STATEMENT: People in northern communities can’t afford more broken Liberal promises on housing: NDP

"For years, people living in northern communities have been dealing with a devastating housing crisis while consecutive Liberal and Conservative governments ignored their basic human rights. Houses in northern communities are often overcrowded, in desperate need of repair and many are filled with mould. Despite the Liberals promising to deliver an Urban, Rural and Northern Indigenous Housing Strategy since 2017, Canadians are still waiting. Even these promises are not sufficient to meet the current housing needs which are hurting communities."

IN THE NEWS: Georgia Straight - Vancouver East NDP MP Jenny Kwan delivers devastating rebuke to those who claim the Ottawa protest was peaceful

The veteran politician plans to vote in favour of the Emergencies Act, but she promises that the NDP is not giving a "blank cheque" to the ruling Liberals

IN PARLIAMENT: VIDEO - Speak to support Bill C-242, the Reuniting Families Act

The heart of the issue of Bill C-242 is reuniting families. It is about ensuring that parents and grandparents can come to Canada to be with their loved ones. We know the value of that and cherish it as individuals. Like other people with children, I value the moments that my daughter and son spend with their grandmother and grandfather. Of course, my parents are immigrants here, so they get to enjoy that, but so many newcomers, so many immigrants who come to this country, are not in that fortunate situation. They did not bring their parents and grandparents here to Canada, and they cannot enjoy those moments. What Bill C-242 is trying to do is facilitate a process for those families to be reunited through the super visa process.
The super visa process is already in place, and the bill before us seeks to enhance it by addressing the high cost of the issue with respect to insurance coverage particularly, and then extending the period to which parents and grandparents can come to Canada under a super visa.
Interestingly, and because of petty politics, in my view, after the bill was tabled, we saw the government, through committee, literally in the ninth hour, bring forward ministerial instructions to try to kill the bill, which is exactly what happened. Despite government members saying that they have advocated for this for a very long time, the reality is that they did not act on it. I remember, because back in 2015 as a new member of Parliament, this was one of the issues that we studied. We studied parents and grandparents reunification, and there was a whole host of recommendations that were tabled, but then it just sat on a shelf and nothing happened. I express my congratulations to the member for actually pushing the government in this regard and getting this done.
With that being said, I do think there are flaws within the bill. Of course, my first choice would be for the government to lift the cap on parents and grandparents reunification so that all those family members could seek permanent residence status here in Canada in an expeditious way. Now, that did not happen.

IN THE NEWS: toronto.com - Getting ‘ghosted’ by Canada: Why those trying to reach immigration officials say no one is picking up the phone

The volume of calls and inquiries to the Immigration Department is through the roof and so is the frustration and helplessness among applicants who get no reply. ‘It’s been a total nightmare to have our lives in limbo,’ said one.

Federal Government To Reverse GIS Clawback with One-Time Payment

Since before the election, New Democrats have been hearing from seniors who have been seriously hurt by the Liberal government's unacceptable decision to claw back the Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS) from seniors who received emergency pandemic supports such as CERB. The NDP brought the issue directly to the attention of the Ministers before the election, sadly they just ignored it. For months, we continued to call for the government to fix this injustice immediately by excluding pandemic benefit benefits in the calculation of GIS eligibility.

IN THE NEWS: iPOLITICS - First-time-homebuyers program still short homebuyers

“I think the program design is flawed,” said NDP housing critic Jenny Kwan. The income and mortgage caps means “there are many homes that would not qualify.”

“You need to go to the core of the issue, to bring down the cost of housing and not necessarily look at mortgage subsidies,” she added.

IN THE NEWS: iPOLITICS - Conservatives present plan to help Canadians buy homes

“It’s a start, and the NDP supports the measures in the motion, but the Conservative approach is not aggressive enough to meet the urgency of the housing crisis,” said NDP Housing critic Jenny Kwan.

Kwan put forward an amendment to the motion calling for a large campaign to build 500,000 social-housing units, but the Conservatives didn’t support it.

MEDIA RELEASE: Liberals failing on responsibilities to people in Afghanistan: NDP

OTTAWA– Today marks six months since the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan which launched the country into the worst humanitarian crisis in decades. Since Canada pulled out of Afghanistan the situation has become desperate. Children are facing starvation and over 18 million Afghans are in need of emergency aid right now. The NDP’s critic for immigration, Jenny Kwan, and the critic for foreign affairs, Heather McPherson, are calling on the Liberal government to change its insufficient and unnecessarily bureaucratic response and immediately begin helping those people who are suffering.

“This past summer Canadians were horrified by the violence the Taliban used against people in Afghanistan. Six months later and the conditions for people there are certainly not improving,” said Kwan. “The Canadian government has a responsibility to people in Afghanistan and the Liberals must do everything in their power to help as many people as possible.”

The Criminal Code currently prohibits any individual from delivering goods or financial assistance that will benefit a terrorist organization like the Taliban, making it very difficult for humanitarian organizations from Canada to help Afghans trying to feed their families due to their fear of prosecution. Canadian humanitarian organizations have repeatedly asked the Liberal government to provide an exemption, as other countries have, that would allow them to deliver the aid that Afghans desperately need. The Liberal government has failed to respond to this call appropriately, leaving millions of Afghans, including children, on the brink of starvation and vulnerable to an escalating humanitarian crisis.

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