Poeverty Elimination Bill

August 31st, 2010

My colleague, Tony Martin issued the following Op-ed which I endorse and would like to share with you.

On Thursday, June 17, 2010, Tony Martin introduced his bill, An Act to Eliminate Poverty in Canada

This bill provides for strong federal leadership in partnership with provinces, territories and other key stakeholders including our First Nations communities to deliver a comprehensive poverty elimination strategy for our country.

There are at least 3.4 million people poor in our country, one in ten Canadians. Eliminating poverty will make our communities healthy and our economy strong. In wise choices, we can find the money to pay to do this now, or we continue to pay massively and for generations to come. Study after study has indicated we cannot afford poverty anymore.

This legislation acknowledges that each individual has the primary responsibility to take care of him or herself but that responsibility is inextricably linked to the social cultural and economic development of the entire community. Their attempts to improve their own situation and that of families are often frustrated by barriers in society.

I believe most Canadians quietly share these values — that we should leave no one behind and build a Canada that includes everyone. This is the work of nation building. It is imperative that everyone in their communities have equal opportunities and a real chance to live full and productive lives.

Did you know that three provinces – Quebec, Ontario and New Brunswick already have anti-poverty laws and that six provinces have initiated poverty-reduction strategies – Quebec, Newfoundland, Ontario, Manitoba, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia?

What has been missing is a federal strategy, in essence, a conductor for the choir of voices from coast to coast to coast calling for this leadership.

The federal government has at its disposal powerful instruments to help eliminate poverty, among them the Canada Social Transfer, the Old Age Security Program, income security programs, child benefits, employment insurance and Working Income Tax Benefit.

This national leadership, mindful and fully supportive of provincial, territorial, municipal and First Nations responsibilities, has been the missing link in acting to end poverty for all.

The poverty elimination strategy outlined in the legislation includes:

  • Core priorities of income security, housing and social inclusion;
    a strong human rights framework;
  • Picking a poverty measurement, as having no official definition has impeded action;
  • Gender-based analysis, different urban and rural responses and dealing with specific factors that put some at greater risk, like aboriginal status, child rearing and single parenthood, low wage, immigration or refugee status, low education, and prolonged illness and disability.
  • Leadership by the entire government with health and income security ministers taking the lead;
  • An independent Poverty Elimination Commissioner to monitor and hold the government accountable, and a stronger, renewed National Council of Welfare to be called the National Council on Poverty and Social Inclusion.

Many in our country welcome this legislation. Rob Rainer, Executive Director of Canada Without Poverty and the CWP Advocacy Network says “this Act would anchor federal action on poverty to Canada’s international human rights commitments. The law would also ensure the government is held to account for its action or inaction. Whether one is poor or not, we are all hurt by poverty and so there is a powerful self-interest in seeing this law triggering a robust federal response to poverty and everything that spirals downward from this condition.”

Chandra Pasma, a policy analyst with Citizens for Public Justice, says “this is an important piece of legislation that will help to promote dignity for all Canadians. We believe that developing a poverty elimination strategy is something all political parties, all Canadians and all people of faith should support.”

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Veterans Watchdog shouldn’t be punished for standing up for Vets

August 19th, 2010

NEW DEMOCRATS CALL FOR SECOND TERM FOR COLONEL STOGRAN

Castlegar, BC – Alex Atamanenko, MP (BC Southern Interior) says he fully supports the New Democrats Veterans Affairs critic Peter Stoffer’s call for the Conservative government to renew the term of Veterans Affairs Ombudsman Colonel Pat Stogran.

“Col. Stogran has acted in the best interests of our men and women in uniform by standing up to the Government whenever necessary. He shouldn’t be punished for that,” stated Atamanenko. “It is unconscionable that the government is willing to deprive our Veterans of such a dedicated and tireless advocate for the rights of both Military and RCMP Veterans and their families.”

Col. Stogran, a Conservative appointee whose term is set to end this November, has been critical of the Government in the past and been vocal regarding the difficult bureaucratic system that Veterans face when trying to obtain their pensions or benefits.

The Colonel has told the Minister of Veterans Affairs Jean-Pierre Blackburn that he would like to stay in the position for a second term but the government does not appear to have any intention of granting his request.

“I am happy to see that veterans across the country are coming together to protest the removal of their champion,” stated Atamanenko. “I strongly urge the Conservative government to reconsider and let the good Colonel continue his important work.”

