Both Green MPs had a packed couple of weeks as the spring session of parliament kicked off, marking the beginning of an uninterrupted five-week stretch of House of Commons sittings until the Victoria Day long weekend in May.
Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation
Elizabeth May took Imperial Oil executives to task at the House of Commons environment committee over repeated tailings ponds leaks that have impacted nearby Indigenous communities in northern Alberta—and she‘s calling for the company to be charged.
The first leak occurred in May 2022 and is still ongoing. Local Indigenous communities and the public were not informed of the seepage from Kearl until February this year after another incident spilled over five million litres of industrial waste from a drainage pond into the environment.
Lack of funding for the Canada Disability Benefit in Budget 2023
Mike used his Monday speech on the 2023 budget to criticize the government for not allocating funds for the Canada Disability Benefit.
“When the government was serious about affordable child care, they started by funding it and then moved forward with regulations and agreements with the provinces and territories,” he said. “If they were serious about lifting Canadians with disabilities out of poverty, why didn’t they announce funding for the Canada Disability Benefit in Budget 2023?”
Budget 2023 misses the mark and fails to position Canada as a climate leader by funding future development for offshore oil and gas development in the Arctic while ignoring the average Canadians‘ basic needs, the Green Party of Canada said in a statement about Budget 2023.
Robert‘s Bank terminal expansion
Elizabeth chided the government for approving the Port of Vancouver‘s $3.5 billion Roberts Bank Terminal 2 proposal.
“This is heartbreaking,” she said while presenting a petition Wednesday with over 4,000 signatories opposing the approval. “The Fraser estuary supports 102 species considered at risk of extinction.”
The project would have significant adverse and cumulative effects on wetlands and wetland functions at Roberts Bank, a federal environment review panel wrote in a 2020 report.
Canada Summer Jobs funding
The Canada Summer Jobs program is not only a financial lifeline for non-profit organizations, charities, and small businesses across the country, it is a critical support for young people getting their start in the workforce.
In Question Period this week, Mike asked the governing party how they can justify drastic cuts to this program – over 50 per cent from last year, and $60 million less than even pre-pandemic funding levels, with no advance warning from the government.
Small modular nuclear reactors
Elizabeth joined Liberal MP Jenica Atwin, Bloc Québécois MP Mario Simard and NDP MP Alexandre Boulerice in a cross-partisan effort this week to express serious concerns about an expansion of nuclear energy and the development of small modular nuclear reactors.
In a non-partisan press conference in Ottawa, the four parliamentarians along with civil society advocates called for Ottawa to hit the pause button on federal funding to develop experimental SMRs until parliament and independent scientific experts have critically reviewed these plans.
National Day of Mourning
Mike marked the National Day of Mourning for workers injured, killed, or made ill by hazardous workplace conditions on Friday April 28th, honouring those impacted, as well as calling on all Parliamentarians to renew their commitment to improve workplace health and safety.
Canada Summer Jobs Funding
The Canada Summer Jobs program is not only a financial lifeline for non-profit organizations, charities, and small businesses across the country, it is a critical support for young people getting their start in the workforce.
Key Moments
- Mike questions decrease in Canada Summer Jobs funding
- Mike’s statement on National Day of Mourning
- Elizabeth questions Imperial Oil CEO Brad Corson at environment committee
- Elizabeth questions the Robert’s Bank Terminal expansion approval
- Mike’s budget speech on the Canada Disability Benefit
- Green Party of Canada’s statement on Budget 2023
- Civil society groups and MPs reject industry hype about Canada‘s “glowing” nuclear future