📬 Open Letter: A Plea for Accountability on Predatory Lending, Car Debt, and Transit Injustice in Canada

By Tina Winterlik (Zipolita)

Dear Elizabeth May, and all Members of Parliament who claim to care about affordability, financial justice, climate action, and human dignity:

I’m writing this open letter as a 63-year-old mother, artist, and dog walker who is currently couchsurfing in British Columbia. I worked hard, raised a child as a single mom, and gave up owning a car 24 years ago to reduce my carbon footprint. I walked, biked, and bussed — even endured a 4-hour daily commute from South Surrey to Granville Island — because I believed in doing the right thing.

Now I see how this system rewards the wrong things:

• Auto dealerships and banks handing out 20% car loans to newcomers with no credit
• Bridge and highway megaprojects funded while people sleep in tents
• New homes sitting empty while the working poor are buried in car debt
• And a government that keeps claiming to be “green” while subsidizing urban sprawl

I recently published a blog post that tells my story and connects the dots:
📍 “A Timeline of Extraction: The Real Cost of Predatory Lending and Car-Centric Urban Planning”
🔗 https://tinawinterlik.blogspot.com/2025/08/a-timeline-of-extraction-real-cost-of.html

In it, I draw a direct line between:

• The auto loan trap ensnaring thousands of newcomers in debt
• The lack of reliable transit, forcing people into cars
• And the deliberate choice by governments to build bridges, not homes

This is Canada’s version of the U.S. subprime mortgage crisis — only this time, it’s cars instead of condos. And the people affected are the ones trying to make a life in this country.

🙏 I am asking you, Elizabeth May, to:

1. Raise this issue in the House of Commons — especially the systemic abuse of car loans and infrastructure that destroys communities.
2. Speak with Mark Carney — the former central banker and current UN climate envoy — and ask him to finally say something about this domestic economic injustice.
3. Demand answers from the following officials who are either responsible or complicit:

• 📩 Chrystia Freeland, Finance Minister
• 📩 Sean Fraser, Housing & Infrastructure
• 📩 Pablo Rodriguez, Transport
• 📩 Peter Routledge, OSFI
• 📩 Judith Robertson, FCAC

I know many people dismiss emails unless they’re from their “constituents.” So I’m putting this in public.
Because the system is rigged — and I’m not the only one saying so.

“There is no bridge wide enough to carry us over the consequences of this crisis if it continues.”
– Tina Winterlik (Zipolita)

Let’s stop pretending we don’t see what’s happening. The banks profit. The politicians deflect.
And the people are left walking — or falling — through the cracks.

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📬 Contacts for Tagging & Public Pressure

Name	Title	Tag/Email
Elizabeth May	Green Party Leader	💬 @ElizabethMay · 📩 elizabeth.may@parl.gc.ca
Mark Carney	UN Climate Envoy	💬 @MarkJCarney (X/Twitter)
Chrystia Freeland	Finance Minister	💬 @cafreeland · 📩 chrystia.freeland@parl.gc.ca
Sean Fraser	Minister of Housing	💬 @SeanFraserMP · 📩 sean.fraser@parl.gc.ca
Pablo Rodriguez	Transport Minister	💬 @pablorodriguez · 📩 pablo.rodriguez@parl.gc.ca
Peter Routledge	OSFI	📩 communications@osfi-bsif.gc.ca
Judith Robertson	FCAC	📩 info@fcac-acfc.gc.ca

But What About Me?" – Canada Day Reflections from the Margins

"But What About Me?" – Canada Day Reflections from the Margins

By Tina Winterlik aka Zipolita

Mark Carney says that on Canada Day, a middle-class tax cut takes effect — so people can keep more of what they earn.

But what about me? What about the people who don't get to earn?
What about the disabled? The underhoused? The single parents?
What about the thousands surviving on social assistance, scraping by in poverty, unable to afford groceries, rent, or transportation — let alone savings?

A tax cut doesn’t help if you don’t make enough to be taxed.
We’re not celebrating a tax break — we’re surviving broken systems.
We’re living under policies that freeze social assistance, allow rents to skyrocket, and funnel funding to big nonprofits whose executives take home six-figure salaries while people sleep in tents.

Canada Day should be a day of reflection, not just celebration.
If this country is truly ours, then all of us deserve dignity, housing, food, safety — and a voice.

This Canada Day, I ask not for a tax cut. I ask for justice, equity, and compassion.
I ask for policies that see the poor — not just the middle class.

