Dear Friend,

Last week's speech in Davos got a lot of attention. Standing up to bullies. Building coalitions.

It was a good speech.

But while everyone's focused on what happened in Davos, Elizabeth May held a press conference yesterday morning to talk about what's happening in Ottawa.

The government is pushing through Bill C-15, the 600-page Budget Implementation Act. Buried inside it is something called the Red Tape Reduction Act.

It lets any cabinet minister exempt any company from any federal law (environmental protections, public safety standards, etc.) if the minister decides it's "in the public interest."

No oversight. No accountability. They don't have to say why. They don't even have to tell us when.

And so far, Elizabeth is the only MP who has raised this in Parliament.

It’s not just Bill C-15 that’s a problem. Elizabeth also shared how Parliament itself has not been functioning as it should since the election:

Major bills are getting almost no study. Elizabeth pointed to Bill C-5 last June, which gave Cabinet sweeping power to fast-track megaprojects. It got virtually no committee review.
New government agencies are being hidden from view. They're being set up as "special operating agencies" under Treasury Board confidentiality. Their budgets and work plans are secret.
There's still no climate plan. The previous government's plan was scrapped. Nothing new has replaced it.

Elizabeth said this: "There's been an erosion of parliamentary democracy in this place since the election that passes mostly unnoticed, because parliamentary democracy doesn't get a lot of attention, even in the best of times, and this isn't the best of times."

She's right.

When ministers can let corporations break laws in secret, that's wrong. When major bills pass without being properly examined, that’s wrong. When Parliament stops checking government power, that's wrong.

The rules should apply to everyone. The government should have to answer for its decisions. Someone should be reading the bills and asking the hard questions.

You’ve seen what one Green MP can do. Imagine what we could do with more?

When Canadians do go to the polls, they need to know there's a party that won't look the other way.

Will you chip in $15, $100, or whatever feels right to help us get ready?

DONATE $15

DONATE $100

DONATE max, $1,775

Donate another amount

We're not going to outspend the Liberals. We're not going to out-shout the Conservatives. But Greens can keep reading the bills no one else is reading. We can keep asking the questions no one else is asking.

That's what Greens do.

And we need your support to keep doing it.

With hope and determination,
Your Green Party of Canada Team