Pandemic Support

OPEN LETTER to Immigration Minister on long processing delay

I am writing to you to echo the concerns I’ve been hearing from families who are experiencing long delays for spousal sponsorship applications and urge for your government to adjust the program to allow conditions for spouses to obtain temporary resident visas as part of the spousal sponsorship application process.
Immigration is an exercise in nation building, and I have always seen family reunification as a pivotal component of Canada’s immigration system. During the last 5 years as the NDP Critic for Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, I have heard far too many heart wrenching stories of how families are kept apart due to long delays in processing. Indeed, the issue of long delays in processing for permanent residence applications is a longstanding one and I share the concerns experienced by families who remain separated while they wait on the spousal sponsorship application process, which has worsened under COVID-19.

OPEN LETTER to Deupty Prime Minister and Finance Minister on federal emergency funding needed to save historic Chinatown

Your government has been made aware of the dire situation for businesses in Vancouver since the start of the pandemic. As you are aware, a recent announcement was made for Granville Island in Vancouver, a site owned by the federal government, where a special provision is made and $17 million is made available to provide rent relief for the merchants, theatres and artisans for a full year. While I support and appreciate the Federal government’s action in support of Granville Island, I would like to emphasize that historic Chinatown is in need of special consideration from your government. The significance of Vancouver’s Chinatown, a national historic site, is undeniably valuable to our city, our province and indeed our country.
Even before the pandemic occurred, Chinatown was already in a delicate state. The neighbourhood was ranked number three on the Heritage Vancouver Society’s top 10 watch list of endangered sites in Vancouver in 2018 and listed as the top 10 endangered places of the National Trust for Canada in 2016. In fact, ongoing gentrification and immense pressure from developers have already been impacting Chinatown’s rich cultural essence. The loss of small business merchants would only increase the risk of Chinatown losing its unique urban cultural characteristics.

OPEN LETTER to Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Finance and Minister of Employment on continued support for new mothers, new parents and infants

We have previously raised concerns in letters to you, in Committee and in technical briefings about the financial difficulty faced by new parents who have fallen through the gaps between both EI maternity/parental leave and the CERB. We are still hearing from new parents about the many reasons that they struggle to meet their basic needs in this pandemic:

• Expectant and new parents who lost work as a result of COVID-19, and are no longer able to accrue the hours needed to qualify for EI maternity or parental benefits, have therefore been left without the source of income they were counting on during maternity or parental leave. While CERB may assist some of these families for up to 16 weeks, this is no replacement for the 12 to 18 month support provided by EI maternity benefits.

OPEN LETTER to Immigration Minister and Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada to address migrant workers’ bad treatment

We urge you to instruct your respective departments to immediately undertake a review of the existing situation on Canadian farms with respect to migrant workers. It is evident from the volume of complaints this 60-day snapshot put together by the Migrant Workers Alliance that there a need for immediate action. We further urge that you undertake to act on the recommendations as outlined in the report.

The living conditions identified by these workers are simply unacceptable and we look forward to your prompt response, detailing the steps being taken by the Government of Canada to ensure migrant workers who grow the food that supports Canadians – and the world – are treated with dignity, respect and to ensure their health and safety.

OPEN LETTER to Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Finance and Minister of Infrastructure and Communities on emergency COVID-19 financial assistance to save the PNE

As such, this meant that all the other Fairs across the country were able to access the CEWS at this difficult time, however, the PNE is the only fair that has been deemed ineligible. If the PNE is unable to a I first corresponded with you about the situation faced by the Pacific National Exhibition (the PNE) on April 21, 2020. PNE President & CEO Shelley Frost advised that at that time, “Since March 15th the PNE had 249 event cancellations totaling over $8.2 M in revenue. The loss of a summer operating season (Playland and PNE Fair) will result in another $42 million in revenue losses by November 2020...The PNE‘s only financial safety net is a $15 million credit line. With COVID shutting down the economy at the start of our spring revenue season, the PNE goes deeper into that credit line daily. We have minimized expenses, shut down services to various buildings on site and conducted maximum level layoffs to maintain as much room as we can within that credit line for the coming months. But once that credit line is maxed out, we have no options.”