We don’t want a break.
We want a future.

What else is possible?

💡 What Else Is Possible? A Matriarchal Vision for Resilience

I keep thinking about Savages, the book where Indigenous people in Ecuador tried to clean up an oil spill with their bare hands. Oil pouring from rusted, corroded pipelines. No safety. No cleanup. No justice.
And I realize — this could happen here in Canada, too.

We build pipelines with borrowed money and political will, but when it's time to maintain or repair them, we say it's "too expensive." Tariffs go up, steel prices rise, and suddenly, safety and sustainability are off the table.

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🚧 Building for Extraction vs. Building for People

Right now, we’re watching the old systems kick into overdrive.
It feels like all the Mark Y's and the boys — with all that testosterone energy — are saying:

“We’ll fix this. Drill more. Mine more. Build taller.”

But… what else is possible?
That’s what my friend always asks me — and that question has never felt more important.

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🧠 We Don’t Need More Towers — We Need More Wisdom

If they can raise a 40-storey condo in 3 months,
Why can't we build 100 tiny homes in 3 weeks?

Let’s take the skills and materials we already have, and redirect them:

• 🛖 Tiny houses on every unused lot
• 🚲 Bike paths replacing car-clogged streets
• 🌱 Gardens instead of parking garages
• 🏫 Outdoor schools to teach real-world survival and connection
• 🧠 Mental health and healing centers, not jails
• 🎨 Community art and maker spaces, not luxury gyms

We don’t need more extraction — we need regeneration.

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💣 Steel Tariffs, Trump, and the End of Illusions

Trump doubled the steel and aluminum tariffs — and it’s not just economic policy. It’s a power play.
He knows it raises construction costs for housing, pipelines, and renewables — and he doesn’t care.

It’s all part of a system designed to keep us chasing, consuming, and collapsing.

So let’s stop playing by those rules.

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💬 What Else Is Possible?

What if we took back control of our streets, our land, and our future?

What if we:

• Taught kids to build tiny houses in high school
• Turned vacant condos into co-ops
• Hired artists and elders to design community spaces with soul

What if we stopped waiting for governments and just started building what we need?

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💗 The Matriarchs Are Rising

This isn’t about women vs. men — it’s about values.

It’s time to lead with:

• Care, not control
• Connection, not competition
• Resilience, not extraction

The patriarchy has run wild. The Matriarchs are calling us home.
Let’s build it — together.

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🛠️ So I Ask Again:

What else is possible?

Let’s stop dreaming of towers.
Let’s start building villages.

🌱
— Tina Winterlik aka Zipolita

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If I Were in Power: 15 Radical Acts of Love for the People

By Tina Winterlik aka Zipolita

What if I had the power to change things—like the Mayor of Vancouver, the Premier of BC, or even the Prime Minister of Canada?

I imagine a world where people don’t just survive—they belong, build, and bloom.
A world where housing, food, purpose, and healing are not luxuries, but birthrights.

If I Were Ken Sim – Mayor of Vancouver

Radical Municipal Love in 5 Moves:

1. Declare a Housing Emergency – Ban luxury condos and build homes on public land—fast.
2. Start a Community Builders Corps – Hire those without homes or jobs to build tiny houses, plant gardens, and repair our city.
3. Transform Vacant Lots into Food Forests – Everyone deserves free fruit and veggies.
4. Convert Empty Businesses into Free Kitchens & Healing Spaces – Meals, support groups, art, and grief circles open to all.
5. Redirect Police Funds into Care – Decriminalize poverty, support peer-run mobile crisis teams.

If I Were David Eby – Premier of British Columbia

A Province Powered by Compassion:

1. Launch a BC Housing Renaissance – Build beautiful non-market housing with Indigenous Nations and cooperatives.
2. Guarantee Basic Needs for All – Make housing, food, and transit a right—not a battle.
3. Open Schools as Nighttime Recovery Centres – Grief, addiction, parenting, life skills—all free.
4. Grow Food in Every School and Park – Children should learn how to grow, cook, and share.
5. Fund “Purpose Projects” – Pay people to build bike paths, community libraries, murals, and permaculture plots.

