44th Parl. 1st Sess.
April 28, 2022 10:00AM
- Apr/28/22 10:53:09 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, I want to start by making clear that I am not part of any agreement with the governing party. My accountability is to my neighbours in Kitchener.
I know for the hon. member, as well, the housing crisis is significant in his community. This is something that I want to make sure we are speaking about on a regular basis. As for the housing and climate crisis, we might feel differently about that, but to me this place should be focused on those kinds of issues.
In his view, why is this more important than getting at the kinds of issues from housing to the poisoning crisis to the climate crisis?
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- Apr/28/22 2:52:03 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, lack of affordable rental housing is a major concern for my constituents in Vancouver Centre. In February, I joined the Minister of Housing and Diversity and Inclusion to announce federal funding to redevelop 157 units of permanent affordable housing for seniors and persons with physical disabilities.
Could the minister tell us about the impact the national housing co-investment fund has on these vulnerable communities?
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- Apr/28/22 2:52:36 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the hon. member for her strong advocacy on affordable housing.
I was really pleased to join the member in February to announce 157 new homes for seniors and persons with disabilities, with an investment of over $44 million. This is the national housing strategy at work, but we are not stopping there. Through budget 2022, we are investing an additional $14.1 billion. We are not going to stop until we make sure that every single Canadian has a safe and affordable place to call home.
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- Apr/28/22 2:53:14 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, millennials with good jobs just want out of their parents' basements, but the cost of living under the Liberal government is going through the roof. The budget's signature housing promise is a shiny new savings account, but who has $8,000 a year to save, with out-of-control gas, grocery and housing inflation?
Could the Minister of Housing please enlighten us: Where will these millennials find $8,000 a year to save, or does he believe that young families can always do what the speNDP-Liberals do, which is just go borrow more money?
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- Apr/28/22 2:53:48 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the hon. member for Central Okanagan—Similkameen—Nicola should have a talk with the member of Parliament for Mission—Matsqui—Fraser Canyon, because that member believes that we should just download the cost of housing to provinces; his leader believes we should just download the cost to municipalities, and his other colleague, from Calgary Centre, believes that we should not help first-time homebuyers. The members opposite cannot even come together to formulate a coherent policy on affordable housing. The hon. member has been on record opposing the ban on foreign buyers, which would give more opportunities to first-time homebuyers.
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- Apr/28/22 4:07:32 p.m.
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- Re: Bill C-8
Madam Speaker, what Canadians want from all of us, Canadians across the country and who vote for all of the different parties represented in the House, is for us to get down to work and do the work of the country. That is what the measures in Bill C-8 do. These measures, frankly, should be receiving unanimous support in the House.
These measures include a tax credit for businesses to improve their ventilation to keep COVID at bay. Is that not a good idea right now, as we are facing a sixth wave? They include an expansion of the school supplies tax credit for teachers, who bought additional supplies during COVID and are now working so hard to get our kids back up to speed. Bill C-8 includes $1.7 billion for rapid tests, which again are so essential as we get down down to living with COVID. They include a tax on underused housing, which is such an important part of our housing strategy.
I would urge everyone to set aside partisan games and partisan posturing and pass this essential legislation.
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- Apr/28/22 4:12:53 p.m.
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- Re: Bill C-8
Madam Speaker, Bill C-8 talks about an underused housing tax act. The recent budget, in conjunction with Bill C-8, talked about implementation of the underused housing tax act. Indeed, this is something we have in British Columbia already, but I would be remiss if I did not point out the obvious gaps included in the act, including the fact that under this new law, foreign students would still be able to purchase real estate in British Columbia. Anyone in the House who has followed the news in British Columbia knows that many students with wealthy offshore parents have used that to get massive gains when Canadians have been priced out of the market.
Why did the Liberals provide an exemption for foreign students to continue purchasing real estate when so many British Columbians cannot do so themselves?
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- Apr/28/22 4:13:52 p.m.
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- Re: Bill C-8
Madam Speaker, let me just say it is a bit rich for the Conservatives to be talking about action on housing, particularly action on foreign buyers, when they have blocked our historic efforts in this space at every turn. The member is quite right: One of the essential elements in Bill C-8 is the historic underused housing tax act. This is an important step. It is an important step for affordability for Canadians, yet this legislation has been repeatedly blocked by the Conservatives.
When it comes to foreign buyers, I was very glad that in the budget we presented earlier this month we were able, again historically, to introduce a two-year ban on foreign purchases. I would say that if the Conservatives actually support this measure, which I think they should, let us see them support Bill C-8. Let them move it through quickly and support the budget.
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- Apr/28/22 4:29:12 p.m.
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- Re: Bill C-8
Madam Speaker, with the greatest respect, I have to disagree with the hon. member. The reality is that Bill C-8 and our most recent budget include a number of measures to help Canadians with the cost of living. They include dental care; they include doubling the support provided through the first-time homebuyers' tax credit; they include a multi-generational home renovation tax credit, which recognizes that many Canadians want to live together with an extended family; and they include, crucially, a $500 payment to those facing housing affordability challenges.
Of course, the budget does also include some significant tax-raising measures targeted precisely for those who are at the very top.
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- Apr/28/22 4:30:56 p.m.
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- Re: Bill C-8
Madam Speaker, I am very glad to have another question on housing, because I think something that every member of this House does, and certainly should, agree on is that housing is one of the most serious economic and social challenges Canada faces today. We have the fastest-growing population in the G7, and the reality is that our housing supply is just not keeping up with a growing country. That is why the budget that I presented earlier this month puts forward the most ambitious plan ever put forward by any Canadian federal government on housing.
What does it include? We recognize in the plan that housing is a big, complicated and multi-faceted challenge. We were upfront with Canadians and said there is no silver bullet, no single measure, not even a single budget that will fix it, but we are rolling up our sleeves and we are working on it. We are doing concrete things: the tax-free first home savings account; the $4-billion housing accelerator fund; a homebuyers' bill of rights, including a plan to end blind bidding; and the unprecedented two-year ban on foreign buyers.
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