Indo Canadian Voice: Liberals fail to fix major problems in Canada’s immigration system: Federal NDP

Kwan noted: “Decades of Liberal and Conservative governments expanded Canada’s reliance on temporary foreign workers—without ensuring protections to their health and safety. For many years, these workers have been subjected to exploitation by employers who use their temporary status to drive down wages. The Liberals’ plan fails to ensure that these workers get the protections they need by not giving them permanent status, as the NDP has been calling for.”

THE NDP Critic for Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, Jenny Kwan, on Tuesday said that while her party welcomed the government’s plan to bring so many new immigrants — 465,000 permanent residents in 2023, 485,000 in 2024 and 500,000 in 2025 — to Canada, it could not ignore the fact that the Liberals missed the mark on several key immigration streams with their plan.

Kwan noted: “Decades of Liberal and Conservative governments expanded Canada’s reliance on temporary foreign workers—without ensuring protections to their health and safety. For many years, these workers have been subjected to exploitation by employers who use their temporary status to drive down wages. The Liberals’ plan fails to ensure that these workers get the protections they need by not giving them permanent status, as the NDP has been calling for.”

She said: “Furthermore, the Liberals are failing to meet their commitment to bring Afghans who served Canada, and their families to safety in Canada. As they are hunted down by the Taliban, the Liberal government refuses to lift the cap on Special Immigration Measures so they can be brought here to safety. This is unacceptable and New Democrats will continue to push for action to ensure those who served Canada are brought to safety.”

Kwan added: “And in the last few months, many media outlets reported about the Liberals’ failure to meet their targets in terms of francophone immigration to Canada. Today’s plan announced by the Liberals isn’t going to fix this systemic problem—we must do better.”

She also pointed out: “Hopes for Canadians wanting to sponsor their parents and grandparents are also dashed by the Liberal’s refusal to allow for new applications and put in place arbitrary caps. Not to mention that processing times remain through the roof while families are waiting years to be reunited with loved ones.”

She said: “The NDP will continue to fight to ensure our immigration system is accountable and rooted in the values of fairness, respect, and dignity.”

https://voiceonline.com/liberals-fail-to-fix-major-problems-in-canadas-immigration-system-federal-ndp/

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CPAC: HOUSE OF COMMONS PROCEEDINGS Tributes to the Late Kirsty Duncan

In the House of Commons, members of Parliament pay tribute to the late Kirsty Duncan. The former Liberal MP and cabinet minister died January 26, 2026, at the age of 59. Delivering remarks are MPs Michelle Rempel Garner (Conservative), Alexandra Mendès (Liberal), Claude DeBbellefeuille (Bloc Québécois), Jenny Kwan (NDP), and Elizabeth May (the leader of the Green Party).

Click image or link to watch the CPAC video, Jenny's speech starts at 21:44 - https://www.cpac.ca/house-of-commons-proceedings/episode/tributes-to-the-late-kirsty-duncan--february-6-2026?id=d0dbaf6f-e643-4e63-9f88-6ddc540ff2bb

National Post: Minister says new housing agency has no targets on number of homes it will build

OTTAWA — Housing Minister Gregor Robertson tabled legislation on Thursday to establish the federal government’s new affordable housing agency, but acknowledged Build Canada Homes has no set targets on how many homes it will build.

In December, the Parliamentary Budget Officer released a report that estimated the agency’s efforts would result in 26,000 directly funded units over the next five years. The federal government has said the report does not take into account the units that will result from Build Canada Homes’ partnerships with private developers and its $51-billion infrastructure fund.

Still, the PBO estimates federal spending on housing programs is set to decline by 56 per cent, from $9.8 billion in 2025-26 to $4.3 billion in 2028-29, due to expiration of funding for existing programs and cuts set out in Budget 2025.

“Canada’s non-profit housing stock has dwindled to only about four and a half percent of its total housing stock, well below the G7 average,” said NDP housing critic Jenny Kwan, in an interview with the National Post. “Countries that are doing well in addressing the housing situation is sitting at about 20 per cent.”

Click image or link to read the news story - https://nationalpost.com/news/minister-says-new-housing-agency-has-no-targets-on-number-of-homes-it-will-build

CBC: Government tables bill giving Build Canada Homes land acquisition power

The federal government introduced legislation that would enshrine its housing agency as a Crown corporation on Thursday, giving it land acquisition authority as well as the ability to partner with private developers — as questions remain over the number of units it intends to build.

The Conservative Party, which has previously been critical of Build Canada Homes for adding a layer of bureaucracy to homebuilding, did not indicate whether it plans to support the bill.

"The legislation was just tabled. I look forward to studying it in detail and I look forward to discussing with colleagues and I look forward to participating in the debate," said Conservative MP Garnett Genuis, who represents the Edmonton-area riding of Sherwood Park-Fort Saskatchewan.

NDP housing critic Jenny Kwan criticized the bill for not defining the term "affordable housing," also noting in a statement it "grants extraordinarily broad powers to Build Canada Homes, allowing it to finance and partner with virtually any person or entity, acquire and develop land, own and operate housing and invest in third-party ventures, all with minimal constraints and limited parliamentary oversight."

She also said turning the agency into a Crown corporation "removes accountability from the minister of housing."

Indo Canadian Voice: Liberals fail to fix major problems in Canada’s immigration system: Federal NDP

Latest posts

CPAC: HOUSE OF COMMONS PROCEEDINGS Tributes to the Late Kirsty Duncan

Click image or link to watch the CPAC video, Jenny's speech starts at 21:44 - https://www.cpac.ca/house-of-commons-proceedings/episode/tributes-to-the-late-kirsty-duncan--february-6-2026?id=d0dbaf6f-e643-4e63-9f88-6ddc540ff2bb

National Post: Minister says new housing agency has no targets on number of homes it will build

Click image or link to read the news story - https://nationalpost.com/news/minister-says-new-housing-agency-has-no-targets-on-number-of-homes-it-will-build

CBC: Government tables bill giving Build Canada Homes land acquisition power

Click image or link to read the news story - https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/canada-homes-crown-corp-9.7076495

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