As I had previously mentioned, the Conservative government had announced that they were doing major cuts to many housing initiatives.Well it looks like they changed their mind, and they are reversing the cuts.
OTTAWA – NDP Housing Critic Irene Mathyssen applauded the victory for housing groups across Canada today as Minister for Social Development Diane Finley announced that cuts to federal funding for housing through the Supporting Communities Partnership Initiative (SCPI) have been reversed and the program’s $37 million rollover from 2005-06 will now be released.
“Minister Finley’s announcement comes as welcome news to housing groups across Canada, but there’s still work to be done,†said Mathyssen. “We need to ensure the funds now promised are delivered on time and put to effective use. With only seven months left to spend the 2006-07 funds, housing groups need their support delivered as soon as possible.â€
Earlier this month, housing groups in Toronto and Ottawa were informed that federal funding for housing in their communities would be cut by $5.8 million and $1 million respectively. As well, Service Canada recently sent letters to housing shelters in Winnipeg confirming that it “had not received the full budget allocation [from the Conservative government]†it had been promised and would therefore be cutting housing spending.
“I applaud the hard work of housing advocates and organizations across Canada as well as the municipal officials who helped apply pressure on the Minister. The NDP will continue to serve as the effective opposition to any cuts the Harper government imposes in housing or in other programs that benefit our society’s most vulnerable,†said Mathyssen.
And some people say the NDP is an ineffective opposition. Without the NDP these cuts would not had been reversed. The NDP is effective!
And if you think the Liberals were apart of reversing the cuts. Think again. Joe Fontana was of course speaking words of progressiveness, but does he really mean it? He was slamming the NDP for bringing down the Liberal government.
And the London-North-Centre MP said the NDP must share the blame for bringing down the Liberal government just as it was developing a national housing strategy.
It wasn’t the NDP. It was the voters! The voters got tired of the Liberal’s arrogance, corruption and inaction. Also the NDP hardly called that election. It would have been held weeks later, that is if Paul Martin would keep one of his promises. And the Liberal Government would have not done anything to help fund housing, their record speaks for itself. As you can read here:
A majority Liberal government abolished the world-recognized housing program in the 1990s: “Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation will phase out its remaining role in social housing except for housing on Indian reserves.†(Source: Ministry of Finance, Budget in Brief, 6 March 1996, p. 11)
As always, the Liberals are full of words but lack any action. They actually do the opposite of what they say will do. While the NDP says these things too, and accomplishes them even when they are outside of Government.
TORONTO and OTTAWA — Belinda Stronach, who left Magna International Inc. to forge a career in politics, is returning to the company her father Frank Stronach founded in a Toronto garage in 1957. Ms. Stronach will replace Fred Gingl as executive-vice chairman of Magna, returning at a time when Magna is in the midst of teaming up with Onex Corp. to consider a bid to buy Chrysler.