Quill & Quire Book Review of Outside In
Quill & Quire Book Review of Outside In
“Libby Davies and Sid Ryan are high-profile figures who for decades have been on the front lines, calling out governments on social service cutbacks, environmental outrages, wars, and discrimination. While they share similar life trajectories – first-generation immigrants who took early to righting wrongs and continue to staff the barricades for economic and climate justice – these memoirs are nonetheless very different in tone and style.” Read the full review in the link below.
The original article, Quill & Quire Book Review of Outside In was published on in Quill & Quire. Author(s): Matthew Behrens
CONSERVATIVES DISMISS UN CALL FOR ACTION TO END VIOLENCE AGAINST ABORIGINAL WOMEN
CONSERVATIVES DISMISS UN CALL FOR ACTION TO END VIOLENCE AGAINST ABORIGINAL WOMEN
CONSERVATIVES DISMISS UN CALL FOR ACTION TO END VIOLENCE AGAINST ABORIGINAL WOMEN
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 19, 2013
OTTAWA – New Democrats are condemning the Conservatives for claiming to take violence against Aboriginal women seriously, while repeatedly rejecting UN recommendations for a comprehensive national review on the issue.
Today, a Conservative government envoy dismissed criticisms of its approach from the UN Human Rights Council.
“It’s shocking that Canada refuses to act to end violence against Indigenous women,” said NDP Status of Women critic Niki Ashton (Churchill). “It is time for the Conservatives to tackle systemic issues facing Indigenous peoples and establish a nation-to-nation relationship.”
In May, Ashton introduced a motion calling for a national inquiry and an action plan to end violence against women.
“Violence against Aboriginal women is a crisis in Canada,” said NDP Aboriginal Affairs critic Jean Crowder (Nanaimo-Cowichan). “Until the Conservatives accept their responsibilities outlined by the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, we cannot move forward in a positive and meaningful way.”
Marking the 10th Anniversary of INSITE
Marking the 10th Anniversary of INSITE
It’s ironic, and typical, that as INSITE celebrates its 10th anniversary of successful operation in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside, the Conservative government in Ottawa is still railing against Safe Injection Sites and no doubt has Bill C-65 ready to go when Parliament returns October 16.
Bill C-65, An Act to amend the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, was the last bill to be introduced before parliament recessed in June. It’s a nasty bill, couched in anti-harm reduction rhetoric, full of misconceptions, and designed to shut down any attempt to open a safe injection site in Canada.
The bill is a shining example of Conservative ideology trumping evidence-based health and science.
But try as hard as they can – INSITE just won’t go away and nor will public support for it. After numerous court rulings, including the Supreme Court of Canada, enormous public scrutiny, more than 24 peer reviewed scientific studies, INSITE will continue no matter what legislation the Conservative government throws at it.
September 2003 marks the opening of INSITE, but the struggle to get there began many years before that.
The original application to Health Canada was subject to a run of hurdles that would have challenged an Olympic athlete. The then Liberal government was wary and skeptical of approving the original Section 56 exemption under the Controlled Drug and Substances Act that was needed for INSITE to operate. Mounting public pressure, particularly from Vancouver, forced the government into giving the exemption and INSITE launched its critically needed services. INSITE opened as part of a public health plan after a 12-fold increase in overdose deaths in Vancouver between 1987 and 1993. At the time, the Vancouver area was also seeing drastic increases in communicable diseases amongst injection drug users, including Hepatitis A, B, and C and HIV/AIDS.
What has been remarkable about INSITE is its ability to overcome political challenges and retain strong community support.
I remember vividly, participating in a community action named “1000 Crosses” in Oppenheimer Park. The crosses represented the people who had died needlessly from drug overdoses. I vowed to take the message for action to Ottawa, as a newly elected Member of Parliament.
I recall how opposed the local business community was at first when INSITE was first raised as a needed health intervention and to save the lives of injection drug users. I remember meeting with Allan Rock, then Minister of Health in in Ottawa in 1997, and later, with Bud Osborn, who came to a second meeting to convince the Minister that INSITE could turn the tide of preventable drug overdoses. Bud presented Allan Rock with a book of his powerful poetry that spoke the truth about the situation in the Downtown Eastside. Poetry that became a rallying call for action, and this excerpt from Bud’s poem stays with me:
“……but with these thousand crosses
planted in oppenheimer park today
who really see them
feel sorrow
feel loss
feel rage
our hearts shed bitter tears
these thousand crosses are symbols
of the social apartheid in our culture
the segregation of those who deserve to live and those who are abandoned to die these thousand crosses represent the deaths of drug addicts these thousand crosses silently announce a social curse on the lives of the poorest of the poor in the downtown eastside….”.
Even in opposition the Conservatives wouldn’t consider a shred of mounting evidence that INSITE was part of the solution, not the problem. Prior to the 2006 election we invited Stephen Harper to visit the facility on East Hastings Street, to see for himself what important work was underway. Of course he refused. Conservatives don’t like reality to confuse their “truth”.
INSITE had to fight tooth and nail to get its permits to operate extended, while in Ottawa in 2007 the Conservative government eliminated “Harm Reduction” from Canada’s Drug Strategy. But still INSITE continued to garner positive international reviews and continued to save lives.
10 years marks a sustained commitment by the Vancouver Network of Drug Users (VANDU), and the Portland Hotel Society and many others who never shied away from the belief that drug users have human rights, dignity and a right to access health care.
On my part, I’m proud to have been part of this struggle for INSITE and what it stands for. I remain determined to defeat not only Bill C-65, but also the architects of the absurd stance that public policy can ignore scientific evidence.
