NDP begins winter parliamentary session calling for emergency debate on housing crisis and homelessness after the city of Edmonton declared a state of emergency over the growing issues last week .
“Unfortunately, Edmonton’s emergency declaration is a poignant symbol of a broader housing crisis occurring in many municipalities and the Liberal government’s failure to tackle this growing problem,” says the leader Jagmeet Singh in a letter to House Speaker Greg Fergus.
It was also in Edmonton that NDP elected officials met for their caucus to prepare for the return to work last week.
The populous Alberta city is one of the umpteenth municipalities in the country to have adopted emergency measures or a form of emergency declaration related to housing or homelessness in recent years.
For example, the City of Toronto declared a state of emergency last summer in connection with an out-of-control homelessness problem.
“If we don’t take this situation seriously, if we don’t treat it as a long-term emergency, more and more Edmontonians will fall through the cracks and become homeless,” he said. said Edmonton Mayor Amarjeet Sohi before the heated vote on the emergency declaration.
Mr. Sohi, a progressive mayor, has said he is open to exploring the possibility of establishing a rent control system, among other things.
Jagmeet Singh established in his missive that “across Canada, many families are struggling to meet their basic needs, including monthly rent and mortgage payments and, in far too many cases, the inability to have a roof over their heads.” during the coldest months of our country.
“In a country as rich as ours, this situation is unacceptable.”
The exit of the leader of the NDP ensures that the question of housing will remain central during the parliamentary session which opens. Holding an emergency debate, however, remains at the discretion of the Speaker of the House.
Attacked by both the left and the right, Justin Trudeau’s Liberals are under pressure to find bold solutions to this crisis which is not about to end.
The NDP is proposing that the government find ways to finance, on a large scale, social housing and housing cooperative projects across the country.