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Libby in the News – Libby Davies
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CONSERVATIVES UNDERMINING PUBLIC HEATLH CARE – Libby Davies
CONSERVATIVES UNDERMINING PUBLIC HEATLH CARE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 24, 2014
OTTAWA – With the 2004 Health Care Accord set to expire in one week, New Democrats are pressing the Conservative government to show leadership and work with provinces and territories to improve our public health care system.
“The new funding formula that the Conservatives unilaterally adopted two years ago is threatening one of the most prized public services for Canadians,” said Health critic Libby Davies (Vancouver – East).
Instead of negotiating a new Health Accord, Conservatives are downloading heath care costs onto the provinces and turning their backs on a system that Canadians have relied on for generations. As a result, we will see increased disparities across the country—longer wait times, reduced-front-line services, and lack of access to home and long term care.
“This is simply unacceptable. The government has a responsibility to ensure quality health care for all of its citizens,” added Deputy critic Dany Morin (Chicoutimi – Le Fjord).
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BC NDP MPs and MLAs Call for a Review of the Sale of Teresen Gas While the Softwood Crisis Remains Unresolved – Libby Davies
BC NDP MPs and MLAs Call for a Review of the Sale of Teresen Gas While the Softwood Crisis Remains Unresolved
OTTAWA – Federal and provincial New Democrat MPs and MLAs called on the Liberal Government to hold public hearings into the sale of Terasen Gas and to suspend Investment Canada’s approval of the sale until the United States accepts the NAFTA ruling on softwood in Canada’s favour and returns the $5 billion impounded by the Bush Administration to Canadian producers.
“This is a fire sale of Canada and a kick in the teeth of British Columbians” said Peter Julian MP Burnaby New-Westminster, NDP critic for Trade and Natural Resources. “The liberal government failed to respond to our calls for a broader review back when the decision was still being made by Investment Canada. With more than 11,000 takeovers approved without a single rejection, there is a very strong case against Investment Canada and the Liberal government’s ability to defend the public interest”.
Last week, Industry Canada announced its approval for the $6.9 billion sale of Terasen Gas to Kinder Morgan, whose environmental record is under review in the U.S. Earlier, the B.C. Utilities Commission (B.C.U.C.) had approved the sale without public hearings.
“The Campbell government has abrogated its role in the Terasen sale to Texas-based Kinder Morgan and let down the people of BC,” Corky Evans, the BC Opposition Critic for Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources said. “This is the third largest public utility in the country, and the sale tells the world that British Columbia is open to plunder.”
With the U.S. being increasingly reliant on Canada’s natural resources, and the Bush administration refusal to meet its binding obligations under NAFTA, the NDP caucus is gravely concerned that the liberal government is selling off Canada’s sovereignty and reducing its leverage.
“When an important decision like this is up for discussion, when the Americans and Canadians struggle to find a solution to the softwood lumber dispute, it seems only logical to link the two issues,” said Surrey-Newton MLA Harry Bains. “The Americans refuse to move on softwood, and it is my assertion, along with many other Canadians, that the sale of Terasen Gas Inc. should be halted until the softwood dispute has been settled. It will send the Americans a clear message that our resources are not for plunder, and that the American government should negotiate in good-faith.”
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Libby’s statement on the Ontario prostitution ruling – Libby Davies
Libby’s statement on the Ontario prostitution ruling
Today the Court of Appeal for Ontario struck down the ban on keeping a common bawdy house and also called for revised legislation on living off the avails of prostitution.
The decision today, confirms yet again, that the status quo is not acceptable and that the current laws put sex workers at risk. The ruling is in line with the 2006 findings of the Parliamentary Sub-Committee on Solicitation Laws, showing that current laws are hurting sex workers, and the status quo is not acceptable. The Ontario ruling recognizes the role that Canada’s harmful and marginalizing prostitution laws played in the Pickton murders and the disappearance and murder of upwards of 300 other women, mostly sex workers, across Canada. The court has found it is unacceptable for sex workers to have to put themselves in these highly risky situations. The Court struck down the law surrounding bawdy houses and in addition, stated that the laws concerning living off the avails of prostitution need to be rewritten, to apply only to “circumstances of exploitation”.
The federal government cannot simply sweep this issue under the carpet, nor should they initiate costly and lengthy legal appeals. I urge the government to accept the legitimacy of the Court of Appeal’s decision. We need immediate action to protect the safety and rights of sex workers. Therefore, Parliament itself should seize this issue and review the laws in question – in consultation with sex workers – and determine what needs to be done to protect the rights and safety of sex workers, as well as the wider public.
I applaud the ground breaking work of the three complainants, and Professor Alan Young, for bringing forward the original case to the Ontario courts, and for drawing attention to the inherent rights of sex workers.
To read a brief recap of the Ontario Court of Appeal’s Decision, check out Pivot Legal Society excellent summary: http://pivotlegal.org/pivot-points/blog/ontario-sex-work-judgement-in-489-words
To read the Parliamentary Sub-Committee on Solicitation Laws report (December 2006): http://www.parl.gc.ca/HousePublications/Publication.aspx?DocId=2599932&Language=E&Mode=1&Parl=39&Ses=1