On Wednesday December 9, 2020, MP Kwan delivered the following statement:
Jenny Kwan (NDP) Vancouver East, BC
"Mr. Speaker, even before the pandemic, gendered violence was already a national issue. Red Women Rising, the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls and the TRC all identified the need to protect the safety of women and girls, through safe housing and spaces, as paramount to ending violence. However, little has been done.
The unconscionable violence faced by women in the Downtown Eastside is rising. Imagine one's daughter being sexually assaulted in broad daylight and no one intervening. Imagine one's mother giving birth to baby in a porta-potty and no one noticing. It should shock everyone to their core that such incidents have happened. We cannot let such brutal violence be normalized like this. There is no question that violence experienced by women in the Downtown Eastside is further exacerbated by COVID-related restrictions, which have reduced the number of safe spaces for women.
Advocates are calling for an immediate task force with all levels of government to ensure the safety of women. The Liberal government needs to show leadership and lead this work. The lives of women depend on it as our collective humanity hangs in the balance."
NDP MPs Jenny Kwan and Leah Gazan hold a news conference on Parliament Hill to discuss Bill C-12, the Liberal government’s border security bill. They are joined by representatives from women’s organizations and advocates for immigrant and refugee rights. (December 9, 2025) (no interpretation)
NDP MP Jenny Kwan reacts to Trudeau-era minister Marc Miller back into Liberal cabinet and Joël Lightbound becoming Quebec lieutenant and Julie Dabrusin taking on parks and nature to her portfolio, says ‘no matter how they try to reconfigure their look, you know, it’s the same group of people.’
MPs speak with reporters on Parliament Hill as they convene for the daily question period in the House of Commons. They face questions about Liberal MP Steven Guilbeault’s resignation from cabinet over the federal government’s new energy pact with Alberta, which lays the groundwork for a new bitumen pipeline to the B.C. coast.
Speaking with reporters are Liberal MPs Peter Fragiskatos, Sean Casey, Charles Sousa, and Anthony Housefather and NDP MPs Jenny Kwan and Gord Johns. (no interpretation)