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Windbreaker: Housing by Indigenous, for Indigenous turns page on colonial approach

NICHI, formalized in January, is a coalition of more than 50 Indigenous-led housing, homelessness, and housing-related organizations from across Canada. The aim of the organization is to deliver on housing for those Indigenous people no longer living in Indigenous communities.

The New Democratic Party (NDP) is taking credit for moving the Liberal government along on the matter.
East Vancouver NDP MP Jenny Kwan, who was also at the announcement, said the NDP had prioritized significant investments to address the housing needs of First Nations, Métis and Inuit peoples as part of its confidence-and-supply agreement with the Liberal government. The NDP also “demanded that it be for Indigenous and by Indigenous,” she said.

The confidence-and-supply agreement was signed between the Liberals and NDP in March 2022. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was operating with a minority Liberal government after the 2021 election. The agreement with the NDP brought about stability. The NDP agreed to support the Liberals if the Liberals advanced certain NDP priorities. The agreement is set to last until 2025.

“(Indigenous-led housing) would not have happened had it not been for NICHI and the NDP in collaboration, yes, with the government. This is what cooperation looks like. This is what the confidence-and-supply agreement is meant to do. To make things happen for the people,” said Kwan

IN THE NEWS: Rabble - Corporate landlords favoured by government are making housing unaffordable

NDP MP Jenny Kwan drew Tremblay’s attention to the spike, starting about six years ago, in REITs acquiring properties with moderate rent. “What safeguards are there in place,” she asked, “to prevent REITs from jacking up the prices in the properties that they have acquired?”
Tremblay then added: “The private sector is the largest provider of rental housing, including housing that is affordable, in this country.”
When Kwan gave Leilani Farha a chance to respond, she reiterated that “the business model of REITs requires an escalation of rents.”
Farha explained her concern in more detail: “Real estate investment trusts rely on investors. They’re often institutional investors like pension funds, insurance companies and that kind of thing. If you’re an investor, you want to know that you’re going to get a good return on your investment. The way the REIT guarantees a good return on your investment is they show how they’re going to generate income through rent.”
REIT managers need to show investors how they are going to make those rents go up and up.  Since many provinces set guidelines for rent increases on existing tenants, one strategy for REITs is to push tenants out and bring in new ones.

IN THE NEWS: National Observer - Canada needs energy advisers to bolster its home retrofit plans

The program is retroactive to Dec. 1, 2020, so homeowners who complete an evaluation before starting renovations can qualify for the grant.
The Liberal government's latest announcement was met with mixed reactions. NDP MP Jenny Kwan said the energy adviser program was too little, too late. “They of course, are… way behind on action that's necessary to address the climate emergency,” she said.
Recruiting more energy advisers and federal loans and grants for homeowners are a good start, said Brendan Haley, policy director of Efficiency Canada, but retrofit programs will need to ramp up in coming years to have the desired impact.

IN THE NEWS: Georgia Straight - MP Jenny Kwan pays homage to the lifetime contributions of artist Johnson Su-Sing Chow

“Professor Chow was a kind, compassionate elder and educator whose depth of knowledge and learning is truly immense," Vancouver MP Jenny Kwan said in a statement. "He moved to Vancouver when he was 58 years old and fostered the robust development of Vancouver’s Chinese-Canadian artist community through his work in education, writing, and community organizing leading to the establishment of the Chinese Canadian Artists Federation.
"Professor Chow’s paintings and drawing, particularly his beautiful Chinese ink paintings of North American scenery, have deeply enriched Canada’s art and cultural landscape.”

IN THE NEWS: Globe & Mail - Immigration Minister open to raise permanent residency caps

However, migrant groups have criticized the program, saying program exclusions and requirements shut out many refugees, undocumented people and thousands of migrants, with caps in application streams meaning few will be able to get their applications in before spots are filled.
In a statement, NDP immigration critic Jenny Kwan said Wednesday that the rollout of the new pathways to permanent residency for the 90,000 applicants has been problematic, adding it excludes many essential workers and does not recognize those who have lost status.
Also Wednesday, Mr. Mendicino called for moving toward a paperless immigration system that would offer prospective new Canadians more opportunities to file claims online and even be sworn in virtually.

