Speech from the throne Archives | Elizabeth May

Elizabeth May and Paul Manly react to the Speech from the Throne

Elizabeth May — Thu, 24 Sep 2020 23:52:13 +0000

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Greens encouraged by some aspects of Speech from the Throne but caution stronger climate action will be needed

Elizabeth May — Thu, 24 Sep 2020 23:47:45 +0000

September 24, 2020

OTTAWA – The Green Party of Canada expressed cautious optimism about yesterday’s Speech from the Throne. Its continued support for Canadians struggling with the effects of the pandemic were encouraging. However, the science on the climate crisis makes it clear that we need more than vague promises to exceed the current weak targets for 2030. Canada must live up to its international commitments and the Green Party will keep pressing for stronger climate action.

“The Liberals made a lot of promises today,” said Green Party Interim Leader Jo-Ann Roberts. “Many of their proposals are surprisingly similar to those outlined in the Green Party’s recovery plan Reimagining Our Future. Obviously the pandemic is foremost on people’s minds, so we welcome initiatives that reinforce caring for people and our planet.

“We support ideas like funding for housing and supporting local food supply. Long before the pandemic we were advocating for national standards for long-term care, and we have been calling for investments in early learning and childcare,” said Paul Manly (MP Nanaimo-Ladysmith) “But I believe the government missed a historic opportunity to implement a Guaranteed Livable Income. Communities and lives continue to be ravaged by the opioid crisis, but the commitments in the throne speech to address that crisis are much too weak. And I am very disappointed to hear nothing addressing the catastrophic collapse of salmon fisheries on the West Coast, as well as getting fish farms out of salmon migration routes.”

Green parliamentary leader Elizabeth May (MP, Saanich-Gulf Islands) stressed the long overdue action on Indigenous reconciliation. She also welcomed the announcement of a Canada Water Agency. “This is such an important move, so glad to see it finally announced today,” said Ms. May. “Also very happy to hear that Canada will increase international development assistance. In addition to the pandemic, the climate crisis is already devastating populations in vulnerable countries and there will soon be millions more climate refugees needing help.”

MP for Fredericton, Jenica Atwin expressed some trepidation: “Many of these commitments, to legislate net-zero by 2050, to modernize the Official Languages Act, or to enshrine the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People for example, are repeat promises from the 2019 Liberal platform and from last year’s Throne speech,” said Atwin. I am ready to start seeing some action come out of the anti-racism secretariat, to see real dollars behind commitments on mental health and wellness, and to finally see meaningful steps toward developing legislation to enshrine UNDRIP. Words are no longer enough.”

The Green caucus have said they will continue to study the document before giving their unqualified support to the Government’s plan going forward but have indicated it appears to be a step in the right direction.

# # #

For more information or to arrange an interview contact:

Rosie Emery

Press Secretary

613-562-4916×206

rosie.emery@greenparty.ca

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Pharmacare must remain an urgent priority for this government

Elizabeth May — Thu, 24 Sep 2020 23:43:18 +0000

Elizabeth May (Saanich—Gulf Islands)
2020-09-24 15:40 [p.76]

Mr. Speaker, I have a question about pharmacare for the parliamentary secretary.

The throne speech said that pharmacare was a priority, but not an urgent one. I noticed that the throne speech only mentions some small steps towards creating universal pharmacare.

Pharmacare is urgent, though. What will the member say to make this a higher priority? They need to hurry up.

Élisabeth Brière (Sherbrooke)
2020-09-24 15:41 [p.76]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from Saanich—Gulf Islands for her very important question.

The government has been working towards this from the beginning. All along, our government’s priority has been the health and safety of Canadians. We met our objectives through the programs that we implemented.

I heard my colleague’s plea for swift action. We are doing crisis management. We did implement programs very quickly to address this crisis and to help people.

We are now going to set ourselves up for the best possible recovery.

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Let’s not scare Canadians. Canada’s debt to GDP ratio is manageable.

Elizabeth May — Thu, 24 Sep 2020 23:32:47 +0000

Elizabeth May (Saanich—Gulf Islands)
2020-09-24 17:18 [p.91]

Mr. Speaker, to my hon. colleague and friend from Haliburton—Kawartha Lakes—Brock, let me add my congratulations on his recent ascension within his party ranks.

