Healthcare collapse is one of the most urgent issues in our province. We need your help. Patients are unable to access care until they are near death. Front-line healthcare workers are experiencing medical-level burnout, PTSD, moral & ethical distress, and mass resignation. This is a huge cost to British Columbians in all the ways of assessing cost. The solutions proposed to increase University funding and hiring doctors is essentially useless and cruel to young professionals/new graduates. For the salary of 1 doctor, the province could hire multiple nurse practitioners (NPs), nurses or allied health professionals such as social workers, rehabilitation specialists and social service & housing workers; these clinicians and workers are best-positioned to address the staggering issues of housing, social service referrals, community & residential rehabilitation, home & community support care, government disability funding & programs etc. Healthcare and social service workers are largely young women who work in risky situations in acute care & dangerous areas of downtown & SROs. We are tossing bodies at a problem that needs to be remedied at the systems level & human-resource-retention & safety. Meanwhile, thousands of workers are ending up on medical leave with psychological & physical health issues which is funded by WorkSafe BC, on long-term disability supports, tax-payer funded public resources and/or individually-funded private services (counselling, psychologists and private psychiatrists etc). This is no way to treat our 'healthcare heroes' who we glorify in the media & then readily ignore. We're deep in a crisis and we can't let this continue; the height of the problems are yet to come. This year in April & May alone, more than 100 doctors, nurses, healthcare workers & social service providers working for Vancouver Coastal Health (VCH) and Fraser Health (FHA) signed open letters to the media crying out because of a large lack of resources and poor treatment of the individuals they provide services for. Additionally, more than 700 Canadian academics also signed an open letter decrying the dismantling of the Main & Hastings encampment. It cannot be overstated how significant this is; health authority employees are risking their employment and careers by doing this. The alarm bells are going off yet the fire is being ignored. May 2023: More than two dozen Surrey Memorial Hospital ER doctors signed an open letter: - https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/surrey-memorial-hospital-physicians-open-letter-1.6843980 - https://globalnews.ca/news/9700128/surrey-memorial-hospital-crisis-doctors-letter/#:~:text=Dozens%20of%20emergency%20room%20doctors,to%20patients%20and%20the%20public.%E2%80%9D May 2023: 36 Surrey Memorial Hospital Obgyn doctors signed open letter. - "More than two-thirds of women's health providers at the hospital have signed a letter saying critically inadequate resources are compromising patient safety, resulting in an untold number of close calls and the death of a newborn in 2020" attributed to lack of resources, according to the healthcare workers involved. - https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/surrey-memorial-hospital-womens-health-doctors-open-letter-1.6858473 April 2023: 44 nurses, community outreach and social workers signed an open letter to Vancouver Coastal Health “Many of us who are on the front line have witnessed and/or been the recipients of police-led violence or escalation, both physical and verbal,” the document reads. - https://vancouversun.com/news/local-news/vch-workers-decry-east-hastings-decampment-despite-fearing-employer-blowback April, 2023: More than 700 people signed “An Open Letter from Academics Against Vancouver’s encampment evictions” in response to the city’s efforts to remove all tents and structures from East Hastings Street. The letter was addressed to 25 B.C. politicians, including the premier, Housing Minister, Health Minister, Vancouver’s mayor, the entirety of city council, and the Canadian Union of Public Employees. - https://bc.ctvnews.ca/vancouver-must-do-better-700-academics-decry-dtes-decampment-in-open-letter-1.6355904

This system allows companies and individuals to stake mining claims on First Nations lands from the comfort of their offices, without gaining the consent of the Indigenous people who live there. You have stated that we need to “listen to Indigenous voices and ensure they are heard loudly and clearly.” Your government’s refusal to respect Grassy Narrows’ Indigenous Protected Area completely contradicts your own words. This is not in the spirit of reconciliation that your government espouses to care about. Grassy Narrows has been fighting for justice for over 50 years, it is time to make things right. Grassy Narrows is demanding that Ontario respect their Indigenous Protected Area and end all logging and mining activity on the area. Will you commit to that now? We must respect Grassy Narrows' decisions for their territory. Never again should harmful decisions be imposed on Grassy Narrows people and the territory that they depend on. This is an issue of high concern to me and I will be watching closely to see that justice comes at long last to Grassy Narrows.

Individuals across Canada are dying from toxic substances. This toxicity is a direct result of current drug prohibition policy that is based on Colonial-era legislation now understood to be racist and not based on evidence for how to manage the potential harms associated with people's use of different substances. My own son died of Fentanyl poisoning at age 21 after losing access to a safer supply and lack of effective treatment options. Safe Supply, separating people from lethally toxic illicit supply, is one part of stemming the horrific tide of death and harms from toxic drugs in Canada. On May 29 (not 31) the House of Commons will vote on an opposition motion to end all safe supply programs. We need to rally all MPs, across all parties, to not support this motion.

