libby davies
Libby speaks out against the Conservatives' flawed drug bill
Speeches in Parliament
House of Commons
HANSARD
September 27, 2011
Ms. Libby Davies (Vancouver East, NDP):
Mr. Speaker, there is possibly one thing we agree on, and that is the Conservatives have branded and wrapped themselves in a cloak of crime and punishment. As a result, they are blind to the evidence, the costs and the fact that we have the lowest crime rate since 1973. Read more »
NDP Convention Denounces Drug War
End Prohibition
New Democrats voted at their convention to support Vancouver's supervised injection site, and called for a drug policy based on "a non-criminal, regulatory approach to substance use."
In one of the most dramatic moments of the convention, delegates voted to suspend the rules Sunday morning, and then overruled the chair so as to allow debate on the InSite and drug policy resolution which had not made it to the floor for debate on Saturday.
Deputy Leader and Health Critic Libby Davies received a standing ovation when she stood to speak in favor of this resolution, as did Quebec MP Djaouida Sellah. Read more »
We did it! Fantastic policy on Insite and Drug Policy Passed at Federal NDP Convention in Vancouver!
By Dana Larsen and Nicole Seguin, End Prohibition
This past weekend June 17-19 NDP members from across the country gathered for our federal NDP convention and 50th anniversary of the NDP.
Our End Prohibition members worked for months in advance gathering support for our marijuana and drug policy resolution in order to present it at convention and have it passed into NDP policy.
While our original policy was not passed, a significant portion was added to a resolution in support of Insite...and it was passed by an overwhelming majority of NDP members! Read more »
video:
Mitchel Raphael on politicians and drugs, plus the metalhead MP
By Mitchel Raphael, MacleansA Tory’s take on the drug war
NDP MP Libby Davies spearheaded, and MPs from all parties co-hosted, what was billed as an Expert Panel on Drug Policy Reform. All panellists agreed the war on drugs has been a huge disaster and a waste of money. Portuguese Ambassador Pedro Moitinho de Almeida spoke of his country’s success with decriminalizing drugs. Conservative MP and host Scott Reid noted that Prohibition killed his great-grandfather, who drank alcohol that was distilled improperly. Reid also remarked on the similar effects cocaine and caffeine have on the brain, yet with caffeine we “developed commercial products, regulations and a free environment.” Reid confessed he’s never taken illegal drugs or even smoked tobacco. (He does, however, host an annual beer tasting party, one of the most popular events on the Hill.) He declared he was “perplexed” by “hypocrites who used cocaine themselves, like Barack Obama, and then [allow] someone else to go to prison for life” for doing the same thing. Reid’s guest Pierre Lemieux, an economist with the Université du Québec en Outaouais, stressed that casualties of the drug war include civil liberties: the state now has licence to invade citizens’ privacy. This, Lemieux said in his speech, is inconsistent with a free society. He added that as governments continue to go bankrupt, the time may be ripe to end the wasteful war on drugs. This meeting took place as the Conservatives push on with Bill S-10, which toughens drug sentencing rules. Read more »
Tories want kids to say no to drugs
By Laura Payton, Toronto SunOTTAWA – The Tories are launching a new ad that's meant to show teens what long-term drug addiction can do.
The ad, called Mirror, shows a teen who's high and going through different phases of drug addiction, eventually trashing her room and chopping off her hair. It ends with her dirty and scabbed, shaking with withdrawal symptoms.
The ad will run on teen-focused channels and programming from now until mid-March. Health Minister Leona Aglukkaq says they expect about 65% of teens 13-15 years old to see the ad by then.
Libby calling for fairness for Marc Emery
Libby and 12 of her NDP Colleagues sent the following letter to Canada's Public Safety Minister, calling for action to ensure Marc Emery can serve his sentence in Canada.The Honourable Vic Toews
Minister of Public Safety
House of Commons
Ottawa, ON K1A 0A6
Dear Minister Toews,
I write to urge you to take all necessary steps to ensure the timely transfer of Canadian Marc Emery from the United States to Canada so that he may serve his prison sentence nearer family, friends and supporters.
In May, 2009, your government took a rare and unnecessary step and extradited a Canadian citizen to serve a prison sentence in the US for actions that are not worthy of prosecution under Canadian laws.
Libby calls for an end to long wait times for medical marijuana users
Question PeriodHouse of Commons
October 19, 2010
Libby Davies (MP Vancouver East):Mr. Speaker,
Chronically ill Canadians are waiting months to get and renew permits for access to medical marijuana. Patients are being cut off from their legally prescribed medication because of an under-resourced overly bureaucratic application process.
Mr. Speaker, people don’t want to break the law to access and use their legally prescribed drugs.
Will the Minister stop treating patients like criminals and commit the necessary resources to end these dangerously long processing times?
Hon. Leona Aglukkaq (Minister of Health, CPC) :
Davies calls for 'open and honest' debate on prostitution laws
By Alison Crawford, CBC NewsJustice Minister Rob Nicholson says the government is "very concerned" about an Ontario Superior Court decision that throws out key provisions of Canada's anti-prostitution laws.
In a written statement this afternoon, Nicholson, said the government "is seriously considering an appeal."
In her ruling today, Justice Susan Himel said Canada's laws regarding prostitution contribute to the danger faced by sex-trade workers and that it's now up to Parliament to "fashion corrective action."
Libby Davies, the NDP MP for Vancouver East and long-time advocate for sex workers, says she's eager to get to work.
Federal Conservative government's new brothel penalty riles sex-trade worker Susan Davis
By Carlito Pablo, Georgia StraightSex-trade worker Susan Davis has a case of the creeps, and it’s not because of a bad date or a stalker.
The veteran sex professional says that what’s making her “just really terrified” are the regulatory changes to the Criminal Code announced by the federal Conservative government on August 4 of this year.
Maintaining a brothel wasn’t legal before: it previously carried a prison term of not more than two years. But under the new regulations, the minimum penalty is five years of jail time. That’s because keeping a bawdy house is now classified as a “serious offence”, along with 10 gambling and drug crimes.
Bawdy politics: Critics say new regulation endangers sex workers' lives
By Antonia Zerbisias, The StarIt's hard to picture Claire Jones in bed with organized crime.
The curvy sex worker, who has been plying her prodigious assets for seven years now, could one day face five years in jail if she works with other “girls'' at her luxury downtown condo.
And she does, at least sometimes.
New regulations announced earlier this month by Justice Minister Rob Nicholson, regulations aimed at strengthening “the ability of law enforcement to fight organized crime,'' put her at risk.
Enacted in the dead of summer without Parliamentary debate, the regulations give government the powers to wiretap, deny bail, and move in on people without the usual safeguards such as warrants. Read more »
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