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“Deserter Directive”: Letter to Minister Kenney

August 13th, 2010

DATE: August 13, 2010

TO: The Honourable Jason Kenney
Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism
Jean Edmonds Building
South Tower, 21st Floor
365 Laurier Street West
Ottawa, Ontario K1A 1L1

RE: Your recent war deserter directive

Dear Minister Kenney:

I would like to express my concern over the recent directive issued by your department that instructs its field officers to treat war deserters as criminals.

It is clear that your Conservative government is sending a clear message to the bureaucracy to reject claims from military deserters.

I would like to remind you that the Federal Court of Appeal on July 6th, 2010 unanimously decided that immigration officers cannot ignore a soldier’s beliefs and motivations when deciding on applications for permanent residence on humanitarian and compassionate grounds.

In addition to rejecting the Federal Court of Appeal, your directive completely ignores motions adopted by the House of Commons on June 3, 2008 and March 30, 2009 calling on the Conservative government to cease deportation proceedings against U.S. Iraq war resisters and to create a program to allow them to apply for Permanent Resident Status within Canada.

Minister, there is a private member’s bill in Parliament (Bill C-440) which will allow a democratic debate and vote on the issue of U.S. war resisters. The fate of over fifty young men and women currently in Canada seeking refugee status is in our hands.

We must ensure that the legislative process is allowed to take place before making any decisions that impact those fleeing the illegal war in Iraq.

Sincerely,

Original signed by
Alex Atamanenko, MP
BC Southern Interior

Posted in Human Rights, Letters, War and Peace | Comments Off

Living with Autism

August 13th, 2010

Autism is the most common neurological disorder that affects children in our nation. Currently, one in every 200 people in Canada has been diagnosed with some form of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). If we look specifically at children, this number jumps up to one in 165, or .6 per cent of all children. Diagnoses are increasing world-wide, and it is about time we began to develop an effective strategy on this issue that affects so many children and families.

With such a high number of people being affected by ASDs such as autism, Rett’s Syndrome, and Asperger’s Syndrome, it seems odd that the Federal government has yet to develop a strong national policy to address this situation.

That is why I am glad to see that my colleague Glenn Thibeault, MP for Sudbury, introduced a bill that would see the development of a National Autism Strategy. The bill was seconded by Peter Stoffer, MP for Sackville-Eastern Shore, who has extensive experience working with the autism community. If passed, the bill would see a much-needed national strategy to help with the increasing demands of people coping with ASDs.

The National Autism Strategy would put into effect a number of policies that would help alleviate some of the hardships that families of individuals with ASDs face. The bill would establish national standards for the treatment of ASDs, along with the cooperation of provincial governments. It would allow for the study of funding arrangements for the care of those who cope with ASDs, which would include transferring federal funds to help provinces provide treatment, education, and professional training for those with ASDs. It would see the creation of a national medical surveillance program that would be managed by the Public Health Agency of Canada, and it would provide an estimate of the funding that would be required for the treatment of ASDs.

There is a saying within the autism community: “If you’ve met one person with autism, then you have met one person with autism.” This sentiment sums up how vast ASDs range in terms of symptoms as no two children who develop autism will have the same symptoms. Those who have been diagnosed with autism will often have difficulty with social interactions and communication skills, anything from the inability to recognize body language and tones of voice, to the inability to speak. Many will develop routine behaviours, such as only liking certain types of foods or only wishing to get dressed in a certain order. There are many, many variations as to what constitutes behaviour common to autistic children. The development of a National Autism Strategy would provide a stronger framework to help those with this disorder.

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Time for New Agriculture Policies

August 10th, 2010

After years of deteriorating farm income, mounting debt and ill-designed income stability programs, can life on Canadian farms get worse? It certainly appears so. The government is forecasting that the price of many farm commodities will decline in 2010. And despite a complete overhaul by the Conservative government, farm income programs are causing the same level of frustration for farmers as the failed programs they were supposed to replace. Between the global economic downturn, climate impacts and bad government policies, farmers are hitting the wall. If interest rates continue to rise, it could very well be a fatal blow for many of them.

Over the past two years I have hosted public forums in 28 communities across Canada as part of the NDP’s national “Food for Thought” tour to hear thoughts and concerns about our food system. My report and recommendations have now been released. We are calling for federal leadership on a Canadian food strategy – a message I heard time and time again. People want all levels of government to come together in support of local food initiatives, and to ensure that our agriculture sector is sustainable. Many of the people I spoke to believe we have become far too dependent on imported food have begun taking steps to support a local food economy.