Many aspects of GLBI are not known, such as no example has been given about the Disability portion, and how the non-income tested portion will work. We're asking you Leah, to be detailed and precise for the PBO, all 3 scenarios include much higher earners with higher benefits for those with lower incomes as well, and because Canada deserves correct answers before it becomes a campaign promise again.

Our prisons are filled with traumatized, neglected, and abused persons. Many are youth trapped by, and in, the socially disconnecting correctional construct that engages in traumatic, anti-social practices that reinforce dysfunctional behaviours, cause more damage to prisoners, especially developing Youth, thus increasing their risks of substance use, violence, and crime. State Violence begets violence. This is why prison populations have gradually increased, despite a decades long decrease in criminal offending. Prison's are self-fulfilling prophecies of human suffering and misery, that perpetuate social discord for all residents, in all of our communities.

Natural health products (NHPs) play an essential role in the wellbeing of Canadians. They are an important piece of empowering citizens to care for themselves at home, and as a way to prevent illness.  Natural health products include items such as supplements (Zinc, Magnesium, Omega 3, etc.), natural body care products, homeopathic medicines, and traditional medicines (herbal medicines, traditional chinese medicines, etc.). Many Canadians turn to these products to be proactive with their health.  Canadians know our health system is strained. Why would we want to impose more barriers for people to access proactive health?  1/5 NHP companies said they are considering leaving Canada altogether. Over 70% of companies said they would have to limit their product line to prioritize what was most profitable. These new regulations will crush small NHP businesses, and drive up costs for the products that remain in the market. These new regulations will make natural health products difficult to access. 

Dear Minister Freeland and Minister Khera, We, the undersigned, believe that people with disabilities deserve to live with dignity. This is why we are asking for the Canada Disability Benefit (CDB) to be made non-reportable for taxes.  If the CDB has to be reported at tax time (even if recipients do not have to pay taxes on it), it may be used to calculate eligibility for other federal benefits and credits. This could result in clawbacks. If the federal government cannot guarantee that their own benefits and credits won't be clawed back by the CDB, how can they expect the provinces and territories to not claw the CDB back from their social assistance programs?  We are asking that the Income Tax Act be modified to treat the CDB like the Canada Child Benefit by making the CDB non-reportable for taxes and excluding it from Adjusted Family Net Income. Benefits of doing so include:  -No clawbacks of federal benefits or credits for CDB recipients -Less likelihood of the CDB being clawed back by provincial and territorial social assistance -Reduced stress for CDB recipients at tax time because they don't have to report it on their tax return -A show of good will from the federal government towards the Disability community, who have waited so long (and are still waiting!) for the CDB.  Thank you for considering this request.  Sincerely,

1.  Allowing dividends is exactly parallel to allowing gamblers to collect winnings without cashing in chips.  Nobody in the world can collect his winnings without cashing in his chips.  Why allow shareholders to collect winnings without selling shares?  How are shareholders different from any other gambler? 2.  Allowing a company to own shares in another company means that a company is betting against itself.  It is a blatant conflict of interest when a company must make decisions which favour itself over the owned company.

Right now schools in downtown Toronto are way over capacity, there are is some schools 37 kids in the class, some of schools are driving school children 3-4 km away.

Israel is not complying with the orders of the International Court of Justice to stop engaging in genocidal acts - so Canada must take action. Please sign our petition to government leaders to put pressure on Israel to stop the killing, to join a ceasefire, and to permit aid to flow freely into Gaza. The killing, and death by starvation, needs to stop.

The implementation of term limits is a prudent and forward-thinking measure that can positively transform our political landscape. By fostering innovation and curbing the concentration of power, we can create a more responsive and accountable system.

Since October 7, the loss of innocent lives has reached alarming numbers. We continue to watch with profound grief as the death toll steadily climbs: over 18,000 lives have been claimed to date in Gaza, over 1,200 lives have been claimed to date in Israel, and over 260 lives have been claimed to date in the West Bank. Within our own country, we have witnessed an upsurge in hate crimes and violent attacks targeting Jewish and Muslim individuals. Neither a humanitarian pause nor a 4-day truce is enough to stop more innocent loss of life. It is unequivocally clear that an immediate and permanent ceasefire is needed. Canada has demonstrated efforts towards acknowledging past injustices, seeking truth, and fostering reconciliation through its recognition of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. In a similar vein, our advocacy for a ceasefire in Gaza exemplifies our commitment to justice, peace, and the protection of innocent lives, irrespective of geopolitical boundaries. The Canadian federal government has not supported the international call for a ceasefire. It falls upon Canadian municipalities, both large and small, to add their voices to this critical matter. Already, some municipalities have called on the Canadian government to support a permanent ceasefire. The more decision-makers who add their voices, the greater the pressure on the federal government. Tofino is a renowned tourist destination that attracts over 600,000 visitors annually from across Canada and the world. As such, Tofino holds significant recognition both domestically and internationally. Our voice as a municipality carries weight in shaping public opinion and can encourage other municipalities and representatives to follow suit in urging the federal government to take decisive action.