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Libby In Parliament

Public Inquiry Only Acceptable Course of Action
August 18, 2010
Press Release

Libby Davies renews her call for inquiry into murdered and missing women

Vancouver- Libby Davies (MP Vancouver East) renewed her call today for a public inquiry into the murdered and missing women of the Downtown Eastside.

“The families and friends of the murdered and missing women deserve answers as to why the disappearance of their daughters, sisters, mothers and friends were overlooked for so long. A public inquiry is the only acceptable course of action,” said Davies.

Libby calls for proof that Criminal Code changes are warranted
August 11, 2010
Open Letters to Ministers & Public Officials

The Honourable Rob Nicholson
Minister of Justice
House of Commons
Ottawa, ON K1A 0A6

Dear Minister Nicholson,

I write to express my concern about your government’s recent announcement of regulatory changes to the Criminal Code, especially in regard to prostitution.

In 2007, the Parliamentary Sub-committee on Solicitation Laws, of which I was a member, heard from over 300 witnesses and examined available literature to come to the majority conclusion that current laws surrounding prostitution are harming women and men working in the sex trade.

Libby renews call for a public inquiry into Vancouver's missing and murdered women
August 5, 2010
Open Letters to Ministers & Public Officials

Premier Gordon Campbell
Government of British Columbia

The Honourable Vic Toews
Minister of Public Safety
House of Commons

Dear Premier Campbell and Minister Toews,

I write once again to press upon you the urgent need for a public inquiry into the actions of the Vancouver Police Department (VPD) and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) in the investigation of Vancouver’s missing and murdered women.

A public inquiry is the only acceptable course of action given the new horrifying information revealed since the lifting of the court publication ban and the Crown’s decision to stay the remaining 20 charges against Robert Pickton.

Libby Davies calls for an end to the criminalization of medical marijuana users
July 30, 2010
Press Release

“The raids on Canada’s Compassion Clubs are an attack on patient’s rights and must stop,” said NDP MP Libby Davies (Vancouver East).

After years of openly supporting medical marijuana users in their communities, a number of compassion clubs in Quebec and Toronto have been shut down.

The clubs serve patients with chronic illnesses and have emerged largely in response to the gaps and problems with federal Marijuana Medical Access Regulations. The BC Supreme Court ruled in 2009 that the program is unconstitutional and needs to be changed, yet the Conservatives have failed to respond beyond the most minimal legally necessary changes.

NEW DEMOCRAT MP LIBBY DAVIES SPEAKING AT 2010 WORLD AIDS CONFERENCE
July 20, 2010
Press Release

Davies to participate in panel on leadership for HIV/AIDS

OTTAWA – New Democrat MP Libby Davies (Vancouver East) is in Vienna, Austria for the 2010 World AIDS Conference. She is a panelist for the session Providing Leadership on Critical HIV/AIDS Issues, featuring Members of Parliament and government representatives from South Africa, Nepal, Austria and Kenya.

Davies was invited to attend the international convention because of her work around harm reduction and fighting HIV/AIDS, specifically her work with Vancouver’s safe injection site InSite. Her presentation is entitled “Why parliamentary leadership on harm reduction and the rights of people who use drugs is important, what barriers exist and how they can be overcome.”

The panel will be held Wednesday, July 21, 2010 from 11:00 – 12:30 CEST.

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NDP Calls For Hearings On G8/G20 Security
June 30, 2010
Press Release

On behalf of the NDP Caucus, the NDP Critic for Public Safety, MP Don Davies is calling for parliamentary hearings on G8/G20 Hearings.

NEW DEMOCRATS MAKE FORMAL REQUEST FOR COMMITTEE HEARINGS ON G8/G20 SECURITY

OTTAWA – New Democrat Public Safety and National Security Critic Don Davies (Vancouver Kingsway) has written a letter to recall the House of Commons Public Safety committee to study all issues surrounding security at the G8 and G20 summits.

The letter has been circulated to other parties for their signature, and will trigger a committee meeting within five days of its receipt by the committee clerk.

Libby receives Solidarity Award
June 20, 2010
Press Release

Vancouver- NDP MP Libby Davies (Vancouver East) was awarded the National Union of Public and General Employees (NUPGE) Solidarity Award on Saturday night at the Tri-annual NUPGE Convention in Vancouver.

Presented by the newly re-elected NUPGE president James Clancy, the award was given to Libby for her outstanding work for human rights for housing and homelessness.

The award recognizes Davies’s bill for a national housing strategy, Bill C-304. The bill is currently before the House of Commons and could have a final vote as early as the fall.

Libby's Bills to stop discrimination based on social condition
June 17, 2010
Speeches in Parliament

Libby introduced two bills in the House of Commons to change the Human Rights Act and the Criminal Code to prohibit discrimination against a person based on their social condition.

Canadian Human Rights Act
Ms. Libby Davies (Vancouver East, NDP)
moved for leave to introduce Bill C-559, An Act to amend the Canadian Human Rights Act (social condition).

Mr. Speaker

This bill would amend the Canadian Human Rights Act to prohibit discrimination on the grounds of social condition. In doing so it would protect from discrimination people who are experiencing social or economic disadvantage, such as adequate housing, homelessness, source of income, occupation, level of education, poverty, or any similar circumstance. As the Centre for Equality Rights in Accommodation and many other organizations have pointed out, a person's standing in society is often determined by his or her occupation, income, education level or family background.

Libby's Bill to Amend the Canada Pension Plan
June 14, 2010
Speeches in Parliament

Libby tabled a Private Member’s Bill in the House of Commons today. The bill would amend the Canada Pension Plan to allow people to designate a survivor in the case where survivor benefits are paid out. She made the following presentation in Parliament.

HANSARD
JUNE 14, 2010
House of Commons

Ms. Libby Davies (Vancouver East, NDP) :

Moved for leave to introduce Bill C-538, An Act to Amend the Canada Pension Plan (designation of survivor).

She said: Mr. Speaker, I am honoured to rise in the House today to present this bill. It would amend the Canada pension plan to allow a contributor to designate as the beneficiary of their survivor pension someone who is not their spouse or common-law partner. I would like to thank the member for Hamilton East—Stoney Creek for seconding the bill.

Libby's speaking out for Marc Emery
June 9, 2010
Open Letters to Ministers & Public Officials

The Honourable Lawrence Cannon
Minister of Foreign Affairs
418 N Centre Block
House of Commons
Ottawa, ON K1A 0A6

Dear Minister Cannon,

I write to ask for your immediate intervention into the seemingly harsh treatment of a Canadian citizen currently serving a sentence at the SeaTac Federal Detention Centre in Seattle, Washington.

Since Thursday, June 3, Marc Emery of British Columbia, has been in solitary confinement awaiting disciplinary action for having recorded a conversation he had with wife, in what amounts to a phone interview for a his own internet blog.