On January 28, 2020, I stood to make a statement opn the importance and need for federal investments to make truly universal, accessible, affordable, quality childcare a reality:
Mr. Speaker, I still remember the desperation I felt when I could not get my little guy into quality affordable licensed child care space. It's no joke. The wait lists were so long that I was not offered space until he was eight, yet this is the reality for so many working families. We know investing in child care is good for the child, for the family and our economy. Every dollar invested in child care is returned threefold in the economy.
For decades, the Liberals have made endless promises on child care programs, yet we have seen little real action, let alone a quality, universal, affordable, accessible system. In this new minority Parliament, words are not good enough. Budget 2020 needs to have significant increase in investments to at least $1 billion annually, so families with children under five and elementary school-age children who need before and after school care can access them.
Federal investments can build on what the B.C. government has done based on the $10 a day model, saving families upwards of $1,000 a month. No more pretty words. It is time for action.
NDP MPs Make Announcement on Migrant Workers in Canada – November 7, 2024
At a news conference on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Jenny Kwan, the NDP critic for immigration, refugees and citizenship, and Matthew Green, the NDP critic for labour, discuss their party’s plan aimed at ending the exploitation of migrant workers in Canada. They are joined by Elizabeth Kwan (Canadian Labour Congress) and Derek Johnstone (United Food and Commercial Workers). (no interpretation)
B.C. voters have elected a majority female legislature for the first time in the province's history, with 49 of 93 legislative seats now occupied by women. It's a big step forward from 1991, when a then record-breaking seven female cabinet ministers were appointed. We talked to BC NDP MLA Jenny Kwan who spent 19 years as the representative for what was then known as Vancouver Mount Pleasant. She's now the MP for Vancouver East. We asked her what she makes of the majority-female legislature, and her time in the chamber.