44th Parl. 1st Sess.
April 5, 2022 10:00AM
- Apr/5/22 2:43:10 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, “crushing”, “stunning” and “frenzy” are words the Royal Bank is using to describe the housing crisis in Canada. The Bank of Montreal is calling it a full-scale attack. Housing experts are calling the minister's programs absolute failures.
When will the minister listen to the experts and stop blaming others for his failures?
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- Apr/5/22 2:43:38 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I would urge the hon. member to look at what the national housing strategy is doing in his home province of Alberta. In Alberta, we are investing $444 million to support 35,000 households and pay rent. What does he have to say about that?
It is not only that. He should have a conversation with his colleagues from various parts of the country who continue to talk down federal investments in housing through the national housing strategy, and who have dismissed efforts we are making to enable more Canadians to have access to home ownership. They want us to pull back from the national housing strategy, and they want no federal leadership in this place.
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- Apr/5/22 2:44:33 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the minister has to keep reusing the same recycled talking points and twisting people's words because he is embarrassed, and rightfully so, of his record as minister.
He claims to have a plan that would help make housing more affordable, but under his watch, we have seen housing prices double and rent become more unaffordable than ever before. More and more people are looking at the situation and saying that they are giving up on ever buying a home. He should finally admit that his plan for first-time homebuyers is not working. It is only actually driving prices up.
Will the minister acknowledge his record of failure, change course and actually make housing more affordable for Canadians, and not just use the same talking points?
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- Apr/5/22 2:45:21 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I wish the hon. member would look at the federal housing investments through just one program in the national housing strategy in his home province of Ontario. Through the Canada housing benefit, we are investing $1.46 billion to support over 50,000 households to pay the rent. That is a record—
Some hon. members: Oh, oh!
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- Apr/5/22 2:45:44 p.m.
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Order. This is the fourth time I have to stand to allow the minister to answer so that I can hear what he is saying.
I will ask the minister to answer. He has the floor.
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- Apr/5/22 2:45:58 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I guess the record of supporting 50,000 households to pay their rent through an investment of $1.46 billion is making the other side heckle.
Let me tell members what the hon. member who asked the question said about the national housing strategy. He said that we should “pull back” from federal leadership and investments in affordable housing. Do members know what he said about the first-time homebuyer incentive, a program to enable more young people to access their dream of home ownership? He said that we should get out of the business of helping Canadians buy their own home, and that is a shame.
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- Apr/5/22 2:46:45 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we really do not appreciate the arrogant tone coming from the housing minister day after day, especially since after six years of this government, housing prices have effectively doubled. Half of my generation will never be able to afford a home as a result of its failed policies. A little humility would be welcomed from the Minister of Housing.
When will the government abandon its failed housing strategy?
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- Apr/5/22 2:47:22 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, this is what the mayor of Winnipeg, Brian Bowman, said about the rapid housing initiative: This program has been a huge success for Winnipeg. I would invite members on the other side to look at their record. They voted against the first-time homebuyer incentive. They voted against the rapid housing initiative. They voted against the Canada housing benefit. They voted against every single program we have brought to the House. They failed in government when it comes to housing and they are now failing in opposition.
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- Apr/5/22 2:48:02 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, this week's budget will prove to be a pivotal point in the lives of financially struggling seniors. They need relief from the record inflation, the record increase in the price of gas, the record increase in the price of food and the record increase in the price of medications that the government has overseen.
Will the government commit to measures for lowering the cost of living, to help all seniors in my riding and Canadians, in this week's budget?
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- Apr/5/22 2:48:40 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, excuse me, but I will not take any lessons from a party whose plan was to prolong the age of retirement to 67. On this side of the House, one of the very first things we did was restore that. We enhanced the CPP. We increased the GIS, which has helped over 900,000 single seniors. We provided direct payments to seniors during the pandemic, and we are making high-speed Internet more affordable for seniors. On this side of the House, we are going to continue to ensure we support seniors now and into the future.
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- Apr/5/22 2:49:18 p.m.
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Qujannamiik, Uqaqtittiji.
