On this page are selected videos of speeches, statements, debates, and questions I raise in the House.

To watch parliamentary proceedings live, you can visit: https://parlvu.parl.gc.ca/Harmony

Parliament Video: Housing is a Human Right

Tonight in Metro Vancouver, 3,605 people will be spending the night homeless. A substantial number of these individuals reside in my riding of Vancouver East.

    The number of people, 3,605 is obtained from the 2017 homelessness count. Since 2014, the number of homeless people in Metro Vancouver has increased by 30%, and that number is constantly growing. To break that number down a little, half of them have been homeless for over a year; 16% are young people under 25; 21% are seniors; and, yes, 21% either have a part-time or full-time job.

    In my riding, where the rental vacancy rate has been sitting at below 1% for years, even those who are currently housed live in constant fear that they may be the next victim of the rental evictions and demo evictions that have been dominating our local news cycles. Many are paying more than 30% of their total income on rent.

    If this picture seems wrong to members, it is because the situation we have in my riding and indeed throughout the country is a human rights violation. Housing is declared as a basic right by the United Nations, and Canada has signed and ratified a number of international human rights treaties that identify the right to adequate housing as a fundamental basic human right.

Parliament Video: Jenny in the House: What Portugal is doing on the Opioid Crisis

While speaking to the motion to create Portuguese Heritage Month, I wanted to take some time to discuss the great things going on in Portugal in regards to harm reduction. Canada can and should learn from Portuguese model. Over 15 years ago, Portugal made a decision that things needed to change with the realization the current approach simply was not working. Portugal embraced the harm reduction approach, understanding that addiction issues were better suited to be addressed by the health care system and social welfare system than the criminal justice system. Portugal took what seemed like a radical step to many peer nations: decriminalizing minor possession of all drugs and dramatically shifting their resources away from the criminal justice system towards health and social services:

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