On May 12 2021, MP Jenny Kwan made a statement about the situation of women who have been terminated from their jobs as hotel workers:
Jenny Kwan (NDP) Vancouver East, BC
"Mr. Speaker, the Liberals say they want a she-covery, yet they were silent when Pacific Gateway became a federal quarantine hotel and 140 long-term workers were terminated, nearly two-thirds of them immigrant women. Hilton Metrotown has locked out its workers and terminated 97 workers, the majority of them racialized women.
A feminist government would not tolerate the firing of women to replace them for less, yet this is happening across the country, from Metro Vancouver to Ottawa. Management wants to roll back these long-term workers’ wages to minimum wage, cut their health and pension benefits and eliminate severance.
Unite Here has launched the Unequal Women campaign to bring attention to this disgraceful practice. These women are not disposable. We should not tolerate any hotel firing women to replace them for less. They should not be allowed to receive government support if they treat their workers in this despicable way.
I am calling on the government to intervene to ensure hotel employers—"
June 10, 2025 - Ottawa, ON - MP Jenny Kwan joined Mr. Sebastian Lai, son of imprisoned Hong Kong pro-democracy leader and publisher Jimmy Lai, members of Jimmy Lai's legal team, and a cross-party group of MPs to speak at an All-Party Parliamentary Press Conference for Jimmy Lai.
As world leaders prepared to gather for the G7 Summit in Kananaskis, Alberta, MP Jenny Kwan, along with other MPs and Senators from all parties called on Canada’s delegation to the talks to champion freedom for Jimmy Lai, one of the world’s most high-profile political prisoners and a man with close ties to Canada.
Jenny also asked the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship in Parliament the previous day: Will Canada grant honorary citizenship to Jimmy Lai? This isn't a private case - it's a human rights issue. The minister must stop hiding behind excuses. It's time for Canada to take a stand. The Minister has the ministerial authority to do so and should act immediately ahead of the G7 Summit.