In Nunavut, people are feeling the impacts of the housing crisis every day. We need 3,000 more housing units so that people are not living in overcrowded housing that is in desperate need of repair. The government has only committed to building 100 units. The Institute of Fiscal Studies and Democracy shows a current housing gap requiring $22.7 billion for first nations.
Will the government deliver the affordable housing indigenous people need?
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- Apr/5/22 2:49:59 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I agree. In all my travels, virtual and real, housing has been the number one issue that comes up time and again. That is why we have signed 10-year housing agreements with all three national indigenous organizations, the Métis National Council, the ITK and Inuit rights holders. We invested $513 million in infrastructure, which includes housing, last August. We know this is a priority and we are going to get it done.
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- Apr/5/22 2:50:32 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, this week marks two years since 16-year-old Eishia Hudson was killed by a Winnipeg police officer. Eishia's family is mourning and waiting for answers, like thousands of families across this country that have lost loved ones to this ongoing genocide against indigenous women, girls and two-spirit people.
The Liberals must act now. Will the minister commit that the budget will include immediate, targeted and adequate funding to implement the 231 calls for justice?
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- Apr/5/22 2:51:06 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the member opposite is right. We are failing as a society as long as every woman, child and LGBTQ person is not safe in this country. The investments that we put in through prior budgets, like the $2 billion we invested in budget 2021, are designed specifically to address this ongoing tragedy.
Just last week, I had the honour and pleasure of announcing investments that respond directly to call for justice 2.3 on providing safe cultural spaces for indigenous communities across the country. That has to continue. It has to continue on a systematic basis until everyone is safe in this country.
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- Apr/5/22 2:51:42 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, Canadian veterans have served our country with courage and sacrifice. They deserve our respect, our support and our gratitude. Accessing mental health services is absolutely vital to the well-being of many veterans.
Could the minister please update the House on our recent $140-million investment to ensure that veterans get the treatment they need and deserve as quickly as possible?
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- Apr/5/22 2:52:11 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the member for Charlottetown for his work on behalf of veterans and Veterans Affairs.
Last week, we launched our new $140-million mental health benefit, which will make sure that veterans get coverage for mental health treatments as soon as possible. This is a significant step, and I can assure my hon. colleagues that we will continue to supply the support and services that our veterans need and deserve.
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- Apr/5/22 2:52:44 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, in 2015, the Prime Minister promised not to buy F-35s, even though he knew that the Canadian industry had invested hundreds of millions of dollars in order to fulfill its commitments to Lockheed Martin.
Even with his announcement last week that he would begin negotiations for purchasing the F-35s, the Prime Minister is keeping the industry in limbo. He has not committed to choosing the F-35; he has merely committed to opening a dialogue.
My question is simple. How many more billions of dollars must be wasted before the government decides to buy the F-35s, and when will we get the first jet?
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- Apr/5/22 2:53:18 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, let me be clear: We have made a decision to do this in the responsible way. We are moving forward with the purchase of 88 fighter jets and we are doing that with an open, fair and transparent process. This is a significant investment and this is what Canadians expect of us. We have a rigorous process that is going to deliver the best plane for the best price with the greatest economic benefit to Canadians.
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- Apr/5/22 2:53:44 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I think the notes are a few months old, but I have another question.
If military spending is to continue, the leader of the NDP must agree to it, but he has already vowed to oppose increased defence spending related to Canada's NATO commitment, while the Liberals have said they will increase spending. The new confidence and supply agreement with the NDP, the third opposition party, guarantees support for the Liberal minority government in exchange for new investments in other areas. With this deal, the tail is wagging the dog.
Will the Prime Minister insist that the leader of the NDP ask his troops to vote for an increase in military spending, yes or no?
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- Apr/5/22 2:54:31 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for his question.
The Conservatives want to question our commitment to the Canadian Armed Forces. Let us be clear. The Conservatives, for a decade, had a chance to step up and invest in NATO and our armed forces. Instead, they decided to actively step back and allow military spending to drop below 1% of our GDP in 2013, but not us. We will continue to invest in our armed forces. We will continue to support NATO, NORAD and our Canadian Armed Forces.
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