The mayor of Vegreville, Alta. says he's been given new energy in his battle with the Liberal government over the planned closure of an immigration and refugee processing centre.
Conservative and NDP MPs have pledged to unite in their efforts to aid Mayor Myron Hayduk's cause.
The federal government plans to move the centre from Vegreville to Edmonton in 2018 and take about 230 jobs with it.
(From CBC article: http://www.cbc.ca/beta/news/canada/edmonton/vegreville-immigration-centre-relocate-edmonton-federal-hayduk-1.4213252)
Hayduk hosted a meeting in Vegreville on Wednesday that included Jenny Kwan, NDP MP for Vancouver East, Shannon Stubbs, Conservative MP for Lakeland, and Linda Duncan, NDP MP for Edmonton Strathcona.
"This is kind of like the third wind we got," said Hayduk. "For the town, for council, this has given us a great boost."
Kwan, the NDP critic for immigration, refugees and citizenship, has written a letter to Immigration Minister Ahmed Hussen about the Vegreville closure. She calls for Hussen to reconsider moving the centre.
"The decision to close CPC Vegreville is wrong," writes Kwan, the NDP critic for immigration, refugees and citizenship.
"The community stands ready to work with you. I respectfully urge you to listen to its many, many voices and to reverse your plans."
Other communities also concerned
What's happening in Vegreville could happen in any rural community in Canada, Kwan said during her visit to the town 100 kilometres east of Edmonton.
Hayduk said the fight is not only for Vegreville, because other towns and cities are also concerned about losing federal government offices.
"I don't have positive proof of it but the intent is to remove federal offices from rural Canada," he said.
'This will not kill us'
Losing the centre will have a big impact on Vegreville, the mayor said. He foresees economic and social costs for the town of 5,700.
"Vegreville is a very strong community," Hayduk said. "This will not kill us. It's going to cripple us a little bit, but we'd be getting back on our feet."
Immigration centre employees who decide to continue living in Vegreville but commute into Edmonton will be adding two hours of travel time to each workday, he said.
"That is going to take away from the volunteer time. It's going to take away from family time."
During a visit to Edmonton in May, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau stood by his government's decision to relocate the centre to Edmonton.
"This is something we need to do to ensure the continued high quality of services that Canadians expect from their government," Trudeau said at the time.
A Vancouver NDP MP is sounding the alarm when it comes to rent-geared-to-income housing units, saying incoming changes by the federal government will lead to a severe shortage within the affordable housing market in this country.
Vancouver East MP Jenny Kwan says she’s learned that as of March 31, 2028, Ottawa will be cutting subsidy funding to non-profits that operate buildings that include units for those on a fixed income. Once those suites are vacated, she says the price of those units will be bumped to market rates.
For example, a rental suite that’s going for $650 right now could be increased to $1,800 or more.
Kwan adds these changes are happening right now at some buildings in Metro Vancouver as non-profits try to bank money to prepare for their funding to be slashed in the future.
Recently non-profits have been advised an Amending Agreement for some of those projects would come into effect on June 29, 2024, whereby Rent-Geared-Income (RGI) units will need to revert to market rent as soon as turnover of the existing tenant occurs as the subsidies for those units will not be renewed beyond 2028. It further stipulates that this conversion will be permanent. What this means is that Canada will permanently lose thousands of RGI units for low-income residents. This is in addition to the loss of 370,000 affordable units under the Liberal government’s watch and another 800,000 units under the Conservative’s watch.
This poses a significant risk to thousands of Canadians, especially Indigenous communities which are already overrepresented in homelessness and housing need. The non-market housing sector plays a crucial role in communities across Canada, offering not just shelter but stability, security, and a sense of community for its residents. Canada is already faced with a housing crisis. It is widely recognized that for every affordable housing unit built, 11 will be lost. Without the continuation of these subsidies, homelessness will be further exacerbated.
The hearings are part of the inquiry's examination of possible meddling by China, India, Russia and others in the 2019 and 2021 federal elections.
Deputy RCMP commissioner Mark Flynn provided few other details about the ongoing probes, but indicated to reporters that some of the leads emerged through individuals “speaking about their own experiences very publicly,” including in the House of Commons.
Former Conservative leader Erin O'Toole, Conservative MP Michael Chong and New Democrat MP Jenny Kwan have all been identified publicly as possible targets of foreign interference by China.
In a classified February interview with the inquiry, Duheme said the RCMP did not open any foreign interference-related criminal investigations during the last two general elections.
