SoVote

Decentralized Democracy

House Hansard - 195

44th Parl. 1st Sess.
May 11, 2023 10:00AM
Context: House Hansard - 195 - May/11/23
Ms. Jenny Kwan
  • May/11/23 12:08:59 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, part of the motion says, “tripling Canada’s population has real impacts on the future of the French language, Quebec’s political weight, the place of First Peoples, access to housing, and health and education infrastructure”: I want to address this issue. I appreciate the member's work at the immigration committee. I have come to know him and respect a lot of the work that he does. However, I think we are embarking on a very dangerous path, where we could signal that we are going to be vilifying and blaming the immigrant community for the health care crisis we are facing, the housing crisis we are facing and the problems that we have seen as a result of colonization of Canada for indigenous peoples. It is not the immigrant community that should be carrying that weight, but rather, it is the governments that should be carrying that weight.
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Context: House Hansard - 195 - May/11/23
Ms. Jenny Kwan
  • May/11/23 12:10:49 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, there is no question that the provinces and territories need to step up and address that issue, but the federal government also needs to do the same. Because the federal government, with its immigration measures, only allows migrant workers to come to work in Canada with the identified employer, they are not able to work elsewhere. Those with the talents to work in other sectors are unable to do so because of immigration restrictions, even though they meet the criteria and have the credentials. The federal government has a role to play to fix that problem. At the end of the day, I hope we can all recognize the value of those in the immigrant community. Instead of vilifying them, blaming them and turning our guns on them, we should say that we are one community and we welcome immigrant communities. It does not have to be one or the other.
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Context: House Hansard - 195 - May/11/23
Ms. Jenny Kwan
  • May/11/23 12:12:21 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, that is precisely what I fear with this motion. That is why the NDP is not going to support it, as it ties housing to the immigrant community. The housing crisis exists because successive Liberal and Conservative governments failed on housing. They cancelled the national affordable housing program, they cut funding, and then they were developing initiatives that do not meet the needs. They are not tackling the core of the issue, which is corporate landlords. Instead, they continue to give them special tax treatment. The issue here is not the immigrant community. It is the lack of action from successive Liberal and Conservative governments that has caused the housing crisis, and I would argue, also the health challenges that we face today.
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