A week for housing
A week for housing
A week for housing
It’s the end of a busy week and first chance to think about how things went on Bill C-304, to ensure secure, adequate, accessible and affordable housing for Canadians.
It was great to see the Red Tents on Parliament Hill on Tuesday! They are a familiar site from Vancouver, where during the 2010 Olympics last February, hundreds of red tents “popped” up as a visible reminder of homelessness. The fact they made it to Parliament Hill is a reflection of the huge campaign (www.redtents.org) that’s been underway to increase awareness about housing issues.
Thankyou to the many dedicated folks who made it out and also organized actions in many communities on that day including a rally in Victory Square in my riding of East Van.
Bill C304 was debated on Wednesday and though some thought it was a final vote on the Bill, it was actually what’s called Report Stage and 3rd Reading. This takes two hours of debate – and the first hour was Wednesday. Support is still going strong for the Bill both within Parliament and outside. In fact, the broad support in the community has made an enormous difference and has given the Bill momentum to go forward.
Getting a Private Members Bill through Parliament is no easy task and there are many potential procedural and political roadblocks to overcome. C-304 is no exception, and it’s been an eye opener to navigate and resolve various issues and problems. But so far, so good! During the debate on Wednesday, the BQ moved an amendment with my agreement that if approved, when the vote comes up, will see the Bill returned to Committee. The reason for this is to consider further amendments on the question of provincial jurisdiction. I am supportive of doing this as I want to ensure that members of the BQ and Quebec housing groups are in full support of the Bill. A previous amendment on this issue was ruled out of order by the Speaker – so it’s a good opportunity to look at this again and make it work!
Lots of folks have asked me when the “VOTE” will be! At this point, the vote on the amendment will be in a few weeks (as Bills are put on a rotation list) after we’ve had the 2nd hour of debate.
So stay tuned ….. And sincere thanks to the many amazing people who have supported this Bill all the way. It’s a real testament to what we can accomplish together, from many differing perspectives, but united in a firm belief that we must do much more to make good housing a basic right and priority in Canada.
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Libby speaking out against tax havens
Libby speaking out against tax havens
KEHRSATZ, Switzerland — Prime Minister Stephen Harper signed a treaty here Friday that he says gives Canada an important new tool to track tax cheats who hide their money in Swiss accounts. But a new “double taxation” treaty Harper signed with Swiss president Doris Leuthard will only affect future taxation years, Canadian officials said, and won’t give Revenue Canada any new ways to track down a reported 1,800 Canadians who are hiding millions from Canada’s taxman… In the House of Commons, though, the NDP said Harper needs to do more to track rich tax cheats. “This government is letting wealthy tax evaders off the hook,” NDP MP Libby Davies told the Commons. “It is bragging about a tax treaty with Switzerland that will do little to recover billions of tax dollars hidden overseas by tax chiefs and corporations. What little information we do have on Canadian tax evaders is the result of the efforts of other countries, France and the United States.”
The original article, Canada opens cracks on Swiss bank account secrecy was published on October 22, 2010 in The Toronto Sun. Author(s): David Akin
A week for housing
A week for housing
A week for housing
A week for housing
Libby calling for fairness for Marc Emery
Libby calling for fairness for Marc Emery
Libby and 12 of her NDP Colleagues sent the following letter to Canada’s Public Safety Minister, calling for action to ensure Marc Emery can serve his sentence in Canada.
The Honourable Vic Toews
Minister of Public Safety
House of Commons
Ottawa, ON K1A 0A6
Dear Minister Toews,
I write to urge you to take all necessary steps to ensure the timely transfer of Canadian Marc Emery from the United States to Canada so that he may serve his prison sentence nearer family, friends and supporters.
In May, 2009, your government took a rare and unnecessary step and extradited a Canadian citizen to serve a prison sentence in the US for actions that are not worthy of prosecution under Canadian laws.
Since then, the prosecutor in Mr. Emery’s case has since denounced the ruling against Mr. Emery saying “As Emery’s prosecutor and a former federal law-enforcement official, however, I’m not afraid to say out loud what most of my former colleagues know is true: Our marijuana policy is dangerous and wrong and should be changed through the legislative process to better protect the public safety.”
At his sentencing, the U.S. District Court Judge Ricardo Martinez recommended that Mr. Emery be allowed to serve his time in a Canadian prison.
I understand that there is a necessary process involved in the transfer of Mr. Emery to Canada. However, I call on you to agree in principle to Mr. Emery’s transfer and to ensure that the process of his transfer is undertaken at the first possible opportunity.
Sincerely,
Libby Davies, MP Vancouver East
Alex Atamanenko, MP BC Southern Interior
Jean Crowder, MP Nanaimo-Cowichan
Don Davies, MP Vancouver-Kingsway
Paul Dewar, MP Ottawa-Centre
Yvon Godin, MP Acadie-Bathurst
Jack Harris, MP St. John’s East
Bruce Hyer, MP Thunder Bay- Superior North
Peter Julian, MP Burnaby-New Westminster
Megan Leslie, MP Halifax
Jim Maloway, MP Elmwood-Transcona
Denise Savoie, MP Victoria
Bill Siksay, MP Burnaby-Douglas