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Rachel Blaney

Member of Parliament
NDP

North Island—Powell River
British Columbia
Voting Attendance: 65%
Expenses Last Quarter: $145,542.18

Government Page

Context: House Hansard - 266 - Dec/12/23

Ms. Rachel Blaney (North Island—Powell River, NDP)

Dec/12/23 10:19:10 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, I will be presenting two petitions today. The first petition is from members of my constituency who are very concerned about the climate emergency. They are asking the government to reduce emissions by at least 60% below 2005 levels, to make sure the fossil fuel industry and related infrastructure wind down, to end fossil fuel subsidies, to transition to a decarbonized economy and to focus on protecting and strengthening human rights, workers' rights and indigenous rights, sovereignty and knowledge. There are many signatures, and I appreciate the petitioners' hard work. They want to make sure this transition happens by increasing the taxes on the wealthiest corporations and people to finance it.

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Context: House Hansard - 254 - Nov/23/23

Ms. Rachel Blaney (North Island—Powell River, NDP)

Nov/23/23 1:57:40 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I thank the member for doing the important work in the House of sharing opinions. I read a report from Oxfam the other day, which said that the top 1% earners across the planet are sending out as much emissions as the lowest 66%. Obviously, if we do not have things in place to support people, we see that they are really not getting the benefit. I really appreciate this bill, because it talks about getting resources to people who desperately need them right now. It does not go as far as I would go. I have a lot of other ideas that I would love to see. We have mentioned them in the House. I wonder if the member could talk about why a windfall tax is so important. We know there are businesses that are making a huge amount of profit while so many are suffering.

150 words

Context: House Hansard - 248 - Nov/7/23

Ms. Rachel Blaney (North Island—Powell River, NDP)

Nov/7/23 12:22:25 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I will be splitting my time with the member for Winnipeg Centre. Just a few minutes ago, I saw a headline saying “Liberal government set to miss 2030 emissions targets, says environment commissioner audit”. I found the article interesting. It reads: The audit said it had expected to find specific targets for how much each of the measures it implemented would cut emissions, but found there were no targets for 95 per cent of those measures. “Without expected emission reductions transparently available in the plan, it is not possible to know which of the mitigation measures to reduce emissions were key,” the audit said.... We are in a climate emergency. Every day we are seeing the change of our environment. This summer, I watched as many communities across my province of British Columbia were on fire. People were fleeing in circumstances I cannot even begin to imagine. In this province, we have seen communities destroyed by a river that literally fell out of the sky. This is happening, and the expenses of it are phenomenal. Here we are today. We have an actual motion that would address some of these issues. It understands the seriousness of what is happening in our climate; it has gone beyond the pale, and we are in an existential crisis that we need to make right. We need that action. We also know that, in this circumstance, we are seeing Canadians struggle with the cost of living. I talk to everyday Canadians across my region, who are trying so hard to keep up with costs. At the same time, Canada's biggest corporations, including the oil and gas sector, have record profits unlike anything they have seen for about 30 years. We need to address the climate and what is happening; we also need to acknowledge that our society is becoming one that is simply, in my opinion, unfair. Everyday people are working so hard, but they are not getting ahead because the ultrawealthy are scooping up the excess and leaving ordinary Canadians behind. This motion asks this place to remove the GST from all forms of home heating. This is something the NDP has been working on for a very long—

374 words

Context: House Hansard - 62 - May/2/22

Ms. Rachel Blaney (North Island—Powell River, NDP)

May/2/22 10:16:48 p.m.
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Re: Bill C-8

Madam Speaker, I have heard many of the member's speeches in the House and am always impressed by his dedication to speak. I always encourage other people in the party to join that team. One thing that really concerns me about this bill is the fact that it does not address key issues around climate change. We are in a climate crisis, and I think scientists are fairly firm on that. There needs more relevant action, but we are not seeing it from the government. Specifically, one of the things we need to look at is how we are going to deal with emissions, especially from our homes. We know that right now a lot of people are struggling to make ends meet. One of the ways we could support low-income families is by encouraging them to do things that would make their heating bills go down and look at some of those key things. However, there is absolutely nothing that addresses this and makes sure that low-income families can access these kinds of opportunities. I am wondering if the member could talk about when the government is going to take climate change seriously and actually take steps and actions that are going to help not only the environment, but those of us who are suffering the most economically.

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Member of Parliament

Rachel Blaney