April 2015 A11
MetroVanIndependent.com
News
Elizabeth May and Bruce Hyer announce 60 amendments to Bill C-51
OT TAWA – Elizabeth May, Green
Party Leader and Member of Parliament
for Saanich – Gulf Islands, along with
Deputy Leader Bruce Hyer, Member of
Parliament for Thunder Bay – Superior
North, announced their amendments to
Bill C-51 at a press conference this morning. Ms. May and Mr. Hyer, who have been
vocal critics, will table 60 amendments
during clause-by- clause consideration of
the bill. For more information about Green
Party amendments to Bill C-51.
“While there is no way to fix this deeply
flawed bill, our duty as elected legislators
compels us to protect Canadians from its
most egregious faults,” said Ms. May. “Our
amendments seek to protect Canadians'
Charter rights and make this country safer
by eliminating the reckless and dangerous
Conservative policies in C-51.”
The Green Party proposed amendments to each of the five parts of the
omnibus terror bill. Part 1 would create an
information sharing act that would allow
almost every government department to
share private information about citizens
with virtually no restrictions.
“I was shocked that the Privacy
Commissioner of Canada was not invited
to testify at Committee,” said Ms. May.
“There’s a reason: he is deeply concerned
that this bill will trample on Canadians' privacy rights. Our amendments are guided
by those concerns.”
Part 2 would expand the no-fly list in
Canada. It has been widely criticized as
having been drafted without appropriate
consultation with the airline industry.
“I greatly question the need to expand
Canada’s no-fly list,” said Mr. Hyer. “C-51
creates a dangerous scenario with a complete lack of due process and the ability for
Canadian officials to share the information
on the list with virtually no caveats.
“Remember, this list catches people deemed too dangerous to fly but too
harmless to arrest. The money spent on
these pre-screening systems would be
better spent on investigative or emergency
response measures.”
Parts 3 and 4 would introduce broad
new criminal code offences for ‘promoting
terrorism’ and radically transform CSIS,
providing new police powers to the agency
which was designed to only collect domestic intelligence.
“C-51 will chill free speech,” said Ms.
May. “It would make those involved in deradicalizing efforts fearful of prosecution
which would serve to further isolate – and
thus make more dangerous – those individuals prone to committing ideologically
driven acts of violence.
“By providing CSIS with disruption
abilities, we take an agency that we know
to overstep its existing powers, and equip
it with a mandate to operate like a secret
police. The weak changes the Harper
administration announced last week are
nowhere near sufficient to satisfy the bill’s
many critics. The single best solution to
C-51 remains scrapping it completely.”
While Ms. May was a regular attendee
of committee hearings during its study of
Bill C-51, Conservative MPs blocked her
every attempt to ask a single question.
Although any MP has a right to sit at committee, participation is at the discretion
of the Chair. During these hearings, the
Chair chose to put Ms. May's requests to
the floor for unanimous consent, which
was summarily denied by her Conservative
colleagues.
The process by which Green MPs submit amendments to committee is one created by PMO to deprive Green MPs from
presenting amendments to the House of
Commons at Report Stage. Ms. May used
this right effectively in opposing Bill C-38
in spring 2012. Since the fall of 2013, due to
identical motions passed by Conservatives
in every committee, Green amendments
are deemed to have been moved at committee. Ms. May and Mr. Hyer will be given
time to present each amendment but are
not allowed to vote.
Harper plans to cut health care funding by $36 billion
The British Columbia Health Coalition is
batting for a new health accord, an agreement between the provinces, territories and
federal government to provide provinces
with stable health funding as it slammed
the Harper government plan to cut funding
by $36 billion.
The 2004 Health Accord expired
March 31st, 2014 after the federal government refused to renegotiate it. The 2004
Health Accord was important in promoting national standards and providing stable
funding after deep cuts in the 1990s.
The First Ministers recommitted to the
Canada Health Act and its requirements
which includes public administration, universal access, and comprehensive coverage, accessibility without extra charges
or discrimination, and portability across
provinces.
The Accord also included a set of common goals around wait times, home care,
prescription drugs, and team-based primary care.
The health agreement allowed for some
progress. For example, on wait times, eight
out of 10 Canadians were getting treatment
within the timelines set in 2005 for the five
chosen procedures.
In other areas (home care, drugs, and
primary care) progress has been poor
because the governments set only loose
goals, with no financial strings attached.
The Harper government did not renew
the Health Accord in 2014. This lack of federal leadership in health care will lead to 14
different health care systems. Access will
depend on where you live and your ability
to pay.
In December 2011, the Harper government announced a major cut to the Canada
Health Transfer (CHT) of $