Libby Davies - MP for Vancouver East

Libby speaks out on the Corruption of Foreign Public Officials Act

Ms. Libby Davies (Vancouver East, NDP):

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise in the House today to speak to Bill S-14, an act to amend the Corruption of Foreign Public Officials Act, and as we are debating this at second reading, it still has to go to committee.

I want to begin by saying, as others have remarked today, that the bill is long overdue. Canada has, really, an embarrassing record on corruption overseas, in terms of lack of legislation.

As many have pointed out today, Transparency International, a very credible organization that monitors corruption and bribery in terms of what happens in different places in the world, in its 2011 report, ranked Canada as the worst of all the G7 countries with regard to international bribery. It pointed out that we had little or no enforcement, based upon the very minimal legislation we had.

There is no question that this is absolutely long overdue. It begs this question. Why does it take so long?

We look at the legislative agenda and look at all of the little boutique bills that come through on the Criminal Code, when they do not need to happen. Why has it taken so many years for something as major as this, which would deal with crime and corruption? Why has it taken so many years for anything to come forward? Where is the balance here? Where are the priorities? We are sort of pulling apart the Criminal Code clause by clause and adding in more mandatory minimum sentences. We have had so many Conservative backbencher bills. Yet, with something as major as this, in terms of Canada's role in the international community, we are hauled on the carpet by an organization that monitors international bribery and corruption, which has said, “You guys have got a pretty bad record; in fact you're basically the worst of all of the highly industrialized countries”. This is an embarrassment.

COMMUNITY LINKS BULLETIN - July to September 2013

Dear friends,

I’m pleased to present to you the latest issue of the Community Links Bulletin. I really appreciate your feedback and submissions for inclusion in our Bulletin – please keep them coming.

East Van is a terrific place. I’d like to take this opportunity to wish you a happy summer and hope you will take the time to enjoy the activities in our community such as block parties, the East Van Farmers Markets, Chinatown Night Market, the Powell Street Festival, Pride Parade, film festivals, PNE, and more. I hope to see you there.

And there are so many people and activities we can all be proud of – and motivated by. If you know of a special someone whom you want to say thank you to, simply send us a brief profile (no more than 200 words) of that individual, photo optional. We will be making it a part of our quarterly bulletin to feature and recognize the exceptional individuals who strive to make a difference every day in your lives, our lives, and in the well-being of our community.

Thank you to all who make East Van so special. I wish you, and your family and friends all the very best of summer!

Libby urges the government to take leadership and reduce health care wait times

Ms. Libby Davies (Vancouver East, NDP):

Mr. Speaker, apparently the minister is completely ignoring this report.

The fact is, Conservatives came to power on a promise to reduce wait times for medical care.

Now, seven years later, Canadians are waiting just as long, if not longer.

Lack of long-term care, home care and affordable prescriptions are all contributing factors, as noted in the report.

Can the minister explain why the Conservatives have failed to reduce wait times, and what are they going to do now to fix this broken promise they made to Canadians?

Libby speaks on cluster munitions treaty

The bill before us tonight that is being debated, Bill S-10, deals with the ratification of the treaty on cluster munitions. It is surely a very important bill, as the convention is very important too.

Many of my colleagues tonight have given wonderful descriptions and oversight of the importance of this issue and the fact that these cluster munitions are now stockpiled to the amount of something like four billion. That is incredible when we think of the harm that is being done to civilian populations. We do know that 98% of all recorded cluster munitions casualties have been civilians. They are innocent people.

We know that these cluster munitions, or bomblets as they are sometimes called because they are very small, can do tremendous harm, if not killing people, then maiming them for life. We have seen this in many countries. I think there are about 37 countries that have been engaged in actions where cluster munitions have been in effect.

NDP CALLING FOR THE MINISTER OF HEALTH TO TAKE ACTION TO REASSURE USERS OF YAZ AND YASMIN

OTTAWA – In light of recent media reports linking the death of 23 Canadian women to Yaz and Yasmin brands of birth control pills, New Democrats are asking the Minister of Health to implement better drug safety measures in Canada.

“Once again, the health and safety of Canadians are being put at risk and the Conservative government simply is not doing enough,” explained NDP Health Critic Libby Davies (Vancouver East). “Our drug safety standards lag behind the U.S. and Europe, and we have poor labeling and drug information systems. We need serious reforms to bring us up to international standards.”

