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Prime Minister Must Reverse Decision to Cut GIS for Low-Income Seniors

The Prime Minister must take immediate action to ensure low-income seniors who rely on their Guarantee Income Supplement (GIS) continue to receive this critical support.

The pandemic has hit Canadians hard and seniors are not exempted from the economic impact of Covid-19. Seniors who were working to supplement their GIS prior to the pandemic and received the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) are now losing their GIS or having it severely reduced. These seniors now find themselves without the support of CERB, employment income or GIS. Furthermore, seniors who received CERB are also losing some provincial benefits such as their annual bus pass.

NDP calls on Liberals to urgently reconvene Parliament to help Canadians

OTTAWA – Following the announcement that Parliament would reconvene on November 22nd, NDP House Leader, Peter Julian, wrote to Justin Trudeau’s Liberal government urging them to get Members of Parliament back to work earlier to help Canadians struggling in this fourth wave of COVID-19. Instead of urgently calling back Parliament after an election that resulted with virtually the same make up as last one, Justin Trudeau chose to make people and small businesses struggling with the ongoing COVID-19 crisis wait longer for the help they need.

NDP ready to continue fighting and standing up for Canadians in the new parliament

OTTAWA — Today, NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh, joined by newly elected NDP MPs, laid out his plan to continue fighting for Canadians amid the fourth wave of COVID-19. As Alberta and Saskatchewan are hit hardest in the fourth wave, Singh committed to keep fighting to extend supports, to bring in a national vaccination passport and better sick leave to help workers.

IN THE NEWS: National Post - Jagmeet Singh says NDP prepared to withold votes in Parliament

The NDP announced Thursday that its caucus had elected MPs to fill key jobs, including Vancouver MP Jenny Kwan who will serve as caucus chair and Blake Desjarlais, a two-spirit Metis leader newly elected in Edmonton, as deputy caucus chair.

IN THE NEWS: Globe & Mail - Vancouver mayor Philip Owen became an unlikely ally of drug users

Former city councillor and provincial MLA Jenny Kwan, now an MP, said she told him once he needed to go down to Main and Hastings, the city’s busiest spot for street drugs, and talk to people.

He did. “To his credit, he stayed for two hours. He came back a changed man,” said Ms. Kwan, who admired how he went “all in despite the pressure from his colleagues.”

IN THE NEWS: Globe & Mail - Trudeau flies to Tofino for a vacation with family as Canada marks first National Day for Truth and Reconciliation

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh attended a local event in Vancouver. Mr. Singh went to the Orange Shirt Day walk and ceremony, outside of the Vancouver Aboriginal Friendship Centre, along with NDP MPs Jenny Kwan, Don Davies, Peter Julian and MP-elect Bonita Zarrillo. Orange Shirt Day, which also falls on Sept. 30, is a commemorative day to honour Indigenous children who survived residential schools and remember those who did not.

Canada election: Jenny Kwan on NDP pushing ’tax the rich’ agenda

Re-elected Vancouver East MP Jenny Kwan has reaction to the NDP’s gains and Jagmeet Singh’s influence on the new Liberal minority government. Kwan said her party looks to bring some balance and fix the inequality for Canadians across the country. Kwan said Singh and the NDP Party campaigned to make sure the ultra-rich pay “their fair share.”

IN THE NEWS: Ottawa Citizen - China’s interference in Canada’s election doesn’t seem to faze the Liberals

In Kwan’s case, Fred Kwok, a high-rolling Vancouverite with a reputation for defending Beijing against charges that it is a totalitarian human rights abuser, organized a free lunch for the Chinese-Canadian community to meet with Kwan’s Liberal opponent, Josh Vander Vies. Kwok later told the Vancouver Sunthat in doing so, he’d inadvertently violated the donation-limit rules under the Elections Act.

IN THE NEWS: Vancouver Sun - Is China interfering in the Canadian election?

As recently as February, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service director, David Vigneault, flagged as “some of the most paramount concerns” efforts by China and Russia to “target politicians, political parties, and electoral processes in order to covertly influence Canadian public policy, public opinion, and ultimately undermine our democracy and democratic processes.”

IN THE NEWS: Vancouver Sun - Fed NDP calls for temporary resident permit and travel documents for Afghans

The federal NDP’s immigration critic, Vancouver East candidate Jenny Kwan, has called on the caretaker Liberal government to immediately provide Afghans who supported the Canadian armed forces during the war on the Taliban with temporary residency permits and travel documents.

Kwan said that many Afghan interpreters, other collaborators, and their extended families have been left in a precarious position as the Taliban has taken over Afghanistan.