Dear Constituents,
I hope you are doing well at this difficult time.
Although we are all practicing social distancing to help combat the spread of COVID-19, I and my team are working hard to remain open and accessible to you.
As part of our efforts to stay connected, we hosted a Facebook Live townhall meeting to keep you informed and answer any questions you may have.
You can view the recording of the townhall at this link. Don't hesitate to contact us with any questions you may have.
On March 25, Parliament unanimously adopted the COVID-19 Emergency Response Act. This legislation implements a new set of economic measures to help stabilize the economy during this challenging period.
These measures will provide up to $52 billion in direct support to people and businesses, along with $55 billion in tax deferrals. Many of the provisions mirror proposals that the NDP has put forward.
However, we still believe that more money needs to flow to more people, faster. We also want wider protection for people, including a moratorium on rents, utilities, evictions and the elimination of interest on credit cards for at least two payment cycles.
We will continue to fight for the best protection available to help get Canadians through this public health crisis.
We are writing to you today as co-chairs of the Parliamentary Cannabis Caucus to request the inclusion of Canada’s cannabis sector in the federal government’s plan to address the economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.
On March 13, 2020, Export Development Canada (EDC) and the Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC) announced a joint strategy to provide additional liquidity for businesses, pledging to increase loans typically issued on commercial terms by $10 billion. Although the crown corporations have yet to detail how the new Business Credit Availability program will work, cannabis firms have been informed that they will not be eligible to participate. Dan Sutton, CEO of the B.C.-based cannabis producer Tantalus Labs, was told by a BDC senior account manager that “we do not do business with cannabis firms at this time.”
Deputy Prime Minister Freeland,
We are hearing very urgent concerns from constituents about taking immediate action to protect vulnerable people in our communities. We are especially concerned, now that we have confirmed that community transmission is occurring, about those in East Vancouver who would fall into high-risk categories for serious impact as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, both in terms of health as well as in terms of the social indicators of health.
Federal MP Don Davies has been asking some pointed questions along those lines at the national level.
“Can we expect a thousand or 5,000 cases?” he challenged federal minister Hajdu this week. “Do you have those numbers or not? I have asked this question repeatedly and I am never getting an answer from the government
As the Liberal government announced $1 billion to battle coronavirus, Health Minister Patty Hajdu said COVID-19 could ultimately infect between 30 and 70 per cent of Canadians.
Hajdu was facing questions in committee from the NDP’s health critic Don Davies about the potential spread of the disease in Canada and just how prepared the government was to handle an increase in cases.
“Can we expect a thousand or 5,000? Do you have those numbers or not? I have asked this question repeatedly and I am never getting an answer from the government,” said Davies at the committee.