The May 2010 report from the Standing Committee on Agriculture, which was based on a two year study of competitiveness in Canadian agriculture, reveals how difficult it has been for farmers to obtain fair prices in a marketplace dominated by monopolistic agribusiness corporations. The 1926-2006 farm income graph prepared for the Committee by the National Farmers Union (NFU), shows that Canadian farmers have netted a mere $3 billion out of the $802 billion worth of farm products sold into the marketplace since 1985! Globally dominant corporations have managed to capture the other $799 billion. With such shocking statistics can we really expect farmers to keep on producing for nothing the raw materials upon which so much of Canada’s economic and food security depends? Is it any surprise that few young farmers are keen or even able to take on the family farm?

On a recent tour in BC to meet with young farmers, the Committee learned that apple producers are being undercut by imported apples from foreign countries. They complained that a lack of enforcement on country-of-origin labeling made it difficult for customers to identify Canadian apples even if they wanted to support local farmers. They point to the absurdity of producers having to rip out perfectly good orchards to plant other crops because they can no longer afford to compete with subsidized Washington State apples that are being dumped into the market at a time when the region already has a surplus.

Easy credit is one of the hallmarks of the Conservative government’s new bundle of business risk management programs - but crippling debt is one of the reasons why farmers can’t get ahead. This hardly seems a solution that will lead to greater economic power in the marketplace, which is what producers desperately need.

If the government would move in a meaningful way to ensure that farmers earn their fair share from the sale of the food they produce, there could be some hope. Unfortunately what we are seeing promoted instead by this government is more of the same tired policies that continue to bring an ever increasing number of farmers closer to the point of no return.

This year let’s all support the local economy and make every attempt to buy food that has been produced in or around the BC Southern Interior.

Posted in Agriculture and Food, Columns | Comments Off

Join in to save our wild salmon

August 6th, 2010

NDP Fisheries and Oceans critic Fin Donnelly and William Shatner team up to defend wild salmon. 

Click here to find out how you can help.

MAKE YOUR VOICE HEARD ON PACIFIC AQUACULTURE CONSULTATIONS

Mr. Donnelly has also made a submission in response to the 60 day public comment period regarding the proposed Pacific Aquaculture Regulations under the Fisheries Act. He writes:

Dear Mr. Ed Porter:

I write in my capacity as MP for New Westminster - Coquitlam & Port Moody, and as the NDP Fisheries and Oceans Critic, to provide comment on the draft Federal Pacific Aquaculture Regulations that were published in the Canadian Gazette Volume 144, No 28 on July 10th, 2010.

These regulations fail to effectively address the environmental impacts that aquaculture is having on the Pacific fishery and the ocean ecosystem.

Experts believe that west coast aquaculture practices are having a negative effect on wild salmon and the ocean environment. Effluent, parasites, and viruses are permitted to enter the natural system through open net fish farms, which negatively affect wild salmon stocks.

When, in 2009, the BC Supreme Court ruled that aquaculture be licensed under federal jurisdiction, an opportunity was presented to the Department of Fisheries and Oceans to address this situation. However, these draft regulations fail to take advantage of this opportunity.

Under provincial jurisdiction, west coast aquaculture has not been able to expand for approximately seven years due to environmental concerns. If managed appropriately the industry not only could reduce it’s environmental impact, but could flourish and expand, creating jobs and economic prosperity.

These regulations present an opportunity to address the concerns that led to this moratorium, though at present they do not.

Furthermore, the regulations fail to address key environmental concerns, including environmental assessment.

This lack of a framework for environmental assessment when issuing or renewing licenses is disappointing. Permitting the destruction of wild fish that become trapped in the open net farms is also problematic. These fish are attracted by light from the farms and food present in the water. To destroy them is to waste an already taxed resource, these regulations should propose ways to minimize their attraction to the pens in the first place.

However, with an amendment to include initiatives to move fish farms to closed containment, these regulations could accomplish a great deal. At current there is no mention of closed containment systems in these regulations in spite of the fact that such a move would address many of the criticisms levied at the Aquaculture sector.

Moving to closed containment aquaculture would:

Meet growing public demand for safe, environmentally sustainable seafood.
Allow industry to grow while addressing environment concerns.

