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Ms. Marie-Hélène Gaudreau (Laurentides—Labelle, BQ)

May/30/22 11:15:22 a.m.
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Re: Bill C-233

Madam Speaker, I am pleased to hear what I am hearing this morning. I thank my colleague across the way because it was high time. My thoughts are with a few organizations in Laurentides—Labelle, such as l'Ombre‑Elle and Passe‑R‑Elle, because this has been their plea for many decades. What we are hearing this morning is a start on two levels, specifically in terms of the interpretation and implementation, and I commend that. I just heard my government colleague mention that it was just the start of the continuum. Will any money be transferred to these organizations to help these women and families?

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Context: House Hansard - 77 - May/30/22

The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mrs. Alexandra Mendès)

May/30/22 11:44:37 a.m.
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We are out of time. The hon. Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Families, Children and Social Development.

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Context: House Hansard - 77 - May/30/22

Mr. Ryan Williams (Bay of Quinte, CPC)

May/30/22 7:58:10 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I am rising today on adjournment proceedings to talk to the defence minister. I asked on May 2 about the state of housing for our military on our bases and the fact that the housing shortage in Canada was so bad that in Bay of Quinte, on our air base, CFB Trenton and 8 Wing in Trenton, we have 360 families on a waiting list for housing on the base. It is a big problem. On the weekend, I took my children to see Top Gun 2 or Top Gun: Maverick. It is one of the greatest movies of all time, following the first one. I will tell members, there is no secret, it was really good. It is a story about the military in the U.S. and naval aviators. For me, it was very nostalgic but also a great movie to talk about the military in general. My kids absolutely felt the need for speed. Who is not feeling the need for speed right now are military members who are waiting for housing. Right now, in Canada, we have about 8,000 military families waiting for housing on their bases. Just to talk about how important that is, it is not only members of the military. We talk about military families and how important they are. It is also their wingmen: their spouses. The spouses, a lot of times, are finding that if they cannot find jobs, or if they are unable to fit in with the community, they also cannot find homes. What we are finding, when it comes to the military, is that we are having trouble attracting and retaining talent, and it is really a ballistic housing crisis that is forcing these people into a sorry state. Let me just tell members that when it comes to our military, we have to look after our men and women first and foremost. We have to ensure that not only do we have good pay and good benefits for military members, but we have to also really look after the backs of the people who look after us abroad. Housing is paramount. I know that in budget 2022, there was $8 billion slated for military spending. My specific question is this. There is $15 billion that is uncosted so far. How much of that $15 billion, not just the $8 billion, is going into housing on bases? Really, when it comes to those families and the bases, and I have talked at length to our colonels and some of the generals for our military, the first priority is families and to ensure that when they are posted to a base, they have a slot. The buildings are called PMQs that house families on bases. They can be for multiple families and they can be for single families. We are finding right now that because of the shortage of homes, families who have several children are being forced into single PMQs. We are finding that state to be a big problem. Additionally, because of the lack of housing, we are finding it hard to attract talent to our air bases. Right now in Canada, we are short 10,000 military members for our Canadian Armed Forces. That is for members and reservists. The housing crisis is also having a detrimental effect on attracting those key personnel. People are choosing not to go to certain areas if they cannot afford the homes there. If people sell a home at CFB Cold Lake and move to CFB Trenton, or if they are going to Pembroke or some other base, that house they sold is maybe about $400,000 or $500,000, but they have to then afford close to $1 million to get a house on that next base. A lot of families are saying that it is just not possible for them to do that. The answer is going to be putting money that we had for planes into people. That means ensuring that we have money that goes into that base. As the saying goes, there are no points for second place, so for—

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