SoVote

Mr. Gord Johns (Courtenay—Alberni, NDP)

Mar/4/22 12:06:22 p.m.
Watch

Mr. Speaker, a ship-breaking facility has opened up in the community of Union Bay in my riding. This process involves the disassembling of large vessels, container ships and barges for the extraction of raw materials, mostly for scrap. The lack of federal regulations to protect workers and the ecosystem is apparent and has caused huge concern for local residents, governments and first nations. While the U.S., the EU and other countries have signed on to international agreements, Canada is without these necessary protections. Will the Minister of Transport commit to ensuring that facilities like these have strong standards in place to keep workers and the local environment safe?

110 words

Context: House Hansard - 41 - Mar/4/22

Mr. Gord Johns (Courtenay—Alberni, NDP)

Mar/4/22 12:17:06 p.m.
Watch
Re: Bill C-201

Mr. Speaker, it is a privilege to rise and table this petition on behalf of residents of Courtenay, Cumberland, Bowser and Royston in my riding. They are citing that 83% of Canada's total firefighting essential first responders are volunteers. In addition, 8,000 essential search and rescue volunteers respond to thousands of incidents every year. The tax code of Canada currently allows volunteer firefighters and search and rescue volunteers to claim a $3,000 tax credit if 200 hours of volunteer services were completed in a calendar year. This works out to a mere $450 a year. They are calling on the government to increase the tax exemption from $3,000 to $10,000 to help essential firefighters and volunteer search and rescue people across this country. They are calling for the support of Bill C-201. It is timely, because the PBO just released a report this week to cite that this would cost taxpayers in Canada $40 million for 42,000 volunteer firefighters and first responders.

169 words

Context: House Hansard - 41 - Mar/4/22

Mr. Gord Johns (Courtenay—Alberni, NDP)

Mar/4/22 12:26:27 p.m.
Watch
Re: Bill C-8

Mr. Speaker, we keep hearing about inflation. We have heard about the housing crisis. Right now in my riding housing has gone up over 40% in value just in one year, especially in Port Alberni. People are being pushed out. We need non-market housing. There have been several applications made to the federal government, but it continues to give them the shuffle. More and more people are displaced or homeless. Right now, we have an opportunity, a partnership of multi-stakeholders wanting to purchase a hotel in the Alberni Valley to house the hardest to house. I might outline also that the Parole Board of Canada has written a letter of support for this proposal. It has outlined that there is not a single space for its clients to live when they are released through the federal parole system. That is very alarming and keeps the cycle of incarceration going. Therefore, I am calling on the federal government, and I would ask the member if she agrees, to invest quickly into non-market housing to address this need.

179 words

All Topics

Context: House Hansard - 41 - Mar/4/22

Mr. Gord Johns

Mar/4/22 12:30:06 p.m.
Watch
Re: Bill C-8

Mr. Speaker, the member commented earlier about the NDP and the Liberals working together. This is what it looks like: It is actually the Liberal-Conservative coalition that cut and gutted the national housing strategy over 25 years ago. We have lost over 500,000 units because of the Liberal-Conservative coalition to not invest in non-market housing and to come up with incentives for developers to build housing and profit off the backs of people who need non-market housing and need it right now.

87 words

All Topics