Paul Manly

[Petitions, May 26th, 2021]

Madam Speaker, it is an honour to table this petition initiated by constituents in Nanaimo—Ladysmith.

The petitioners are deeply concerned about protecting British Columbia's endangered old-growth forests from logging. Recently, threatened screech owls on the species at risk list were discovered in these forests, but it is clear the B.C. NDP government does not give a hoot.

Therefore, the petitioners are calling on the government to work with the province and first nations to immediately halt logging of endangered old-growth ecosystems, fund the long-term protection of old-growth ecosystems as a priority for Canada's climate action plan and reconciliation with indigenous peoples, support value-added forestry initiatives, in partnership with first nations, to ensure Canada's forestry industry is sustainable and based on the harvesting of second-growth forests, ban the export of raw logs and maximize resource use for local jobs, and ban the use of whole trees for wood pellet biofuel production.

[The Economy, May 25th, 2021]

Madam Speaker, there is a term that some thinkers use to describe our current economic model, and that is a “self-terminating civilization”. In the pursuit of greater and greater economic growth, we are driving ourselves toward extinction, so measurements of economic well-being must account for environmental degradation and social costs. I am glad to see the government moving in this direction.

We need to strive toward a circular economy with zero waste so that every product has a full life-cycle plan in its components. Our shared goals should be to eliminate poverty and homelessness; improve health outcomes through expanded health care services, mental health, dental care and pharmacare; provide free education from preschool through post-secondary; and leave a healthy environment for our children and grandchildren.

Doing better starts by placing a value on things that really matter for our survival: clean air, clean water, nutritious food and a safe and secure place to live.

[The Economy, May 25th, 2021]

Madam Speaker, how we measure the value of things says a lot about who we are as a people and as a society.

Currently we measure the performance of our economy by gross domestic product. GDP measures the market value of all goods produced and services provided in a given period of time.

When the consumption of goods and services goes up, so too does the GDP, regardless of whether the effects on people and society are positive or negative. For example, if a couple gets a divorce, it is great for the GDP. There are lawyers' fees to pay, and if the divorce proceedings go to court, the bills are even higher.

The former spouses now have separate homes and greater expenses than when they lived together. If they have children, the cost of setting up two homes for the kids increases expenses even more. If things go horribly wrong, and an angry spouse burns down the family home or totals the car, that is a bonus for GDP growth. However, what is the real cost of all this economic activity?

Healthy family relationships are integral for childhood development, and many divorces have a negative impact on that development. GDP does not account for the personal and social value of happy healthy families. GDP also does not account for the value of a healthy, biodiverse environment. When one is only measuring GDP, an old growth forest ecosystem has no value until it has been clear cut and turned into lumber.

Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz is among the economists arguing that gross domestic product fails to capture the impact of climate change, inequality, digital services and other phenomena shaping modern societies. He points out that GDP failed to reveal distortions in the bloated U.S. housing market, which triggered the 2008 financial crash.

Some economists refer to GDP as gross depletion of the planet. At a rate of 3% GDP growth annually, we double the size of our economy every 24 years. That means we also double the exploitation and consumption of resources, which is completely unsustainable. If all humans consumed and disposed of products and materials the way the average North American did, we would need seven planets for the necessary resources.

GDP only values things that can be commodified. In a society where GDP is the main measurement, efforts to protect the environment can never succeed. There might be occasional small wins, but the endless drive to turn everything into money will always triumph because unexploited nature has no value on a balance sheet. The crash in biodiversity is the inevitable result of an economy and society that only values GDP growth.

While it would not make sense to completely eliminate GDP as a measurement, it needs to be tied to other indicators, such as the United Nations human development index, which adds together consumption, life expectancy and educational performance at the country level. Another option is the genuine progress indicator, or GPI, which incorporates environmental and social factors that are not measured by GDP. For example, GPI decreases in value when poverty rates increase. The GPI separates the concept of societal progress from economic growth.

It is time to adopt measurements of well-being that support healthy and happy humans, healthy and happy societies, and a healthy, resilient environment.

[Kindness Week Act, May 14th, 2021]

Madam Speaker, it is an honour and a privilege to rise today on behalf of the Green Party of Canada to speak to Bill S-223 from the traditional territory of the Snuneymuxw First Nation and to serve the communities of Nanaimo—Ladysmith in the unceded territories of the Snaw'naw'as, Snuneymuxw, Stz'uminus and Lyackson first nations.