I will pick up on something the member for Carleton said, which the member referenced in his speech. He was using statistics of deficit to GDP ratio. It is certainly much more common to use statistics, as I am sure the member will agree, of debt to GDP ratio, deficits being more temporary. As the parliamentary budget office has reported, when we look at World War II figures, the economy recovered quite quickly.

Let us look at debt to GDP ratio. We went into this pandemic at about 30% debt to GDP ratio, much better than any other country in the G7. It is predicted that we will be at about 38% by the end of this. In 1995, we had 66% debt to GDP ratio.

I do not want to scare Canadians into a kind of sticker shock, thinking that our kids are going to pay for this. That is not true. I think we need to actually look at the world. All the major economies in the world have their central banks doing the same thing.
I am going to stop there and ask my hon. colleague for a comment on whether we could reference history more precisely so as not to alarm people.

Jamie Schmale (Haliburton—Kawartha Lakes—Brock)
2020-09-24 17:19 [p.92]

Mr. Speaker, it is nice to see my friend from Saanich—Gulf Islands. I have a couple of things to say.

The current government has no plan to bring the books to balance. It has spending in perpetuity. It is going to go on forever. This is what happens when money continues to be printed, as the Bank of Canada has done in many cases, and the debt continues to be racked up, then the currency or the economy will be debauched, and probably both at the same time. If investors lose confidence and stop buying our debt, inflation will start to rise, and the Canadian dollar will drop. The Bank of Canada would then be forced to increase interest rates, and access to credit would shrink.

That is why Conservatives talk about balancing the budget, reigning in spending, controlling the costs of bureaucracy, and allowing services to be given to the people at a reasonable cost at the most effective measure. The most effective measure is allowing people more choice in their lives with more money in their pockets, and not funnelling their money to government, allowing it to go around in a cotton candy machine, going to the provinces, municipalities and to the end user, which is the taxpayer.

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Green Party Presents Its Throne Speech Expectations – September 23, 2020

Elizabeth May — Wed, 23 Sep 2020 14:38:42 +0000

At a news conference on Parliament Hill, Elizabeth May, the Green Party parliamentary leader, discusses her party’s expectations for the speech from the throne and comments on the provincial election campaign that is underway in British Columbia. The throne speech, which will mark the opening of the second session of the 43rd Parliament and outline the federal government’s legislative agenda, is set to be delivered later in the day by Governor General Julie Payette.

Click here to watch the news conference in English.

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Elizabeth May responds to the Liberal government’s Speech from the Throne

Elizabeth May — Mon, 27 Jan 2020 20:07:30 +0000

Elizabeth May (Saanich—Gulf Islands)

2020-01-27 13:20 [p.446]

Madam Speaker, I am honoured to rise today for the first time this year and at the start of a new decade.

I would like to share my time with my colleague, the hon. member for Nanaimo—Ladysmith. I am very happy that all the members of the Green Party will have an opportunity to speak to the 2019 throne speech, as this is the last day of debate. I would like to thank the people who manage time within the Liberal Party, since my colleague, the member for Fredericton, will share her time with a Liberal member.

I want to start by saying, and this is not a formality, that we are on the unceded territory of the Algonquin people.

I want to acknowledge that we are here on traditional unceded Algonquin territory, and to them we say, meegwetch.

It is an honour to speak to the Speech from the Throne today. There is much in it that can carry one away with inspirational promises, with rhetoric with which we can only agree. For instance, I turn to this bit, which I particularly like: “From forest fires and floods, to ocean pollution and coastal erosion, Canadians are living the impact of climate change every day.”

The science is clear and it has been for decades. A clear majority of Canadians voted for ambitious climate action now. That stirs me to think I will vote for this, but I will not. I will not because the gap between the inspirational rhetoric coming from the Liberal administration and the reality of Liberal actions is so wide it induces vertigo. It is so deep that it is dizzying.

As an example of why I now feel this way, I turn to the 2015 Speech from the Throne, which I did vote for. I loved this promise and will remind people of it. Some of us who also served in the 42nd Parliament will remember the government’s promise to “not resort to devices like…omnibus bills to avoid scrutiny.”

