OPEN LETTER to Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Families, Children and Social Development on nationalwide rent freeze and guaranteed income to protect Canadians needed before rent day

As we approach the end of the month in 6 days, rent and mortgage payments will be due for renters and homeowners across Canada. While a number of economic measures have been announced, they will not be enough to protect Canadians from losing their housing during these difficult times. The increase in GSTC and CCB payments won’t be received until May, and application for the Emergency Care Benefit doesn’t open until April. There are many others who don’t equality for these measures but have suffered debilitating income loss during the pandemic, including but not limited to small business owners, and gig, freelance, contract workers, artists and people in the film industry during the crisis. For people on fixed incomes, such as seniors and people on disability pensions and benefits, the decrease in accessibility to community programming mean that living costs are increasing.

"Hon. Chrystia Freeland, Chair
Cabinet Committee on the federal response to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19)
House of Commons
Ottawa, ON K1A 0A6

Hon. Ahmed Hussen
Minister of Families, Children and Social Development
House of Commons Ottawa, ON K1A 0A6

March 24, 2020

Open Letter – RE: Nationwide Rent Freeze and Guaranteed Income to Protect Canadians needed before Rent Day

Dear Deputy Prime Minister Freeland and Minister Hussen,

As we approach the end of the month in 6 days, rent and mortgage payments will be due for renters and homeowners across Canada. While a number of economic measures have been announced, they will not be enough to protect Canadians from losing their housing during these difficult times. The increase in GSTC and CCB payments won’t be received until May, and application for the Emergency Care Benefit doesn’t open until April. There are many others who don’t equality for these measures but have suffered debilitating income loss during the pandemic, including but not limited to small business owners, and gig, freelance, contract workers, artists and people in the film industry during the crisis. For people on fixed incomes, such as seniors and people on disability pensions and benefits, the decrease in accessibility to community programming mean that living costs are increasing.

While the E.I. program and other credit measures have been expanded, the reality remains that the payments will not come in time to meet the immediate needs of Canadians. As well, many Canadians, including seniors and people on disability benefits, may not be eligible for the measures.

It is also important to note also that as people scramble to apply for the many different programs, the capacity for our system to process the many applications will be exceeded. For many low and modest income earners who were just getting by, the partial income replacement is not enough to cover basic costs. As rent day draws near, more and more constituents are reaching out to me and telling me that they have to make the impossible choice between rent, utilities, medication and food. This situation is the same across Canada, as people face uncertainty and are looking to the government to provide help and guidance during this very difficult time.

Complicating the issue is that tenancy laws are different province to province. Some provinces have enacted moratoriums on evictions while others have not. Even in jurisdictions where there is an eviction moratorium in place, renters and homeowners alike are concerned about being hit with a lump sum bill with all deferred payments, accrued interests and late charges once the moratorium is lifted.

As you know, Canada was already experiencing a housing crisis before the COVID-19 pandemic. The added challenges and vulnerability faced by Canadians is exacerbating already existing issues, such as tenants facing renovictions and demovictions. Imagine being a vulnerable, low/modest income earner who is facing a loss of income during this time and having to navigate looking for a home at the same time!

Homeowners are also receiving mixed responses from their banks about the possibility of deferring mortgage payments, with some banks providing a deferral but not alleviating interest charges, while others are evaluating requests for mortgage deferral on a “case-by-case basis”. Some homeowners do not know if they will qualify at all for mortgage deferral, and they have not been able to contact their banks with all the phone lines being busy.

All the aforementioned factors leave too much uncertainty and too much vulnerability for Canadians across the country. To protect Canadians from losing their homes, the government must step in now, before rent day, and take action to enact a nation-wide rent-freeze, eviction freeze, mortgage-freeze, and utilities-freeze.

As aforementioned, Canadians are being financially impacted by this pandemic in many ways, including job loss, income loss, increased costs of acquiring basic necessities like food, and others. The people in Canada urgently need a nationwide freeze on rent, mortgage, evictions and utility payment. To ensure that no one is left behind, we need to put in place a guaranteed income for all during the pandemic.

The NDP is calling for the government to cut the administrative burden by providing direct assistance to everyone in Canada in the form of a monthly guaranteed income of $2000 a month, with an addition of $250 per child right away until the pandemic is over.

As rent day is due for Canadians in a few days, it is crucial that we act now.

Sincerely,
Jenny Kwan
Member of Parliament for Vancouver East NDP Critic for Housing"

Latest posts

City News: Demonstrators hold rally for Hong Kong residents facing PR processing backlog

The rally is organized by the Hong Kong Pathway Alliance. Similar events are also taking place in Calgary and Toronto.

The pathway allows eligible Hong Kong residents in Canada, including people who studied or worked here, to apply for PR.

People here say they have waited for years and still do not know when their applications will be finished.

