44th Parl. 1st Sess.
May 10, 2022 10:00AM
- May/10/22 12:23:56 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for his question.
I agree that we should discuss any changes to the Standing Orders together. That is coming. That was one of the points I made in my speech. It is coming either way, so these issues can be raised.
However, I think this was a missed opportunity, given the affordable housing crisis in Quebec, which is affecting regions all across Quebec. The Bloc Québécois could have moved a motion on the shortage of affordable housing units in Quebec, which we could have debated. That discussion would have had some teeth, since there is a shortage of affordable housing units all over Quebec.
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- May/10/22 12:38:19 p.m.
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Pardon me, there are two. I appreciate my colleague for Winnipeg North pointing that out.
Is this really one of the top two issues we want to debate and discuss? There are issues around the House's support for Ukraine, social issues and housing issues. Is this really one of the top two issues to take up our time today?
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- May/10/22 1:48:38 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I have no issues with the motion. I will likely vote in favour of it.
However, I am of the opinion that opposition days are an opportunity to highlight issues that affect or constituents.
I would like to point out, in the context of the affordable housing crisis in Quebec, that Mirabel has the lowest occupancy rates and the highest vacancy rates in all of Quebec. At 0.1%, it is tied with Granby. That means that the housing crisis hitting Mirabel is also hitting Granby. I know that community well, since I knocked on doors there.
My question is simple. If the member were to go visit his constituents in Mirabel, and considering the low occupancy rates and the lack of affordable housing, would he talk to them about the prayer in the House of Commons or the lack of affordable housing?
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- May/10/22 1:49:33 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I am perfectly capable of talking about all kinds of things.
That said, the population of Mirabel has almost doubled in 10 years because it is an amazing place, a fantastic riding.
Obviously the housing issue is top of mind. That is why we have frequently criticized the fact that the national housing strategy, which is out of line with Quebec's priorities and demands, was postponed for three years in Quebec because the federal government wanted to impose its conditions.
I do not know if the New Democrats will still have opposition days now that they are in power. Maybe when they have a government business day, they can address this issue.
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- May/10/22 2:02:50 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, we understand that the less energy we use, the more money we save, whether it is at the gas pumps or on our monthly utility bills. While we are keeping more money in our pockets, we are also reducing our greenhouse gas emissions.
That is why I was honoured to announce, on behalf of the Minister of Natural Resources, a $3.4-million contribution to help launch the Durham greener homes program. This investment will help Durham Region residents by supporting deep retrofits in single-family homes built between 1970 and 2000, which account for almost half of our region’s housing stock. The Durham greener homes program provides an innovative concierge platform to make the whole process easy, including on-bill repayment plans, while saving homeowners an average of 30% on their monthly utility bills and creating local jobs.
This is another great example of how we can create the prosperity we all want while protecting the planet we cherish.
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- May/10/22 2:34:02 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, our government absolutely understands the affordability challenge that so many Canadians are facing. That is why our budget includes a number of measures to help Canadians with affordability: dental care, doubling support provided to the first-time homebuyers' tax credit, introducing a multi-generational home renovation tax credit and a $500 payment for people facing housing affordability challenges.
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- May/10/22 2:37:53 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I want to reiterate that our government understands the affordability crisis that so many Canadian families are facing.
That is why we have taken major steps in the budget to help Canadians with the cost of living, including providing dental care to Canadians, doubling the first‑time home buyers' tax credit and providing a one‑time payment of $500 to people facing housing accessibility challenges.
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- May/10/22 5:47:50 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, earlier I was talking about "whataboutism”. There is that, but we must not talk about such a thing. Talking about such a thing is what we do every day, and we never get an answer from the government. On health, on the environment, on housing and on everything that is given as an example, we never get an answer.
I would like to make one small point. The Bloc Québécois has been in the House since 1990, even though its representatives were first elected in 1993. At that time, it took the best Liberal members. The Liberals have been here since 1867. How is it that they have not dealt with these issues? The member asks why we are doing this today. I say to him, why not do it today? It should have been done a long time ago. If not now, when will it be the right time?
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- May/10/22 7:17:41 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I am rising this evening to once again talk about the important issue of housing, which is something all members are aware of in their own ridings. It is something we are seeing as a crisis across the country.
Today, over 80% of young Canadians do not believe they will ever be able to afford a home. That is something I do not really blame them for, considering it will take young Canadians, on average now, 13 years to save up enough for a down payment. That is comparable to the only five years it took for folks to save up back in 1976. Of course, that is only if they are able to actually save up enough money after paying all their bills and having other expenses.
This housing crisis is something that is touching a lot of people in a lot of different situations and from different walks of life, but it is hitting young Canadians disproportionately harder. There are many in my generation who have completely given up, frankly, on their dream of home ownership.
In advance of the recent federal budget, the government promised to release a plan to address this crisis. With my respect to the parliamentary secretary and the government, they have unveiled a plan that really just contains more of the same failed policies that have exacerbated the housing crisis to date over the last seven years of their government.
To put it into perspective, the finance minister noted in the budget that the government was going to double the number of housing units it has built. When our finance critic, the hon. member for Abbotsford, rose to ask the minister how many units had been built, she could not answer the question. Therefore, the government is going to double a number it does not know, which is definitely concerning. It shows the government is great at making announcements and allocating funding, but when it comes to delivering results, there is certainly a gap there.
The fact we are seeing this housing crisis today just shows the government has failed to incentivize enough development. It has failed to build enough units and adequately address this.