I think we all recall that it was an omnibus budget bill in which the deferred prosecution agreement designed specifically for SNC-Lavalin was hidden. Now I read everything, as my colleagues know, so I actually saw the deferred prosecution agreement hidden in an omnibus budget bill. I wondered why it was not stand-alone criminal legislation to go through the Department of Justice, but I was persuaded by the notes and looking into it that nothing nefarious lay there. However, it was in an omnibus bill and I do regret that the deferred prosecution agreement amendment to the Criminal Code never went to the Department of Justice and to the committee studying justice bills, as it should have.

Another fun promise to remember from the 2015 Speech from the Throne was “the government will undertake to renew, nation-to-nation, the relationship between Canada and indigenous peoples, one based on recognition of rights, respect, co-operation and partnership.”

It was with some shock that I saw within months the Liberal government’s approval of Site C, ignoring the court cases and concerns of indigenous peoples, as well as the environmental impacts.

Approval of the Kinder Morgan pipeline ignored the fact that, even during the 2015 election campaign, the then leader of the Liberal Party, now Prime Minister, said that no project could be approved based on the inadequate and flawed process that had taken place while there were court cases, and strong and clear objection, from the Tsleil-Waututh, Musqueam, Squamish and WSANEC First Nations, whose territory I am honoured to live on. Muskrat Falls ignored the concerns of the Innu.

Quoting from the 2015 Speech from the Throne, many people will remember the following without being reminded, the promise “that 2015 will be the last federal election conducted under the first-past-the-post voting system.” One can see where concern arises. How much can we believe in the 2019 Speech from the Throne? I would like to believe it, but then we come to the reality of what is being pledged. We are seeing a commitment in this new Speech from the Throne.

In the throne speech the government said, and I quote, “The Government will set a target to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050.”

In reality, our target is the same as the one chosen by the former Conservative government under Stephen Harper. The target has not changed by a single tonne.

Here we are with a government that says we can get to net-zero by 2050, and there are some questions. As many will know, we do not whip votes in the Green Party. I am so honoured to be joined by the member for Nanaimo—Ladysmith and the member for Fredericton. We cannot vote confidence in a government that does not have a climate target that allies with the science.

We know that the government has said that it is important to face the climate situation as a climate emergency. In fact, it was a Liberal motion passed by this House on June 17, 2019, in which the House agreed that we are in a climate emergency. The motion stated:

…the House declare that Canada is in a national climate emergency which requires…that Canada commit to meeting its national emissions target under the Paris Agreement and to making deeper reductions in line with…pursuing efforts to keep global warming below 1.5 degrees Celsius.

However, here we are with a Speech from the Throne that never once uses the term “climate emergency”.

We are in a climate emergency, but there is not a single mention of “climate emergency” in the throne speech.

The Speech from the Throne says that we have to address climate change. While the government says that we must achieve net-zero emissions by 2050, only a few paragraphs later we are also told that the government must take strong action to fight climate change and also work just as hard to get Canadian resources to new markets.

In other words, with the same vigour which the government wants to address the climate emergency, it will also use public funds in the neighbourhood of $10 billion to $13 billion to drive forward the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion, which is a direct threat to climate action, as it also contemplates approving the Teck Frontier mine project. It also is ignoring its obligations under the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and the climate emergency by subsidizing and supporting the LNG projects where the gas pipeline is. At this very moment, the RCMP are in Wet’suwet’en Territory prepared to enforce an injunction that should never be enforced because it violates hereditary rights and traditional rights of Wet’suwet’en people.

Here is the reality, and it is a tough one. I have worked on this issue since 1986. I have seen government after government, well-meaning Liberals, well-meaning provincial New Democrats, well-meaning Progressive Conservatives, make climate commitments and then find it is too hard. Something political needs to be fixed before we can do the right thing to ensure our kids have a livable world.

Here is the tough choice, and it is not one that we can find wiggle room or some medium space to do a bit of this and a bit of that, with a pipeline here and an oil sands mine there, and still live up to climate commitments. The stark choice is this. Before the next election, we assembled in this Parliament must have Canada’s targets align with the advice of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. That means we must at least double our targets until 2030.

We must now as humanity, as the world assembled through the multilateral process, change our economies in a transformational sense that gets rid of fossil fuels to ensure that our children, that human civilization can survive in a hospitable biosphere or we defend the fossil fuel industry. We cannot do both. We have to choose. I choose climate action and the Speech from the Throne and the government had better deliver.

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Good Sunday Morning – December 8

Elizabeth May — Sun, 08 Dec 2019 16:56:34 +0000

Good Sunday Morning!

