44th Parl. 1st Sess.
September 29, 2022 10:00AM
- Sep/29/22 10:33:09 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it really is Groundhog Day here in Parliament. It seems as if we are talking about the same issue we discussed last Tuesday.
It is true that prices are going up. Let us talk about housing, for example. This week, the Canadian Housing and Renewal Association came to the Hill to meet with us. They told us something pretty interesting that predates the pandemic and the recent increase in inflation.
Over the last 10 years in Canada, 600,000 affordable housing units have been lost. These are units the government had paid for, that we had all paid for, and that were relatively affordable. They were moved to the private market.
The government boasts about having a national housing strategy in which it is investing $72 billion, supposedly to create affordable housing, but that money has been lost. Private developers are buying up the units and flipping them at higher prices.
This is a major crisis that requires major investment. What do the Conservatives have to offer?
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- Sep/29/22 10:34:07 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I would agree with my hon. colleague that the government's programs on housing have not been working. Day in and day out, we have been asking the government about affordable housing and their solution has always been to say, “We have spent so much money on it. We spent millions of dollars on this program, millions and millions of dollars on this program,” but the results have not been there. It is not working.
What we have said is that we need to increase supply. If there is a demand problem, we need to be able to figure out solutions to increase supply, something they are not doing. If we increase supply, that would actually fix the system. If we were to work with municipalities, work with the provinces and encourage municipalities, especially those gatekeepers who are very slow and not allowing building permits to go through, and if we could increase that supply and use more of the abundant land that we have in Canada to provide housing for Canadians, that would actually create more affordable housing.
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- Sep/29/22 11:33:14 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, we are here on the eve of the National Day of Truth and Reconciliation. I think the House's time could have been better used to talk about the pressing issues facing indigenous peoples, but instead, this is a rerun of the Conservative opposition day we had on Tuesday.
I met with the Canadian Housing and Renewal Association this week. Members from her province were in my office, calling for the creation of a national housing authority designed by and for indigenous people. We know indigenous people have been asking for an urban, rural and northern indigenous housing strategy with sufficient funds to develop it. I am hearing from indigenous elders in my riding. My friend, Nora, is an indigenous elder from Tla-o-qui-aht First Nations. She is living in her car. That is unacceptable.
Does my colleague believe we should be focusing our attention here today on addressing those very important issues?
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- Sep/29/22 11:34:17 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague for his question.
These issues are definitely very important. We are concerned about what is happening with first nations too.
In my speech, I talked about how climate change affects homes on first nations reserves that are built on thawing permafrost, on thawing soil.
We should also address other issues, such as building social housing. We have shared our ideas about that. We just want to point out that Quebec has programs like AccèsLogis, which are paid for by the Government of Quebec. The federal government did not provide compensation for those programs for two years, so we had to build social and community housing ourselves. That meant fewer resources available to other people who need them because we did not get critical funding or support from the federal government.
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- Sep/29/22 1:07:08 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I agree with my colleague on the fact that the motion being studied today is a bit ideological and populist with respect to inflation.
However, we cannot deny that inflation is having a tangible and devastating impact on housing.
I want to talk about housing construction projects in Quebec and Canada. These projects were approved by the government under various programs that were launched. At the time that they were approved two or three years ago, the rate of inflation was not what it is today. Now that it is time to start building these housing units, the rate of inflation has exploded and we can no longer move forward because of the labour shortage, even though the government had approved these important projects.
In some cases, the government does not want to pay the extra money to open these doors. It is a real problem—
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- Sep/29/22 1:08:06 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, there has been no government in Canadian history, I believe, that has invested more in housing. It is going to take more than just one level of government to resolve the issue. We need to incorporate the municipalities and provinces in order to be able to deal with the housing crisis, and that is something we—
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- Sep/29/22 2:50:05 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, indigenous people in my riding of Edmonton Griesbach and across Canada are overrepresented in the houseless population. The ones who do have housing live in overcrowded homes or homes in dire need of repair.
Today, the Parliamentary Budget Officer reported that homes are now 67% more expensive than what the average Canadian can afford. The government is failing to help indigenous people, who have been hit hard by the housing crisis. Before the next budget, will the Liberals fully fund the “for indigenous, by indigenous” housing initiative that the government promised?
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- Sep/29/22 2:50:43 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I agree with the hon. member. We are committed to a “for indigenous, by indigenous” urban, rural and northern indigenous housing strategy. That is why, in budget 2022, we invested more than $4 billion to close the gap that exists in indigenous communities. This includes a $300-million initial investment in an urban, rural and northern indigenous housing strategy.