OPEN LETTER to Immigration Minister on temporary foreign workers’ short-term policy change

TFWs have faced a number of significant challenges throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, and there is still much uncertainty regarding their status and the implications of the delays in the processing of their work permits.
First, according to the IRCC website, for open work permits for vulnerable workers: "Officers are instructed to process work permit applications on an urgent basis (5 business days from the time the application is received at the local IRCC office responsible for processing the application)." At the same time, the website also states: "However, processing times may be affected by fluctuating volumes of applications received at IRCC”. In reality, I have been informed by numerous advocates that within the past months the response time from IRCC has been on average one month for many who have applied. I am deeply concerned that this is far from the 5 business days as stated on the website. Given the precarious situation of these workers, it would be essential that their cases are processed expeditiously. I am therefore asking that you do everything you can to ensure the applications are indeed processed on an urgent basis - within 5 business days.

OPEN LETTER to Deputy Prime Minister and Cabinet Committee on federal response to COVID-19

In recent weeks cities across the country have seen an increase in hate crimes and racism related to COVID-19, particularly towards those of Asian-descent. In a Vancouver convenience store last month, a man hurled racist remarks related to COVID-19 at a 92- year-old man of Asian descent, before shoving him to the ground. Another assault was reported to the police where a visible minority woman was punched, grabbed by her hair, her face was slammed into the seats of skytrain and pushed out of the train. Similar disturbing incidents took place in Toronto where an Asian woman was hit by an umbrella, told to go back to where she came from and spat at. Most recently, a good samaritan intervened when an individual began to harassed two Asian women wearing protective masks on a bus by telling them to: "Go back to your own country; that's where it all started." The bystander was kicked, punched and wrestled to the ground by the suspect. Her hair was pulled so hard that a clump of hair was ripped from her scalp. Now, Dakota, an indigenous woman out walking her dog was punched in the face repeatedly and told to "go back to Asia".
Aside from such violent individual attacks, the Greater Vancouver Chinese Cultural Centre also saw hate messages written on their windows. The Millennium Gate in Vancouver's historic Chinatown was defaced with racist comments . These are just a few examples of the disturbing trends in the midst of COVID-19.

OPEN LETTER to Deputy Prime Minster, Finance Minister and Health Minister on emergecy support for single parents

The eligibility criteria for the Canadian Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) continue to exclude single parents who have seen their income dramatically lowered because of decreases in their ex-partner’s income due to COIVD-19. Another few weeks have gone by since we first brought this issue to your attention and the situation is becoming more desperate for these families with each passing day.
It is a major source of anxiety not only for the Canadians, predominantly women, who depend upon these support payments to make ends meet, but to their ex-partners as well, who want to see their children and former partners supported financially through the crisis and who also do not want to default on their court orders.

OPEN LETTER to Deputy Prime Minister about concerns on Emergency Commercial Rent Assistance for small businesses

One constituent who co-owns a small commercial gallery wrote to say that he approached his commercial landlord about seeking assistance on their business’ commercial rent through this program. He says that the landlord owns the building outright and does not have a mortgage payment, and therefore will not offer assistance to their commercial tenants.
Another constituent wrote with a similar concern. They own a business providing rental equipment, and say that their landlord “has no mortgage, has no interest in providing relief, doesn’t want paperwork, and for the most part thinks businesses should provide for tough times themselves”. They voiced their concern that, in providing the program through landlords rather than directly to tenants, there are many businesses like theirs who will not be able to access this rent relief.

OPEN LETTER to Deputy Prime Minister and Housing Minister on human rights based national housing strategy needed to house all Canadians

Canada is gripped by an unprecedented pandemic. Every single person across the country is affected by it and those who live in the margins of society are particularly vulnerable and face heightened risks. For the homeless population, the risks are glaringly apparent as they have no ability to engage in any of the safe practices recommended by medical officers.
Notwithstanding the fact that in 2019, Canada recognized that the right to adequate housing is a fundamental human right as affirmed in international human rights laws, it remains that Canada has a wide spread housing and homelessness crisis. The current COVID-19 pandemic brings to light in no uncertain terms the importance of housing for not only an individual's health, but for the overall health and safety of our communities.
The homelessness crisis is not only an affront to human rights, but also poses an enormous national public health risk. The lack of a coordinated, national strategy means that people will inevitably fall through the cracks of the patchwork efforts. This puts the individuals and the communities they live in at risk.