Blog and Commentary

Friday, November 2, 2012

 

Thank you for your all your e-mails, Tweets, Facebook questions and phone calls concerning the Canada-China Foreign Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement (FIPA) between the governments of Canada and China recently tabled by the Conservative government.
 
The Canada-China Foreign Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement (FIPA) raises an array of serious concerns. While the Liberal Party is not opposed to trade agreements in general, this particular agreement requires greater public scrutiny and review.
 
A Liberal motion at the Standing Committee on International Trade resulted in a single-hour briefing on FIPA, which raised more questions than answers.
 
In light of these questions, Liberals call for an open and transparent process to examine FIPA and its implications for Canada. We are concerned about the following:
 
Transparency:
 
• Since 2004, all FIPAs have allowed hearings and documents to be made publicly available. This one does not. Public disclosure is in Canada’s best interest. Why the concession to China’s demand for total secrecy?
 
• FTAs have always been preceded by an economic impact assessment. None was undertaken or attempted prior to this tabling of this agreement. In effect, we do not know whether the agreement will benefit Canada because the government...
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Thursday, October 18, 2012

While the national media attention over Amanda Todd's tragic suicide, shone the light, as it were, on the insidious and dangerous effects of bullying, let's hope it’s not just a 24 hour story. Sadly, Amanda's death is not a lone incident.  

Evidence shows that the incidence of suicide and death caused by bullying has risen alarmingly over the last decade. Canada has now one of the highest rates of bullying, ranking 9th out of 35 countries. Evidence also shows that there are life-long mental and physical effects on those bullied and that bullies often have a history of abuse and low self-esteem. So bullying is not a "childhood rite of passage"; it is a chronic problem.
 
In the age of the Internet, bullying is not limited to youth. It is now a powerful tool used by...
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Wednesday, September 26, 2012

The media is abuzz this week about Jason Kenney’s bizarre email to members of the LGBTTQ community lauding the Conservative government’s work to help persecuted gays and lesbians in Iran.

Those that received this unsolicited email are asking themselves how their names got onto the list of a party that has been nothing short of hostile towards their community. And while many people are talking about the use of micro-targeting and what constitutes a violation of our privacy, I think there is a much larger issue here.

This government (who in addition to this email has been extolling its foreign policy work on this issue in speeches, for example Minister Baird’s recent speech at the Montreal Council on Foreign Relations Luncheon) is now trying to sell itself as a great defender of gays and lesbians abroad. And yet in contrast, at home, the Conservatives have consistently tried to undermine the equality rights of the LGBTTQ community. From trying to roll-back same-sex marriage as one of their first orders of business when first elected in 2006, to removing (and having to be shamed into re-adding) a mention of gay rights from the...
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Wednesday, August 15, 2012

New Canadian Medical Association (CMA) president Dr. Anna Reid delivers inaugural address stressing how much more needs to be done to deliver excellence in care, regardless of geography and ability to pay, and in keeping with the values of Canadians. She says that the measure of our success will be how we treat the least advantaged of our populations; how we achieve equity and equality of access for all, beginning with our aboriginal peoples as the bench mark.

Health care transformation is essential to equity and ...
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Monday, April 30, 2012

Last week, many people on my Twitter feed were questioning why MP Woodworth's Motion M-312 was allowed to be debated in the first place.

Traditionally, a Private Member's Bill (PMB) or Motion is put forward by the Member and the Member alone in response to requests from constituents or the Member's own interest or passion.

The Speaker rules it out of order or not based on standing Parliamentary rules. Generally, if the Bill/Motion requires government expenditure, it is not usually allowable.

However, Members run the Bill by their caucus first and get a...
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Monday, March 19, 2012

The deed is done. Air Canada Employees have lost the right to appropriate collective bargaining.

The Harper government argues that an Air Canada strike will damage the economy; that families will not be able to go on holidays for spring break, tourism and cargo movement will suffer. These are all valid arguments.

But, the rights of the worker to fair, collective bargaining is one of the core values of a democratic...
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