Government Out of Touch with Reality of Cost of Living Crisis: Dinn
- NL NDP
- Mar 6
- 2 min read
For Immediate Release
March 6, 2025
As the cost of living continues to grow, now with added pressures from tariffs, NL NDP Leader Jim Dinn (St. John’s Centre) pressed government today in the House of Assembly on the true realities people are facing all across the province -- a reality that Dinn believes government is blind to.
Dinn explains the reality of a constituent in his district who is struggling to keep their head above water. This constituent, a single mother of three children on income support, is worried about being unhoused due to the rising cost of living.
“She currently pays $1450 in rent. Her social assistance doesn’t cover her rent, and she is forced to use her child tax credit to fill the gap and make ends meet,” Dinn said. “In June her rent will increase by over another $600, and now she is facing an increase in her electricity bill.”
Dinn asked the Minister, “How, in these troubled times, do you plan to help people, like this single mother, already pushed to the margins?”
Dinn went on to demand government legislate rental controls, as done in jurisdictions across Canada, to help people facing unjust and predatory rent increases. The Out-of-Control Rents report by the Canadian Centre of Policy Alternatives (CCPA) clearly outlines that rent controls improve long-term housing affordability. Dinn says government will continue to worsen the housing crisis by refusing to recognize the realities people are facing.
If government intends to continue to deny rent controls to protect renters, Dinn asked the Minister, “What action does she plan to take to ensure people are not rendered homeless as a result of inflationary and predatory rent increases?”
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For further information, contact Stephanie Curran, Media and Communications Officer, NDP Caucus at 330-0328 (o), or stephaniecurran@gov.nl.ca
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