Andrew Weaver: A Climate for Hope
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My initial statement on the 2017 Speech from the Throne

February 14, 2017 By Andrew Weaver Comments are Off Issues Blog, Media, Media Release, Uncategorized

Statement from Weaver on 2017 Speech from the Throne
For immediate release
February 14th, 2017

Victoria B.C. – B.C. Green Party Leader and MLA for Oak Bay Gordon Head Andrew Weaver released the following statement in response to the 2017 Speech from the Throne:

“The government started the throne speech with the words ‘Your government has a plan’. They spent the next forty minutes congratulating themselves for their past actions. Clearly, there was no plan and they have no plan. The BC Liberals are out of ideas and out of touch with the issues facing ordinary British Columbians.”

“While the government boasts about our economy, most people are experiencing more and more financial uncertainty. The government is patting itself on the back, rather than watching the backs of British Columbians who are trying to figure out how they’re going to pay the bills. And what the government isn’t saying is that we have a precarious economy driven by an out of control real estate market.”

“The BC Liberals have not articulated a plan for the future. Essentially, their message is ‘trust us’, we’ll  keep doing more of the same. They toss around numbers as evidence without the full context or broader perspective of where these numbers came from. Things aren’t as rosy as their cherry-picked alternate facts would have you believe.”

“What’s ironic with the throne speech is that when the BC Liberals talk about taking action, it’s to solve the very problems that they created in the first place. The affordability crisis should have been addressed years ago, when I first raised it in the house. Instead their inaction is turning Vancouver into a playground for the wealthy.”

“Now that an election is around the corner, the BC Liberals are counting their votes. They’ve realized that British Columbians are looking for change. So rather than outlining a principled path forward that benefits all British Columbians, the BC Liberals cynically undertake political calculations to determine what messaging the should use. It’s say whatever it takes for the BC Liberals.”

“It’s time for a real change. The BC Green Party is offering a vision that is based on principles and evidence, and that puts people first. British Columbians deserve a government that will face the truth of our reality – one that will lead forward with conviction and a long-term plan.”

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Media contact
Mat Wright, Press Secretary, Office of Andrew Weaver, MLA
+1 250-216-3382 | mat.wright@leg.bc.ca

Comments on the Representative for Children and Youth Report

February 6, 2017 By Andrew Weaver Comments are Off Children and Family, Media Release, Mental Health

Weaver Comments on the Representative for Children and Youth Report
For immediate release
February 6th, 2017

VICTORIA B.C. – Today’s report by the Representative for Children and Youth, “Broken Promises: Alex’s Story”, tells the story of Alex, a youth under the care of the Ministry of Children and Family Development who took his own life at age 18.

“The report speaks clearly of the gravity of the Ministry of Children and Family Development’s failure to provide basic supports, in keeping with their duty under the law,” says Andrew Weaver, MLA for Oak Bay – Gordon Head. “The Ministry denied Alex the chance to be taken care of by his extended family, and failed to provide him with desperately needed mental health services or the chance to find a meaningful connection to his culture.”

“It makes me sick to read that the government often referenced his ‘challenging behaviour’ as they cycled him through 17 placements, as if they were not complicit and aggravating all the challenges he faced.”

“That an abused and neglected 18-year old spent the last 49 days of his life in a hotel room, mostly alone, while the government waited for him to age out of care at age 19, is a horrific testament to the ways in which the Ministry is failing in its duty to protect and care for our most vulnerable children in BC”.

“The government’s subsequent news release claiming they intend to follow the report’s recommendations strikes me as horribly self congratulatory, considering many of the recommendations centre around the ministry neglecting to follow their own legislation to begin with. This isn’t something they should be telling us they plan to do, it has been their legal and moral responsibility to do so from the beginning.”

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Media contact
Mat Wright, Press Secretary
+1 250-216-3382 | mat.wright@leg.bc.ca

My statement on BC NDP climate action plan and BC Liberal response

February 2, 2017 By Andrew Weaver 1 comment Environment, Issues Blog, LNG, Media, Media Release

Statement on BC NDP climate action plan & B.C. Liberal response
February 2nd, 2017
For immediate release

Vancouver, B.C. – Andrew Weaver, leader of the B.C. Green Party, has released the following statement on the B.C. NDP climate action plan and the B.C. Liberal response. Weaver is in Vancouver today and available for interviews from 2:45 to 6:00pm.

