44th Parl. 1st Sess.
March 21, 2022 11:00AM
- Mar/21/22 2:29:13 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, Canadians reeling from the pandemic are having a hard time making ends meet. From groceries to transportation, housing, corporate profits and CEO bonuses, everything is increasing except income and pensions. Canadians are frustrated with this rigged economy. The rich are getting richer and Canadians are paying the price. The NDP has a solution: Tax the rich. Tax the banks and use that money to offer relief to Canadians.
Will the government continue to stand with wealthy CEOs, or will it finally take action in support of Canadians who are struggling right now?
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- Mar/21/22 2:29:49 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, our government remains committed to this platform initiative.
As it pertains to affordability, it is disappointing that the NDP chose to vote against providing more pandemic supports for Canadians and businesses in Bill C-2.
On raising taxes on the wealthiest 1% and lowering them for the middle class, increasing investments for the Canada Revenue Agency to combat tax evasion and increasing investments to combat international tax avoidance, we invite the opposition NDP to vote with us on Bill C-8.
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- Mar/21/22 2:30:28 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, ever since this finance minister took charge, the cost of living has skyrocketed. Inflation is at a 30-year high. We know Canadians are struggling to balance their own budgets, and paycheques do not go as far as they used to. The cost of everything is out of control, including gas, groceries and housing, yet the minister does not seem to care. Things are not getting better for Canadians. They are getting worse.
When will the minister tell Canadians how she plans to fight inflation, and when will she table her next budget?
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- Mar/21/22 2:31:04 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, since the hon. member has raised the issue of affordability, let us review what we have done since taking office. We lowered taxes for the middle class twice and raised them on the wealthiest 1%, and Conservatives voted against. We created the CCB indexed to inflation and Conservatives voted—
Some hon. members: Oh, oh!
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- Mar/21/22 2:31:25 p.m.
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Order.
I will just give it a minute. I know it has been a while. We have not seen each other in a while and we have not had a chance to heckle in a while.
The hon. Minister of Tourism and Associate Minister of Finance may give a quick answer.
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- Mar/21/22 2:31:43 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we provided seniors over 75 years of age with a one-time payment of $500 and the Conservatives voted against it. We are focused on affordability, and that is what we will continue to do.
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- Mar/21/22 2:32:02 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the question was for the finance minister.
Inflation is raging across our country and Canadians are being left behind. The cost of everything is skyrocketing. I mentioned gas, groceries and the price of home heating. Worse yet, millions of Canadians have lost their dream of home ownership as house prices spiral out of control, yet the minister does not seem to care.
When will she finally tell Canadians what she plans to do about the affordability crisis, and when will she table a budget?
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- Mar/21/22 2:32:42 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it is an honour and a privilege for me to share with the member opposite exactly what we are doing and will continue to do on housing. There has been $72 billion invested in the national housing strategy, $2.5 billion invested in the rapid housing initiative, and investments in every corner of this country and every riding, even the noisy ones, to make sure that housing is a right for everyone. We will continue to focus on Canadians, while the Conservatives focus on raising the temperature.
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- Mar/21/22 2:33:21 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, a few weeks back I alerted the House that the average home price in Canada had hit $720,000. Do members know what it is today? It is $868,000. I want to remind members what a house's price was when the Prime Minister came into office: $434,000. The Liberals officially did it. It took them six years, but they have doubled the average home price here in Canada.
How can the minister continue to ignore these numbers?
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- Mar/21/22 2:33:57 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we remain committed to the important issue of housing affordability in Canada, and we have proposed solutions such as a new housing accelerator fund to speed up both the supply and the speed of housing construction in Canada, a new rent-to-own program to help renters become homebuyers, as well as a temporary ban on foreign buyers of non-recreational residential property.
We have moved to implement a 1% tax on non-resident and non-Canadian-owned real estate, and the Conservatives voted against it.
