RSVP to upcoming events & monthly roundup
RSVP to upcoming events & monthly roundup
A rundown of upcoming events and our work since early April
It’s going to be a busy stretch to close out this parliamentary session, but we’re also hosting two events in June that I hope to see you at:
Wednesday June 5: we’re hosting a film screening of “A Bullet Pulling Thread” at the Beach United Church, alongside a Q&A with filmmaker and the City of Toronto’s lead on police reform. RSVP here.
Wednesday June 12: we’re hosting a live podcast recording with Dr. Jane Philpott to discuss her new book Health for All. RSVP here.
I’ll also be online for a Facebook AMA on May 30 at 7 pm.
And we’re giving away free tree seedlings again this year. You can put your request in via our online form here or email us at info@beynate.ca.
The past month or so has certainly had its challenges, as we lost my father-in-law Terry Symington to cancer.
There’s also been a lot happening in Ottawa, with the release of Budget 2024, initial pharmacare legislation, a new and comprehensive housing plan, and consistent conservative attacks against both serious climate action and a public health approach to saving lives in the opioid crisis.
You can read my rundown of 10 Budget highlights here.
Overall, the budget is solid and comprehensive, albeit not transformative. It finally shows real leadership on housing. It covers a lot of ground, with incremental progress in many important areas. And after the shock of a pandemic, it manages to meet political demands while maintaining fiscal prudence.
Defending the price on pollution
While the debate around capital gains taxation is new, the same can’t be said for the price on pollution. It’s been in place for years now, it works to reduce emissions and spur innovation, and the rebates ensure most people receive more than they pay.
Of course, smart policy doesn’t always make for easy politics. While leaders embrace that challenge and educate people to bring them along, the new reform party conservatives consistently rhyme cheap slogans to dismantle smart climate policy.
As I wrote here, we can’t afford to axe serious climate action with lies.
Or watch our video explainer on the price on pollution, echoing that same message.
The video was covered by CBC’s Aaron Wherry here, and we’re going to try out more explainers and video work in general in the coming weeks. Let me know if there are specific topics you’d like me to weigh in on.
The Prime Minister is also weighing in on the explainer video game, with this short video on the proposed capital gains changes. I’m working on a more detailed article on that subject now as well that expands on what I wrote in the budget highlights.
Recognizing Dr. Anne Innis Dagge
Parliament isn’t only a place for policy debates, of course. We can also recognize stories and people of local and national importance.
I had the opportunity to recognize Dr. Anne Innis Dagge, the women who loved giraffes, a pioneering zoologist, ground-breaking biologist, animal rights activist, feminist, and professor.
She leaves a legacy for all of us in the Anne Innis Dagg Foundation, dedicated to promoting the harmonious coexistence of humans and wildlife, and built on Anne’s belief that we should treat people, animals, and their habitats with the same respect.
Interestingly, on the same day I recognized Dr. Dagg, I joined a session in Ottawa with Dr. Jane Goodall at which she delivered a similar message. In good news, the government is moving forward with legislation that better protects animals in captivity, built on the Jane Goodall Act that I’d been a part of working to advance.
Uncommons podcast
Since our last update, we’ve focused the podcast on the disability benefit in conversations with Green Party MP Mike Morrice and with Daily Bread Food Bank CEO Neil Hetherington. Economist Trevor Tombe joined me to talk about taxes (carbon and capital gains) and productivity. And Conservative MP Marilyn Gladu joined me to talk about civil liberties.
We have a number of interesting episodes coming up, including one focused on the university encampments/protests, a conversation with Conservative MP Arnold Viersen about pornography, and the two in-person recordings with Mo Shuriye and Dr. Jane Philpott.
We’re also working to schedule a podcast with the Prime Minister. So send in your questions for that one.
In Parliament
At committee, I’ve been a part of the study into the Winnipeg Labs fiasco, during which the CSIS director told me that the Public Health Agency of Canada acted “expeditiously” in managing the situation. In another interesting exchange with the CSIS director, I asked questions about the threat of lab leaks and also about the assassination on Canadian soil authorized by India’s spy agency.
More recently, I engaged at committee with Human Rights Watch about what more we can do to strengthen rules and ensure company supply chains are not complicit in human rights violations.
Outside of committee, I’ll continue to advance public conversations about wealth inequality, drug policy reform, and more. For example, you can see my question here to Mark Carney on wealth inequality, covered in The Star here. And I’ve been engaged with Stats Can about the ways in which they improve reporting on wealth inequality.
While conservatives rage about woke paper lids and plant-based ice cream, I’ll continue to do my best to bring issues that matter to Parliament and our public debate.
In the community
It’s been nice to attend a wide range of different events in recent weeks. Amy and I celebrated Woodgreen at Massey Hall, my office team joined me to volunteer at a seniors’ pop-up market, I attended Eid prayer (my 10th year) in Dentonia Park, helped open the season at the Kew Beach Lawn Bowling Club, and celebrated the Nepali new year with friends at Srijansil Nepali Samaj.
In addition to an ongoing presence in the community, I’m also working to be more present for my kids. On that front, the East York baseball season will soon be underway, and I’m helping to coach Mack’s team.
As always, if there’s an event you think I should be at in our community, or if there are issues or ideas you want me to raise in Ottawa, please be in touch. You can reach me and my team at info@beynate.ca.
Nate