FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Statement from MP Jenny Kwan: Liberal Economic Update a "Mirage" that Subsidizes Corporate Profits while Canadians Suffer
OTTAWA – The Spring Economic Update was a real missed opportunity to confront the affordability crisis head-on. Canadians are worried about their future and are facing an everyday emergency to keep costs down. Instead of taking bold action that would actually make a difference in people’s lives, Carney is relying on the private sector to save us.
The Spring Economic Update ensures the private sector is the biggest beneficiary in this affordability crisis. The creation of the Sovereign Wealth Fund will see public funds shovelled into privately-owned projects that will make a few wealthy investors and CEOs richer, including big oil and gas companies.
Instead of filling the pockets of big oil and gas companies, the NDP wants to see a windfall tax on oil and gas companies that are projected to make over $90 billion in projects this year because of Trump’s illegal war in Iran and use that money to grow the Sovereign Wealth fund to support Canadians.
Kwan highlighted the stark difference between the proposed Canadian fund and successful international models like Norway’s.
Norway built a $2 trillion (USD) wealth fund by using the profits from its publicly owned oil company for the benefit of its citizens. In contrast, Prime Minister Carney’s approach is to take public tax dollars to subsidize private projects. This is just plain wrong.
On Housing, while Carney promised Canadians that he would build more housing faster to address the housing crisis. Instead of investing in the development of public community housing, over $93 billion of the $140 billion housing measures is gifted to real estate developers through special treatment and low-interest loans with minimal affordability requirements to help Canadians.
This update makes one thing clear: Prime Minister Carney is standing behind big corporations and big oil, not the everyday Canadians who are being crushed by the rising cost of living.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
MP Jenny Kwan, Health-Care Workers and Advocates Condemn Discriminatory Federal Fees for Refugee Health Care
OTTAWA, ON — April 22, 2026 — Member of Parliament Jenny Kwan, alongside frontline health-care professionals and advocates from across Canada, today denounced the federal government’s planned co-payment measures under the Interim Federal Health Program (IFHP), warning the policy will restrict access to essential care for refugee claimants and ultimately increase costs to the health-care system at a press conference on Parliament Hill.
MP Kwan was joined by Sara Habibyar, a former refugee and healthcare worker; Dr. Edward Xie, an emergency room physician; Dr. Vanessa Reddit and Dr. Manal Badi, family physicians; Ilda Azzam, a social worker and psychotherapist; Dr. Nazila Bettache, an internal medicine specialist; and Dr. Charles Hui, a pediatric infectious disease specialist.
The changes, set to take effect on May 1, will require refugee claimants to pay a $4 fee per prescription and 30% of the cost of supplemental services such as dental, vision, and mental health care. The IFHP provides temporary health coverage to refugees and asylum seekers before they are eligible for provincial or territorial health insurance.
The announcement comes amid growing national opposition, including coordinated rallies and a cross-country “Day of Action” held in multiple cities. Health-care professionals, legal advocates, and refugee support organizations have warned that even modest co-payments can create significant barriers for individuals already facing financial hardship.
"This policy punishes people who have already endured immense hardship by placing new financial barriers between them and the care they need,” said Kwan. “It is fundamentally at odds with Canada’s commitment to equitable and accessible health care.”
Evidence from Canada and internationally shows that co-payment systems reduce access to medications and preventive care, particularly for low-income populations. Health experts warn that this can lead to worsening health conditions, increased emergency room visits, and higher long-term system costs.
"We know exactly what happens when people cannot afford care—they delay treatment, their conditions worsen, and they end up needing more intensive and expensive interventions,” Kwan said. “This does not reduce costs; it shifts them in ways that increase human suffering and strain our public health system.”
Advocates also point to the broader policy context, noting recent federal efforts to reduce public spending and tighten immigration measures. The co-payment changes have raised concerns about a pattern of policies that disproportionately impact refugees and migrants at a time when many are already struggling with the high cost of living and the challenges of resettlement.
Legal and medical experts have further cautioned that similar cuts to refugee health coverage in 2012 were struck down by the Federal Court of Canada as “cruel and unusual treatment,” underscoring the potential constitutional and ethical implications of the current policy.
Despite assurances that core services—such as doctor visits, hospital care, and diagnostic testing—will remain fully covered, health-care providers stress that access to medications and supplemental services is essential to preventing more serious health issues.
"A universal health-care system cannot pick and choose who gets meaningful access to care,” Kwan added. “We must not create a two-tier system that leaves refugees and asylum seekers behind.”
MP Kwan called on the federal government to immediately rescind the discriminatory measures and work collaboratively with health-care providers, advocates, and affected communities to strengthen equitable access to care.
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Funded entirely by the U.S. military, the expansion would dramatically increase the plant’s production capacity for artillery propellant used in 155 mm shells from roughly six million pounds to as much as 16 million pounds annually.
The proposed increase comes amid growing scrutiny of how Canadian-based defence manufacturing feeds into U.S. procurement systems and the extent to which those supply chains are later connected to conflicts abroad, including Israel’s war in Gaza.
Since the October 2025 ceasefire, more than 750 Palestinians have been killed in the Gaza Strip, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health. Canada has required permits for military exports under the Export and Import Permits Act since 1947, but transfers to the United States have long been treated differently because of the two countries’ deeply integrated defence industries.
