My colleague, Tony Martin issued the following Op-ed which I endorse and would like to share with you.
On Thursday, June 17, 2010, Tony Martin introduced his bill, An Act to Eliminate Poverty in Canada
This bill provides for strong federal leadership in partnership with provinces, territories and other key stakeholders including our First Nations communities to [...]
Archive for the ‘Poverty and Inequality’ Category
Poeverty Elimination Bill
Tuesday, August 31st, 2010Human Trafficking - statement in the House
Tuesday, June 1st, 2010Mr. Speaker, I received letters from two young women from Nelson, B.C., in which they raise the issue of human trafficking in the world.
Victims of Recession Lose Out - Banks Win Big in New Budget
Thursday, March 4th, 2010OTTAWA – People who lost their jobs and other victims of this recession are the losers in this budget while banks whose profits just doubled hit the jackpot, said New Democrat Leader Jack Layton.
“Budgets are about choices. Mr. Harper has chosen to enrich banks and oil companies, the most profitable corporations in the country, with [...]
Bank Executives Take Home Record Bonuses
Wednesday, December 30th, 2009Christmas has come early for the executives of Canada’s chartered banks, while some of their consumers are being left with nothing more than a lump of coal in their stockings.
An article in the December 10 edition of the Globe and Mail reported that “bonuses at the country’s six largest banks will reach a record $8.3 [...]
Cuts to KAIROS - letter to Minister Oda
Monday, December 7th, 2009Minister Beverley Oda, P.C., M.P.
International Cooperation
Place du Centre, 12th floor
200 Promenade du Portage
Gatineau, QC K1A 0G4
Dear Minister Oda,
On behalf of many Canadians, I urge you to reverse the recent cuts made by CIDA to KAIROS.
As you are aware, this decision in effect stops funding to 21 ecumenical and citizens’ organizations in Latin America, Africa, [...]
A Stronger Canada Pension Plan
Friday, November 27th, 2009For your entire career you have worked hard and built a good life for your family. Every paycheque, your deductions included a small amount that was tucked away in your public pension plan. When retirement came, you expected to be able to live in dignity with some measure of financial security.
Yet [...]
Atamanenko Pleased that NDP EI Concerns will Finally be Addressed
Friday, October 9th, 2009Many families can hope for more this Thanksgiving weekend says Atamanenko
CASTLEGAR MP Alex Atamanenko (BC Southern Interior) stated Friday that he is pleased with federal Human Resources Minister Finley’s statement Thursday that the government will finally agree to the amendments to Bill C-50 that the NDP has been calling for - to ensure long-tenured workers [...]
Extend EI to Those Who Need It
Friday, March 6th, 2009OTTAWA – New Democrat Labour Critic Chris Charlton (Hamilton Mountain) presented a motion in the House of Commons yesterday calling on the Harper government to make much-needed improvements to extend Employment Insurance to the tens-of thousands of newly unemployed Canadians.
“With more and more Canadians losing their jobs every day, we need a system that can [...]
Speech to Budget 2009
Tuesday, February 3rd, 2009SPEECH – BUDGET 2009
February 3, 2009
Alex Atamanenko, MP
Mr. Speaker, we have recently learned that the Minister for Human Resources stated that the Conservative Government has no interest in making it “lucrative” for jobless workers to stay home. I would like to challenge the Minister today to visit some of the forest communities I represent [...]
The Growing Income Gap in Canada
Tuesday, November 18th, 2008The old adage that “the rich get rich and the poor get poorer” has never been so true, especially these days in Canadian society.
According to a new study by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), poverty and inequality rates in Canada are now higher than most developed nations. The report found that, over [...]