Dear Minister Kenney,     On January 16, four days after the earthquake, the Government of Canada promised to fast track reunification of Haitian families.    I applauded that announcement and have been working with your office to assist in the processing of Haitian children to Canada. However, thirty five days after the earthquake, Canadians [...]

TORONTO – The open letter calling on federal leaders to commit to a national early childhood education and child care program sent by the Child Care Advocacy Association Of Canada is right on the mark, says New Democrat MP Olivia Chow (Trinity-Spadina). “They are absolutely right that we need to go for the gold for [...]

  Olivia Chow and the New Democrat team are urging other party leaders to put partisan politics aside and make the welfare of Canadian women and children a priority in the next session of Parliament. 

Dear Minister Kenney: I urge you today to commit to bringing adopted Haitian children home to their new families immediately. I understand the need for due diligence, preventing child trafficking should always be a priority.  However, these children have been through this process, they have been approved by Haitian Social Services. They are known to [...]

Sat 16 Jan 2010 TORONTO – Today’s government announcement regarding expedited immigration and adoption processes and additional support for Haitian-Canadian families is a commendable step in the right direction, though more changes are needed, according to New Democrat Immigration Critic Olivia Chow (Trinity-Spadina). “The government has announced a number of commendable changes to immigration and [...]

TORONTO – In the aftermath of the devastating earthquake in Haiti, Canada needs to expedite the immigration process and bring Haitian adoptees into the country now, says New Democrat Immigration Critic Olivia Chow (Trinity-Spadina). 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE JANUARY 14, 2010 MP Olivia Chow is dismayed that nearly three years to the day after she called for a national healthy food program for our children, there has been no action and kids are getting fatter. “On January 17, 2007, I launched The Children’s Health and Nutrition Initiative with the support [...]

TORONTO – In the wake of the tragic earthquake in Haiti, the government must ease immigration regulations to help Haitians with relatives in Canada reunite with their family on Canadian soil, says New Democrat Immigration Critic Olivia Chow.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE NOVEMBER 30, 2009 OTTAWA – New Democrat pressure has forced the Conservative government to act on foreign credential recognition, but their initiative is not comprehensive enough and will come too late, only starting to take effect in December 2011, says New Democrat Citizenship and Immigration Critic Olivia Chow.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE NOVEMBER 27, 2009 OTTAWA – Natural Resources Minister Lisa Raitt must step aside from her cabinet position while she is under investigation by the Ethics Commissioner, just as Stephen Harper called on previous Liberal ministers to do, says New Democrat MP Olivia Chow (Trinity-Spadina).

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE NOVEMBER 26, 2009 OTTAWA – New Democrat Citizenship and Immigration Critic Olivia Chow (Trinity-Spadina) calls on the Immigration Minister to redouble his effort to assist new immigrants in landing a good job. The Citizenship and Immigration Committee has been studying the urgent issue of foreign credential recognition and has just issued a [...]

For Immediate Release, Dec 12, 2009 Today’s announced changes to the Live-In Caregiver Program by Minister of Citizenship and Immigration Jason Kenney will begin to address some of the difficulties faced by these temporary workers, but caregivers are still not fully protected from exploitation and abuse in Canada. Furthermore, Minister Kenney’s previous announcement banning foreign [...]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE NOVEMBER 3, 2009 OTTAWA – The report by the Auditor General released today confirmed charges by New Democrat Immigration Critic Olivia Chow (Trinity-Spadina) that the temporary foreign workers file has been badly mismanaged. Chow has long called for Immigration Minister Jason Kenney to review his approach. The audit found that current practices [...]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE NOVEMBER 2, 2009 OTTAWA – After accepting the smallest number of refugees in 10 years, Minister Jason Kenney has dramatically cut the 2010 target number of refugees to be accepted in Canada and their overseas dependents by more than half, said New Democrat Immigration Critic Olivia Chow. The just released 2009 Annual [...]

Tue 20 Oct 2009 OTTAWA – New Democrat Immigration Critic Olivia Chow (Trinity-Spadina) has long charged the Minister of Immigration Jason Kenney of neglecting the refugee files. Those charges are now confirmed by a recently published Public Service Commission audit. The audit found that more than half of the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada [...]