“What we just saw today is the reason why I got into politics. Climate change is one of the biggest economic and social issues facing our province, and we need politicians from all parties working towards real solutions.

“Yet sadly we see the Liberals leaking a memo to try to undermine climate action and the NDP releasing a plan that is more of a communications exercise than substantive policy.

“Neither party are asking: What do we really need to do to address climate change and how do we get it done? The BC Liberals have largely abandoned their climate leadership under Christy Clark, while the NDP are only committing to do the bare minimum that is required by the federal government.

“Let’s be honest. The NDP plan is not a Made in BC solution. Their plan is based around federal measures that were designed to achieve targets that were set by Stephen Harper.  I have worked in this field for 25 years. Their plan will not reduce carbon emissions if they also intend to support the LNG industry. The two simply do not go hand-in-hand.

“British Columbians can count on the BC Green Party to put forward an evidence based policy that will build on our unique strengths as a province, grow our economy and tackle climate change.”

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Media contact
Mat Wright, Press Secretary
+1 250-216-3382 | mat.wright@leg.bc.ca

Responding to Prime Minister’s reversal on proportional representation

February 1, 2017 By Andrew Weaver 2 comments Democratic Reform, Media Release

Andrew Weaver responds to Prime Minister’s reversal on proportional representation
For immediate release
February 1st, 2017

VICTORIA B.C. – The B.C. Green Party holds proportional representation as a foundational aspect of their platform and is committed to implementing the system in British Columbia.

“We support proportional representation because it is a fairer voting system, which encourages democratic participation and accurately reflects voters’ choices in the make-up of government,” said Andrew Weaver, MLA for Oak Bay – Gordon Head.”

“I am profoundly disappointed with Prime Minister Trudeau’s betrayal of his election promise. This is a matter of trust. People put their trust in elected officials and the Prime Minister has greatly damaged that confidence.”

“As an MLA and Leader of the B.C. Green Party, I am working to prove that politicians can and should be held accountable to their commitments. I hope to demonstrate that elected officials can serve the public with evidence-based policies and honesty and still be successful. And, as a party, we are evidence that parties can ban corporate and union donations and still be effective.

“The B.C. Green Party is seeking a mandate to govern from British Columbians, and the only way to do this is to earn their trust, through showing that we stay true to our principles and will deliver on our commitments.”

“The B.C. Green Party is committed to implementing proportional representation in British Columbia, and as we near the 2017 election, look for the imminent release of our plan.

“British Columbians expect better than what they are currently getting from their elected officials, and we promise to deliver better.”

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Media contact
Mat Wright, Press Secretary
+1 250-216-3382 | mat.wright@leg.bc.ca

Time for funding on home and mental health care

January 30, 2017 By Andrew Weaver 1 comment Health, Media Release, Mental Health

Time for funding on home and mental health care
For immediate release
January 30, 2017

VICTORIA B.C. – Home care and mental health are at a crisis point in B.C. and the provincial government continues to play politics with the wellbeing of British Columbians.

“The federal government has put new money on the table for mental health services and home health care,” said Andrew Weaver, MLA for Oak Bay – Gordon Head. “Rather than sitting down and negotiating a deal like Saskatchewan, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and Labrador, and the three territories have, British Columbia is watching the health care money be given away.”

Since Health Accord negotiations between the provinces and federal government broke down in December, four other provinces and three territories have since returned to the table and have reached bilateral funding agreements. Last week, Saskatchewan became the fourth province to reach a bilateral deal with the federal government on health care transfers. British Columbia has not resumed negotiations.

“Island Health is struggling with a budget deficit of between $10-million and $12-million dollars and our hospitals, designed to deal with acute care, are being used inefficiently for chronic care for which the federal home care money is targeted,” said Weaver, Leader of the B.C. Green Party.

“We are struggling to respond reactively to the fentanyl crisis, an approach that has come with a staggeringly horrific human cost. We need to be proactively supporting mental health and recovery services for which, once again, Federal money is already being offered.”

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Media contact
Mat Wright, Press Secretary
+1 250-216-3382 | mat.wright@leg.bc.ca