OTTAWA - As Canadians reel from a hellish summer of fire-related evacuations, rent increases, unaffordable food, and toxic divisions, the political class responsible for Canada’s disastrous state of affairs returns today to the House of Commons.
Alongside all remaining MPs of goodwill, Greens will fight to cut through the predictable status quo politics that nowadays poison parliamentary debates, bridge divides, and create solutions that both improve the day-to-day lives of Canadians and prepare our country to face the coming storms.
- In that regard, the Green caucus’s Parliamentary priorities include:
- Extracting significant new federal investments to defend the right to affordable housing;
- Defanging Big Oil, banning their ads and taxing their outrageous profits;
- Delivering critical, life-saving resources for people with disabilities;
- Combatting environmental racism by ensuring the passage of C-226;
- Re-wilding our burned down forests and ensuring support for affected communities;
- Protecting all Canadians from politicians attempting to weaponize their rights to farm hatred and sow division; and
- Proposing new, innovative mechanisms to protect food security and ramp up support for our communities to face the climate emergency and save lives.
“Canadians are angry and feel let down. They are being choked by a small cabal of out-of-touch politicians and their rich friends keen on causing scarcity, hiking prices, and whipping the middle class back into a subservient cheap workforce. And when they get out to find some fresh air, they choke some more on the wildfire smoke their arsonist Big Oil friends are responsible for,” said Jonathan Pedneault, Green Deputy Leader. ”We’re here to open the windows, bridge the divides, build consensus, and help our colleagues refocus their attention away from the petty egos of some would-be Prime ministers and towards the actual needs of Canadians.”
For years, as both Conservative and Liberal governments slashed spending in affordable housing and emergency preparedness, Green MPs had the foresight to advocate for the construction of more affordable houses, the establishment of a federal task force to respond to natural disasters and save lives, and the progressive instauration of a Guaranteed Livable Income to eliminate poverty. This session, Green MPs will continue to work across party lines to deliver on those items for all Canadians.
“So many in my community and across the country are struggling. As Greens, we'll continue to work across party lines to put people ahead of politics,” said Morrice. "This includes pushing to at least double our social housing stock. It includes standing up to oil and gas companies who don’t need billions in handouts while making record-breaking profits in a climate crisis. And it includes redirecting these funds to those who do need it most - for example by getting the Canada Disability Benefit into the hands of those living in legislated poverty.”
As our politics become more and more polarized, Greens will continue to reach out to other parties to find compromises and advance the interests of all Canadians and future generations.
“The atmosphere does not give a damn about politics. But humanity must. We need all hands on deck to save lives now and protect our right to a livable future,” said Elizabeth May, Green Party Leader. “As the House sits again, we cannot fall for the narratives of those who wrongfully pit the immediate needs of Canadians against the need to solve the climate emergency. The housing and affordability crises stem from the same root as the climate’s: greed and a lack of foresight. We have been warning about these crises for years, and we hate to be right. We will now work with all those among our colleagues who are truly ready to face the hard truths and seek solutions.”
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For more information or to arrange an interview :
Fabrice Lachance Nové
Press secretary
514-463-0021