Jenny Kwan
Vancouver East, British Columbia · NDP · Canada
“Mr. Speaker, I rise to table three petitions today. The first petition is signed by electors of Vancouver Fraserview–South Burnaby and Vancouver Quadra, who brought their petitions to their local MPs but had to ask for my assistance to table this in the House.”
“Communities know what they need, municipalities know what they need, indigenous housing providers know what they need and frontline organizations know what they need, yet funding decisions remain concentrated in Ottawa while people on the ground continue to experience delays, uncertainty and shifting eligibility rules.”
“They see that the Prime Minister is abandoning the provinces and territories that did not sign the pharmacare agreement prior to the last election. People do not care about talking points. They care about whether or not they can afford their medication. They care about whether they must choose between prescriptions and groceries.”
“Phase 2 funding under the federal community housing initiative will sunset. This subsidy support is critical to co-op housing members whose household incomes would cause them to pay more than the current 25% rent geared to income. If this program is not renewed, more than 14,400 families across the country will lose their homes.”
“In fact, for 30 years, the Indian Residential School Survivors Society has provided support to indigenous people harmed by Canada's colonial systems, the sixties scoop, the ongoing missing and murdered indigenous women and girls and 2S+ crisis, and more, yet despite repeated commitments to reconciliation, despite having been told by Indig…”
“It determines staffing, curriculum and infrastructure. It determines whether first nations children have stable access to education. It is in effect the backbone of educational stability for first nations students in this province.”
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Every one of 508 lines we hold for Jenny Kwan, in date order, each linked to its source. Free to read, in full, without an account. Page 11 of 11.
“Mr. Speaker, I rise to table a petition on behalf of Vancouver East constituents who took part in the peace train journey to Ottawa to promote a culture of peace and resist the culture of war. The petitioners note that Canada is a signatory to the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and Canada's adoption of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples further reflects our commitment to the principles of justice, equality and freedom. They note that these principles are essential to peace, to preventing conflict and war, and for Canada's own security and stability. They also note that a lack of universal respect for and observance of human rights and fundamental freedoms is a chief underlying cause of violent conflict.”
“Mr. Speaker, judging from that speech, I guess it explains the member's position and why Pierre Poilievre actually called community housing and co-op housing “Soviet-style” housing. I get that, because, according to the member's speech, he seems to be alleging that anything to do with supporting the community on the whole is communism. The member says he supports tax cuts, so let me ask him a question. The craft brewery community and distilleries are hit with an unfair excise tax. In fact, it is one that should be changed. My question for the member is this: Would he support changing the excise tax, the tax rate, so that Canadian domestic craft brewers and distillers would not have to pay the same rate as the two largest foreign-owned businesses here in Canada operating in the industry?”
“Mr. Speaker, I congratulate my colleague on her re-election. I know that these issues are near and dear to her heart as the former minister of democratic institutions. What I heard in the campaign during the election period from Vancouver East constituents was the need for electoral reform. Many people wanted to make sure their vote is respected and counted so they do not have to be pressured to vote strategically, so to speak, but can actually vote with their heart. My question to the member is this: Will she champion electoral reform, one member, one vote, for our Canadian democracy and bring in proportional representation?”
“Mr. Speaker, we are seeing double digits in unemployment for youth, yet in the throne speech, there is no mention of programs such as the youth climate corps, which would ensure that a new generation of young people would get employment opportunities building Canada's infrastructure. Will the member support a youth climate corps for Canada?”
“We did not have that during the election, and there has yet to be any mention of that anywhere from the government bench, including from the Prime Minister . Why was that not mentioned in the throne speech?”
“Mr. Speaker, let me congratulate you on taking the seat in the Speaker's chair as Deputy Speaker. We saw in the throne speech that there was a lot of discussion about the threat towards Canada from the Trump administration, and rightfully so. Canadians and, I believe, every member of the House will be very focused on taking that issue to heart and on protecting Canada and our sovereignty. At the same time, we also have another threat, and that is the issue of foreign interference. We knew that, heading into the election, our democratic institutions were under threat from foreign interference actors, yet the Liberal government, in the previous administration, did not put in place Bill C-70 .”
“My question for the member is this: What is he going to do to ensure social housing and co-op housing— Some hon. members: Oh, oh!”
“Mr. Speaker, I congratulate my colleague on his election. New Democrats will be here to hold the government to account, of course, and collaborate where possible, notwithstanding that we do not have official party status. On the issue around housing, and we all heard it on the ground during the election campaign, there is nothing in the throne speech that talks about renters. There is nothing in the throne speech that talks about building social housing and co-op housing, recognizing it was the Liberals who cancelled the national affordable housing program, and there are no measures in the throne speech to address housing profiteering. Is it because the Minister of Housing is saying that affordability is not an issue faced by Canadians?”