Environment at the Forefront

Dirk & I returning from an hour walk-about in Winnipeg, to our cozy quarters in ‘Bliss Manor’

Dear Friends and Neighbours,

In my March newsletter, I mentioned taking the Via Rail train from Vancouver to Ottawa with Dirk. We wanted to honour and experience how former Vancouver Quadra MPs and their partners commuted to Parliament and back, before the days of expedient air travel. Two weeks ago we boarded a train in Ottawa for the return trip back to Vancouver; if you saw my Facebook video you got a glimpse of our small but comfortable quarters. 

How vast is this amazing country – 30 hours after exiting Toronto’s Union Station, Ontario had not yet been left behind! Through the mix of time spent reading, working, enjoying mealtime conversations with other passengers, and absorbing the changing landscapes and spring skies, I observed a black bear, several beavers, a herd of bison and a variety of birdlife. The stop in Jasper netted me four large souvenir mugs, and the chance to observe a family of elk navigate a hillside pathway on the edge of a Jasper neighbourhood! 

Watching an elk family navigate the trail 

Protecting Ocean Ecosystems From Noise Disruption

You may have seen the May 27th Globe and Mail’s 2-page spread highlighting the harmful impacts of coastal marine vessel traffic on endangered Southern Resident Killer Whales. Underwater noise is the most pervasive and largely unregulated pollutant in the transportation corridors of Canada, being linked to a wide range of impacts on marine species, including:

• Disrupting normal behaviour; 
• Change or loss of habitat; 
• Masking sounds, affecting ability to communicate; 
• Changes in physiology, behaviour and/or stress levels; and
• Permanent injury or even death

I was very pleased to see news coverage highlighting this urgent issue, because on April 12th, I put a Motion on notice in the Standing Committee on Transport, Infrastructure and Communities to undertake a Study on this very matter!  My Motion calls for the Study to compile existing research, and identify knowledge gaps regarding the harmful impacts of underwater noise (primarily caused by vessel motors and propellers) on marine ecosystems and species. Marine creatures depend on echo-location for their daily activities and survival; let’s make sure that as a society we improve protection of marine life, by reducing this preventable harm.

Working to ensure a fair and timely Open Net Pen Salmon Aquaculture Transition

I continue working to advance Open Net Pen Salmon Transition; here presenting to the National Liberal Caucus

This past month I’ve had several opportunities to share with Liberal MPs, Ministers, the Prime Minister, and key staff, my presentations reinforcing the importance of reducing stresses on wild Pacific salmon by completing our Plan to transition away from open-net pen salmon aquaculture in BC. More than half of Pacific salmon species are in trouble. Unsurprisingly, 8 in 10 British Columbians recently polled say their number one environmental concern is the decline of wild salmon. 

Some British Columbians support salmon farming – as a local food source and economic driver. However, the vast majority of BC’s farmed salmon is exported, and the expected recovery of wild fish will return a range of economic, social and cultural benefits to communities. 

British Columbians, especially the hundred-plus wild salmon dependent First Nations, simply cannot risk a full-on wild Pacific salmon collapse, akin to the East Coast cod collapse! Wild Pacific salmon are similarly important to Canada’s West Coast, and vitally important for food, culture, ceremony, jobs –and rights – for so many indigenous peoples in BC.  As open-net salmon farms are transitioned, diminishing the associated pollution, alien viruses and harmful lice on salmon migration routes, I look forward to the gradual recovery of BC’s wild salmon stocks.

The value of Social Finance and Social Purpose 

Thanking MP Turnbull for his participation in this month’s MP Breakfast Connections 

This month I hosted my MP Breakfast Connections, virtually! Aphrodite’s Organic Café was unexpectedly dark due to a power outage in the Point Grey area, so we quickly pivoted to virtual format on Zoom. I recognize the inconvenience and effort of those who travelled to Aphrodite’s and back home again, especially if on foot or by bike; and it was great to see most of our original expected guests joining us virtually! 

Guest speaker Whitby MP, Ryan Turnbull offered a unique set of personal experiences with social finance and social purpose initiatives. As a young philosophy post-graduate whose father worked in prisons, Ryan understood that it’s important, but hard, for a former prisoner to get a job.  This inspired his first venture into Social Finance – linking federal offenders with meaningful work, through a non-profit consultancy partnering with governments, service providers, volunteers and the financial community.

Ryan recounted how, prior to being elected to serve in Parliament, he developed and financed several sustainable business models for tackling social problems, and coordinated social enterprises working collectively to bring about systems and policy changes. 

MP Turnbull mentioned how the current federal government has introduced many policies and legislation with social purpose in mind, with examples including our new National School Food Program.

Getting Mass Timber Building Off the Ground

Sharing perspectives on the importance of building with mass timber 

My recent Townhall How to get Mass Timber Building off the Ground welcomed guest speakers Lisa Dominato, Vancouver City Councillor; Peter Moonen, Sustainability Coalition Leader of the Canadian Wood Council; Linda Coady, CEO of the BC Council of Forest Industries (COFI); and Dr. Minghao Li, Associate Professor at UBC’s Department of Wood Science, for a variety of leading expertise related to sustainable buildings. The engineered wood samples passed around by Peter Moonen helped us better understand what mass timber is and why it works. 

Mass timber and engineered wood represent a lower-carbon building technology, faster completion of building construction, and greater fire safety, than conventional construction using steel and concrete. It’s also a more effective utilization of BC’s forest resources, enabling better conservation. 

My thanks to all the speakers for sharing their time and talents with us!

Welcoming guests at the ‘UBC Day on the Hill’ Reception in Ottawa

In Case You Missed It:

• • Canada’s Volunteer Awards  have been launched to celebrate and recognize efforts and acts of generosity offered by volunteers and their community organizations  
  • The federal government in Budget 2024: Fairness for Every Generation, is taking further action to protect the environment today and for future generations 
  • The Community Volunteer Income Tax Program (CVITP) Grant online application portal is open until June 30, 2024

• Check out the programs supporting younger Canadians; and consultations on a proposed Youth Climate Corps program to equip young people with jobs that work to address climate change

• Over 2 million Canadian seniors have been approved for the new ground-breaking federal Plan to help with the costs of Dental Care

With my summer intern Keyna in Ottawa, sharing my appreciation for former Prime Minister and Member of Parliament for Vancouver Quadra, the Right Honourable John Turner 

In a few weeks the House of Commons will rise for the summer, and I look forward to seeing you at events around the community. Whether at a Farmers Market, Kitsilano Showboat, Greek Day on Broadway or the Vancouver Folk Music Festival, if you run into me please don’t hesitate to say Hi!

Warm regards,

Joyce Murray, P.C., M.P.

Member of Parliament for Vancouver Quadra