This bill was inspired by the work of Rabbi Reuven Bulka, who has been advocating to designate the third week of February as kindness week since 2007. Rabbi Bulka is the founder of Kind Canada, an organization that aims to inspire Canadians to cultivate kindness in their day-to-day lives, support charitable causes and enhance the well-being of others.

My colleague, the hon. member for Saanich—Gulf Islands, is a good friend of Rabbi Bulka. Rabbi Bulka has been an important part of her life for longer than she has been in the Green Party. They met around the year 2000, when the Rabbi invited her to take part in a program on community cable in Ottawa as a guest. The two of them did many shows together and discussed many topics, including the environmental movement and the idea that human dominance over other creatures is a misinterpretation of scripture. The hon. member for Saanich—Gulf Islands has asked me to pass on her best wishes to the rabbi and to thank him for pushing to have this legislation for kindness week passed in this House as soon as possible.

I really appreciate the preamble to this bill. These are things that all of us can strive for. Kindness encourages values such as empathy, respect, gratitude and compassion. Kind acts lead to the improved health and well-being of Canadians. It is important to encourage acts of kindness, volunteerism and charitable giving to the benefit of all Canadians. We need to encourage a culture of kindness in Canada throughout the year, but we must not limit our acts of kindness to Canadians and encourage a culture of kindness only in Canada. We must extend kindness to all people and all living things on the planet.

On the topic of kindness, researcher and author Brené Brown said, “First and foremost, we need to be the adults we want our children to be. We should watch our own gossiping and anger. We should model the kindness we want to see.”

We live in a time when it has never been so easy to be unkind to others. How many Canadians have received a negative comment on social media in a way they would never receive in person? This is especially true for elected officials and public figures, but it happens all the time to people who are not in the public eye as well. Why has social media become so toxic? Why do so many people act in unkind ways online?

This is not by chance. It is a by-product of the way social media platforms are designed. Social media algorithms are designed to make us spend as much time as possible on their platforms, in order to sell our attention to advertisers. What the algorithms have discovered is that a great way to keep us engaged is by angering us, so the algorithms feed us posts that fuel our anger, which increases polarization and destroys kindness.

Campaigners have learned this too. Everywhere we look in the public political discourse these days, we see the weaponization of anger for short-term political gain. Feeding the dark and unkind sides of human nature will come at a great cost and will be hard to undo. Some thinkers have dubbed what is going on right now “a war on sense-making”. Once upon a time, opposite political sides could engage in a rational and respectful debate about policy disagreements. We now have political forces that are fanning the flames of total delegitimization of their opponents, not just their opponents’ policies and ideas, but their opponents themselves. Some of the language being used in emails sent to MP offices these days is alarming.

Those who fan the flames of fear, mistrust and anger are at the same time strangling kindness, empathy and mutual respect. We will all pay dearly for this irresponsibility.

The Dalai Lama tells us, “Be kind whenever possible. It is always possible.”

The kindness of discomfort can be one of the most difficult forms of kindness to embody in our lives. Confronting injustice requires difficult conversations about privilege. It requires us to acknowledge how we benefit from systemic oppression. It requires us to examine how we consciously or unconsciously perpetuate it. The kindness of discomfort means not being afraid to take responsibility for our own uncomfortable feelings. It means continuing to show up and do the work of creating a more just society.

The kindness of discomfort is an especially important idea to talk about right now. In my riding, there have been recent high-profile incidents of anti-indigenous racism toward the Snuneymuxw First Nation, when there was an outbreak of COVID-19 in its community, and when a memorial for missing and murdered indigenous women and girls was desecrated in the territory of the Stz'uminus First Nation.

Canada is also experiencing a surge of anti-Asian racism. Racism is part of our history and our present. We do not like to see ourselves this way, but it is essential to take the blinders off and sit in the discomfort of that reality. When it comes to breaking down the structural and systemic barriers of racism, bias and discrimination, the kindness of discomfort is the greatest form of kindness we can practise on a personal level. The kindness of discomfort is a conscious choice to become a better ally in the work of building a more equitable and inclusive society. American aviation pioneer and author Amelia Earhart wrote, “A single act of kindness throws out roots in all directions, and the roots spring up and make new trees.”

