Author: Nate Erskine-Smith

Time and again, Nate has delivered for our city and our community. He has:

• Finalized a deal to help the TTC acquire new subway cars for Line 2, securing $2.2 billion in federal funding
• Delivered federal support to unlock waterfront development in Toronto’s downtown – including thousands of new housing units
• Worked with Mayor Chow to create Toronto Builds, federal low-cost financing of $2.55 billion to get new rentals and affordable housing built
• Stood with the our community during challenging times; in the wake of the Danforth Shooting or during the pandemic when he and his team helped local vaccine clinics
• Advocated on behalf of countless constituents on specific case files or by raising their concerns at the national level.
• Delivered $2M to through the Community Infrastructure Fund to support Toronto Aboriginal Support Services Council purchase and renovate a new office space 
• Investing almost $3M in mental health supports for racialized communities, including for Abiona Centre for Infants and Early Mental Health in East York
• Supported a National Food Program to deliver free meals to 160,000 Ontario children
• Helping build 86,000 new childcare spaces for Ontario families, saving parents $10,000 per child on average 

At the forefront of strengthening animal protection laws, Nate has a strong track record of supporting animal welfare by:

• Driving discussions to make animal cruelty laws tougher, with the introduction of the Modernizing Animal Protections Act (Bill C-246), leading to the creation of the Liberal Animal Welfare Caucus
• Advocating for the freedom and respect for marine wildlife, seconding the Ending the Captivity of Whales and Dolphins Act (S-203)
• Engaging the local community to raise public awareness on animal issues, including free screenings of the films Blackfish, The Woman Who Loves Giraffes and In Defence of Food at local town halls
• Arguing for the abolishment of fur farming (Bill C-247), in a move to end the cruel and inhumane practice
• Challenging the status quo on animal human rights in Canada, hosting discussions with notable figures such as Dr. Jane Goodall on treating animals with dignity to build a better world for our future
• Working with agriculture, genomics and health experts to promote the investigation of alternative protein sources, such as plant-based and cellular agriculture-based foods

Nate is serious about reconciling with Canada’s past and strengthening relationships with the indigenous community. He has:

• Pushed for action to address the disproportionate number of boil water advisories affecting Indigenous communities
• Worked to reform Indigenous child welfare 
• Forged a relationship between Toronto MPs and the Toronto Aboriginal Support Services Council (TASSC)
• Secured $2 million in funding to provide TASSC a permanent home.
• Supported Jenna Robar’s petition to recognize Indigenous Languages as official languages of Canada
• Gave voice to indigenous Canadians on his Uncommons podcast 
• Helped deliver funding for thousands of homes in indigenous communities and to support indigenous-led housing projects including backing development projects by Ontario Aboriginal Housing Services (OAHS)

Nate has represented Canada, our values, and human rights on the world stage. Nate has:

• Seconded a motion (M-62) to recognize the treatment of Uyghurs by China as a genocide, and to expedite the resettlement of Turkic Muslims in need of protection

• Advocated for Canada to work towards recognizing a Palestinian State; the reconstruction of Gaza and the security of both Israeli and Palestinian borders
• Sponsored a petition to call for the government to take the steps required to stop Israel’s violations of international law
• Hosted a Human Rights Town Hall in Beaches-East York to raise awareness on the ethnic cleansing in Rohingya, and to highlight the role Canada should play on the world stage in protecting against human rights violations
• Represented Canada at the joint United Nations/Inter-Parliamentary Union conference to represent Canada’s evidence-based drug policy, and to reinforce Canada’s commitment to the safeguarding marine/coastal resources
• Defended LGBTQ+ rights, including voting in favor (and hosting discussions on Uncommons) to ban conversion therapy, and speaking in parliament to urge an end to the gay/bisexual blood donor ban
• Voted in favour of the Death with Dignity Laws, hosting in-person panel discussions in Beaches-East York, as well as making the case against the stigma associated with MAID
• Spoke out against Quebec’s Bill 21, highlighting the restrictions against religious symbols as a fundamental human rights violation

As a Member of Parliament, Nate fought to protect the privacy of Canadians by:

• Sponsoring Bill C-413, an act to amend the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act
• Recommending changes to the Personal Information and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) focused on consent, making algorithms transparent, and protecting minors
• Holding social media companies like Facebook and Google accountable for their mishandling of private information as vice-chair of the Standing Committee on Access to Information, Privacy, and Ethics
• Leading efforts at the privacy committee to hold Pornhub accountable for failing to protect young women on its platform.
• Supporting the implementation of a federal Right To Be Forgotten that would allow individuals to request that damaging private information be removed from search engine results
• Serving as a member of the Standing Committee on Industry and Technology, seeking justice for Canadians by investigating and punishing anti-competitive practices
• Securing stronger measures on credit card companies, including capping interest payments (Bill C-419)
• Supporting families through the introduction of the Canada Child Benefit, lifting hundreds of thousands of kids out of poverty.
• Opposing exploitative oligopolies by amending the Telecommunications Act and opposing the Rogers-Shaw Merger

Nate has consistently supported stronger and more serious climate action to get us to Net Zero in 2050 by:

