MEDIA RELEASE: New Democrats Force the Liberals to Act: Wins for Everyday Canadians

Whether it’s sky-high rent and housing costs, gas pump gouging, or record-high grocery bills – working families are feeling the squeeze of inflation as big box stores and CEOs earn massive profits. At the NDP caucus retreat in Halifax last week, NDP leader Jagmeet Singh reiterated urgent calls for inflationary relief measures to address the affordability crisis.
New Democrats used their power in the minority parliament to get wins for everyday people, forcing the Liberals to finally agree to take action on a historic expansion of Canada’s healthcare system through the establishment of a dental care program for families earning less than $90,000 without insurance and an increase to the Canadian Housing Benefit – real measures that will help household budgets.

MEDIA RELEASE
13.8.2022

New Democrats Force the Liberals to Act: Wins for Everyday Canadians

Whether it’s sky-high rent and housing costs, gas pump gouging, or record-high grocery bills – working families are feeling the squeeze of inflation as big box stores and CEOs earn massive profits. At the NDP caucus retreat in Halifax last week, NDP leader Jagmeet Singh reiterated urgent calls for inflationary relief measures to address the affordability crisis.

“Families are playing by the rules, doing everything right, but still can’t get ahead. And the rising costs of housing, groceries, and gas for families – while big companies and the super-rich make billions off them in profits – is stretching family budgets even more,” said Singh

New Democrats used their power in the minority parliament to get wins for everyday people, forcing the Liberals to finally agree to take action on a historic expansion of Canada’s healthcare system through the establishment of a dental care program for families earning less than $90,000 without insurance and an increase to the Canadian Housing Benefit – real measures that will help household budgets.

As the first step in establishing a national dental care program to meet the NDP's demands, the government announced a payment of up to $650 per child under 12, for families without insurance and incomes less than $90,000, so that kids can afford to go to the dentist. While it will take time to establish the full program, this marks the first step to ensure access to dental care for middle- and lower-income Canadians.

In addition, the NDP has also pushed the government to deliver a one-time $500 top-up to the Canada Housing Benefit, a direct payment to low-income Canadians who are struggling with high costs of housing, spending more than 30% of their income on rent. The announcement today means 2 million Canadians will receive some support in the face of the affordability crisis.

To further help Canadians, the NDP has also continuously called on the government to double the GST/ HST tax credit, providing direct financial support to working families who need it most. After months of pressuring the Liberals government to do the right thing, the Liberals agreed to double the GST/HST tax credit, putting up to $467 directly in the pockets of 12 million everyday Canadians.

“Liberals and Conservatives have rejected NDP proposals to make life more affordable countless times. Finally, the Liberals have agreed to NDP demands to put money back in the pockets of families. New Democrats will keep fighting for you and your families,” said NDP Housing Critic MP Jenny Kwan.

While these measures will provide some relief to Canadians with the rising cost of living, New Democrats know there is much more work to be done to make life more affordable.

As the minority Parliament is set to resume in two weeks, New Democrats will continue to use their power to force the Liberals to do more for everyday Canadians.

Key facts:

• Despite calling for inflation relief since early May, the Liberals have failed to move on any help to put money back in people’s pockets.

• The most common surgery performed on preschool children at most pediatric hospitals in Canada is treatment of dental decay.

• In Canada, an estimated one per cent of all emergency room visits in a given year are made by patients with non-urgent dental conditions, such as toothaches or tooth decay.

• Justin Trudeau and the Liberal government, voted with the Conservatives against the NDP’s motion to give millions of Canadians access to dental care, as a first step towards universal, public dental care twice just last year.

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Hill Times: Courts unlikely to provide fifth extension to Ottawa to address Lost Canadians before November, says immigration lawyer

Parliament needs to “just get on with it” and address the issue of “lost Canadians” through amendments to the Canada Citizenship Act, according to Jenny Kwan, NDP critic of citizenship and immigration.

She told The Hill Times that she wonders if a judge would have the patience to grant the federal government a fifth extension on a court order requiring action before the current November deadline.

“This is astounding. What the current situation is right now is that Canada’s Citizenship Act, with respect to lost Canadians, is in violation of the Charter [of Rights and Freedoms], and [Bill C-3] will make it Charter-compliant,” said Kwan (Vancouver East, B.C.).

Daily Hive: Canadian woman left in limbo after CRA accidentally declares her dead

When June “Juna” Miller filed her taxes in spring, she expected a refund, but instead, she was declared legally dead.

A few weeks later, she attempted to log in to her CRA account. It didn’t work, and she called the agency.

“The woman on the phone said, ‘Well, you’re deceased.’ I said, ‘What are you talking about? You’re speaking to me!'” Miller explained.

What followed was a month-long ordeal that cost her her pension, Social Insurance Number, and sense of stability.

“It took them five seconds to say I was dead… without even asking for a death certificate,” she said. “Now I’m being told it could take six months to prove I’m alive. That makes no sense to me.”

But with her account frozen and no payments coming in, she was suddenly without any source of income.

Her Social Insurance Number had been cancelled, making it impossible to access her bank account or even apply for temporary work to stay afloat.

Even Service Canada wasn’t much help, Miller claimed.

She recalls one interaction with an agent who questioned why she kept insisting she was alive, while another refused to proceed because her name didn’t match across various documents.

When Miller attempted to order a copy of her marriage certificate to fulfill the requirement, her request was denied because her ID had already been flagged as invalid.

Vancouver East MP Jenny Kwan stepped in as well, formally raising Miller’s case with the federal government.

Miller provided Daily Hive a copy of the letter dated June 30, in which Kwan wrote directly to Minister François-Philippe Champagne, asking that CRA fix the mistake immediately, restore her pension, and ensure all missed payments were sent without delay.

Resurrection, at last

On June 30, Miller received the call she’d been waiting for.

“CRA just called and I have been resurrected,” she told Daily Hive. “They’re sending an apology letter in the mail.”

Radio Canada International: ’Lost Canadians’ citizenship bill tabled as court deadline looms

NDP immigration critic Jenny Kwan said the bill was delayed in the last session of Parliament by the Liberals' failure to act in a timely fashion and a Conservative filibuster that stalled the House of Commons' work for months.

The court has given the government yet another extension, and it would be incumbent on this Parliament to make sure that legislation is passed, Kwan said.

The previous lost Canadians citizenship bill died on the order paper when the House prorogued earlier this year. The Senate was engaged in an early study of the legislation to help it become law quickly.

The new legislation, Bill C-3, proposes giving automatic citizenship to anyone denied citizenship under the current law.

It also would establish a new framework for citizenship by descent going forward. The legislation proposes Canadian citizenship could be passed down to people born abroad, beyond the first generation, if their parents spent a cumulative three years in Canada before the child's birth or adoption.

Those were the two primary goals of the original lost Canadians bill.