Libby Davies
MP, Vancouver East
Libby's Statement on the 10th Anniversary of the Romanow Report
Seeking action on the radioactive groundwater leaking from Fukushima
Seeking action on the radioactive groundwater leaking from Fukushima
The Honourable John Baird
Minister of Foreign Affairs
The Honourable Leona Aglukkaq
Minister of the Environment
The Honourable Rona Ambrose
Minister of Health
The Honourable Gail Shea
Minister of Fisheries and Oceans
House of Commons
Ottawa Ontario
K1A 0A6
Ottawa, September 5, 2013
Dear Ministers,
As you are aware, the situation at the Fukushima nuclear facility in Japan has become increasingly serious, as nuclear regulators in Japan were forced to reclassify the severity rating of the latest incident to Level 3 or “serious incident” on the international scale for radiological releases.
The operator, Tokyo Electric Power (TEPCO), has discovered that 300 tons of highly radioactive water has leaked from a holding tank into the ground over the past month. This is in addition to TEPCO’s admission last month that an estimated 300 tons of radioactive groundwater has been leaking into the Pacific Ocean every day.
The new storage tank leak presents a different and potentially more serious problem than the ongoing groundwater flow leaks. The water from the leaking tank is heavily contaminated with strontium-90 and cesium-137. The radioactive leak is far from under control and could get a lot worse, according to nuclear experts. Japan’s atomic energy commission has warned that if water in one of the spent fuel pools on site is lost, the result would be a spent fuel fire, with disastrous effects globally. TEPCO has said it needs overseas help and expertise to help manage the crisis and mitigate the situation.
This is becoming a growing international issue, with concerns being voiced by countries in the region, including China, Korea and others. While the impact of the current leaks may not pose an immediate danger to Canadians, and in particular, residents of British Columbia, there are concerns that as the crisis continues, and perhaps cascades into a more severe emergency, the impact will be much greater.
Given the seriousness of this situation, we are writing to ask what has the government done so far on this file, how are your ministries involved and to what degree?
We are also calling on the government to take a number of actions.
We would like the government to take the lead on developing an international task force to assess, monitor, and advise on the growing crisis. The problem has the potential to affect not just Japan, but the region, and possibly the planet, so international cooperation to control the situation is both appropriate and necessary.
The Canadian government should be providing financial and technical assistance to Japan to immediately de-escalate the crisis.
With the potential for contamination, the federal government should be increasing monitoring and testing for radiation levels along the coast, at the least to determine a baseline level in the event the situation escalates.
Testing of harvested fish on the West Coast, in particular of migratory, long lived, and top of the food chain species should be conducted on a routine basis to ensure the safety of the catch and to protect human health.
The health and safety of Canadians is a primary concern of the New Democratic Party, and we hope you will act swiftly and decisively to adopt our recommendations and avert what could become a catastrophe.
Sincerely,
Paul Dewar Megan Leslie
NDP Foreign Affairs Critic NDP Environment Critic
Libby Davies Robert Chisholm
NDP Health Critic NDP Fisheries and Oceans Critic
Seeking action on the radioactive groundwater leaking from Fukushima
NDP TABLES PLAN TO END CONSERVATIVE MUZZLING OF FEDERAL SCIENTISTS
NDP TABLES PLAN TO END CONSERVATIVE MUZZLING OF FEDERAL SCIENTISTS
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 16, 2013
OTTAWA – While public protests take place across Canada to Stand Up For Science, Official Opposition Science & Technology Critic Kennedy Stewart challenged the Conservative government to end its continued muzzling of federal scientists and researchers in government departments. Dr. Stewart’s motion would ensure communications officers, elected officials, and Ministerial staff could no longer restrict public access to government scientists.
“The Conservatives have used every tool in their disposal to attack scientific integrity and muzzle scientists working in the civil service,” said MP Kennedy Stewart (Burnaby-Douglas). “By interfering with the open communication of scientific research, this government is undermining our capacity to make democratic decisions using the best evidence available.”
Based on recent directives issued by the Obama Administration, the NDP motion calls on all federal departments and agencies conducting scientific research to implement communication policies that actively encourage scientists to speak freely to journalists and share their research with Canadians.
“The new Minister of State for S&T should be standing up for science in federal departments. Instead, his government is running from accountability and transparency by shutting down Parliament again. Canadians deserve better and our scientists deserve real support,” continued Dr. Stewart, an Associate Professor on leave from Simon Fraser University’s School of Public Policy.
Motion on Scientific Integrity (Communications)
That, in the opinion of the House, federal departments and agencies conducting scientific research should identify, develop, and implement communication policies that:
(i) actively support and encourage federal scientists to speak freely to the media and the public about scientific and technical matters based on their official research, including scientific and technical ideas, approaches, findings, and conclusions;
(i) allow federal scientists to present viewpoints that extend beyond their scientific research and incorporate their expert or personal opinions providing they specify they are not speaking on behalf of, or as a representative, of their department or agency;
(iii) ensure that public affairs or communications officers, elected officials, and Ministerial staff do not restrict, limit, or prevent federal scientists from responding to media requests in a timely and accurate manner;
(iv) prohibit public affairs or communications officers, elected officials, and Ministerial staff from directing federal scientists to suppress or alter their findings;
and (v) affirm the right of federal scientists to review, approve, and comment publicly on the final version of any proposed publication that significantly relies on their research, identifies them as an author or contributor, or purports to represent their scientific opinion.