Even in existing programs, we are seeing programs like the rapid housing initiative, in which 41% of the housing is being led by indigenous people and being delivered in indigenous communities. I look forward to working with our partners to get this right, by following the “for indigenous, by indigenous” principle.
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- Sep/29/22 3:01:02 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we know that we need to be there for Canadians who are facing increased rent. That is why we introduced the Canada housing benefit, which is already providing an average of $2,500 to renters across the country who are struggling with the cost of rent.
However, we are not stopping there. We have introduced a one-time top-up to the Canada housing benefit of $500, which will go to help an additional 1.8 million Canadians. What are the Conservatives doing? They are playing procedural games to delay that legislation which will enable Canadians to receive that help now.
What the hon. member can do is talk to his colleagues to make sure that we pass this important legislation to get rental help to Canadians today.
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- Sep/29/22 3:10:44 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, in my community and across the country, we are in a housing crisis, yet our housing market encourages corporate investors to treat homes like stocks, making huge profits on the backs of regular people. The federal government could remove tax exemptions for corporate investors tomorrow instead of bragging about studying the issue.
When will the Minister of Housing ensure homes are for people, not commodities for investors to trade?
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- Sep/29/22 3:11:19 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we understand the issue. That is why we have already implemented a 1% annual tax on the value of non-resident, non-Canadian residential real estate. We are introducing a two-year ban on foreign investment in Canadian residential real estate. We are committed to reviewing the tax treatment of real estate investment trusts. We are launching a federal review of housing as an asset class.
On this side of the House, we are committed to making housing more affordable by doing our part to tackle the financialization of housing.
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- Sep/29/22 4:47:22 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, the current inflationary crisis is affecting everyone and putting millions of households in hopeless situations. Families must make agonizing choices to be able to continue making rent or mortgage payments.
Many low-income people are cutting back on food and going hungry. The same is true for many middle-class households that are heavily in debt. Such a huge increase in prices, especially for food, energy and housing, creates considerable hardship, and that is not something to take lightly.
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- Sep/29/22 6:07:21 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, on May 5, I rose to ask the Prime Minister if he would take immediate action to deliver a dedicated housing strategy for indigenous women, girls and two-spirit people and end the ongoing genocide against indigenous women and girls.
The final report of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls cites housing and homelessness over 200 times. This is the result of colonization and decades of neglect and broken promises by successive federal governments, from Liberals to Conservatives to Liberals.
Precarious housing situations contribute to increased risk of violence, trafficking and the high number of missing and murdered indigenous women and girls. Urban indigenous peoples are eight times more likely to experience homelessness compared with the general population. The national inquiry's final report calls upon governments to ensure that indigenous peoples have equitable access to basic rights, including housing, but the current government has failed to deliver a for indigenous, by indigenous urban, rural and northern housing strategy.
The Prime Minister has said over and again, “No relationship is more important to Canada than the relationship with Indigenous Peoples,” but reconciliation must be more than just words. It requires real action, commitment, listening to indigenous peoples and substantial investments. In other words, it requires action.
The Prime Minister's words ring hollow when indigenous women, girls and two-spirit people in Canada continue to disproportionately experience violence and homelessness. The $300 million over five years for the for indigenous, by indigenous urban, rural and northern housing strategy is woefully inadequate to address the urgent needs on the ground. After decades of neglect and colonization, it is a slap in the face to indigenous peoples. Ensuring access to safe, affordable and culturally appropriate housing is critical to ending this genocide against indigenous women, girls and two-spirit people.
Call to justice 4.6 calls upon the government to “immediately commence the construction of new housing and the provision of repairs for existing housing to meet the housing needs of Indigenous women, girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA people.”
Call to justice 4.7 calls upon the government to:
...support the establishment and long-term sustainable funding of Indigenous-led low-barrier shelters, safe spaces, transition homes, second-stage housing, and services for Indigenous women, girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA people who are homeless, near homeless, dealing with food insecurity, or in poverty, and who are fleeing violence or have been subjected to sexualized violence and exploitation. All governments must ensure that shelters, transitional housing, second-stage housing, and services are appropriate to cultural needs, and available wherever Indigenous women, girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA people reside.
Tomorrow is the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. Our country must reflect on our history of colonial violence and genocide. The government has a responsibility to end this violence and to stop perpetuating this colonial violence, this intergenerational trauma and this social and economic marginalization. We need action now.
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