The government has announced a new special savings account and, I believe, a $500 benefit to help Canadians, but with my respect to the parliamentary secretary, my friend and colleague from Milton, the fact that housing prices are now five times the average household income shows these boutique policies are missing the mark. They are not addressing the root issues, particularly around the supply of housing.
I would like to ask the parliamentary secretary if he can explain why his government refuses to admit its policies to date have failed on this file and why it refuses to change course to bring forward a real plan to address this housing crisis, particularly around the lack of housing supply.
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- May/10/22 7:21:09 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I would like to thank my friend, the member for Kenora, for his question and for his continued advocacy for young people, particularly those who would like to buy houses.
The member is correct that buying a house is indeed out of reach for too many Canadians, but fortunately he is wrong to say that our government's policies are not having an impact. He mentioned that this government is good at making announcements. We are also good at building houses. Since 2015, we have invested over $30 billion with real results for Canadians. These investments have created and repaired nearly 440,000 units across this country. That is a big number. That is 440,000 places to call home, especially for the most vulnerable Canadians. Many of these homes have been created through our 10-year national housing strategy. Programs that make up this strategy are making a huge difference to families across the country, including in my colleague's riding of Kenora and in my riding of Milton as well, where we just finished a new housing project for vulnerable seniors. For example, in Kenora, our rapid housing initiative is quickly creating 85 permanent affordable housing units for first nations people in Kenora, and much more is coming with budget 2022.
As the member acknowledged, budget 2022 is a housing budget, and we are proposing even more measures to make housing more affordable for Canadians. These measures are designed specifically to get keys into the hands of first-time homebuyers. It is not only for homebuyers, and I will get to that in just a moment. For example, we are proposing a tax-free first-home savings account. As home prices climb, so does the cost of a down payment. With this program, first-time homebuyers can save up to $40,000. As in RRSPs, contributions would be tax deductible and withdrawals to purchase a first home, including investment income, would be non-taxable, just like a TFSA. In other words, it is tax-free in and tax-free out. We are also proposing to double the existing first-time homebuyers' tax credit to $10,000. This enhanced credit would provide up to $1,500 in direct support to homebuyers.
On the other side of the House, members simply do not believe there is a role for the federal government to play. In fact, prominent members of the Conservative opposition are on record as saying that the federal government should do less and pull back from investments in housing, and that we should simply leave it to the provinces to do it on their own. This is a disastrous approach that we simply do not agree with.
Finally, we know that buying a home is often the most significant financial decision that young Canadians will make in their lives, and our proposed homebuyers' bill of rights would help curb unfair real estate practices such as blind bidding and asking prices, and asking buyers to waive their right to a home inspection, which make buying a home more stressful.
Our housing plan does not stop there. We are also addressing head-on the single most important issue affecting housing affordability, which is a lack of supply. It just has not kept pace with our growing population. Budget 2022 proposes measures that would put Canada on the path to double our construction of new housing to meet Canada's housing needs. These measures would help make a difference for Canadians who are looking to buy a home, but not just those who are looking to buy a home. In addition to that, we are also proposing $1.5 billion in the budget for the rapid housing initiative, which has been fantastically successful. In addition to that, there would be $1.5 billion for 6,000 new co-op units.
I have spoken often in the House on co-op housing. I am a proud co-op kid. I would not have had access to a lot of the things that I did as a young person if not for co-op housing. When we take a market problem, such as the lack of available supply, and the fact that people's wages just have not kept up to the rising costs of homes, we cannot always just rely on a market solution. Housing co-ops and non-market housing are non-market solutions to the housing strategy. That is something that we could never count on the Conservatives to propose. They do not believe in things like co-operatives. They do not believe in non-ownership. They do not believe in non-market solutions. Canadians know that they can count on the Liberal government on our side of the House for support: 440,000 people in this country have a place to live because of the national housing strategy. We are going to double that number in the coming years.
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- May/10/22 7:25:00 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I was pleased that my colleague across the way was actually able to provide some figures in terms of housing units built. That is relatively new for the current government. It is something that we have not heard quite yet. The fact of the matter is that since the government took office, housing prices have doubled. The member mentioned a number of programs that the government has brought forward and a lot of dollars that it wants to spend, and that is important. Absolutely, the government has a role to play in co-op housing and in direct affordable housing, but it also has a role to play in helping the market and helping create a situation where we can incentivize more development.
It is clear that many regions are different and a one-size-fits-all solution is not going to work. We need all hands on deck here. Respectfully, could the member comment further on what his government is going to do to help incentivize private development of housing? That is also a very important aspect of this, and I would just like to get his thoughts on that.
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- May/10/22 7:26:08 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, specifically, I think my friend and colleague was referencing the housing accelerator fund, which we will incentivize municipalities and regions to build more homes. I am not an expert on that, but I am sure somebody from our government can get back to him on it.
Young Canadians deserve the same opportunities as the generations before them. The member is a couple of years, or many years, younger than me, but I think we have a similar sort of outlook when it comes to our mutual generation, and we know that we have to do more.
Our government is here to help them. We are here to ensure that Canada continues to be the best place in the world to live, work and to raise a family, and we are truly making it easier for Canadians to save for a down payment. We are proposing to get rid of unfair real estate practices that would make the home-buying process more stressful and onerous than it should be, and we are building more supply to bring down housing costs across the board.
In closing, my friend for Kenora said that it is an “all hands on deck” situation, and I could not agree more. That is why I would ask the member opposite and his colleagues to provide solutions rather than just the blame game we have been hearing from across the floor with respect to the housing crisis.
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