• Supporting initiatives to reduce pollution by investing in public transit, clean tech—such as EVs—and numerous energy efficiency measures
• Ensuring that Canadians are provided sound climate policies based on evidence, expertise and the experience of successful measures in other jurisdictions
• Supporting policies to further reduce emissions that are under development or recently announced
• Introducing Bill C-454, legislation that requires the Government of Canada to eliminate greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 
• Supporting Bills to control pollution such as prohibiting the export of certain plastic waste and allowing the use of wood and other sustainable materials in public works
• Calling for an emergency debate on climate change in Parliament in response to the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s special report on global warming

Nate is a passionate believer in both public healthcare and treating substance abuse as a health issue. He has

• Introduced legislation (C-236) to provide diversion options to law enforcement by diverting low-level drug possession out of the criminal justice system and into a health-focussed treatment approach
• Voted to amend the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act to include assistance for drug overdoses
• Advocated in favor of the federal strategy to reduce backlogs, improve mental health and guarantee access to family doctors through discussions on Uncommons with health care experts, such as Dr. Jane Philpott and Dr. Bob Bell
• Worked with childhood cancer survivor Helena Kirk to secure an additional $30M for pediatric cancer research for the 2021 federal budget
• Created national drug treatment guidelines with evidence-based policy driven by expert advice from law enforcement, community partners and healthcare professionals
• Voted independently in favor of legislation (Bill 216) to establish a health-based national strategy to include access to a regulated safer supply of drugs, while expanding trauma-informed / harm-reduction services
• Introduced legislation (C-293) to prevent future pandemics through a One Health approach that requires a preparedness plan to be updated every few years
• Pushed for national action on more effective gun control, making efforts to strengthen background checks and better track legal gun sales

Time and again, Nate has stood up for Canadian workers by:

• Leading efforts to enhance the Canada Workers Benefit putting more money back in the pockets of working Canadians
• Working across party lines to deliver the Canada Disability Benefit

• Preventing deceptive practices by employers, providing surveillance of scams, labour litigation and enforcement measures
• Fighting against forced and child labour in our supply chains, requiring compliance with oversight measures and reporting introduced in Bill S-223
• Enforcing compliance with minimum wage and overtime rules, including measures for complaints reporting by gig-economy workers
• Targeting corporate collusion by holding executives to account in Committee for wage-fixing during the pandemic
• Honouring the intent of collective bargaining with Crown Corporations to ensure a fair and sustainable jobs market by negotiating collective agreements in good faith
• Voting to amend the Canada Labour Code to extend the leave for bereavement and compassionate care, and to extend the period for complaints by former employees
• Voting to amend the Employment Insurance Act to increase the period for benefits due to illness, injury and quarantine
• Driving discussions to structurally address poverty by supporting investigations toward a guaranteed basic income (as a chair of the All-Party Anti-Poverty Caucus), and via support of motion M-46

In his short time as Canada’s Minister of Housing, Nate has been getting government moving to tackle our housing crisis by:

• Committing federal funding to reducing homelessness with $250 million, matched by provinces or municipalities to address homelessness, provide shelter, and tackle encampments
• Getting the federal government back in the game on social housing by supporting projects conducted under the National Housing Fund and Canada’s Housing Plan. Putting federal dollars directly to work financing the co-op housing we desperately need
• Investing in housing-related infrastructure through continued support for programs like the $6 billion Housing Infrastructure Fund – federal financing of critical housing-enabling infrastructure in drinking water, wastewater and flood protection when provinces agree to remove barriers and red tape
• Upgrading our public transit through the Canada Public Transit Fund with $2.2 Billion of funding here in Ontario, and securing a deal with the province and municipality to finally upgrade our Line 2 subway cars
• Working with every level of government to get houses built; Linking the federal funding with the removal of provincial barriers like density restrictions through the $4 billion Housing Accelerator Fund
• Treating housing as a home first and an investment second by seeking a fairer settlement for Canadians buying their first homes
• Unlocking federal lands for development by releasing millions of acres at deep discount or no cost for the construction of both market and non-market housing
• Investing in prefabricated construction to help reduce the time it takes to get homes built, delivering $4 billion through the Rapid Housing Initiative to help fund these projects, including 60 homes built here in Beaches East-York
• Launching Toronto Builds with Mayor Chow to invest $2.55 billion in low-cost financing for 5,000 new rental units, with 20% set to be below-market

Known for his parliamentary independence and working across party lines, over the last 9 years Nate:

• Worked across party lines on important issues like housing, climate, and drug policy, pushing his colleagues to adopt bolder measures
• Voted with his conscience – including voting against 37 government motions and supporting private members’ bills from opposition NDP and Conservative members
• Fought for greater transparency in our politics by voting for the inquiry into the SNC-Lavalin affair and to release the Winnipeg Labs documents
• Hosted the Uncommons Podcast giving voice to experts and welcoming guests from across the political spectrum to talk about issues that matter to Canadians
• Challenged his party to adopt the special committee’s recommendation on electoral reform, voting independently in favour of holding the referendum on introducing proportional representation
• Kept his constituents informed by hosting regular in-person events; live podcasts, Q&As, and film screenings