SoVote

Mrs. Anna Roberts (King—Vaughan, CPC)

Mar/3/22 3:07:11 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, Maria, a single mom in my riding, has struggled for years to obtain a visitor's visa for her son, but IRCC told her that he is not a priority. There are many Canadians like Maria being told that seeing their family again is not a priority. They are left to suffer from IRCC's long delays and backlogs. Could the minister tell us when they plan on clearing the backlog so that families can reunite in Canada?

80 words

Context: House Hansard - 40 - Mar/3/22

Mrs. Anna Roberts (King—Vaughan, CPC)

Mar/3/22 6:39:12 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, before having the privilege of representing the residents of King—Vaughan, I worked in banking for many years. Throughout my career, I experienced many ups and downs in the Canadian housing market, but I must admit that the current situation facing our country has me extremely worried. Prior to the pandemic, many Canadians were already facing an unaffordable housing crisis. Since May 2020, home prices in Canada have skyrocketed by almost 50%. In the seven years since the Liberals came to power, the cost of a typical home in Canada has doubled. Let me be clear. This is not normal. A doubling in national housing prices in just seven years is alarming. What does the government propose as a solution? In this current market, how can we provide assurances to new homebuyers that purchasing their first home is still possible? The Minister of Housing recently hosted a national housing supply summit, which perfectly illustrated that the minister and his government are all about lights and camera, but no real action. I will give the Liberals credit where credit is due. The Liberals never miss an opportunity for self-promotion. However, I say to you, Mr. Speaker, that it is painfully obvious that the government has no real plans for solving the housing crisis emergency. In fact, earlier this week, Liberals sitting at the finance committee rejected a two-year ban on foreign money investments in Canada's real estate, even though they explicitly campaigned on supporting this measure less than a year ago. Why does the government continue to make promises that it has no intention of keeping? The Minister of Housing has presented a few spending initiatives and construction projects but, as always, it is much too little and way too late. This year, rather than increasing, housing construction has stalled with no guarantee that it will reach the levels required. Currently, estimates show that Ontario alone would require over 650,000 new builds for its per capita ratio to equal that in the rest of the country, in comparison to our G7 neighbours. Canada is in an alarming position, given that we simultaneously have the lowest population adjusted housing inventory and the fastest-growing population in the G7. All this combined, housing prices are predicted to increase another 10 and a half per cent over the next year. The government announced ambitious immigration targets. It hopes to settle over 400,000 newcomers in Canada this year. It is certainly something to consider, given that we have an aging population and we have the physical space in this country to welcome more immigrants. However, the problem is with roofs, not land. In the face of a staggering shortage of supply, the government proposes to stimulate demand that much more. Frankly, unless we have plans to bring in tens of thousands of construction workers, how does the government expect these newcomers to find homes? We face a severe lack of affordable housing and the Liberal government is doing everything it can to avoid accountability. After seven years of inaction and broken promises, Canadians deserve leadership to revive the dream of home ownership. What plans does the minister have to address the crisis that has developed under the Liberal government?

542 words

Context: House Hansard - 40 - Mar/3/22

Mrs. Anna Roberts

Mar/3/22 6:46:43 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, here is the situation. Just today, we got notice in the city of Toronto that the average home just jumped to $2 million. It is not just a lack of inventory. It is also the fact that we are not building the properties fast enough or ensuring they are affordable for first-time homebuyers. There are programs, and I agree with my colleague. There is the RRSP program where people can use the first $35,000, and I believe that could be up this year. However, how many first-time homebuyers do we know who have that kind of money when they have just graduated from school? We need programs that will include first-time homebuyers and give them the hope of home ownership.

126 words