwork of stop-gap measures will always result in people being left without support. The Green Party supported extending emergency benefits and plans to reform employment insurance, while emphasizing the need for a permanent, universal benefit. The pandemic has more than made that case, and now is the time for the government to launch discussions on implementing a Guaranteed Livable Income – something the Green Party has been advocating since 2006 and which the Liberal caucus has named as its top policy priority.

“The Liberal government’s climate plan and legislation introduced last fall are simply not good enough and will not allow Canada to meet its Paris climate obligations. Canada continues to fall further behind in the global race to launch a green economy while countries like the U.S. push ahead in planning theirs. It is frustrating to see workers in the oilpatch being left behind because their government is failing to plan for their future,” said Ms. Paul.

“Last week, President Biden demonstrated decisive climate leadership, and now is the time for the federal government to show that it is serious about protecting the climate and the future of Canadian workers. The Green Party was the first to propose a North American Carbon Border to protect Canadian workers and businesses. We are the only federal party committed to ending fracking, new pipelines and oil and gas exploration projects and instead using those funds to invest in renewable energy, green infrastructure and Cleantech, a sector estimated to be worth US$3 trillion dollars globally by 2030.”

“Finally, the Green Party reiterates its call for the Prime Minister to convene an intergovernmental COVID-19 task force to coordinate a national response to Canada’s greatest health crisis in over a century.

“On day one, President Biden appointed a national COVID-19 Coordinator to create a unified national response, recognising that a coordinated approach and roadmap were needed,” said Ms. Paul. “At the same time, Canada has no national coordinator, no national strategy, and no roadmap. Across the country, frontline workers and medical associations have raised the alarm about the dangerous lack of collaboration and coordination across levels of government and pleaded with the federal government to intervene. The Green Party has made the same calls for months and will continue to push to see this task force convened.”

“As we enter this sitting of Parliament, I want to say to all people in Canada that leadership and ambition in our policies is possible. We know what has to be done, and Greens understand that Canada has the chance of a lifetime. All that we need is the political leadership.”

# # #

For more information or to arrange an interview:

Rosie Emery

Press Secretary

613-562-4916×206

rosie.emery@greenparty.ca

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OTTAWA – A spate of tragedies at seniors’ homes and long-term care facilities across Canada highlight the need for the federal government to create and enforce a national standard for both public and private institutions caring for the elderly. Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Theresa Tam has revealed that about half the COVID-19 related deaths in Canada are linked to outbreaks at such facilities.

“Regulations covering senior homes and long-term care facilities fall under provincial jurisdiction but it is becoming obvious there is a leadership role in this for the federal government.” said Green Party Interim Leader Jo-Ann Roberts. “This pandemic has revealed issues of gross negligence and inequality when it comes to the management and hiring practices in these residences. Ownership changes of privatized facilities led to contract flipping and union decertification. Workers were laid off and then re-hired part-time for lower wages and no benefits. These health care workers then had to work at multiple homes to make ends meet and this has led to the spread of COVID-19 from one long-term care facility to another.”

Green MP Paul Manly (Nanaimo-Ladysmith) was alerted about a seniors home in his riding that was understaffed and providing substandard care. Nanaimo Seniors Village was one of 23 facilities owned by Retirement Concepts which was purchased by the Chinese corporation Anbang Insurance with federal approval. Anbang was taken over by the Chinese state after the CEO was convicted of corruption. The Vancouver Island Health Authority took control of three Retirement Concepts facilities after conditions deteriorated for the seniors living there.

Last month, Mr. Manly spoke on the issue in parliament. “Seniors went for weeks without receiving a bath,” said Mr. Manly. “They were left in soiled clothes and soiled beds. Bedsores and other related health consequences of neglect were common.

“We have failed to protect seniors,” he added. “We must remove the financial incentive to provide substandard care. Corporations cannot be permitted to squeeze profit out of the healthcare system through vague accounting, paying below-average wages and neglecting vulnerable seniors. The abuses that have resulted from this are horrifying.”

Green parliamentary leader Elizabeth May (MP, Saanich-Gulf Islands) noted that the Government has a duty to ensure that citizens can live fulfilling and dignified lives in their senior years. She said: “The federal issue now in this pandemic is to review wage subsidy and other rules to recognize that not-for-profit homes for seniors, including those for independent living, urgently need financial support and help getting PPEs. These are the homes most likely to be well-run, but lacking deep pockets to take on additional costs created by COVID-19. We need to address their needs.”

The Green Party advocates for the development of a National Seniors Strategy which would support innovative home-sharing plans and other measures to allow people to stay in their own homes as long as possible.

“This is a human rights issue,” said Ms. Roberts. “No one, let alone elders, who’ve built the society we now enjoy, should find themselves trapped in such inhumane conditions. We applaud new measures in B.C. where they are raising wages, and both B.C. and Ontario are mandating that long-term care workers can work at only one home at a time. We hope that similar measures will be introduced across the country and will endure once this pandemic is over. We welcome today’s announcement by the federal government that the salaries of caregivers will be increased, and hope this will become permanent. Eventually, Greens will call for a national inquiry into what has happened here, and for enhanced federal oversight to ensure that it never happens again.”

# # #

For more information or to arrange an interview:

Rosie Emery

Press Secretary

613-562-4916 ext, 204

rosie.emery@greenparty.ca

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