44th Parl. 1st Sess.
March 21, 2022 11:00AM
- 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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- Mar/21/22 2:40:55 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, that is not enough. Every time there is a shooting, we ask questions. Every time, the minister answers that he is taking action, that he will take action or that he is aware of the situation. However, there is no sign of concrete action. We only hear rhetoric, and the situation is getting worse. This cannot go on any longer.
Montreal is telling us that the federal government is not doing enough. The Government of Quebec is telling us that the federal government is not doing enough.
When will the minister finally come up with a real solution to cut off access to illegal firearms?
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- Mar/21/22 2:41:27 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we know that protecting communities from gun violence requires a comprehensive and effective strategy to protect communities, not just in Montreal but across the country.
Our position is clear. One of those actions we have taken is that we have said assault-style firearms have no place in Canada. Through a mandatory buyback program, we will remove the threat these deadly firearms pose to our communities from coast to coast to coast.
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- Mar/21/22 2:42:01 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the skyrocketing cost of oil is hitting families' pocketbooks very hard. In response, the government is doing absolutely nothing.
It actually seems to like this situation, since more money is flowing into government coffers. This allows the Liberals to do what they do best, which is spend, spend, spend. Meanwhile, families are struggling to pay their housing costs and put food on the table for their children.
When will the government take real action to help Canadian families?
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- Mar/21/22 2:42:43 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we recognize that Canadians are seeing higher prices at the pump.
The Conservative Party wants Canadians to think that this has something to do with the Canadian economy. However, the Conservatives seem to be ignoring the fact that global energy prices are high, in part because of the serious situation in Ukraine. It is highly likely that oil companies will not lower the price at the pump.
On this side of the House, we are focused on affordability. We encourage the Conservatives to join us and vote in favour of Bill C-8.
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- Mar/21/22 2:43:19 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, members of Parliament come to this House to represent their communities and offer common-sense solutions on issues. Conservatives proposed a GST tax holiday on gasoline and diesel, something that would help my constituents in Kelowna—Lake Country, who are being hammered by gas prices as high as 214.5¢ this month. The Liberals are dismissing solutions.
If the ministers are so out of touch with the prices that Canadians are paying at the pumps, will they ask their drivers what they are paying as they escort them around?
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- Mar/21/22 2:43:54 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we recognize that Canadians are experiencing increased prices at the gas pumps. The Conservative Party would have Canadians believe that this is a consequence entirely of the Canadian economy. What the Conservatives seem to leave out is that this rise in energy prices is due, in great part, to the tragic circumstances under way in Ukraine.
Even if we implemented what the Conservatives are peddling, there is no guarantee that Canadians would see a reduction of prices at the pump. On this side of the House, we create long-term solutions. On that side, they continue to peddle political games.
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