NEWS RELEASE
ONTARIO NDP PARTY
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TIMMINS – During their visit to Timmins, NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh and MP for Timmins-James Bay Charlie Angus outlined some key priorities the NDP is fighting for as the Liberal government continues to ignore the North.
“Too many people think the housing crisis is limited to places like Toronto and Vancouver, but here in Timmins people are really struggling to find adequate and affordable housing,” said Singh. “That’s no accident. It’s the result of decades of neglect from consecutive governments and Justin Trudeau’s message to people here is, keep waiting.”
A recent study showed that there are over 700 homeless people in the City of Timmins. The major cause: housing affordability and accessibility. While the Liberals have delayed 90 per cent of the proposed funding for housing until after the next election, the NDP is fighting to fast-track the program to begin the creation of new units of non-profit and co-op housing right away.
The Liberal government has also ignored the economic development of the region and the importance to keep people here at home. And while the region relies on small businesses to create opportunity and stimulate the economy, the Liberals are letting the big banks gouge small businesses by charging excessive fees for transactions every time customers use their credit card to pay.
“Once again, the Liberals have folded to pressure from the big banks and abandoned their promise to protect small business owners,” said Angus. “The NDP is proposing a permanent cap of 1 per cent on merchant fees. It’s a concrete measure that would save Canadian small and medium sized businesses over a billion dollars every year and help them focus on growth.”
Last week, an initiative to regulate these small business fees was killed by extreme neglect. A Liberal MP didn’t show up to debate her own bill to control these fees, this after delaying debate on it more than 10 times in the last two years. The rules of Parliament mean the legislation is now dead and cannot move forward.
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