Blog – Libby Davies yeehaw

Libby in Parliament speaking out against the HST

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Posted on 2009.12.3

Libby in Parliament speaking out against the HST

Ms. Libby Davies (Vancouver East, NDP):
Mr. Speaker, what the minister is not saying is that the government is running scared from the HST. In fact, the Prime Minister has flown halfway around the world in order to distance himself from his own legislation.

Just as much as they hate this tax shift, the people of B.C. are also tired of the government playing fast and loose with the HST. They are tired of the procedural games and the ducking of responsibility.

If the government is so certain of the positive effects of the HST, why is it running from this debate?

Hon. James Moore (Minister of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages, CPC):
Mr. Speaker, we do not run from our record on taxes. We are proud to stand up as the party that always lowers taxes.

This government ran on a very clear and precise platform that we would lower taxes for Canadians, and we have delivered every single time.

There was a time, when we dealt with sales taxes, that the Liberals said they were going to scrap, kill and abolish the GST. We said we would lower the GST, and we delivered.

We were elected because Canadians know that the opposition cannot be trusted on taxes. We were re-elected because we deliver low taxes for Canadians.

Posted on 2009.10.2

Libby in Parliament speaking out against the HST

Question Period
House of Commons
HANSARD BLUED

Ms. Libby Davies (Vancouver East, NDP) : Mr. Speaker, in July, an unemployed woman in Vancouver goes to JJ Bean for coffee in the morning and ding, 7% more.

She needs a haircut for a job interview, add 7%. Her car breaks down and she needs a tow, 7% more.

She takes a taxi to the job interview, 7% more. I could go on. Will the minister explain to the people of B.C. why they need an unfair tax increase when times are already so tough?

Hon. John Baird (Minister of Transport, Infrastructure and Communities, CPC) : Mr. Speaker, the decision on whether or not to harmonize the sales tax is a decision of the province.

I find it most interesting to see the member for Vancouver East now becoming the newest tax fighter in Canada. We welcome her new-found interest in cutting taxes and keeping taxes low.

Where was she when this government needed her support to cut the GST? She was not just missing in action, she was voting to keep taxes high. That is something she will have to explain to that same woman she speaks about.

Ms. Libby Davies (Vancouver East, NDP): Mr. Speaker, HST started with this government. And the story continues.

After a job interview, this woman in my riding bought a morning newspaper. It was 7% more.

She opens the paper and reads about yet another $8 billion in corporate tax cuts that the minister has engineered. She feels pretty outraged, just like everybody else in B.C. and Ontario.

Why is the government slapping an unfair tax increase on families while cutting taxes on Canada’s most profitable corporations?

Hon. John Baird (Minister of Transport, Infrastructure and Communities, CPC) : Mr. Speaker, the same woman went to fill out her income tax and got some good news; that this government cut her income tax. She will have to explain to that same constituent, that same woman who she professes to care so much about, why, if the member had her way, she would have to pay higher income taxes.

This women, for the last two years, has been paying a lower GST. Why? Because this Prime Minister and this government stood up for that woman so she could pay less tax, so she could invest it in her community, so she could provide services and supports for her family.

This government is concerned about that woman. Where has the member for Vancouver East been when we have been trying to help her for all of these years?

Ms. Libby Davies (Vancouver East, NDP) : Mr. Speaker, I have to tell the minister that my constituent and thousands of others have already figured out that the government is shifting the tax burden from big businesses to families.

In B.C. alone, the HST amounts to a $4 billion tax hike.

Each year the average B.C. family will pay an estimated $828 more, a senior couple $883 more, a single mom will pay $522 more and Canada’s most profitable corporations will be paying $8 billion less.

Again, will the minister explain to British Columbians why they should pay so much more?

Hon. John Baird (Minister of Transport, Infrastructure and Communities, CPC) : Mr. Speaker, in British Columbia tax freedom day, the day when individuals, British Columbians, start to earn money for themselves, is now some two or three weeks early, thanks to the efforts of this government.

If the NDP had its way and if the member for Vancouver East had her way, the woman would be working an extra 21 days to support big government rather than to support her family. Those of us on this side of the House think that is unfair.

NDP Calls on Government to Provide Fair Deal for Chinese Head Tax Payers

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Posted on 2005.11.21

NDP Calls on Government to Provide Fair Deal for Chinese Head Tax Payers

OTTAWA – NDP Leader Jack Layton along with his caucus colleagues, House Leader Libby Davies (Vancouver East), Immigration Critic Bill Siksay (Burnaby-Douglas) and MP Peter Julian (Burnaby-New-Westminster), urged the Prime Minister to find a compromise and fair deal for all Chinese Canadian head tax payers and their families, today.

“These families deserve an apology and real respect from this government,” said Layton. In a letter to the Prime Minister, the Federal NDP questioned the government’s reasoning in allocating $12.5 million for a redress project to a single organization without including thousands of head tax payers, their families and their representatives.

