‘Housing crisis is real,’ says Vancouver NDP MP Davies

I recently hosted a community town hall to hear from my constituents on the housing crisis in Vancouver. Passionate, thoughtful, sensible, and poignant points were made by a wide variety of residents. I heard how the housing crisis had torn a massive hole in our social fabric. I heard how it had demoralized a generation, fractured families, hollowed out neighbourhoods, and threatened our economic foundation. There was a clear message that far too many folks had lost the ability to live, work, and prosper in the city they loved. The housing crisis is real. It must be addressed. It must be remedied. We must chart a better, fairer course, one that works for everyone, not just the wealthy and privileged. The Liberal government cannot call this a crisis and delay funding for years at the same time. We need federal leadership now to ensure that affordable, secure housing is available for every Canadian. NDP MP Don Davies Vancouver Kingsway, B.C. 'I want to recognize Cape Breton Voices,' says Grit MP Eyking I rise today to recognize a group of passionate and determined women in my riding, called the Cape Breton Voices. They came together on March 15 in partnership with Equal Voice to host their first panel on women in politics. In the panel, 10 women, representing different levels of government, put aside their political stripes and shared stories of their personal experiences since entering politics, and the issues that surrounded women's involvement in the political process. As our prime minister has said time and time again, if we want to change politics, we need to add women. Aside from hosting panels, Cape Breton Voices regularly speaks up on topics such as inclusion, business, immigration, governance, accountability, and of course its communities. Cape Breton has a long history of strong women. I commend the women of Cape Breton Voices for uniting together to stand for Cape Breton and all it has to offer the world. Liberal MP Mark Eyking Sydney-Victoria, N.S. Human trafficking, child prostitution growing problems, says Conservative MP Boucher Human trafficking and child prostitution has been a growing problem in Canada in recent years. Innocent young girls are falling victim to pimps who destroy their lives. In order to address this serious problem, all parties unanimously passed the former Conservative government's Bill C-452, but the current government is refusing to sign the order in council for the coming into force of this bill. Instead, the Liberals introduced their own revised and watered down version of the bill, Bill C-38. Since then, there has been a growing number of victims, making this government complicit in this unacceptable plague on society. Like all Canadians, I am outraged by the rise in the phenomenon of pimping in Canada and even more so by the fact that this so-called feminist government has stood idly by and allowed criminals to continue to destroy the lives of the young women it claims to want to protect and help reach their full potential. The government has a responsibility to take immediate action to help victims. Conservative MP Sylvie Boucher Beauport-Côte-de-Beaupré-Île d'Orléans-Charlevoix, Que. Feds should no bury and grout contaminated nuclear reactor parts, says NDP MP Blaikie I rise to voice concerns about the current plan to decommission the nuclear research reactor in Pinawa, Manitoba, located just 500 metres from the Winnipeg River. When the reactor was built, the federal government promised to restore the site to greenfield conditions upon decommissioning. The original plan would do that by removing the contaminated reactor parts from the site. However, the plan has changed. The federal government converted this important project to a for-profit job and awarded it to the Canadian Nuclear Laboratories, a conglomerate of multinational companies, some with a record of nuclear safety breaches around the globe. The environmental assessment process was gutted by the Harper government and left licensing to a regulator some saw as too cozy with industry. Most important, to save money, CNL has decided not to remove the contaminated reactor parts but to bury and grout them in place instead. If the concrete fails some time in the future, it will be impossible to safely remove the contaminated material. For the sake of future generations in Manitoba, I urge the government to reconsider before a decision is taken that no one can reverse. NDP MP Daniel Blaikie Elmwood-Transcona, Man. (These were some of the MPs' S.O. 31 statements in the House on March 27).