Federal NDP leader Jagmeet Singh, on his way to Victoria to talk to the premier, stopped in Nanaimo to walk along the waterfront and talk to people about cost-of-living challenges they鈥檙e facing.

Singh, accompanied by his family and Nanaimo-Ladysmith MP Lisa Marie Barron, walked along the Harbourfront Walkway on Tuesday, July 5.

Singh has been promoting the idea of doubling GST tax credits and increasing child benefits, which would add up to about $1,000 for some families. He said a lot of people are feeling pinched with soaring inflation piling on top of high costs for housing and rent.

The NDP leader said GST credits and child benefit cheques are a 鈥渧ery direct and very immediate鈥� way to help people who need it quickly.

鈥淲ith the GST [credit], we know that as inflation has gone up, the GST revenue has gone up, so that windfall that the government has, we can redistribute that back to people that are squeezed by the cost of living going up, that are feeling it at the pumps, at the grocery store,鈥� Singh said.

He said raising interest rates as a sole response to inflation challenges 鈥渨orking families鈥� and said GST credits won鈥檛 add to inflation because it鈥檚 a redistribution of money already in the system.

鈥淚鈥檓 hearing day in and day out about people struggling to make ends meet,鈥� said Barron. 鈥淪o I鈥檓 happy to have Jagmeet here to hear from them and also talk about some real tangible solutions that we know that we can push for.鈥�

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Singh previewed that later this afternoon, he will be talking to B.C. Premier John Horgan about health care. Premiers have asked for increased federal health transfers and Singh supports that increase, saying more money for provincial health systems would help with short- and long-term improvements, starting with hiring more health-care workers. He also suggested the federal government could fast-track immigration for health-care workers who want to come to Canada.

Singh is calling for an 鈥渋mmediate recovery plan鈥� for health care.

鈥淲e need to support it, we need to save it and we need to invest in it鈥︹�� he said. 鈥淥ften when health-care is not at the level that people need it, then you鈥檒l start to hear folks mention maybe we need private health care and that is dangerous because it鈥檚 going to mean a two-tier system 鈥� if you鈥檝e got money, you get care, and if you don鈥檛 have money, you don鈥檛 get care. And we can鈥檛 let that happen in Canada.鈥�

editor@nanaimobulletin.com
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