1. In the Community
  2. Federal Emergency Funding Needed to Save Historic Chinatown

Federal Emergency Funding Needed to Save Historic Chinatown

July 24, 2020

Sent to: 

Chrystia Freeland, Chair
Cabinet Committee on the federal response to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19)

The Honourable Bill Morneau, Minister of Finance

 

OPEN LETTER RE: FEDERAL EMERGENCY FUNDING NEEDED TO SAVE HISTORIC CHINATOWN

Dear Deputy Prime Minister Freeland and Minister Morneau,

I write urgently to request for federal financial support for Vancouver’s Chinatown business merchants that provide both significant economic and cultural value for the historic neighbourhood as many of these businesses are being forced to closure due to the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Vancouver’s Chinatown, designated as a National Historic Site in Canada in 2010, is currently under threat as many business merchants in this neighbourhood that contribute to its cultural value are experiencing extreme economic hardships as the pandemic has negatively impacted the tourist industry that these businesses in Chinatown rely on. These businesses are ineligible for or have no access to the Canadian Emergency Commercial Rent Assistance (CECRA) because government eligibility criteria require that landlords have no municipal affiliation. The Chinatown Plaza that provides tenancy for 20 small business merchants is an example of such a case. In addition, as you are aware, for employers to qualify for CECRA, they require landlords to submit the application and it has been evidently clear with the small businesses that most landlords are refusing to do so. The inability to qualify and access any of these subsidy programs will force these businesses into closure.

Your government has been made aware of the dire situation for businesses in Vancouver since the start of the pandemic. As you are aware, a recent announcement was made for Granville Island in Vancouver, a site owned by the federal government, where a special provision is made and $17 million is made available to provide rent relief for the merchants, theatres and artisans for a full year. While I support and appreciate the Federal government’s action in support of Granville Island, I would like to emphasize that historic Chinatown is in need of special consideration from your government. The significance of Vancouver’s Chinatown, a national historic site, is undeniably valuable to our city, our province and indeed our country.

Even before the pandemic occurred, Chinatown was already in a delicate state. The neighbourhood was ranked number three on the Heritage Vancouver Society’s top 10 watch list of endangered sites in Vancouver in 2018 and listed as the top 10 endangered places of the National Trust for Canada in 2016. In fact, ongoing gentrification and immense pressure from developers have already been impacting Chinatown’s rich cultural essence. The loss of small business merchants would only increase the risk of Chinatown losing its unique urban cultural characteristics.

Chinatown bears witness to this nation’s history and showcases the country’s many diverse cultural traditions. The community was developed through self-segregating enclaves due to discriminatory laws that prohibited people of Chinese heritage from living and working elsewhere in the city. These enclaves built this persistent community that welcomed populations who have been previously marginalized by our government. Chinatown continues to be home for many marginalized groups and small mom and pop shops that provide the cultural ambience that makes this neighbourhood a crucial element to the history of the city. The threat of losing these small businesses also puts the distinct cultural identity of Vancouver’s Chinatown at risk.

As a major historical site, an important hub for ongoing community heritage and cultural preservation and development efforts, and tourist attraction, it is vital that we do all that we can to help protect and preserve Chinatown’s cultural integrity. With the points mentioned above, it is my hope that the federal government can recognize the cultural value that small businesses merchants brings to Vancouver’s Chinatown, and undertake to provide a special measure to Chinatown to help the merchants survive the pandemic.

Sincerely,

Jenny Kwan
Member of Parliament for Vancouver East

CC.
The Hon. Jean-Yves Duclos The Hon. Navdeep Singh Bains The Hon. William Sterling Blair The Hon. Patricia Hajdu
The Hon. Mélanie Joly
The Hon. Carla Qualtrough
The Hon. Kirsty Duncan
The Hon. Diane Lebouthillier

Latest posts

Urgent Action Needed on Strathcona Park and other Homeless Encampments - A Joint Call for Action

Urgent action is needed to address the growing homelessness crisis, yet the federal government continues to drag their feet on this issue.

Numbers don’t lie. BC only got 0.5% of funds from finalized agreements through the National Housing Co-Investment Fund. Only two applications were finalized. It was absolutely shocking to see the numbers. The truth is, though, we already suspected that BC was not getting the kind of resources that we need to support and address our homelessness crisis.

Alberta and Quebec have been shut out of the fund altogether, while Ontario has received 94% of the nearly $1.5 billion so far.

To learn more about these figures, please read Dan Fumano's recent coverage of this important story in the Vancouver Sun.

Applying Biometrics Exemptions during COVID-19 Pandemic

August 7, 2020

Sent to:

Ms. Catrina Tapley
Deputy Minister, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada

 

OPEN LETTER RE: APPLYING BIOMETRICS EXEMPTIONS DURING COVID-19 PANDEMIC

Dear Deputy Minister Catrina Tapley,

Following the emergency Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration (CIMM) meeting, I am writing to follow up with the issue of delays for individuals to complete their biometrics due to COVID-19. I raised this question directly to your attention during the June 17, 2020 emergency meeting of the CIMM Committee and have also raised this in writing to the Minister.

My office has received a significant amount of email from Vancouver East constituents and from people across the country whose immigration applications have been impeded because they have been unable to complete their biometrics. Given the ongoing impact of COVID-
19, there simply is no timeline or certainty as to when an individual would be able to have their biometrics completed. While I am appreciative of the fact that IRCC has extended the deadline to give biometrics and that IRCC will not close or refuse any application in progress, however, it remains that those unable to obtain their biometrics are in effect simply stuck in the system. This in turn means that their lives are effectively held in limbo.

Cost-sharing Plan with B.C. Provincial and Municipal Government Urgently Needed to Address Homelessness Crisis

July 29, 2020

Sent to: 

The Honourable Ahmed Hussen
Minister of Families, Children and Social Development

 

OPEN LETTER RE: COST-SHARING PLAN WITH B.C. PROVINCIAL AND MUNICIPAL GOVERNMENTS URGENTLY NEEDED TO ADDRESS HOMELESSNESS CRISIS

Minister Hussen,

I am writing urgently with regard to the need for the federal government to commit to working with the non-profits, provincial and municipal governments to address the housing and homelessness crisis, especially in light of a pandemic that has gripped the country and devastated the livelihoods of many Canadians.

The homelessness crisis is not only an affront to human rights, but also poses an enormous national public health risk. This puts the individuals and the communities they live in at risk. Despite the indisputable importance of housing, I am deeply concerned that your government’s National Housing Strategy (NHS) is woefully inadequate.

Based on the response to my order paper question submitted February 4th, 2020, it seems the largest component of the NHS, the National Housing Co-investment Fund (NHCF), has fallen short of expectations. I was shocked to learn that only 23 of 432 of submissions have finalized funding agreements. Even more troubling was the lack of funding outside of Ontario. Among these applications, over 50% of the finalized agreements were from Ontario and over 91% of the $1.47 billion in these agreements went to a single application in the City of Toronto.

More

Are you ready to take action?

Constituent Resources
Mobile Offices
Contact Jenny

Sign up for updates

Vancouver Constituency Office

Email:
Phone: 604-775-5800
Address:
2572 E Hastings
Vancouver, BC, V5K 1Z3

Ottawa Parliamentary Office

Email:
Phone: 613-992-6030
Address:
House of Commons
Ottawa, ON K1A 0A6
(postage-free)