As you read this, I am likely to be lugging a suitcase off the carousel at the Madrid airport. COP25 is about to enter its second week – known as the high-level segment.

Every COP has the same rhythm, while some are more intense than others. The Conference of the Parties (hence COP) meets annually to advance – at an excruciatingly slow pace – progress under the 1992 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). A “party” is any nation that has signed and ratified the 1992 climate treaty. All nations on earth have done so.

The first week is when the bureaucrats work to refine text and find as much agreement as possible. The high level segment is when heads of government (a few) and ministers (many) arrive to finalize text through political negotiation.

The Paris Agreement is the latest effort to bring precision to the more general UNFCCC goals. I would say that the pace of the negotiations is glacial, except as humanity procrastinates in eliminating fossil fuels, glaciers are now moving faster than politicians.

Speaking of procrastination…

On Thursday I was in parliament for the Speech from the Throne. The ancient ritual of monarch summoning loyal subjects feels increasingly anachronistic. With the Senate and House no longer under the same roof — with Centre Block shut down for a decade of repairs and upgrades — the “commoners” from the House of Commons were shuttle-bused to the Royal Chamber. For the first time ever, the Senate desks had been removed and rows of seating for non-Senators brought in. Indigenous leaders, representatives of various sectors, as well as the members of the Senate had seating, while in keeping with tradition, MPs stood in the back behind the bar.

There were really no surprises in the SFT. As expected, the government’s agenda includes pharmacare (but will it be universal?), action towards reconciliation (UNDRIP, TRC and MMIWG – how fast? And will it be real this time?), more effective gun control, help for the middle class, 25% cuts in cell phone rates, as well as welcome commitments to expand health care, ensure more family doctors, act for mental health and the opioid crisis.

Climate has never before received so much ink or been placed in the first section of any Speech from the Throne (SFT). Nevertheless, I found it telling that “climate change” was referenced frequently, but the words “climate emergency” never appeared.

The Liberals’ election commitment to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050 was the cornerstone of promises to improve energy efficiency of buildings, promote “clean, affordable power” (why not say “renewable”? worrying language as it might presage nuclear), and promote EVs. Financial help for victims of climate disasters was also referenced. What was missing was the required immediate action to revise our 2030 target. The reality is that holding to the 2030 target makes carbon neutrality by 2050 a physical impossibility. We need to make this point as clearly and as often as possible.

This parliament will likely develop the legislation to ensure real targets in five year increments, with an independent audit function to ensure we are on track. What agency will perform that function is a hot topic – should it be the Auditor General? The Environment Commissioner? Or PBO? Critical is that the five year increments start in 2020, not 2030. The commitment to a Just Transition Act is also key, but, although it was a Liberal election promise, it was not in the SFT.

The best part of the opening of Parliament was that I have Green colleagues! Paul Manly and Janica Atwin are simply fabulous – smart and hard-working. Together this week, working with GPC press secretary, the wonderful Rosie Emery, we hammered out the following press releases and held one joint press conference:

https://www.greenparty.ca/en/media-release/2019-12-04/climate-negotiations-heat-madrid-green-caucus-lays-out-key-climate-tests

https://www.greenparty.ca/en/media-release/2019-12-02/green-party-canada-welcomes-appointment-mark-carney-united-nations-special

https://www.greenparty.ca/en/media-release/2019-12-03/greens-condemn-plan-spend-27-billion-nuclear-reactors

https://www.greenparty.ca/en/media-release/2019-12-05/now-not-time-incrementalism-says-green-party-canada

Having interim leader Jo Ann Roberts with me for the SFT meant that we both got to make points with different journalists. It feels as though we have achieved success in cloning – TWO Green leaders!

Happily, Paul and Jenica and I are seated with Jody Wilson-Raybould. Jenica sits between Jody and Paul and is pretty pleased about it! The odd part for me is the new vantage point. Given that the Liberals are now in minority, some of us from the Opposition now sit on the Government side of the House. It means when I get to Question Period, I will be asking questions to the back of the prime minister’s head.

I gave my first short speech of the session, to congratulate our new Speaker, Anthony Rota and Jenica gave her first speech the next day, marking the anniversary of the December 6th massacre of women engineering students at Ecole Polytechnique.

We are a small, but mighty team!

