Bill 71 cuts support for Wolseley renters
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This article was published 21/05/2021 (742 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
Just about every family in Manitoba has faced new financial hardships since the onset of COVID-19. Low-income families in Wolseley have been hit hard, many working frontline jobs and putting themselves at risk to afford rent and groceries. Now the PCs are leaving them even further behind.
Since the pandemic began, I’ve heard from many in our community who are worried about increases to their rent. It’s no wonder why: last year, every single above guideline rent increase that Manitoba landlords applied for was granted by the Residential Tenancies Branch, with no exceptions. At an apartment block on Wolseley Ave, renters were faced with a $300 above guideline increase in the fall.
It’s not just these increases making life harder for renters, though. As renters continue struggling to make ends meet, the Pallister government is now forcing them to take an additional $700 hit with their Bill 71.
This legislation puts big cheques into the pockets of the most well-off Manitobans while slashing benefits for renters. It will decrease the $700 tax credit that all renters in Manitoba currently receive by 25 per cent this year, an immediate loss of $175, while eventually phasing out the tax credit altogether. What’s more, these renters’ landlords will receive cheques in the mail for 10 per cent of their education property taxes on every property they own this year — potentially thousands of dollars, while renters are left worse off.
We introduced three amendments to combat the worst aspects of this bill. The first was to ensure renters kept their $700 tax credits. The second was to not allow rebates if the government cuts funding to education. We should not be cutting our children’s education to give tax cuts to the wealthiest Manitobans.
Last, we proposed that cabinet ministers cannot include materials with their names or images with tax rebate cheques. Thanks to Manitobans and our entire NDP caucus we successfully passed the last one to ensure tax decisions are not made for political gain. Unfortunately, the Pallister government voted against our other two amendments, which would have protected renters and our children’s education.
If you’d like to share your thoughts on how Bill 71 and slashing renters’ benefits will affect your family, please reach out to my office at 204-792-2773 or lisa.naylor@yourmanitoba.ca
Lisa Naylor
Wolseley constituency report
Lisa Naylor is the NDP MLA for Wolseley.