Liberal candidate Yasir Naqvi is running for re-election in Ottawa Centre in hopes of continuing his work on health care, community revitalization and housing.
Born in Pakistan, Naqvi witnessed his parents’ involvement in pro-democracy movements, which eventually led to his father’s arrest and nine months as a political prisoner. He said his parents’ activism inspired him to pursue politics.
“I’ve always been inspired by my parents’ example of always giving back, always making sure that you’re part of the community that you live in and do your very best [to make sure] that everyone is looked after,” he said.
After a career in law, Naqvi startedin provincial politics and served as the MPP for Ottawa Centre from 2007 to 2018. In this role, he also held the positions of attorney general of Ontario, government house leader, minister of community safety and correctional services and minister of labour.
After losing the provincial election in 2018, Naqvi turned to federal politics, where he was elected as Ottawa Centre’s MP in 2021.
“I really felt that our community need[ed] a strong representative who knows the community, has the support of the community and can help rebuild our community after the pandemic.”
The Charlatan sat down with Naqvi to discuss his plans if re-elected for a second term as Ottawa Centre’s MP.
Housing
In his first term as MP, Naqvi said he secured hundreds of millions of dollars to fund about 1,700 new affordable homes in Ottawa Centre.
Naqvi pointed to new housing projects on federally owned lands in areas including LeBreton Flats, Tunney’s Pasture and Confederation Heights as evidence of his efforts.
“You see cranes everywhere where we’re building housing on federally owned land,” he said.
If re-elected, Naqvi said he plans to continue fighting for federal funding for more affordable housing in Ottawa Centre.
“I want to make sure the funding is there to build homes at a scale that we’ve never seen before, so that we can have it available, especially for young people who are saving money and want to have their own home.”
Naqvi said the Liberal Party’s housing plan, announced on March 31, is best suited to address the housing crisis. The plan would get the federal government “back into the business of home building” by acting as an affordable housing developer, creating incentives for private affordable home builders and eliminating red tape surrounding the housing industry, according to the party’s website.
Downtown revitalization
If re-elected, Naqvi said he would continue to explore avenues to revitalize the city’s downtown core after it took “a huge beating” during the pandemic and the truck convoy protest.
He said he has been addressing this issue in the last four years by working with community partners.
“I’ve been really focused on working with the City of Ottawa, with Ottawa Tourism, Ottawa Board of Trade, small business organizations and local residents in ways we can bring people back into the downtown core to live, to work and to visit.,” he said.
Health care
The protection and expansion of public health care would be one of Naqvi’s top priorities in a second term as MP, he said.
“[The] Liberal Party has always been the champion of a publicly delivered, single-payer, universally accessible health-care system, and so that is part of our value set and we will never compromise on that.”
The Liberals recently expanded the Canadian Dental Care Plan to include Canadians aged 18 to 64.
Naqvi said he wants this age expansion to extend to pharmacare, where he said he would fight for free contraceptives and diabetes medication.
Canada-U.S. relations
As he knocks on doors, Naqvi said the No. 1 issue his constituents are talking about is American threats on Canadian sovereignty.
Naqvi said his party is best equipped to handle U.S. relations and to reduce Canada’s foreign economic dependence andwill build new alliances with countries around the world.
“Mark Carney, myself and the Liberal Party, [are] committed to standing up for Canada and doing the hard work necessary to grow Canada.”
Featured image by Marissa Meilleur.
