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Media Release: MP Jenny Kwan To Initiate Private Members Bill Calling for End to Canadian Arms Loophole

Today at the National Press Gallery in Ottawa, Jenny Kwan, Member of Parliament for Vancouver East, was joined by civil society and human rights organizations announcing her intention to introduce a Private Member’s Bill in the upcoming Parliamentary session to finally close the loophole in Canada’s arms export laws. For years, Canadian governments have promised accountability, yet Canadian-made weapons, bullets, and military components continue to flow into the world’s bloodiest conflicts—often through the back door of the U.S., including for use by the Israeli government in Gaza and the West Bank.

NDP Media Release: The feds must protect renters from financial landlords now

“Building on a recent media article about a new study by Martine August and Cloe St-Hilaire from the University of Waterloo’s Planning Department, the research reveals that financial landlords — including real estate investment trusts (REITs), publicly traded property firms, and asset managers — file eviction applications at significantly higher rates than any other type of landlord. These corporate entities are evicting nearly 1 in 9 tenants each year, highlighting how legislative loopholes have contributed to a growing housing crisis.

Housing is a human right, not a luxury for investors to make quick profits. We cannot allow large financial firms, similar to the ones that Prime Minister Carney used to work for, to continue treating people’s homes as commodities to be bought and sold for maximum profit. The alarming rise in evictions is a direct consequence of the financialization of our housing market — and it’s time for that to end.

The Housing Minister, Gregor Robertson, must bring in legislation immediately that ensures:

• No more corporate takeovers: We must place a moratorium on the purchase of residential properties by big financial landlords. We can’t allow real estate companies to keep pushing working families and low-income Canadians out of their homes.
• Empower communities: We need to create a national acquisition fund to help non-profit organizations, housing co-ops, and community land trusts purchase rental buildings — so we can keep homes affordable for generations to come.
• Control rents: Bring back national vacancy control. No more speculators jacking up rent prices between tenants. Rent prices need to stay fair, stable, and predictable.

We need federal policies enacted immediately that protect renters across the country while new affordable housing is waiting to be built under Canada Homes.”

Open Letter to the PM: Free Jimmy Lai

USW News: Equal Pay for Equal Work Rally in support of striking Rogers technicians

CHCH News: More tenants upset with living conditions of Hamilton apartment building

Looking through the Lankin Investments website, the Pulis connection that ties it all together can be found and connected to the company’s founder and CEO Kyle Pulis.  According to his own bio, he successfully has over $2 billion in assets under his management.

CHCH News tried to reach out to the company to get a hold of him, but was told by one of its employees that it would be difficult.

And inquiries to the federal housing minister, would be answered by Monday.

“These financialized landlords, what are they in for?” says NDP Housing Critic Jenny Kwan.

They’re in it for making profits, they don’t care about their tenants and in fact, many of them, what they want to do is let the buildings run down and let the tenants out because once they force the tenants out, they can jack up their rents, because that’s how they increase their profit even greater,”

Click link to watch the tv news:
https://www.chch.com/chch-news/more-tenants-upset-with-living-conditions-of-hamilton-apartment-building/

CBC Radio: Jenny Kwan on Hong Kong overseas arrest warrants

Hong Kong officials have issued overseas warrants for nineteen people, including Canadians. NDP MP Jenny Kwan has spoken out against previous iterations of the warrants, and she joins us for more on the latest round.

Click link to listen to the interview:
https://www.cbc.ca/player/play/audio/9.6848556

Immigration News Canada: Canada’s $1.1-Billion Hotel Crisis For Asylum Seekers Sparks Outrage

NDP immigration critic Jenny Kwan has called the approach illogical, urging the government to find more affordable and sustainable housing solutions. “Renting hotel rooms for asylum seekers at these costs doesn’t make sense,” Kwan said.

“We need a system that supports newcomers without straining public resources.”

Hill Times: IRCC forecasts 30 per cent spending cut by 2028 amid lower immigration targets

‘It’s a giant mess,’ says MP Kwan

Earlier this year, IRCC announced its plans to cut 3,300 jobs from its workforce, citing Canada’s reduced immigration targets.

In November 2024, then-immigration minister Marc Miller (Ville-Marie—Le Sud-Ouest—Île-des-Soeurs, Que.) announced drastic cuts to the targeted number of permanent residents admitted to Canada in the next two years, and tighter rules around temporary worker permits.

NDP MP Jenny Kwan (Vancouver East, B.C.) said the Liberals are “plowing ahead” with cuts despite persistent and prolonged delays in processing immigration cases.

“As it stands in the system, the backlog is unbelievable,” said Kwan, the NDP’s immigration critic. “Families are separated, people are being persecuted, and it can’t be processed in an expeditious way. It’s a giant mess.”

Wait times for spousal sponsorship applications outside Quebec have jumped from 12 to 24 months, she said, and applications for parents and grandparents have been frozen for two years.

Refugees who are fleeing persecution, who are “in dire straits” and are privately sponsored by Canadian citizens, can face wait times of over three years.

“This is just a snapshot of some of the problems that exist within our system,” she said. “Cuts to IRCC staff will only further delay the processing, and create greater pain and anguish for the people stuck in the system.”

Maclean's: Why Canada’s New Border Policy Could Screw Over Refugees

In June, Mark Carney tabled the Strong Borders Act to combat organized crime, fentanyl trafficking and illegal firearms at the border. As with many border-related issues these days, it largely stems from the Trump administration. “There were a number of elements in the bill that have been irritants for the U.S., so we are addressing some of those issues,” said public safety minister Gary Anandasangaree.
While Bill C-2 cleared its first reading in the House of Commons, many aren’t sold on the legislation. Immigration experts say it dramatically rolls back long-standing protections for refugees and migrants, and civil rights advocates say it gives Ottawa sweeping new surveillance powers that infringe on Canadians’ Charter rights.

What are the privacy implications of these expanded powers?

They’re expanding the ability for police and spy agencies to demand information without a warrant—based merely on “reasonable suspicion.” Canada Post, for example, could open your mail. Public service providers like doctors could be compelled to hand over private details. The bill would also enable information to be shared with foreign entities just with the consent of a minister. Some experts, including member of Parliament and NDP immigration critic Jenny Kwan, have raised concerns that American anti-abortion states could use the provision to request information from Canadian abortion clinics.

Globe & Mail: Ottawa’s hotel bill for asylum seekers reaches $1.1-billion

The federal government says it has spent $1.1-billion to house asylum seekers in hotels since 2017, on top of $1.5-billion it has given provinces and cities to help pay for refugee claimants’ upkeep.

Ottawa began housing asylum seekers in hotels in 2017 as a temporary stop gap as shelters were overwhelmed by increasing numbers. It started block-booking rooms to help relieve the burden on provinces and towns to accommodate the rising number of claimants.

Asylum claims have increased dramatically from 50,365 in 2017 to 173,000 in 2024 in Canada. Most arrive in Ontario and Quebec, particularly in Montreal and Toronto.

NDP immigration critic Jenny Kwan said renting hotel rooms for asylum claimants “does not make any sense” and the government needs to find a sustainable and more affordable way to house people after they arrive here.