Wednesday September 6, 2023 | LANGFORD, BC
by Mary P Brooke | Island Social Trends
The 44th Parliament will pick up the beat of Canadian governance starting September 18 in the House of Commons. After their summer break and time spent meeting constituents in their communities, Members of Parliament (MPs) are returning to Ottawa.
Today the NDP caucus held a live session that was televised nationally.
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh mentioned all of the crises that are Canadians are presently facing, topped by the cost of living and particularly housing and renting. He also mentioned the challenges of climate emergencies, health care, and finding jobs.
Singh has spent the summer touring the country, including all of last week here on Vancouver Island.
Interest rates steady:
Singh was glad that the Bank of Canada chose to not increase their interest rate today. It remains at 5%, though with a caveat that it could go higher toward achieving the target of reducing inflation to between 2% and 3%.
Last week while visiting Sooke here on Vancouver Island, Singh said the Bank of Canada had done enough interest rate hikes (even suggesting they’d gone too far), as regular folks are really hurting to make ends meet.
People are struggling:
Some people are in danger of losing their homes, and when they cut back on grocery purchases that leads to family harms. Three provincial premiers (BC, Ontario and Newfoundland and Labrador) made the same claim in letters to the Bank of Canada over recent days — that enough is enough.
“There might come a day when you just can’t pay the bills anymore. It doesn’t have to be this way,” said Singh today. He said this is “a truly difficult time for many in our country”.
Strategy in the fall session:
“New Democrats will keep delivering for Canadians,” said Singh, pointing out that it’s their 25 MPs who push for improvements for everyday Canadians, including low-income dental support.
Housing will be top of mind, with the cost of housing “out of reach” and that renting is also higher in many cases.
And the obvious was stated ahead of Jagmeet addressing the caucus and the country, by Jenny Kwan, MP (Vancouver East): “The cost of everything keeps rising. People keep having to work harder and that produces less.” She said the NDP will “force parliament to work for working people”.
The NDP position is that the two larger political parties — Liberals and Conservatives — favour the development community over the needs of the regular population. Singh summarized by saying that the Liberals will “delay and disappointment”, Conservatives will “blame and complain” as well as “take away dignity from regular Canadians”, but that the NDP’s job is “to get results for you”.
“There is a lot to be angry about, but people are often now just exhausted — choosing between food, gas and paying the rent. You shouldn’t have to live this way.”
This fall, Singh says the NDP is going to lay the groundwork for universal pharmacare in Canada, on the heels of bringing in dental support for children under age 12 this year, and starting next year for children over age 12 and seniors.
“We have to build more homes that people can actually afford and we have to do it faster.” Save affordable homes from being sold off, through a fund to support non-profits to hold onto those properties.
He mentioned wildfires and the climate crisis. Grocery, internet services, lower cell phone bills and better health care were in the wrap-up.
He said his MPs will also “stand up against division and hatred”.
Who was there:
All the NDP MPs were seated in rows behind Jagmeet Singh as he addressed the TV cameras today.
There are six Vancouver Island NDP MPs: Randall Garrison (Esquimalt-Saanich-Sooke), Alistair MacGregor (Cowichan-Malahat-Langford), Laurel Collins (Victoria), Rachel Blaney (North Island-Powell River), Gord Johns (Courtenay-Alberni), and Lisa Marie Barron (Nanaimo-Ladysmith).
===== RELATED:
Next Bank of Canada rate decision Sept 6 (September 4, 2023)
Jagmeet visits Sooke to talk about cost of living (August 31, 2023)
NDP leader discusses housing crisis with grad students at UVic (August 30, 2023)
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Island Social Trends is an independent professional news outlet based in the west shore of south Vancouver Island, in British Columbia, Canada. Editor and Publisher: Mary P Brooke, B.Sc., Cert PR.
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