FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
JANUARY 10, 2009
MP LIBBY DAVIES TO START HUNGER STRIKE IN RELAY TO END HOMELESSNESS
Vancouver – Vancouver East MP Libby Davies will start a week long hunger strike today, as part of the 2010 Homelessness Hunger Strike Relay, with the main goal of getting Canada to implement a National Housing Program.
“Canada is the only G8 country without a national housing strategy and we see the deteriorating housing situation as a result of this political apathy,” said Davies. “We have such a severe crisis in Vancouver, with an almost zero vacancy rate, people are now crying out for every level of government to see this as a key priority.”
The Hunger Strike, now in its 13th month, coincides with the 2010 Olympic Games to raise the international profile of the problem of homelessness in Canada.
“With billions of dollars being poured into the Olympics, the 2010 Homelessness Hunger Strike Relay is raising awareness about what is really happening at the community level. The federal government has been absent from this debate for far too long,” said Am Johal, a hunger strike coordinator and member of Impact on Communities Coalition.
Davies, whose Bill for a national housing strategy (C-304) has passed through committee, says events like the Olympics can actually push up housing costs, leaving low-income people and families out in the cold.
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