NL NDP Leader Jim Dinn (St. John’s Centre) was in the House of Assembly today asking government for more details around their plan to address food insecurity and the specifics of the PC housing plan.
Dinn pointed to the staggering statistics on food and housing insecurity reported this week. He said the situation is getting worse and warned that without immediate government action, more people will be pushed into crisis.
“Speaker, a recent media story reported “astronomical” statistics regarding food and housing insecurity (hunger and homelessness): a 30% increase in client visits to one food bank since last year, and a 70% increase since 2019; children under 17 make up 30% of visits; according to Food First NL, over 15,400 food bank users in the last three months of 2025 alone. There are struggling people behind these numbers.”
“I ask the Minister of Social Supports and Well Being will he a implement Basic Income to address this crisis, and in the meantime table a plan to financially support food banks?”
Dinn pressed the government for details on the PC housing plan, stressing that the promise of 10,000 new homes over five years must include non-market, community-based housing – not just rely on the private market – if we are serious about ensuring people have a place to live.
“Speaker, the same media story also reports housing shelters at capacity, people being turned away because there are no beds, and the tripling of homelessness rates in the last three years in the city,” Dinn said.
“The government has promised 10,000 homes over the next 5 years. I ask the Minister, will he present the details of his housing plan to provide affordable supportive housing starting this year? Where and when will they be built?”