NDP critic for immigration, refugees and citizenship, Jenny Kwan, made the following statement:
"Since 2018, the NDP has been calling for the visa requirements to be dropped for Ukrainians who wish to come to Canada. With the unprovoked Russian invasion, the need to expedite the process for Ukrainians looking for refuge in Canada has never been more urgent.
I have heard from constituents who have family members back in Ukraine that have had their visa applications rejected. Canadians are feeling helpless and frustrated because they can't get their family members to safety. By failing to remove all the bureaucratic red tape the government is leaving people stranded in a terrifying situation. Today at the Parliamentary committee on Immigration, all parties voted to allow Ukrainians to come to Canada without a visa – only the Liberals said 'no' to the final motion.
Ukrainians need an obstacle-free path to come to Canada expeditiously. Lives hang in the balance. It's inexcusable that the government isn't taking this crucial step to help innocent people in Ukraine under threat of violence.
Furthermore, to ensure action to support Ukraine at this time of crisis, all parties also voted to increase resources at Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada to undertake this work so that the existing backlog for all immigration streams is not further impacted by this humanitarian crisis. The government cannot repeat the mistakes they made with Afghanistan by simply moving resources around. It is very unfortunate that the Liberals voted 'no' to the final motion today."
In the House of Commons, members of Parliament pay tribute to the late Kirsty Duncan. The former Liberal MP and cabinet minister died January 26, 2026, at the age of 59. Delivering remarks are MPs Michelle Rempel Garner (Conservative), Alexandra Mendès (Liberal), Claude DeBbellefeuille (Bloc Québécois), Jenny Kwan (NDP), and Elizabeth May (the leader of the Green Party).
OTTAWA — Housing Minister Gregor Robertson tabled legislation on Thursday to establish the federal government’s new affordable housing agency, but acknowledged Build Canada Homes has no set targets on how many homes it will build.
In December, the Parliamentary Budget Officer released a report that estimated the agency’s efforts would result in 26,000 directly funded units over the next five years. The federal government has said the report does not take into account the units that will result from Build Canada Homes’ partnerships with private developers and its $51-billion infrastructure fund.
Still, the PBO estimates federal spending on housing programs is set to decline by 56 per cent, from $9.8 billion in 2025-26 to $4.3 billion in 2028-29, due to expiration of funding for existing programs and cuts set out in Budget 2025.
“Canada’s non-profit housing stock has dwindled to only about four and a half percent of its total housing stock, well below the G7 average,” said NDP housing critic Jenny Kwan, in an interview with the National Post. “Countries that are doing well in addressing the housing situation is sitting at about 20 per cent.”
The federal government introduced legislation that would enshrine its housing agency as a Crown corporation on Thursday, giving it land acquisition authority as well as the ability to partner with private developers — as questions remain over the number of units it intends to build.
The Conservative Party, which has previously been critical of Build Canada Homes for adding a layer of bureaucracy to homebuilding, did not indicate whether it plans to support the bill.
"The legislation was just tabled. I look forward to studying it in detail and I look forward to discussing with colleagues and I look forward to participating in the debate," said Conservative MP Garnett Genuis, who represents the Edmonton-area riding of Sherwood Park-Fort Saskatchewan.
NDP housing critic Jenny Kwan criticized the bill for not defining the term "affordable housing," also noting in a statement it "grants extraordinarily broad powers to Build Canada Homes, allowing it to finance and partner with virtually any person or entity, acquire and develop land, own and operate housing and invest in third-party ventures, all with minimal constraints and limited parliamentary oversight."
She also said turning the agency into a Crown corporation "removes accountability from the minister of housing."