5 Things to Watch in The First Part of 2016
EUTHANASIA LAWS:
In February 2015, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that the law banning assisted suicide was unconstitutional and that mentally competent Canadians with unbearable suffering should be allowed to end their lives with the aid of a physician. The Supreme Court gave Parliament one year to come up with a new law to govern physician-assisted suicide. On December 3, 2015, the Liberals asked the Supreme Court for a six-month extension. All of this means that euthanasia is expected to be a topic of discussion and debate in the House of Commons early this year and that legislation will likely soon be drafted and voted on.
To watch this issue please feel free to visit our euthanasia page at 4mycanada.ca or visit the Euthanasia Prevention Coalition.
Action Points:
If you live in Ontario the provincial government is asking for your consultation on the issue. Please click here to do an on-line survey or get information about community consultation meetings.
Please also contact your MP to share your views on this important issue. Click here to find your MP by postal code now.
MISSING AND MURDERED ABORIGINAL WOMEN:
On December 8th 2015, federal Minister of Justice, Jody Wilson-Raybould, announced the launch of the first phase of a national inquiry into 1,181 aboriginal women who have been murdered or gone missing since 1980. This first step will include meeting with families of the aboriginal women as well as other indigenous peoples, national aboriginal organizations and a range of front-line services workers and others, all within the next two months. This will be an intense and emotional inquiry for the nation and we are eager to learn what steps will be taken toward resolution and healing.
To watch this issue please feel free to visit our aboriginal issues page at 4mycanada.ca or visit the Government of Canada's page regarding the inquiry.
CANADA’S RELATIONSHIP WITH ISRAEL:
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau maintains that Canada’s support for Israel is not a partisan issue. He confirmed this stance and made headlines on November 26th, 2015 when he voted against the Arab-sponsored resolutions at the UN which looked to delegitimize Israel. However, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Stephane Dion, has made comments that hint at a change to Canada’s relationship with countries involved in the crisis of the region, so it will be interesting to see how Canada deals with Israel in the near future.
To watch this issue please feel free to visit our Israel page at 4mycanada.ca. Please also keep this important issue in prayer for our nation. Let's pray that Canada will remain a strong ally to Israel.
THE ECONOMY/GOVERNMENT SPENDING:
During the federal election campaign of 2015, Justin Trudeau presented the Liberals' plan to not balance the budget for three consecutive years but rather run a "modest short-term deficit" of less than $10 billion for each of the first three years. According to Trudeau, this plan represents "three years of historic investment in the Canadian economy”. However, just a few months after being elected Prime Minister, both Justin Trudeau and his new Minister of Finance, Bill Morneau, were hinting that the election campaign promise of a cap at $10 billion on the deficit would not be possible. Canada’s national debt currently stands at 1.129 and is growing at a rate of around $1000 per second. Each Canadian's personal portion of that debt is over $17,200.
To watch this issue please feel free to visit our national debt page at 4mycanada.ca. Another excellent resource is the National Debt Clock website which tracks Canada's total debt and updates every few seconds.
Action Points:
Please contact your MP to share your views on this important issue. Click here to find your MP by postal code now.
ELECTORAL REFORM:
Canada currently has a first-past-the-post electoral system. (Click here to find out more about this system.) In the 2015 elections, all three parties promised some measure of electoral reform by the next Federal Elections in 2019.
Many feel that this level of national reform requires a national referendum where the people of Canada can have say. Despite this, the federal Liberals now say that they will not hold a referendum to gauge public opinion on voting reform but will allow Parliament to decide how Canadians will elect future governments. One major concern is that the Liberals could use their majority of seats in Parliament to change the system to their advantage.
Action Points:
If you agree that Canadians should have a say on this reform please take a moment to e-mail the Prime Minister's office and express your opinion.
E-mail Directly: justin.trudeau@parl.gc.ca
E-mail through the Prime Minister's website: Click here.
