Politics: ‘Slow as molasses’: Rollout of $4B housing accelerator fund criticized amid housing shortage

NDP housing critic Jenny Kwan said it was disappointing that the fund wasn’t getting rolled out sooner.

“It was disappointing even last year,” she told iPolitics on Wednesday. “It’s slow as molasses. Per usual, the Liberals always make promises and then they are always short on delivery. In the meantime, we’ve got a housing crisis.”
Kwan said the government needs to learn from the rapid housing initiative — another program aimed at boosting the housing supply — to ensure funding gets to municipalities and projects as quickly as possible. She also suggested that the HAF needs to be stackable with other housing programs and funding to ensure projects move forward.
Kwan said she would also like to see more focus on affordable housing and setting targets to help those who really need a home.

Globe & Mail: Immigration to Canada hits record high in 2022

The federal government has said immigration is crucial for the economy, and that it accounts for as much as 90 per cent of labour force growth in Canada. But critics of the plan have raised questions about the effects of higher immigration targets on the country’s already-unaffordable urban housing markets. And it is unclear whether Ottawa’s plan will help make up for shortages of labour in low-paid fields such as accommodation, food services, retail and health care assistance.
NDP immigration and housing critic Jenny Kwan said the federal government has missed an opportunity to give temporary foreign workers and undocumented workers permanent resident status. This would give them access to taxpayer-funded health care and allow them to live and work anywhere in Canada, indefinitely. (Temporary foreign workers are typically restricted to one employer and not allowed to switch jobs.)
“The government must stop relying on vulnerable workers and give them the protection of permanent status and ensure their rights are respected,” Ms. Kwan said in an e-mailed statement.
The flood of new permanent residents is expected to bring new homebuyers and renters to communities across the country. That could increase activity in the residential real estate market, which has slowed since early last year, when borrowing costs jumped with a rise in interest rates.

New York Times: Do You Want to Buy a House in Canada? Not So Fast.

Jenny Kwan, a member of Parliament who represents Vancouver East and the housing critic for Canada’s opposition New Democratic Party, said the law is missing the real culprits in the housing crisis. “The government must target real estate investment trusts,” or companies that invest in real estate for profit, she said. “We need to curb the financialization of housing.”

Canadian Press: As critics push Trudeau on China interference, Liberal MP says he has become ‘target’

NDP MP Jenny Kwan said the Liberals need to take the allegations of interference more seriously.  “What has created a vacuum on the details of the information, in my view, is not the media but the prime minister himself,” the Vancouver MP said in an interview.
Kwan, who was born in Hong Kong, said the allegations “go to the heart of our democratic system” and argued that Trudeau and his ministers have given contradictory statements about them.  She noted that security officials have briefed Vancouver’s former mayor about possible Chinese influence in last fall’s municipal election. 
“The threat is real. Something is happening; we don’t know exactly what,” she said. “If the Liberals persist in hiding this information, they are not helping to clear the air.”

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