Have a great week – next report – dateline Madrid!

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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Now is not the time for incrementalism says Green Party of Canada

Elizabeth May — Thu, 05 Dec 2019 21:10:06 +0000

December 05, 2019

OTTAWA — Reacting to the Speech from the Throne, the Green Party of Canada expressed cautious optimism but disappointment in the lack of specifics and commitment in key policy areas.

“There are no surprises here,” said Green Party Interim Leader Jo-Ann Roberts. “It’s very much what we expected from this minority Liberal government. We’re disappointed by the lack of specifics and timelines in many areas. While the Green Party applauds the government for acknowledging the call by Canadians to address issues like climate change, health care, housing affordability and Indigenous rights, we are disappointed in the lack of urgency demonstrated in the absence of details.”

“I was pleased to see a commitment to make reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples a core priority and a pledge to introduce legislation to implement the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples within in the first year. However, there was a lack of specifics and timelines regarding the implementation of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Calls to Action, and the calls to justice from the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls. We would like to see more clarity on this.”

Green Party Parliamentary Leader Elizabeth May (MP, Saanich-Gulf Islands) also noted that in contrast to 2015, this Speech from the Throne contains far less detail. “I don’t understand how the government can say that ‘the defining challenge of our time is climate change’ and still fail to specify a clear target for us to achieve net zero by 2050,” said Ms. May. “This is a failure to commit to a target that is specifically grounded in science. Our greenhouse gas emissions must be at least 60 per cent below 2005 levels by 2030, otherwise we risk out of control global warming that will result in the end of life as we know it on this planet. We can only hope that Mr. Trudeau is going to make a surprise appearance at COP25 next week to make a significant announcement on this.”

“I applaud the Liberals’ initiatives to make energy efficient homes more affordable, facilitate purchases of zero-emission vehicles and introduce measures to build clean, efficient and affordable communities. But if we do not implement measures to achieve the necessary targets to keep the global average temperature to 1.5 degrees celsius now, it will all be too late. Until we see targets implemented that will get us to where we need to be, we cannot in good faith vote in confidence for this government.”

Paul Manly, Green Party MP for Nanaimo-Ladysmith, welcomed the government’s commitment to preserve Canada’s natural legacy by protecting 25 per cent of Canada’s terrestrial and marine areas by 2025. However he voiced concerns about a lack of specifics on other issues.

“Tax cuts are not going to help the countless Canadians who are living paycheck to paycheck and struggling to avoid homelessness,” said Mr. Manly. “I’m happy to see increased mental health services, more family doctors and that the Government recognizes the opioid crisis. Healthy communities and genuine prosperity require committed action to alleviate the housing, mental health and opioid crises that are devastating our towns and cities from coast to coast to coast. Canadians are fundamentally caring people, and they are looking to the government for leadership on these issues.”

The Green Party was the first to call for the decriminalization of all drugs to address the opioid crisis and yet the speech contains no specifics in this regard.

While the Green Party welcomes the government’s intention to crack down on gun crimes and make a concerted effort to address gender-based violence in Canada, there is concern that the commitment to Pharmacare is missing the word ‘universal’. In the final report of the Advisory Council on the Implementation of National Pharmacare, Dr. Eric Hoskins stressed the need for all Canadians to benefit from universal, single-payer, public Pharmacare. The exclusion of the word ‘universal’ suggests that Canada will remain with an unfair system governed by class divisions.

“I’m encouraged that the Throne Speech opens the door to support for clinic 554 in New Brunswick,” said Jenica Atwin (MP, Fredericton). “It commits to ensuring primary care providers for all Canadians and Dr. Edgar is a primary care provider to many New Brunswickers. Therefore, I’m optimistic that this government will ensure that clinic 554 will remain open. I’m also pleased to note that the government has committed to taking greater steps to address gender-based violence in Canada, building on the Gender-Based Violence Strategy and working with partners to develop a National Action Plan.

“While we are not satisfied with everything included here, we do acknowledge and applaud the government’s willingness to collaborate on the challenges that we face as a country, so that we can do what needs to be done,” concluded Ms. Roberts.

# # #

For more information, or to arrange an interview contact:

Rosie Emery
Press Secretary
613-562-4916×206
rosie.emery@greenparty.ca

The post Now is not the time for incrementalism says Green Party of Canada appeared first on Elizabeth May.