“It is completely inadequate for this government to exclude at least 4000 head tax payers, their families and descendants through a lump sum agreement with only one organization,” said Davies.

$12.5 million has been allocated to Chinese Canadians through the Acknowledgement, Commemoration and Education (ACE) Fund, established for communities affected by wartime and similar past measures. The government is expected to announce Wednesday that it will sign over the entire allocation to the National Congress of Chinese Canadians, despite calls from several other organizations, such as the Chinese Canadian National Council, to be involved in any commemorative, educational or other key measures that may arise from the fund.

“At the forefront of the redress movement is the Chinese Canadian National Council, which represents thousands of head tax payers and their families,” said Layton, “but if this deal goes forward in its current form, CCNC will have no say in how the funds will be spent.”

“The Prime Minister should remember his responsibility to find a course of compromise that will address the needs of the diverse community of Chinese Canadians that deserve to be acknowledged here,” said Julian.

“Finding a compromise to address the injustices committed against Chinese immigrants to Canada over a period of decades should be this government’s first priority,” added Siksay.

The Canadian government collected $23 million from Chinese Immigrants to Canada between 1885 and 1923.

We made it to Al Arish!

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Posted on 2009.08.11

We made it to Al Arish!

This is the seaside town in Egypt close to the Rafeh crossing into Gaza. A long 6 plus hour drive from Cairo. Many check stops along the way and some difficulties getting through – but we did it. Flat long road, and crossing the Mubarak Peace Bridge over the Suez Canal is impressive. Every time you stop and open the van door you get a blast of thick hot air; it sort of thuds in your face. Even though it’s late – now after 10:00 pm – we hope to meet Red Crescent reps to talk about the warehouse situation where goods ready to go into Gaza can’t make it in because Israel controls what goes in and how much. (See August 9 blog).

The irony of today is, we got up 5:30am – left Jerusalem by 7am – got thru the Allenby crossing back into Jordon from the West Bank, drove to Amman airport, flew to Cairo, and then drove to Al Arish – so about 15+ hours. By contrast the direct drive to Gaza from Jerusalem is about 2hrs, had we been able to go from that route. It gives you an idea of what locals in the West Bank go thru to go from A to B, via, X Y Z.

A further irony – the new tunnel roads and sunken roads, being built in the West Bank, that are only open at certain times for Palestinians to use (a so called “improvement”) to by-pass the Israeli only by-pass roads, are called the “the fabric of life” roads.

Wow – Al Arish is a pretty lively place – all the shops are open. It’s like rush hour, Kim says. I’m wide awake now.

Stop Outsourcing BC Jobs: NDP Demands to Keep Canadian Jobs in Canada

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Posted on 2007.03.28

Stop Outsourcing BC Jobs: NDP Demands to Keep Canadian Jobs in Canada

OTTAWA – Air Canada recently purchased an aviation maintenance facility in El Salvador that specializes in Airbus and Boeing aircrafts. Three weeks ago, the company announced major layoffs of more than 700 highly qualified aviation maintenance personnel in Vancouver. Further layoffs are expected to be announced in Winnipeg and Montreal. The virtual shut-down of these high quality maintenance facilities means that Canadian expertise built up over decades will be lost.

“This is just another sign of the Harper government’s refusal to take action for Canadian jobs. We have seen it in sector after sector. All of the substantial aviation maintenance expertise in Vancouver will be lost,” said NDP Transport Critic Peter Julian (Burnaby-New Westminster).

Julian and Dawn Black (New Westminster-Coquitlam) joined hundreds of unionized airport workers in a mass demonstration on March 24, 2007 at the Vancouver International Airport to protest the layoffs of over 700 heavy maintenance jobs by Air Canada.

“The Conservatives must take action to stop the hemorrhaging of good, family-supporting Canadian jobs and stop the outsourcing of highly-skilled and well-paying Canadian jobs to lower cost maintenance facilities in El Salvador and in China,” said Black.

“The job loss is another huge blow to British Columbia, already suffering from thousands of lost jobs due to Harper’s inaction on the pine beetle epidemic and the softwood lumber sell-out,” said Bill Siksay (Burnaby-Douglas). “BC now has the highest rate of child poverty in Canada. It is clear Stephen Harper has abandoned BC and is allowing the prosperity gap to grow,” stated Siksay.

“Workers’ rights have been chipped away at in Canadian legislation over the past 25 years. We saw almost nothing in the federal budget for Canadian workers and their families, and to add further insult to injury, the Liberals and Conservatives joined forces to defeat strong anti-scab legislation. Now, more than ever, we need to ensure that workers’ rights are protected under the law,” NDP Labour Critic Libby Davies (Vancouver East).

The NDP is calling for a fair trade policy that makes workers and the environment a priority, and to develop job-supporting sector strategies for industries from auto to aerospace to agriculture, that will ensure Canada has a leadership role in the industry and to keep jobs in Canada.

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