“Right now I’m stuck in limbo. It’s been a year and a half. I haven’t heard back from the IRCC regarding my application, and we’re continuously arguing with, we’re continuously hoping that IRCC sees our cases,” said Vikrambir Singh, another demonstrator.

“There’s not just me, there’s 40,000 plus applications that are stuck in limbo, and we don’t know when they’re going to get processed.”

They also point to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada’s (IRCC) processing time tool, which now suggests new applicants could wait more than 10 years for their PR.

The Immigration Minister recently told Parliament that there have been more than 46,000 applications under the Hong Kong PR pathways, and just over 13,000 had arrived.

“And the minister’s solution is, “don’t apply under the lifeboat scheme”. What is she even talking about? That scheme was specifically designed for Hong Kongers, said MP Jenny Kwan, representing Vancouver East for the NDP.

“So, it is absolutely outrageous that she would renege on the government’s promise in suggesting that the Hong Kongers should apply under a different stream. It is absolutely unacceptable.”

The federal government introduced special measures for Hong Kong residents in 2020, after China imposed the national security law in Hong Kong.

*Click image or link to read or watch the TV news story - https://vancouver.citynews.ca/2026/06/07/demonstrators-rally-hong-kong-pr-processing-backlog/

Toronto Star: Carney government testing use of AI in prisons to create profile reports of offenders

OTTAWA—The Canadian government is considering the use of artificial intelligence to save time creating influential assessment profile reports of offenders as they go to federal prisons, and is running a small-scale trial to test it, the Star has learned.

Carney government releases AI road map that aims to make Canada a leader
Federal Politics
Carney government releases AI road map that aims to make Canada a leader
Mentioned in lengthy documents tabled in Parliament last month and confirmed by Correctional Service Canada (CSC), the test run comes as the Carney government tries to ramp up AI adoption, including with billions in a national strategy released this week.

But the prison trial, which CSC says has not yet been used in real cases, is raising concerns from AI experts, criminal defence lawyers and the federal NDP’s public safety critic, who argue a widespread adoption could lead to crucial errors, exacerbate racial biases and put offenders and victims at risk.

Criminal profile reports, as they are called, are detailed “foundational documents” prepared by CSC staff during a prisoner’s intake process that identify risks and play a role in major decisions like access to programs and likelihood of parole.

Drawing from scores of official documents, they include details about an offender’s criminal history, the circumstances of their crimes, patterns of violence or behavioural, mental health and addiction issues, family and social background, trauma history, education and employment records, and even victim impact statements.

“This is what defines your offence cycle,” criminal defence lawyer Nora Demnati said of those reports. “It will have an impact on everything else that comes.”

That’s why the Carney government should slow down and consult widely, including with the CSC union, its lawyers and the Privacy Commissioner of Canada before going further, said NDP MP Jenny Kwan, the party’s public safety critic. Neither the Union of Safety and Justice Employees or the Office of the Privacy Commissioner have been consulted yet, they told the Star.

Kwan warned of a multitude of legal concerns that go both ways and can have a “cascading impact”: Violating the rights of inmates if mistakes are added to reports, on one hand, or hurting victims and prison staff if crucial information is missed by the AI summaries, on the other.

“When you have those kinds of risks associated with correctional policing matters, you can imagine what the huge ramifications might be,” Kwan told the Star. “You could potentially compromise people’s legal rights.”

*Click image or link to read the news story - https://www.thestar.com/politics/federal/carney-government-testing-use-of-ai-in-prisons-to-create-profile-reports-of-offenders/article_ce33a6c9-794a-423c-884f-ace1e91872e2.html#tncms-source=login

Canadian Press: Activists call on feds to put pressure on Israel over treatment of Gaza aid flotilla

Canadian activists detained by Israel last month while taking part in an aid flotilla trying to reach Gaza say Canada isn’t doing enough to call out treatment by Israeli officials that Ottawa has called appalling.

While Israel has rejected claims of abuse, flotilla participant Ehab Lotayef said Wednesday Israeli officials beat him on the chest and ribs, put him in uncomfortable positions for long periods and slashed his hand when he tried to help a fellow detainee.

“We felt that we were let down by Canada before anybody else, to be honest, because the Canadian government knew all that was happening,” Lotayef told a news conference on Parliament Hill.

“When we needed them was when we were being tortured — and the whole world knew that that was happening.”

Activist flotillas have tried repeatedly to reach the Gaza Strip to draw attention to tight restrictions on humanitarian supplies for Palestinians. Israel has intercepted these boats, often in international waters.

Lotayef was one of 12 Canadians among 420 flotilla activists detained by Israeli authorities last month. Their detention gained international notoriety when Israel’s Public Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir posted a video of himself taunting the detained activists.

*Click image or link to read the news story - https://cheknews.ca/activists-call-on-feds-to-put-pressure-on-israel-over-treatment-of-gaza-aid-flotilla-1328346/