IN THE NEWS - iPolitics - 'People are dying': National standards delayed as talks continue over $4.5-billion mental health transfer

IN THE NEWS- Canada's housing policy must be tailored to meet the needs of lower-income households: NDP

Federal New Democrats spent Wednesday seeking guidance from Albertans, who the party said are on the front lines of Canada's housing crisis, to help them form policies around addressing the needs of lower-income households.

The free market cannot be trusted to solve the country's affordability crisis and more solutions are needed, said Gord Johns, the NDP's mental health critic. 

"The free market has never solved affordability issues", Johns said to a roundtable of housing experts in Edmonton on Wednesday. 

 

IN THE NEWS- Tracking Plastics for Life: New Registry Announced by Feds

The federal government announced a new registry to track plastic production to set the tone as negotiations on Global Plastics Treaty kick off on April 23 in Ottawa. The NDP and advocacy groups have called for the registry as a necessary first step to address plastic pollution. However, the Liberals need to do more to hold companies accountable, said NDP MP Gord Johns in an emailed statement to Canada’s National Observer.

The NDP wants to see the federal government cap plastic production and end federal subsidies to fossil fuel and petrochemical companies, said Johns.

Guilbeault to host high-level summit on plastic pollution ahead of week-long negotiating session

With the next round of United Nations-led talks on a propsed new international treaty to reduce plastic pollution set to get underway in Ottawa tomorrow, Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault will makes the rounds at two "high-level events" organized by Canada in conjunction with the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF). 

Also keeping tabs on Canada’s role in the push to limit plastic: New Democrat MP Gord Johns, who will hit the West Block press theatre to promote his newly-tabled, non-binding call for the government to “stop Canada’s harmful plastic waste export,” with representatives of Surfrider Foundation Canada and the Basel Action Network also expected to speak.