Nov
30
MP Report
By Denise Savoie
When visiting UVic grad students in an education leadership program, I learned of an interesting book they were reading entitled, The Spirit Level: Why More Equal Societies Almost Always Do Better. I picked up the book and quickly found myself asking: Is Canada a fair society? Fair for whom?
According to the World Economic Forum, our country now ranks a dismal 20th in terms of gender equality. Canadian women account for 60% of minimum-wage workers, and with child care costs in Victoria running at or above $900/ child. The reality is that the gap between the richest and the rest of us is widening - a gap that weakens our community as a whole. This gap is also clearly visible in our local housing market. I noted that in the Victoria Foundation's most recent Vital Signs report, Victorians rated lack of affordable housing as their highest concern.
Canada's overall prosperity gap is being driven by a Conservative government intensifying its Liberal predecessor's policy of cutting taxes at the top and wrongly assuming benefits somehow 'trickle down.' When Liberal Paul Martin took office, the federal tax rate for large corporations stood at roughly 30%; it will soon stand at half that. Stephen Harper has been especially generous to Martin's friends at the big banks, whose profits surpassed $16 billion last year alone. When those bankers have already set aside $5 billion this year for bonuses, do they really need a two-year, $1.4 billion tax give-away? $1.4 billion for bank bonuses, $10 billion for new prisons, $16 billion for fighter jets... these are not the spending priorities I heard from Victorians at my pre-budget town hall!
I heard a community demanding a new, fairer, not a single-bottom-line economy solely geared to corporate profits, but an economy connected to a society that exists within definite environmental constraints. I think of innovative local green energy companies like Island Energy that attended a green building forum I held, and who already operate responsibly while creating jobs in our communities. I think of community groups like TAPS, Silver Threads or BC's Land Conservancy and community associations in Oak Bay, Vic West, Oaklands and others, where active citizens produce social goods that make us stronger. Let's celebrate and support such models that work in our community, as I try to extend their example nation-wide in Ottawa.
I believe we must shift to a more collaborative economic model that puts forward triple-bottom-line solutions to the challenges we face. It is a model that creates good jobs here that can't be 'off-shored.' It's time for leadership that genuinely cares about people and the environment and puts the autonomy and fair-functioning of our community first.
Please join me for these upcoming events at my constituency office at 970 Blanshard Street, Victoria:
Art from Our Place Art Show - Saturday December 11, 3-5pm
Holiday Open House - Monday December 20th, 4-6pm