Blog – Libby Davies yeehaw
NDP Demands Gender Equality in the House of Commons
NDP Demands Gender Equality in the House of Commons
“We must all strive to achieve full equality for all Canadian women.”: Irene Mathyssen
OTTAWA – The NDP’s Women’s Equality Caucus is challenging the Conservatives, Liberals and Bloc Quebecois to meet the standard set by New Democrats in the past election in supporting women candidates and helping elect more women MPs.
“Standing here as 41% of our caucus is no accident,” said NDP Status of Women Critic and vice chair of the Status of Women Committee, Irene Mathyssen (London Fanshawe), as she stood with the other female members of her caucus in front of the Women Are Persons statue on Parliament Hill. The Monument is a tribute to Nellie McClung, Irene Parlby, Emily Murphy, Louise McKinney and Henrietta Muir Edwards, commonly known as the ‘Famous Five’, who won the “Persons” Case of 1929 which legally declared women as persons under the British North America Act.
“The NDP has an affirmative action plan in place to ensure equal representation in the House of Commons is possible,” Mathyssen continued. “New Democrats have shown, we can do it. And we are here today to tell the other parties that yes, they can too.
“Beyond politics, we must all strive to achieve full equality for all Canadian women, and indeed for women everywhere. Our daughters deserve nothing less.”
The NDP is the only party with a formal policy of freezing nominations until there is a member of an affirmative action group seeking the nomination. Affirmative action candidates for the purpose of NDP policy are those individuals who identify as belonging to groups significantly under-represented in the House of Commons and are included in the equality rights section of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Those groups are women, youth, LGBT, persons of visible minority, persons living with disabilities and Aboriginal peoples.
“Women can and do make a real difference in the House of Commons.” said NDP House Leader, Libby Davies (Vancouver East). “A political party with 41% women is a great start, but there is still a long way to go.”
“Women have waited a long time to be full partners in the decision-making of our nation. Women compromise more than 50% of our population; now our challenge is to achieve at least 50% of the representation of our political institutions” said Former NDP leader Alexa McDonough (Halifax).
The NDP Women’s Equality Caucus challenges all parties to work towards equal representation. A challenge also goes out to women from all walks of life to get involved in politics.
NDP Demands Gender Equality in the House of Commons
Politics
Reality Check: does Minister Ambrose understand her own file?
Trudeau should give more profile to ministers, empower backbenchers in new minority government, say MPs and pollsters
Trudeau should give more profile to ministers, empower backbenchers in new minority government, say MPs and pollsters
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau needs to be seen as the leader of a strong cabinet, empower his caucus, provide more latitude to backbench MPs, and mirror some of the lessons learned from his father’s 1972 election result to lead a strong minority government after a humbling election night on Oct. 2
The original article, Trudeau should give more profile to ministers, empower backbenchers in new minority government, say MPs and pollsters was published on November 4, 2019 in The Hill Times. Author(s): MIKE LAPOINTE & ABBAS RANA
Birth control recall: Government took too long
It’s time for the NDP to stand for democracy and human rights for Palestinians
It’s time for the NDP to stand for democracy and human rights for Palestinians
A resolution has been submitted to the NDP convention to update the NDP's policy on Palestine. It is supported by human rights advocates, veteran NDP activists, including ex-MP Libby Davies, and my organization, Independent Jewish Voices Canada. If adopted, it would significantly shift the discourse in Canada about Palestine. Its ripple effects would reach even more widely. The resolution has three points. It says the NDP will: Call upon Israel to end its occupation and settlement program, lift the Gaza blockade, recognize its Arab-Palestinian citizens' right to full equality, and address refugee claims fairly; Call for banning settlement products from Canadian markets, and using other forms of diplomatic and economic pressure to end the occupation; Oppose Canadian parliamentary efforts to undermine non-violent movements seeking a just resolution; in other words, oppose efforts to criminalize advocating for boycott, divestment and sanctions as Palestinian civil organizations have asked overseas supporters to do.
The original article, It's time for the NDP to stand for democracy and human rights for Palestinians was published on February 15, 2018 in rabble.ca. Author(s): Rabbi David Mivasr
Child Poverty
Child Poverty
Ms. Libby Davies (Vancouver East, NDP): Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Finance. He is the minister who for nine years has been one of cabinet’s biggest cheerleaders for massive tax cuts, who brags to the Alliance that the Liberals spend $100 billion on tax cuts, in his words “the largest tax reduction package in history”, and who cut capital gains taxes in his budget while single mothers in poverty got their child tax benefits clawed back.
Yesterday he said that we must “galvanize the national will around ending child poverty”. How did he say that with a straight face?
Hon. John Manley (Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, Lib.): Mr. Speaker, I think the hon. member is thinking of another budget. We were not able to cut capital gains taxes in the 2003 budget.
We were able to break through the welfare wall with the largest increases in the national child tax benefit in history. We were able to create a $900 million fund for early childhood development, which has enabled the Minister of Human Resources Development to obtain agreements with the provinces to support regulated child care across Canada. This was an important budget for advancing the lives of Canadians.
Ms. Libby Davies (Vancouver East, NDP): Mr. Speaker, I have to say that is absolute rubbish. As a direct result of his policies, there are 1.3 million children living in poverty today.
Some 4,885 days ago, that minister voted in favour of eliminating poverty when he supported Ed Broadbent’s motion, but for 3,443 of those days, while kids lived and died in poverty, he was in cabinet bragging and smirking about his tax cuts. On the 3,444th day, he said it is time to end poverty. Here is the test. Will he delay his capital gains tax?