*Click image or link to read the article - https://therover.ca/quebec-munitions-expansion-raises-questions-over-supply-chains-linked-to-the-idf/
On Parliament Hill in Ottawa, NDP MP Jenny Kwan and health-care professionals from across the country speak out against changes to a government program that covers health-care costs for refugees. Starting May 1, recipients under the Interim Federal Health Program will be required to pay a $4 fee for prescription medications and a 30 per cent co-payment for other services, like dental and vision care.
Kwan is joined by Manal Badi (family physician), Charles Hui (pediatric infectious disease specialist), Edward Xie (emergency room physician), Vanessa Reddit (family physician), Ilda Azzam (social worker and psychotherapist), and Nazila Bettache (internal medicine specialist). (April 22, 2026)
*Click image or link to watch the press conference video - https://www.cpac.ca/headline-politics/episode/ndp-doctors-voice-opposition-to-refugee-health-care-fees?id=cd5a1a1b-3bea-4bb6-a802-6847a1d78e8b
MP Jenny Kwan Statement on the 10th Anniversary of Public Health Emergency Declaration
On this tragic 10th anniversary of the toxic-drug public-health emergency, it is important to reflect on the profound and ongoing loss felt in communities across British Columbia and Canada. For a decade, families have endured unimaginable grief as loved ones were taken by an increasingly toxic and unpredictable drug supply. These were not just statistics, but people with hopes, histories and futures that mattered deeply.
This crisis has laid bare systemic inequities—poverty, trauma, inadequate housing, racism and stigma—that continue to drive vulnerability and prevent people from accessing the care they need. While harm-reduction measures and treatment services have saved lives, far too many are still being lost to preventable deaths.
We must confront this emergency with urgency, compassion and evidence-based action. That means expanding access to a safe, regulated supply, strengthening culturally appropriate supports, and ensuring treatment and recovery services are available without barriers. It also requires listening to those with lived and living experience and working in true partnership with Indigenous communities. For the Downtown Eastside, I would also advocate for a new Vancouver Agreement where all three levels of government, health authority and Vancouver Police Department are at the table with community leadership.
Today, we honour those we have lost and stand with all who continue to fight for change. We cannot accept this as the status quo. Just as when a public health emergency was declared in the 1990's related to heroin overdose death leading to government action, we must act urgently.
OTTAWA — Immigration Minister Lena Diab's office is defending new rules that may strike down thousands of refugee claims, saying difficult decisions are required to regain control of Canada's immigration system.
Under Ottawa's new border law C-12, which passed in March, refugee claims must be made within a year of a claimant's first arrival in Canada in order to go through the regular refugee process.
The changes are retroactive to June 24, 2020, and the rule applies to all claims made on or after June 3, 2025. The department estimates about 30,000 existing claimants have been sent notices warning their claims may now be deemed ineligible.
Those claimants include a Palestinian man who donated a kidney to his Canadian sister in 2023, during a roughly seven-week stay in Canada, and an Iranian political activist whose identity was leaked to the regime in July 2025, after the one-year rule took retroactive effect.
Jenny Kwan, the NDP's immigration critic, called the one-year rule "arbitrary" and "draconian" and said people with claims that seem to be legitimate are now being told they may no longer be eligible.
"It is not assessing people on the basis of whether or not they are a genuine refugee … but rather it is a completely arbitrary timeline that the Liberals have imposed, regardless of people's situation," Kwan told The Canadian Press.
Click image or link to read the news story - https://www.timescolonist.com/national-news/immigration-ministers-office-defends-strict-new-timelines-for-refugee-claims-12145838
The morning after the Liberals secured a thin majority government, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre said Prime Minister Mark Carney has no more excuses if he doesn't deliver for Canadians.
"The Liberals wanted a majority — well, absolute power comes with absolute responsibility," the leader of the Official Opposition told the House of Commons on Tuesday.
"They will actually have to get things done. They will have to do so without blaming others and they will have to start now."
A Liberal majority leaves less room for the smaller parties as well. Even with a reduced caucus after last year's election, the NDP was able to sway some votes in the minority Parliament.
NDP MP Jenny Kwan said she hopes the new Liberal MPs will "stand up and speak truth to power" in the House, rather than just toeing the party line.
"There's a reason why I entered into politics and it is to fight for people," Kwan said during a news conference.
Click image or link to read the news story - https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/opposition-parties-majority-government-9.7163603
At a news conference on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, NDP Leader Avi Lewis and NDP MP Jenny Kwan are joined by representatives from a number of groups to discuss the filing of mandamus applications by Gazan graduate students seeking permits to study at Canadian universities. (no interpretation)
Click image or link to watch the press conference video - https://www.cpac.ca/headline-politics/episode/ndp-leader-urges-action-on-study-permits-for-gazan-students--april-14-2026?id=523cdc69-199f-45a0-aa5f-359b491f2945
Grocery and consumer product price fixing using digital surveillance of people’s shopping habits is an issue being taken on full-force by the federal NDP.
Already many Canadians have become accustomed to receiving digital coupons or discount offers for products they regularly purchase. Various pricing options are available to different customers based on location, shopping habits and income level (if known).
This practice has some Canadians paying more for some products than others, and/or the same customers paying different prices for the same products depending on how and when they shop and whether or not they engage digitally at the checkout.
This issue was launched by NDP Leader Avi Lewis in his first press conference in Ottawa today, since having become the new NDP Leader on March 29. His father Stephan Lewis passed away on March 31 (memorial coming up April 26), and Lewis is now getting back to his new political role.
The NDP’s approach will “speak to everyone who is suffering in this economy,” said Lewis today.
He targeted online shopping as allowing for digital surveillance “to be fuel for price gouging (that) is utterly unacceptable”.