44th Parl. 1st Sess.
April 26, 2022 10:00AM
- Apr/26/22 10:20:26 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, I always enjoy hearing my colleague speak in the House of Commons.
We know that housing has been in crisis now for decades. It has been since the Paul Martin Liberal government ended the national housing program. For its first term, the Liberal government only constructed or started construction on 14,000 units of affordable housing, when we need hundreds of thousands of units across this country.
With the NDP push on this budget, we finally have the kinds of investments that are needed to build those hundreds of thousands of housing units right across the country to really address the housing crisis that so many people, including my constituents in New Westminster—Burnaby, feel very keenly.
My question is very simple: Why did it take the NDP and the strong push by the member for Burnaby South to have the Liberal government finally address the housing issue?
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- Apr/26/22 10:51:55 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, in short, yes, it is, and I share my hon. colleague's concerns about the climate crisis. As I said at the outset of my speech, we do not agree with everything in this budget, nor were we able to get all of the New Democrat priorities in the confidence and supply agreement. We negotiated as best we could.
I think we have to do much more, and do it much more urgently, to take the climate crisis seriously. That includes phasing out all fossil fuel subsidies immediately, and transitioning immediately, as well, to sustainable forms of energy. We cannot wait any longer, and I share the member's passion and sense of urgency in dealing with the health of our planet. We have to push the government to go much further, much faster.
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- Apr/26/22 1:02:01 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, we cannot use “just” anymore. I will try to fix that somehow. I will learn some new English.
One thing for certain is that it is inflation, and it is a huge problem that is at the highest levels in over 30 thirty years. These spend-DP-Liberals can go on and say that this is a global crisis and things like that, but it is a lot of foolishness. Quite frankly, I do not believe for one second that my constituents are terribly concerned about what is going on specifically in Germany, France or anywhere else that these spend-DP-Liberals want to talk about. That is nonsensical.
When they call me, email me or drop into the office, they are concerned about how they are going to put food on their tables here in Canada, which is the government's responsibility and the Prime Minister's responsibility, not just any other problem. They are concerned about the highest inflation that Canadians have seen in over 30 years. They are concerned about the prices of everything they see, from home heating fuel to groceries to gasoline for their vehicles, which go up on an almost weekly basis. To get to the question that Daniel would like answered, perhaps by the Prime Minister, what is the government going to do about the affordability crisis that Canadians are now facing?
Finally, Canadians ask me every day how we are going to pay the incredible debt that these spend-DP-Liberals continue to accumulate. I look back to August 1994 when my eldest daughter was born. At that point, an individual's share of the debt was $16,000, and today that has now ballooned to $31,255. Of course, if we want to use approximate math, that is double the amount in 28 years. As this number continues to climb, there is a major concern I hear from everyday Canadians with this out-of-control spending: How are we going to saddle these Canadians with that as they go forward in the future and cannot even afford a house?
To summarize, this budget has failed everyday Canadians like Daniel, important and vital industries such as agriculture, future Canadians like my eldest daughter, who are going to be saddled with this huge national debt, and, finally, all Nova Scotians. There was next to no mention of my home province in the budget and certainly nothing of substance for the constituents of Cumberland—Colchester. Therefore, it will come as no surprise that I have no confidence in the government and there is no way I can support the Prime Minister's budget 2022.
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- Apr/26/22 2:45:30 p.m.
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Zack has a job offer in my riding of Peterborough—Kawartha, but he cannot find affordable housing. This is a common theme across the country. There are a lot of job vacancies, but no housing. How can we fix the employment crisis when we have a housing crisis?
People need a place to live. It is a basic human need. How is Zack supposed to pay off his student debt if he cannot accept job offers? Will the housing minister continue to roll out one failed program after another, and is Zack the latest victim of his housing policy failures?
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- Apr/26/22 2:49:18 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, God help our planet with answers like that from the minister, because the environment commissioner today warned that energy workers are facing a potential economic upheaval as devastating as the collapse of the cod fisheries in the 1990s. Slogans and promises about a so-called “just transition” just will not cut it. The commissioner reminds us that the government has broken every environmental promise it has made, and now it is breaking faith with energy workers and their families.
It is simple. The climate crisis is here. How can the minister stand in the House and continue to show such a dismal record of failure?
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- Apr/26/22 4:04:37 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I think the answer to the housing crisis is that we simply need to build more houses more quickly. We need to ensure that federal dollars are incentivizing municipalities to build homes more quickly. I think we need to be moving forward in our economy. If our economy is going to keep growing, and if our population is going to keep growing, we need to ensure that our housing continues to grow as well.
To the Liberal member, I know in his riding I am sure he is having the same problem as I am. He is a similar age to me. Half of our generation cannot afford homes. The government is spending $74 billion on housing, yet housing prices have doubled since they have been in government. Something is going seriously wrong here. It is unacceptable.
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