Poverty and Affordability

Open Letter to Federal Housing Minister on urgent housing crisis

I am therefore calling on the federal government to re-establish the Vancouver Agreement – a tripartite initiative that brought all levels of government together to support social, economic and community development in Vancouver, with a specific focus on the Downtown East Side.  We need an urgent and concerted effort between all levels of government working in collaboration with local non-governmental organizations to address the challenges in our community, with urgent interventions to find safe housing and supports for people in crisis, and long-term systemic solutions to address the needs of the community.  The status quo simply cannot continue.

MEDIA RELEASE: New Democrats fight for increased support for people living with disabilities

OTTAWA – Earlier this month, NDP Critic for Disability Inclusion, Bonita Zarrillo, secured support from all Members of Parliament to put in place a Canada Disability Benefit without delay. Thanks to Zarrillo’s motion, the federal government has finally committed to bringing legislation forward before the end of June, to make this benefit a reality.

"People living with a disability in Canada who have felt ignored by this government are rightly frustrated. For years they have heard empty promises with no real action from the government," said Zarrillo. "People living with a disability make up 41 per cent of all those living in poverty in Canada. The pandemic created even more financial challenges for them and now, due to the rising costs of essentials like groceries and housing, people living with a disability are finding it even harder to make ends meet."

MEDIA RELEASE - Liberals and Conservatives protect the profits of big oil companies instead of Canadians

OTTAWA – Today, Liberal and Conservatives teamed up to vote down an NDP proposal to stop giving billions of tax payer dollars to profitable oil and gas companies and instead reinvest that money in Canadians struggling to make ends meet. The government’s rejection of the NDP plan to help Canadians comes on the same day that inflation reached its highest rate since 1991.

“Canadians have been getting crushed by the soaring cost of living. The price of food and gas is so high that people struggling to take care of themselves and their families,” said NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh. “What we proposed today is a way to get money back into people’s pockets to give them a little extra help to cover their growing costs. Its unthinkable that the Liberal government and the Conservatives teamed up to defeat our motion. They think public money should go to the oil and gas companies who are already making record profits instead of helping Canadian families. New Democrats know that’s wrong and we’re going to keep fighting to get people the help they desperately need.”

MEDIA RELEASE - NDP urging the government to defend Canadians getting gouged at the pumps instead of helping big oil companies profit

OTTAWA – As the price of gas reached over two dollars per litre in most parts of the country today, NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh is urging the Liberal government to help Canadians struggling with the rising cost of living. While Canadians are getting gouged at the pumps, big oil and gas companies are making record profits. In a Parliamentary motion, Singh is calling on the Liberals to stop giving billions of dollars of public money to oil and gas companies and reinvest those funds in renewable energy and solutions that make life more affordable for Canadians.
“Canadians have been through a lot in the last two years of the pandemic. They’ve been isolated from their loved ones and now, the price of gas is so high people are cancelling the trips they had planned to see their family and friends because they simply can’t afford the trip,” said Singh. “While people are making these sacrifices, oil and gas companies like Suncor and Cenovus are making record profits. Instead of helping Canadian families with the cost of living, the government continues to give billions of dollars in subsidies to oil and gas companies who are already making a fortune. It makes no sense. New Democrats are calling on the government to stop helping to maximize corporate profits and start defending Canadian families.”

MEDIA RELEASE - NDP calls on government to put more money back in Canadians’ pockets

“People are anxious. They’re very worried about covering the costs of the everyday things they need, like gas and groceries,” said Singh. “Canadians are paying record-high prices at the pumps so that these big oil and gas companies can make more and more profits. This is exactly what is wrong with the system designed by Liberals and Conservatives – in times of crisis, the rich and powerful win – Canadian lose. It doesn’t have to be this way. New Democrats are urging the federal government to act and make things fairer for everyday Canadians.”
New Democrats are proposing that the government double the GST tax credit and increase the Canada Child Benefit (CCB) for all recipients by $500. This would mean middle-class and low-income Canadians would get between $500 and $1000 to help them pay their bills. With these NDP proposals, at least 40 per cent of Canadians would get money back in their pockets to help with their growing expenses.

MEDIA RELEASE - Canadians across the country need affordable Internet services

The pandemic has shown how much people depend on Internet and cellphone services to stay connected, work and study. The reality is that Canadians are tired and frustrated from paying high fees for Internet services that make big, rich telecommunications companies even richer. They feel like they are being ripped off, especially people who are struggling to get by with the cost of groceries, gas for their cars and other bills pilling up.

Today's announcement is a first step, but government eligibility criteria still excludes many low-income families and seniors who depend on Internet services.

Since Justin Trudeau came to power, instead of taking action to reduce internet charges, his government has protected the monopoly and profits of telecom giants at the expense of the people who pay some of the highest fees in the world.

HANSARD - Government should not be in the business of financing corporate rental landlords

Parliament VIDEO: On food banks, food insecurity and poverty, better is possible!!

On December 8, 2021, MP Jenny Kwan gave the NDP's Wednesday Women's Statement, talking about Food Banks, Food Insecurity & Poverty:

OPEN LETTER to housing minister on cost-sharing plan with BC provincial and municipal government urgently needed to address homelessness crisis

The homelessness crisis is not only an affront to human rights, but also poses an enormous national public health risk. This puts the individuals and the communities they live in at risk. Despite the undisputable importance of housing, I am deeply concerned that your government’s National Housing Strategy (NHS) is woefully inadequate.
Based on the response to my order paper question submitted February 4th, 2020, it seems the largest component of the NHS, the National Housing Co-investment Fund (NHCF), has fallen short of expectations. I was shocked to learn that only 23 of 432 of submissions have finalized funding agreements. Even more troubling was the lack of funding outside of Ontario. Among these applications, over 50% of the finalized agreements were from Ontario and over 91% of the $1.47 billion in these agreements went to a single application in the City of Toronto.
Only 2 applications were finalized in British Columbia, which represents 0.05% of these funds. To say the least, this fails to recognize the housing crisis that has impacted Vancouver and communities in my riding particularly hard.

Mailer (Homelessness Crisis) Summer 2020