I support the kindness week act and I deeply appreciate the work of Rabbi Bulka, who inspired it. Opening up opportunities for Canadians to cultivate kindness through education, action and service also increases our opportunities for connection. Our disconnection from each other is a foundational problem in our society, and we are all living the outcomes of that problem in the mental health crisis, the opioid overdose crisis, the homelessness crisis, the struggle against poverty, the struggle for peace, the crash in biodiversity and the climate crisis. Every act of kindness is an act of defiance toward a social order that goes against our natural impulses toward compassion and empathy.

[Business of Supply, May 13th, 2021]

Madam Speaker, the hon. member for Kingston and the Islands noted that he supported changes to the Elections Act in case we had to have an election during a pandemic. I do not want an election during a pandemic, and I do not think Canadians want one. He said that some opposition members were saying that these would be permanent changes, and we know they would not be.

However, I would like to see some permanent changes to the Elections Act, and I wonder if the hon. member would agree with me. I hear from a lot of young people who would like to see the voting age changed to 16. I hear from a lot of people who would like to see a proportional representation system so that every vote counts.

I wonder whether the hon. member would agree with those two changes permanently to the Elections Act.

[Petitions, May 12th, 2021]

Madam Speaker, it is an honour to table this petition initiated by constituents in Nanaimo—Ladysmith.

The petitioners are deeply concerned about the B.C. government failing to follow through on an expert report and an election promise to protect British Columbia's endangered old-growth forests from logging.

The petitioners call upon the government to work with the province and first nations to immediately halt logging of endangered old-growth ecosystems; fund the long-term protection of old-growth ecosystems as a priority for Canada's climate action plan and reconciliation with indigenous people; support value-added forestry initiatives in partnership with first nations to ensure Canada's forestry industry is sustainable and based on the harvesting of second and third-growth forests; ban the export of raw logs and maximize resource use for local jobs; and ban the use of whole trees for wood pellet biofuel production.

[Canada Elections Act, May 10th, 2021]

Mr. Speaker, I would hope that we do not have a pandemic election. I was hoping we would see some other changes to the Canada Elections Act, given the promise in 2015 that it would be the last first past the post election.

Does the hon. member think it is fair that a party that received 1.3 million votes got three seats, while a party that got five times as many votes, the Liberal Party, got 50 times more seats? Each Liberal represents about 37,000 constituents or voters and each Green Party member represents 380,000 voters. Does the member think that is a fair representation of democracy and should we have a fair vote system—

[Petitions, May 10th, 2021]

Mr. Speaker, it is an honour to present this petition initiated by seniors advocates in my riding of Nanaimo—Ladysmith. The petitioners call upon the Government of Canada to: include long-term care in the public health care system under the Canada Health Act; work with provinces to develop national standards for person-centred relational care, which includes the Registered Nurses' Association of Ontario's basic care staffing guarantee formula; eliminate profit-making by government-funded, corporate for-profit chains by ensuring funds provided are spent as allocated and by banning subcontracting; provide standardized, equitable living wages and benefits and implement single-site employment for all staff; ensure government oversight and initiate strong penalties and clawbacks for facilities not complying with standards and regulations; and require independent family councils with protected rights.

[Committees of the House, May 10th, 2021]

Mr. Speaker, back when the Kalamazoo spill happened and 840,000 litres went into the Kalamazoo River in Michigan, environmentalists were already flagging the problem with Line 5 crossing the Straits of Mackinac. I saw an underwater video of that pipeline flagging this issue way back then. Why did the Harper Conservative government do nothing about this? Why have we waited so long when we knew that this could be a potential problem? We need to hold companies, like Enbridge, responsible for their infrastructure, especially when we are reliant on that infrastructure for our economy.

Does the hon. member think we should have stronger regulations on these pipeline companies to make sure that they adhere to environmental standards?

[Committees of the House, May 10th, 2021]

Madam Speaker, a lot of speakers have outlined the importance of this pipeline to our economy. Enbridge has proven itself to be grossly incompetent in a number of areas, and Michigan's governor has serious reasons to be concerned. In a 15-year period, Enbridge has had more than a thousand spills, with 7.4 million gallons of oil spilled into the environment, including the 843,000 gallons that were dumped into the Kalamazoo River. People have a reason to be concerned.

Should we not be holding this company to more account when our economy is so dependent on this one pipeline?