Put an end to wild fish entering the pen’s and lessen the need for environmental assessment.

Currently the technology is available to make this shift, and British Columbia stands poised to be world leaders in this industry.

Clearly, the move to closed containment should not be overlooked.

I ask that you amend the regulations to include the move to closed containment aquaculture.

I invite you to contact my office should have any questions or wish to discuss this further at 613-947-4455 or by email at donnef@parl.gc.ca.

Regards:
Fin

For information on how to submit your views, go to http://www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/aquaculture/bcr-rcb/index-eng.htm.

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Session Review

July 31st, 2010

One of the things I really enjoy about my job as your federal representative is taking part in community events. I must congratulate the many volunteers who work so hard to create opportunities that bring people together in united cause. Whenever I attend events such as the Osoyoos Volunteer Awards, Transition Nelson, the world premiere of a film about the Siniixt called ‘Bringing Home the Bones’, the Grand Forks Agricultural Society’s AGM, the re-opening ceremony of the Brilliant Bridge, it brings home to me how rich we are in community spirit.

In addition to assisting people on a daily basis with immigration, EI, Canada Revenue, student loan and other issues, my staff and I work closely with local and provincial representatives on key issues. The ill-conceived stimulus-spending to widen the highways both in the Nelson and the Oliver /Osoyoos corridor caused much concern locally, and my efforts to try to reach an accommodation for local fruit stand owners along Hwy 97 met with some success. When Oliver was hit hard by the enormous mudslide, I again met with local constituents and carried their concerns forward to the federal government to try and solicit a fair and adequate compensation for damages to crops, farmland, businesses and residences.

Despite the sideshows and shenanigans that took place in the last session of Parliament I am pleased to say that none of it affected the important and relevant work my caucus colleagues and I were able to achieve. Months after Canada’s embarrassing performance at the Copenhagen conference, our New Democrat Climate Change Accountability Act was passed by the House of Commons - setting firm targets for real action on the environment. And among other things we passed a motion in the House of Commons demanding that any future prorogation longer than seven days be first approved by a majority of MP’s.

A special highlight for me was the release of the report on my “Food For Thought” tour. After two years of work and visits to twenty-eight communities, we have provided a blue-print that may now form part of the discussion towards the development of a Canadian Food Policy.

Another highlight for me was being successful in advancing my private member’s bill C-474, which deals with the economic impact of genetically engineered seeds and crops. The bill is currently at the Committee stage, and will come back to the House of Commons for third reading and final vote in the late fall.

Instead of working alongside the democratic and legitimate efforts of the United Nations to solve the myriad of crises facing all countries, we saw our Prime Minister spend over a billion dollars, mostly on a failed security strategy, to host an exclusive gathering, in downtown Toronto, of G8/G20 leaders who actually work to undermine those efforts. At the end of these provocative summits we were left with trashed storefronts, a tarnished democracy and the promise of deep cuts to our treasured social programs. In other words, we must all pay for the actions of the global financial institutes responsible for bringing the world to its knees. And despite the overwhelming evidence that free trade has had a negative influence on Canadian manufacturing, agriculture, forestry and public sectors, we are told there is no other choice but to have more of it.

I invite you to visit my website regularly for information on upcoming town hall meetings, Disability tax information sessions and other events I will be hosting this fall.

I hope you are managing to enjoy a relaxing summer.

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Unlocking Bill C-32

July 13th, 2010

Last summer, Industry Canada held a series of nationwide consultations on copyright. It asked for input from consumers, industry experts and content developers on how best to modernize federal copyright legislation, which had not been reviewed since 1997.

The result is Bill C-32, A Bill to Amend the Copyright Act, which was recently introduced in Parliament by Industry Minister Tony Clement and Heritage Minister James Moore.

As you may be aware, Canadian attempts at copyright reform in recent years have had very little to do with creating a regime that would balance the rights of creators and the public, but rather have been attempts at satisfying the demands of large American content owners such as movie studios, music labels, video game developers and others.

The new legislation take some steps toward rectifying that imbalance, by proposing to legalize activities that thousands of Canadians take part in (such as copying a CD), but it would prohibit the breaking of digital locks placed on gadgets and media.

