SoVote

Context: House Hansard - 172 - Mar/23/23

Mr. Gord Johns (Courtenay—Alberni, NDP)

Mar/23/23 10:35:59 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, the member talked about selling off 15% of government buildings to ensure there is adequate housing for Canadians. We used to build 25,000 co-op units a year before the Liberals killed this in 1992. The Conservatives did not build any. In fact, under the Conservative government, rents and property prices doubled. My colleague talked about supply. Would he agree that, when selling those government assets, it should be certain and there should be covenants in place so they go to non-market housing? Nowhere in the world has free market solved the housing crisis when there is a housing shortage. I would like my colleague to agree that they should go to non-market housing in our country.

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Context: House Hansard - 172 - Mar/23/23

Mr. Gord Johns (Courtenay—Alberni, NDP)

Mar/23/23 11:31:28 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague, as he is always working hard to fight for tax fairness and close loopholes that allow for extremely wealthy individuals to move their money out of the country. One thing I am hearing from constituents is that people who applied for CERB and who might not have properly read the application, which might have not been clear from the government, are now being told that their child tax benefit will be reduced or, even worse, are getting a bill from CRA saying they have to pay it. Instead of the government going after big companies that paid out dividends to shareholders and collected the wage subsidy, it is going after low-income Canadians. This is creating huge mental health stress for Canadians and huge financial stress for them and their families. These people are already struggling. Does my hon. colleague agree that there should be CERB repayment amnesty for all Canadians who are struggling right now?

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Context: House Hansard - 172 - Mar/23/23

Mr. Gord Johns (Courtenay—Alberni, NDP)

Mar/23/23 1:10:49 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it is a huge honour to table a petition today that has been gathered by youth in my riding in the town of Qualicum Beach, climate activists who cite that children born in 2020 will face on average two to seven times more extreme weather events than their grandparents. In a 2021 report in the Lancet, 83% of children worldwide reported that they thought people had failed to take care of the planet. They note that those most affected by climate change are the youngest generation as they will live to see the worst effects of this crisis; that youth discussion has proven critical to successful climate action and policy creation, however, dozens of climate-related decisions are made without input from youth. The petitioners call on the Government of Canada to require all members of Parliament, regardless of party lines, to consult with a secondary or elementary school leadership, student council or environmental youth group of their riding, such as under-18 youth representatives, before Parliament holds second reading of any bill that directly affects Canada’s greenhouse gas emissions; and that the purpose of the consultation will be to listen to the viewpoints of those directly affected by the specified bill, but who do not already have representation in Parliament. I thank those youth for this very important petition.

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Context: House Hansard - 172 - Mar/23/23

Mr. Gord Johns (Courtenay—Alberni, NDP)

Mar/23/23 1:26:39 p.m.
Watch
Re: Bill C-26

Mr. Speaker, the government seems to be granting itself some pretty broad powers in the bill, especially to the Minister of Public Safety and the Minister of Industry. Maybe my colleague can explain, and assure Canadians, how these powers would not be unjustly applied to ordinary Canadians who have done absolutely nothing wrong.

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