SoVote

Context: House Hansard - 14 - Dec/9/21

Mr. Darrell Samson (Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Veterans Affairs and Associate Minister of National Defence, Lib.)

Dec/9/21 3:41:37 p.m.
Watch

Mr. Speaker, it is always a pleasure to be able to rise in the House and to speak on behalf of my constituents in Sackville—Preston—Chezzetcook. I look forward to sharing my views on affordable housing and our government's action plans. In the Speech from the Throne, we focused on two very important issues: ensuring the health and safety of Canadians during the pandemic and building back better to grow the economy. That last point is crucial, and housing across Canada will be a key aspect. During the election campaign, I heard from people all over my riding who talked about the need for more housing for various groups. I know this is true across the country. During the pandemic, we became more aware of needs and acted swiftly to better respond to those urgent needs across Canada. That is why we launched the rapid housing initiative. We had to work with the provinces and municipalities to meet those needs as much as possible, and I am very pleased to say that we were successful. We were able to work quickly and build over 9,200 units across Canada in a very short period of time. I must congratulate the municipalities. That being said, we have to recognize that we still have a lot of work to do. In the past, affordable housing challenges existed primarily in urban areas. We now see that the needs are elsewhere, in rural areas and across Canada. That is why we launched a national housing strategy a few years ago, the first of its kind in Canada. This clearly demonstrates that we realized how important this issue was when we took office a few years ago. At that time, we issued an action plan to move forward on housing. The housing strategy is for seniors, the vulnerable, women and children fleeing violence, indigenous people and persons with disabilities. It is for many Canadians. Our focus is that by 2027-28, we will see the elimination of chronic homelessness right across the country. We will see the construction of over 160,000 homes. We will see repairs and renovations to over 300,000 units. We will remove over 530,000 families from housing needs. These numbers clearly show that we are getting down to work, and we are doing so in collaboration with the provinces and municipalities. We launched another fund, the national housing co-investment fund, with a $13.7‑billion envelope, to invest in other levels of housing, which include the renovation of affordable housing that is aging or in disrepair and the construction of housing located near amenities, such as public transit, places of work, schools and families, in order to meet the needs. I can confirm today that budget 2021 is providing more funding for this critical program. In addition to all that, we have signed agreements with all 10 provinces and all three territories. That shows just how serious we are about this, how real the need is, and how keen the provinces and municipalities are to collaborate. That stands in stark contrast to the former Conservative government, which did not believe the federal government has any responsibility for housing here in Canada. These agreements are for $13.5 billion over 10 years to help the provinces and territories achieve the goals in their action plans. I am also extremely pleased to see another targeted investment to accelerate housing construction with municipalities. That means we will not have to work through the provinces quite as much to meet municipalities' needs. We will be able to work with them more directly to address more practical or unique situations, such as in places where problems and obstacles got in the way of this kind of construction. By that, I mean the construction of new housing. We can invest in the infrastructure to enable construction. We can invest in land to help municipalities. We can invest in hiring many other people. These initiatives are going a long way toward improving the situation on the ground. I must also say that young people are in a difficult situation in terms of purchasing power or the ability to buy a new home, because the costs are very high. It is difficult to buy one's first home. That is why our government is providing its support. It made a promise and will follow through on that promise to help young people with some strategies that give first‑time homebuyers a lot more flexibility. Rent‑to‑own programs are also very worthwhile. There is the rent-to-own program. The rent people pay contributes toward ownership. It is very important. This includes co-op homes as well. There are all kinds of strategies. Our national housing strategy is definitely very useful, but we need partners. I want to thank the municipalities, provinces and territories that have worked with us and will continue to work with us to ensure that we can address urgent needs across Canada.

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Context: House Hansard - 14 - Dec/9/21

Mr. Darrell Samson

Dec/9/21 3:51:27 p.m.
Watch

Mr. Speaker, my colleague is from Nova Scotia, as I am, and he is touching on topics of interest to me. Child care is one of the most important investments we can make. I am very proud that in January, we will be moving forward right across the country. We already have signed nine provinces. That is something of which to be proud. That is not talking; that is clear action. I want to underline to my colleague that in the Conservative platform, the Conservatives wanted to give breaks to wealthy landlords. They were very clear in the Harper government that the federal government had no responsibility for housing across the country. We said that it was not right. That is why things are improving today, because we are on the ground working for Canadians.

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Context: House Hansard - 14 - Dec/9/21

Mr. Darrell Samson

Dec/9/21 3:53:08 p.m.
Watch

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from the Bloc Québécois for the question. There is no doubt that housing is very important across Canada. Negotiations are negotiations. We want to make sure that we are meeting the needs on the ground. Whether we are talking about Canadians from Quebec, western Canada or Newfoundland, we have to meet their needs. Here is something they can count on: Today our government has something on the ground. Both parties are satisfied. If the Conservatives were in power, there would not be any negotiations because they would not be investing in housing in Quebec.

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Context: House Hansard - 14 - Dec/9/21

Mr. Darrell Samson

Dec/9/21 3:54:53 p.m.
Watch

Mr. Speaker, I can tell the member that if there is any reason some of the rapid housing projects did not hit the ground, it is the provincial government, not the municipal governments. This had to become a priority of the provincial government. The good news for the member is that the new accelerator fund for municipalities will help directly. She can go back home and tell her constituents how this program will help her municipality and the people in her riding.

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