Nothing solved by eviction - Libby on BC forfeiture laws

March 10, 2010
The Vancouver Province
Bad luck and a bad crowd, but she's 'not a criminal'On a clear, crisp March morning, Marianne Christine Sullivan sits on a dock at Trout Lake in east Vancouver and talks about being homeless and broke after the B.C. government took her $562,000 home under civil forfeiture legislation....Vancouver East MP Libby Davies says the sad situation Sullivan faces as a homeless person likely means it will cost society far more in the long run than what was taken with the forfeiture. "It is unbelievable this could happen to her," she says. "The fact is, she is now living on the street and suffering from an addiction. What has been solved by making her homeless?
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Air Canada outsourcing - a joint letter from the federal NDP BC Caucus

March 3, 2010 Open Letters to Ministers & Public Officials

Libby and her BC colleagues sent the following letter to Transport Minister John Baird
March 3, 2010

The Hon. John Baird, P.C. M.P.
Minister for Transport
House of Commons
Ottawa, ON K1A 0A6

Dear Minister Baird,

In your January 12, 2010 letter in response to our colleague Bill Siksay and co-signatories regarding the future of Air Canada and its employees, you recognized the strategic importance of Canada’s air transportation system, of which Air Canada constitutes a critical component.

In addition to referring to the federal government’s role in helping ensure the financial viability of Air Canada, you highlighted Air Canada`s role in connecting Canadians from coast to coast to coast and beyond.

A key component of maintaining the integrity of Canada’s transportation system is ensuring that a critical mass of technical and maintenance aviation servicing expertise remains in Canada. This is, of course, in addition to safety and security concerns.

Regrettably, in spite of Air Canada receiving federal funding support, Air Canada’s management has been relentlessly outsourcing the servicing and maintenance of its aircraft in low-cost developing countries. This is an issue that we have raised many times in the House, and at committee as well as in previous correspondence with your department.

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On International Women's Day 2010

March 8, 2010 Press Release

Statement by New Democrat Leader Jack Layton on International Women’s Day

Women and men around the world recognize International Women's Day as a time to reflect upon and celebrate women’s social, political and economic achievements, both globally and locally. In this country, much progress has been made since Canadians first marked International Women’s Day in 1977.

Sadly, there is still much work to be done. Women across the world continue to suffer extreme poverty, violence and violations of their basic human rights.

Last month, the Canadian Feminist Alliance for International Action and the Canadian Labour Congress sent the United Nations a detailed report on the statistical decline in Canadian women’s equality and rights. The groups cited “systemic erosion” in the status of Canadian women since 2004.

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Federal actions for missing and murdered women must be substantive

March 5, 2010
The Vancouver Sun
$10 million 'a start' to investigate women's deaths, disappearancesThere was cautious optimism Thursday in response to the federal government's promise of $10 million over two years to address the issue of hundreds of missing and murdered native women in Canada. "It's a start, because five and 10 years ago, the issue of missing and murdered aboriginal women in Canada never passed the lips of a single cabinet minister, that I'm aware of, over all those years," said Ernie Crey, whose sister Dawn disappeared from Vancouver's Downtown Eastside in 2000....Vancouver East NDP MP Libby Davies, whose riding includes the Downtown Eastside where 64 women disappeared from 1978 to 2001, said the solution to this epidemic cannot come solely through "a criminal justice lens."
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CONSERVATIVE BUDGET A MISSED OPPORTUNITY

March 4, 2010 Press Release

CONSERVATIVE BUDGET A MISSED OPPORTUNITY
Focus on corporate tax cuts ignores economic reality for many British Columbians

OTTAWA – Critical needs of British Columbians have been ignored by the federal budget say Vancouver MPs Libby Davies (Vancouver East) and Don Davies (Vancouver-Kingsway). The NDP MPs expressed their dismay over today’s budget which shows that the Conservatives have no comprehensive strategy for jobs, pensions, housing or the environment.

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An Intense Parliamentary Session Ahead

February 28, 2010
The Vancouver Sun
Debate to centre on PM's power as Parliament returnsThe speech from the throne and the federal budget will be the top two items on Parliament's agenda when it reconvenes Wednesday after a lengthy and controversial prorogation. But the biggest political flashpoints in the coming session are likely to come over two other items that have a common denominator: attempts by the House of Commons to put some restrictions on the traditional powers and privileges of the prime minister. "I think it's going to be a fairly intense session," said NDP House Leader Libby Davies. "It's going to be a difficult working environment."
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Sisters in Spirit funding at risk

February 18, 2010 Open Letters to Ministers & Public Officials

February 18, 2010

Helena Guergis
Minister of State Status of Women
733 Confederation Building
House of Commons
Ottawa, ON K1A 0A6

Dear Minister Guergis,

I write to urge you to commit to renewed funding for the Sisters in Spirit initiative of the Native Women's Association of Canada, without delay.

As the Minister of State for the Status of Women you have repeatedly praised the Sister in Spirit initiative in the House of Commons as being a “great research project...extremely successful in raising awareness to the issue of violence against aboriginal women and girls.” As recently as December 2009, the Secretary of State for the Status of Women described the initiative as the “groundwork,” from which to “attack the root causes of violence against aboriginal women and girls.”