A digital lock is essentially an encryption device that scrambles digital information, making it impossible to copy. Outlawing the breaking of digital locks is designed partly to crack down on copyright pirates who copy CDs and DVDs for commercial purposes. Unfortunately, there is a real danger that we could see situations arise in which consumers are barred from using content that they have already paid for.

Consumer groups have blasted Minister Moore for the bill, which they say makes an illegality out of an impediment and changes the definition of and exceptions to “fair dealing” rights. Internet and e-commerce law expert Professor Michael Geist puts it succinctly: “The foundational principle of the new bill remains that any time a digital lock is used—whether on books, movies, music or electronic devices—the lock trumps virtually all other rights. This means that both the existing fair dealing rights and Bill C-32’s new rights all cease to function effectively so long as the rights holder places a digital lock on their content or device.”

Digital locks can override not only consumers’ rights, but also creators’ and artists’ rights. For example, some stakeholders in the arts community feel that this bill essentially allows the public to copy works of art for free, without providing a reciprocal system for raising royalties that would help compensate creators for their work.

NDP copyright critic Charlie Angus has criticized the digital lock provisions, and the absence of royalty safeguards for artists. In March, Angus introduced a private member’s bill that proposed an additional tax on digital devices such as iPods and laptop computers. The tax would be an extension of the private copying levy, a fee currently paid on blank media (such as CDs) that is used to compensate copyright holders for the copies made on that media. Angus feels that extending the fee to devices would make copying legal, but still compensate content creators.

The Harper Conservatives have ignored the findings of their own 2009 copyright consultations, and have arrived at a flawed piece of legislation that may end up doing more harm than good.

It does make sense to outlaw bad behaviour, but Canadians want laws that make sense.

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Atamanenko Supports Hearings into Alleged G-20 Police Violations

July 9th, 2010

Alex Atamanenko, MP for BC Southern Interior, has voiced his support for a parliamentary committee to look into allegations of police use of force and human rights abuses during the G-20 summit in Toronto in June.

Vancouver–Kingsway New Democrat MP Don Davies has collected signatures from Liberal and Bloc Québécois MPs to force the recall of the House of Commons public safety committee for a debate and vote on a motion to hold formal hearings into the police actions.

Davies said in an interview that some officials must be held accountable. “For one billion dollars, we were promised that there wouldn’t be violence, but there was,” Davies said. “We were told that civil liberties would be respected, and they weren’t.”

There have been persistent allegations of police misconduct during the summit weekend, when more than 1,000 people were arrested, but only 263 charged with anything more serious than breach of peace. There has also been criticism of the methods police used to disperse and detain protestors.

Amnesty International Canada and the Canadian Civil Liberties Association are two of the many bodies that have called for an independent inquiry into police conduct during the summit.

Among the witnesses Davies wants to call on to testify are the officials in charge of the Integrated Security Unit that coordinated municipal, provincial and federal security police forces at the summit.

Atamanenko feels that although the federal government may not be legally bound to compensate business owners and employees for their damages and loss of income and wages, they are morally responsible.

“I personally don’t understand why an event of such magnitude was forced on the city of Toronto,” said the New Democrat MP. “The lives of residents and merchants, their livelihoods and their basic civil liberties were all undermined by the decision to hold the G-20 in Canada’s largest city. Who is going to compensate them for their losses?”

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MP Atamanenko Slams Newspaper Closing

July 7th, 2010

Decries media concentration & loss of more rural jobs

Castlegar, BC – “The closing of the Nelson Daily News and the loss of 25 jobs in this community is another blow to rural BC,” said BC Southern Interior MP Alex Atamanenko, today.

He was reacting to yesterday’s news that BC media chain Black Press purchased eleven papers from Glacier Media, including the Nelson Daily News, the Trail Daily Times and the Grand Forks Gazette. Black Press plans on closing down the Nelson paper.

In a letter to President David Black, Atamanenko called for the CEO’s reconsideration of the Nelson paper’s closure.

“Nelson’s local economy has again taken a hit,” says the letter. “You have just fired 25 people who support families and business in this small community of 9,298 people. In the City of Vancouver that would be equivalent to firing 1,560 people,” wrote Atamanenko.

“As well, I am concerned about the increased concentration of ownership of print media in the province,” stated Atamanenko. “This could have serious consequences, diminishing the diversity of voices heard in our communities, given less competition.

“The Nelson Daily News has been an institution in town for over 100 years. It’s closure will mean the loss of an important daily tool in community life, and the life of businesses in the area,” he noted.

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