MP Report - Speaking up for Canada

MP Report

By Denise Savoie

The end of the spring session of Parliament is just days away as I write, and I am looking forward to a Vancouver Island summer and reconnecting with my Victoria community. I know I will see many of you, in James Bay and throughout the CRD at markets, festivals and community events, and there will be added excitement this year as Victoria celebrates its 150^th Birthday.

But if the letters, emails and phone calls I have been receiving are an indication, I know many of you will want to tell me about your concerns for the future of Canada - that it will be harder for Canadians to retire in dignity and security when eligibility for Old Age Security increases to age 67, that hard-working Canadians will find it more difficult to access employment insurance when they need it most, that $31 billion in cuts to health transfers will erode our public health care system, that public safety is threatened by weakened food and drug regulations and that gutted environmental protections have given oil and gas insiders authority to go ahead with risky pipeline projects.

I am encouraged by the extent to which Canadians have publicly communicated their alarm at the dramatic changes that have just been passed by Parliament. At the grassroots level there have been numerous peaceful protests, in Victoria and across Canada, drawing large crowds, including people who have never been involved in political action before.

This bodes well for the next few years when we will need to remember that the government has walked away from its responsibility to preserve our environment and protect fish habitat, that it has cancelled Auditor General oversight of numerous important government functions, that it has given unprecedented powers to the Cabinet, that it has decided that the private sector will look after Canada's cultural heritage and public health care and education.

This government is probably expecting us all to forget these sweeping changes that were rammed through Parliament just one year into its mandate. But I believe the Conservatives are underestimating Canadians. When a large mining development is approved without public input or when the only jobs available to young people are telemarketing and waiting tables, Canadians will remember where the shift began.

Opposition MPs understand how Parliament is supposed to work. There is no precedent for the kind of contempt for Parliament that we are experiencing. All of the warnings from experts on environmental, economic and social policy, and from Canadians from all walks of  life, have been ignored. Numerous amendments were proposed by Opposition MPs to the 425-page budget implementation bill, but not one change was made. It is no wonder that Canadians are asking themselves if there is any point in civic engagement. But just because the government is not listening does not mean that we shouldn't raise our collective voices.

Although the news coming out of Ottawa seems consistently grim, there are occasional success stories. New Democrats were able to convince the government to reverse its watering down of the International Arms Trade Treaty and that a study was needed of the Canada-Colombia Human Rights Report as part of free trade negotiations. These successes show that when we work together, we can make a difference and bring better accountability to our government. I urge you to write to the Prime Minister, with a copy to me, and continue to speak up for a caring Canada.