If I Were Mark Carney – Prime Minister of Canada

A Federal Leap of Imagination:

1. Declare Housing a Human Right – No more tax breaks for developers. Build public eco-villages across the country.
2. End Corporate Subsidies—Support the People – Stop funding billionaires and start feeding kids.
3. Create a National Purpose Economy – Guaranteed jobs that restore the planet and our spirits.
4. Ethical Immigration That Lifts Communities – Focus on rural housing, fair wages, and unity—not real estate.
5. Tax the Rich to Restore the Commons – Free food, libraries, and care in every neighbourhood.

Final Thoughts: Rebuild the World with Purpose

People are grieving, hungry, and lost—not just physically, but spiritually.

The solution isn’t more screens or profits.
It’s gardens. Tiny houses. Public joy. Shared meals. Time. Love. Purpose.

We need a society where everyone gets to plant something and watch it grow.

Want to Help This Vision Grow?

Let’s turn these ideas into a picture book or zine called:
“If I Were in Power: A Children’s Guide to Changing the World”

Concept:

• Simple illustrated pages.
• Each character (Mayor, Premier, PM) drawn like a superhero of kindness.
• One bold action per page, with a gentle explanation of why it matters.
• Ends with: “What would YOU do if you had the power?”

Great for: Classrooms, art projects, protests, healing circles, family discussions.

Mark Carney’s Cabinet Reshuffle

 Mark Carney’s Cabinet Reshuffle: A Major Step Backward for Equity and Indigenous Rights?

By Tina Winterlik (Zipolita)

Mark Carney’s new cabinet has sent shockwaves through advocacy communities, with many questioning whether years of hard-fought progress on gender equality, disability rights, and Indigenous affairs have just been tossed out the window. His decision to cut key ministries—including the Ministry for Women and Gender Equality and Youth and the Ministry for Diversity, Inclusion, and Persons with Disabilities—signals a troubling shift. Even more concerning is the restructuring of Indigenous Affairs, raising alarms about the government’s true commitment to reconciliation.

Why This Is a Step Backward

For years, Canada has worked—albeit imperfectly—to increase representation and ensure marginalized communities have a seat at the table. The creation of specific ministries for Women and Gender Equality and Diversity and Inclusion was a recognition that systemic barriers exist and need dedicated focus. Carney’s decision to eliminate these roles and fold their responsibilities into other departments is deeply troubling. It gives the illusion of efficiency but ultimately dilutes these important mandates.

Similarly, while Indigenous Affairs technically still exists, the structural shifts suggest that Indigenous concerns are being deprioritized. The split of Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada in 2017 was meant to address systemic failures in Indigenous governance, ensuring both Crown-Indigenous Relations and Indigenous Services had dedicated leadership. The fact that Carney saw fit to restructure rather than strengthen these roles raises serious questions about his commitment to reconciliation.

The Disappearing Focus on Indigenous and Women’s Representation

Beyond ministry cuts, there are troubling signs that Carney’s cabinet fails to reflect Canada’s diversity. While some Indigenous and women MPs have been included, critics note a lack of strong Indigenous leadership at the highest levels. This is particularly concerning given ongoing crises in Indigenous communities, including missing and murdered Indigenous women, boil-water advisories, and the chronic underfunding of essential services.

Removing women and gender equality as a standalone priority is equally disturbing. The fight for gender rights in Canada has been long and hard-fought, and the elimination of this ministry sends a clear message: these issues are no longer a priority.

What Does This Mean for Canada?

These changes cannot be brushed off as mere administrative restructuring. The elimination of dedicated ministries sends a political message that gender equity, disability inclusion, and Indigenous rights are not worthy of focused leadership. For those who have fought for these ministries and the protections they provided, it feels like decades of advocacy have been erased overnight.

History has shown us that when governments stop prioritizing these issues, progress stalls—or worse, we start moving backward. Without dedicated ministers pushing these agendas, the voices of marginalized communities risk being drowned out by more “mainstream” political concerns.

What Can We Do?

Now is not the time to stay silent. Advocacy groups, Indigenous leaders, and gender rights organizations must demand accountability. This means:

• Calling on the government to re-establish a dedicated Women and Gender Equality Ministry
• Ensuring Indigenous leaders have real decision-making power, not just symbolic roles
• Pressuring Carney’s government to explain how these restructuring decisions actually help marginalized communities

If we don’t push back now, these changes will set a precedent for future governments to continue erasing the progress we’ve made.

Canada deserves leadership that reflects its diversity and actively works to dismantle systemic inequalities. Carney’s cabinet choices show the opposite—and that should concern every one of us.

What are your thoughts on this issue? Leave a comment and share this post to spread awareness.