Ms. Kwan said that while digitizing the immigration application process is “long overdue,” the Liberals have been using this as an excuse to avoid talking about current delays.  “The process to move to a new system could take years and the government has failed to present a plan or provide resources to address current backlogs in a reasonable timeline,” she said.

https://www.straight.com/arts/mp-jenny-kwan-pays-homage-to-lifetime-contributions-of-artist-johnson-su-sing-chow

However, migrant groups have criticized the program, saying program exclusions and requirements shut out many refugees, undocumented people and thousands of migrants, with caps in application streams meaning few will be able to get their applications in before spots are filled.
In a statement, NDP immigration critic Jenny Kwan said Wednesday that the rollout of the new pathways to permanent residency for the 90,000 applicants has been problematic, adding it excludes many essential workers and does not recognize those who have lost status.
Also Wednesday, Mr. Mendicino called for moving toward a paperless immigration system that would offer prospective new Canadians more opportunities to file claims online and even be sworn in virtually.

Ms. Kwan said that while digitizing the immigration application process is “long overdue,” the Liberals have been using this as an excuse to avoid talking about current delays.  “The process to move to a new system could take years and the government has failed to present a plan or provide resources to address current backlogs in a reasonable timeline,” she said.

OPEN LETTER to BC Minister of Health and Vancouver Coastal Health Chair

It is wonderful that some of the seniors may be able to book an appointment with the help of family, friends, or support workers; sadly, there are those who unfortunately do not have access to such a support network I have heard from some of the elderly seniors in Vancouver East who are concerned that they will have difficulty in registering for the vaccine due to language barriers.
To help facilitate access to this potentially life-saving immunization for vulnerable people, especially for the elderly where language and mobility is an issue, I would like to offer two suggestions for your consideration.

Jenny's Member Statement: Calling on the federal government to decriminalize, cost share pandemic housing plan, have the Port stand down

On November 27, 2020, I stood in the House to call on the federal government for urgent help for our Van East community: 

"The Minister of Health said she has the highest regard for Dr. Patricia Daly, Dr. Bonnie Henry and Mayor Kennedy Stewart.

Why then has the Minister refused to follow their sound advice and decriminalize simple drug possession to help save lives?

Hill Times Podcast: NDP MP Jenny Kwan on what Canada could do to help the people of Hong Kong

China’s National Security Law, passed in response to massive protests in Hong Kong, tightened the Chinese Communist Party’s control over the semi-autonomous region. NDP MP Jenny Kwan, her party’s immigration critic, joins The Hot Room to discuss what policy levers the government can pull on to help Hong Kongers. 

OPEN LETTER to Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Disability Inclusion

I am writing you today to request that your office undertake to address the delays and technical errors that my constituents are experiencing with the Canada Recovery Benefit (CRB), and the new temporary changes to Employment Insurance (EI).
I have heard from two different constituents who received the same error message, COV-26, while attempting to apply for the CRB. The error apparently appears because CRA deems that the applicants have an active EI claim within the last 52 weeks which prevents them from accessing the CRB. However, both my constituents have not received any EI benefits in the last 52 weeks. They applied for EI when the pandemic first started and were transitioned to CERB as that was the policy in place.

JOINT OPEN LETTER - MP Kwan, MLA Mark and Mayor Kennedy joint letter to the federal housing minister addressing Vancuver homelessness crisis

We have been facing a homelessness crisis in Vancouver for many years. The number of people experiencing homelessness in Vancouver more than tripled from 2002 to 2017. Since then, substantial investments in housing from the Province and the City have managed to stop those runaway increases, but the situation remains a crisis, especially with the added pressures of COVID-19. According to the preliminary data report from the 2020 homeless count in Metro Vancouver, 2,095 individuals were identified as homeless in the City of Vancouver, with 547 individuals completely unsheltered, and 105 people residing in emergency response shelters who would otherwise be unsheltered.
As your government has recognized in your Reaching Home strategy, homelessness has devastating impacts on the individuals experiencing homelessness, as well as the economic and social well-being of communities. And, like your government, we are committed to helping those who are homeless and share your belief that one homeless Canadian is one too many. However, it must be recognized the existing timeline and resources under the National Housing Strategy are deficient in meeting the urgent housing and homelessness crisis in our community.
Furthermore, in the midst of a global pandemic, the first public health directive issued by all levels of governments – and by governments worldwide – was for people to stay home, stay distanced, and practice aggressive hygiene measures. This is impossible for people who are homeless.