Furthermore, according to a recent report of the Canadian Institute for Health Information, from 2010 to 2011, around 27,000 Canadian seniors were hospitalized as a result of an adverse drug reaction.

“We need better mechanisms for evaluating drug safety and the effectiveness of reporting adverse drug reactions,” said Davies. “And, more importantly, we need better mechanisms to hold pharmaceutical companies accountable for safety.”

NDP MARKS 10TH ANNIVERSARY OF SAME-SEX MARRIAGE IN CANADA

OTTAWA –NDP caucus is marking the 10th anniversary of the first legally recognized same-sex marriage in Canada today.

“We need to take this opportunity to thank the community organizations, lawyers and especially the brave couples who fought tirelessly in the courts to ensure that same-sex couples were no longer discriminated against when it came to marriage rights,” NDP Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Issues Critic Randall Garrison (Esquimalt-Juan de Fuca) said. "We also need to acknowledge the progressive role of the courts at a time when many politicians were hesitant to act."

In 2003 the Court of Appeal for Ontario confirmed that existing Canadian law restricting marriage to heterosexual couples violated the equality provisions of Section 15 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. It wasn't until July 20th 2005, after many delays in Parliament, that Canadians in all provinces came to share these same rights.

New Democrats have a long and proud history of fighting for equal rights for the LGBT community in Canada. Garrison said, “the NDP is truly committed to equality. We are very proud to have had gay and lesbian members of our national Caucus since Svend Robinson first came out in 1988 and we are now equally proud now have 5 ‘out’ MPs in our Caucus to carry on the struggle for full equality for the LGBT community."

Injection sites dealt a severe blow

Supporters of Canada's only supervised injection site said Thursday they're confident Vancouver's Insite facility will survive a new legislative and political campaign launched by the Harper government against drug "harm reduction" programs. But they also said Ottawa's latest volley appears destined to succeed in preventing the opening of new centres offering clean needles and nursing supervision to addicts elsewhere in B.C. and Canada...Libby Davies, the New Democratic Party deputy leader and MP for the Vancouver East riding where Insite is located, slammed the Harper government's political approach to the bill..."The Conservatives shouldn't play political games with such an important issue of public health. The courts have been clear that the Conservatives need to base decisions on evidence and public health, not on their own rhetoric and ideology."

The original article, Injection sites dealt a severe blow was published on

June 7, 2013

in The Vancouver Sun. Author: Peter O'Neil

Proposed federal rules erect new hurdles for supervised drug-injection sites

OTTAWA – The federal government has introduced tough new rules for supervised drug injection sites in a move some see as an effort to stamp out such facilities. The government says it’s a response to a Supreme Court of Canada ruling that ordered the Conservatives to keep a Vancouver clinic open against their will. But NDP health critic Libby Davies said the government is effectively blocking any chance of setting up a new clinic. The proposed legislation would require advocates of new clinics to meet two dozen specific criteria before they can apply. Among other things, they’d have to canvass community opinion and gain the support of provincial and municipal authorities.

The original article, Proposed federal rules erect new hurdles for supervised drug-injection sites was published on

June 7, 2013

in macleans.ca. Author: Heather Scoffield

Libby questions the Conservative government's claims about Mike Duffy's payout

Ms. Libby Davies:

Mr. Speaker, they do not want to hear what is going on, but let us be very clear.

Only the Conservatives have a secret fund that is controlled out of the Prime Minister's Office. We will continue to hammer away at getting answers to these questions.

I have another question. If the government is so certain that Mike Duffy was paid by a personal cheque, why can it not produce it?

When will the government provide us with documents to support the claims that it is making?

Feds to toughen rules for drug-injection sites

OTTAWA - The government will roll out legislation Thursday which would significantly raise the bar for groups wanting to set up injection sites where illegal drugs can be used with medical oversight, clean equipment and without legal consequence. NDP health critic Libby Davies said Wednesday Insite is an "important program" that "has saved people's' lives." "It's much better for people to be in a medically supervised facility when they're injecting and not dying from needless and preventable overdoses," she said.

The original article, Feds to toughen rules for drug-injection sites was published on

June 5, 2013

in Toronto Sun. Author: Kristy Kirkup