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- Mar/21/22 2:34:35 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, all the programs the minister just spoke of fall under the CMHC. The CMHC is a government agency that, according to its website, is driven by one goal, housing affordability for all, yet newly revealed documents show that CMHC employees received $48 million in bonuses in the last year.
The average home price went up 21% in the last year. How can the minister award the CMHC bonuses, when Canadians cannot afford to buy a home?
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- Mar/21/22 2:35:15 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the hon. member knows that no minister in my position has or will ever make decisions in terms of an independent Crown corporation's employee compensation system. CMHC, like every Crown corporation in Canada, is independent of political interference when it comes to the hiring and salaries of its employees.
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- Mar/21/22 2:35:56 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, so many Canadians are struggling to find an affordable place to rent, let alone purchase a home. Why? It is because home prices have doubled since the Liberals took office, and they are up 43% since 2019 alone. Over the past two years, the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, which reports to the Minister of Housing, has given out $48 million in bonuses.
Did the minister personally sign off on these bonuses, or is he simply going to try to pass the blame onto someone else?
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- Mar/21/22 2:36:33 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the hon. member knows very well that no minister in my position has or will ever interfere in an independent Crown corporation's decisions when it comes to employment and salaries.
We are focused on federal investments in housing, making sure that more Canadians than ever before have a safe and affordable place to call home. In British Columbia, where the member's riding is, we have invested over $5.8 billion in affordable housing investments. These investments have helped over 128,000 families. This includes $34.5 million in 120 new units in West Kelowna in the member's riding.
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- Mar/21/22 2:37:17 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, this minister is supposed to be the Minister of Housing not the minister for “show me the money”.
What performance metrics could possibly justify doling out $48 million, an average of more than $12,000 per employee, to over 93% of employees during an affordable housing crisis? Will the minister show some spine and cancel these bonuses, or will he do what he always does and just blame the opposition for what happens on his watch?
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- Mar/21/22 2:37:55 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the hon. member knows very well that no minister has or will ever interfere in the salaries and compensation of employees of an independent Crown agency.
We are focused on providing affordable housing solutions for Canadians. Every single time that we have brought more federal investments to the table, the member opposite has voted against them. The Conservatives are not serious about affordable housing. How do I know that? Their opposition day motion did not have the words “affordable housing” in it. Their election platform did not have “affordable housing” in it. They are not serious about this issue.
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- Mar/21/22 2:38:36 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, today, Montreal is recovering from a brutal weekend. Five armed attacks were committed within a 48-hour period. It is a sad reminder that the wave of violence afflicting our city did not resolve itself while our attention was elsewhere. Montreal is still in the grip of a gang war that has been escalating for the past three years.
However, judging from the government's apathy, it is as if the emergency does not exist. We have been talking about this for months, but nothing is changing on the ground.
What tangible action is the minister taking to deal with the gang war plaguing the Montreal region?
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- Mar/21/22 2:39:20 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, our government is firmly committed to building safer communities.
To reduce gun crime, we must address social conditions that lead youth to join gangs. We are working closely with municipalities and indigenous communities to provide $250 million over five years to bolster gang prevention and intervention programming. By investing in community programming, we will stop the cycle of gun and gang violence, and prevent youth from enduring a life of crime.
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- Mar/21/22 2:39:47 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, $250 million is good, but it is not enough.
The gang war that is going on right now is affecting the entire greater Montreal area. In Laval, gun violence has more than doubled over the past three years, but the flow of guns still has not been stopped. Illegal firearms continue to find their way in without the federal government taking any serious action.
This is a crisis. People are feeling less and less safe on city streets. One quick solution is to cut off access to guns and stem gun trafficking.
What is the Minister of Public Safety waiting for to take action?
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- Mar/21/22 2:40:25 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we absolutely take this crisis seriously. We know there are many prongs to solving the issue of guns and gangs.
That is why, just last week, the Minister of Public Safety was in Quebec, speaking with organizations, and announced funding for communities, for municipalities and for indigenous groups to deal with the scourge of guns and gangs.
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