44th Parl. 1st Sess.
March 20, 2023 11:00AM
- Mar/20/23 11:13:53 a.m.
- Watch
Madam Speaker, I am pleased to have the opportunity to stand in the House today to participate in the debate on a very important and crucial private member's motion, Motion No. 59, housing for persons with disabilities.
Far too many Canadians have difficulty finding affordable and suitable housing. In my riding of Richmond Hill, organizations such as Blue Door make a difference every day for people facing housing and affordability challenges. Last month, I joined the Coldest Night of the Year fundraising walk in Richmond Hill, where I truly felt our community's strong warmth and affection in the cost weather outside.
Affordability challenges are particularly difficult for people with disabilities. They struggle to find accessible and affordable supportive housing solutions that meet their individual needs.
Our government recognizes that the housing needs of people with disabilities are especially urgent. We understand that being part of the community and living as independently as possible are among the most important values and goals shared by people with disabilities and their families. Having a safe and affordable place to call home is a cornerstone of independence, not just for them but for everyone in our society.
The national housing strategy was designed to address the needs of vulnerable populations, including people with disabilities, visible or invisible. It is the largest and most ambitious federal housing program in Canadian history. This 10-year plan to give more Canadians a place to call home is now backed by more than $82 billion in investments.
The national housing strategy puts people first and recognizes that housing is essential to the inherent dignity and well-being of the person and to building sustainable and inclusive communities. The strategy considers human rights-based principles of accountability, participation, non-discrimination and inclusion.
Its goal is to ensure that more Canadians across the country can access housing that meets their needs and that they can afford. Since launching the national housing strategy, we have helped create, maintain or repair more than 36,000 units of accessible housing across Canada.
This private member's motion seeks to further support the government in upholding a federal framework to improve access to adaptable, affordable housing for individuals with non-visible disabilities, such as mental health, with four objectives: first, prioritizing the creation and repair of accessible housing through NHS programs; second, assuring that vulnerable populations, especially disabled individuals, have access to inclusive, affordable and adequate housing; third, requiring a national housing council specialist on visible and non-visible disability to advice ministers on disability housing policy; and fourth, amending section 4 of the National Housing Strategy Act to recognize disability-related housing impediments.
In the spirit of this private member's motion, the government will continue its work on reducing barriers and increasing access to affordable housing for people with disabilities and a better understanding of how to best support their needs.
One of the ways we are addressing the particular needs of individuals with disabilities, especially invisible disabilities, is by requiring projects funded through the NHS programs to meet minimum accessibility requirements.
For example, a cornerstone program of the strategy, the $13.7-billion national housing co-investment fund, focuses on developing accessible, socially inclusive housing.
Every project supported through this fund must ensure that at least 20% of housing units meet accessibility standards and that common areas are barrier-free or that the entire project has full universal design. Projects that go above and beyond these minimum requirements are naturally prioritized for funding. I am pleased to say that we are already seeing success.
In Cambridge, Ontario alone, our government is investing nearly $15 million under the co-investment fund to create 55 new mixed-income homes that will provide support for individuals with mental illness and physical disabilities.
The new residential building that will also support the regional indigenous people will feature affordable units along with visiting support services. Accessibility is central to the design of the building, which will include units with universal design, fully accessible units and common areas with many accessibility features. The project broke ground in the spring of 2021 and is expected to be completed in the spring of 2023.
There are numerous other examples like this from coast to coast to coast, made possible by the national housing strategy. Our government believes in giving everyone a chance to succeed. That is why we are extremely pleased to support this wonderful project and many others.
Another important way in which our government is currently addressing the housing needs for those most vulnerable is through the National Housing Strategy Act. The act, which came into force in 2019, states that “housing is essential to the inherent dignity and well-being of the person and to building sustainable and inclusive communities as well as a strong national economy in which the people of Canada can prosper and thrive”.
The act requires that the national housing strategy focus on improving housing outcomes for those in greatest need, which includes persons with disabilities. It sets out that the housing policy of the Government of Canada is, among other things, to “recognize that the right to adequate housing is a fundamental human right affirmed in international law” and to “further the progressive realization of the right to adequate housing as recognized in the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights”. The National Housing Strategy Act also created the National Housing Council, an advisory body established to promote participation and inclusion in the development of housing policy.
Ministerial appointees to the council were selected through a public call for applications encouraging a broad cross-section of experts. The council’s members include participants and leaders from the not-for-profit sector, the private sector and academia. The council also includes individuals representing people with lived expertise in housing need or homelessness, as well as members of vulnerable populations. Getting advice from the National Housing Council is one of the many ways we understand and consider the diverse needs of vulnerable populations when developing housing policy and as we continue to deliver our national housing strategy.
Individuals with disabilities, visible or non-visible, deserve to live with dignity. They deserve to be full participants in our society. Housing is a major factor in making this possible. Through the projects I have described and many others, we are providing accessible, safe and affordable homes to a great number of individuals with disabilities. In doing so, we are strengthening whole communities across Canada.
I want to close by applauding the member for London West for her leadership and advocacy on this file. Providing safe, adequate and affordable places to live, to call home, for people who need them most is a top priority for this government. We are investing in the development of more inclusive and accessible communities through programs under the national housing strategy to prioritize projects that include accessibility features. This is why I urge everyone in the House to support Motion No. 59 to ensure that every Canadian, regardless of their disabilities, has access to the barrier-free housing they need.
1190 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Mar/20/23 3:05:08 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, as I have said in the House many times, affordability is obviously a critically important issue for all members of the House. This government has put in place a range of measures to address affordability concerns, including the fact that the price on pollution actually results in eight out of 10 families getting more money back than they pay. It is an affordability measure in and of itself.
However, climate change is real, whether my colleagues across the aisle admit it or not. It is something we must address for the future of our children. We must do so in a manner that will build good jobs and economic opportunities in every province and territory, and that is exactly what we are doing.
125 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Mar/20/23 6:30:29 p.m.
- Watch
Madam Speaker, the question by my colleague from Vancouver East shows that we share a concern that people across this country still face challenges when it comes to housing affordability and homelessness.
Our government always welcomes input from across the way, across the housing sector and across the country on how to solve this complex problem. I would say it can only be solved through deep collaboration, and that is the approach we are taking. Our $82-billion national housing strategy, the first of its kind in Canadian history, is built around partnership. We are not talking a good game. This is real action, and even more fundamentally, it is built on a rights-based approach to housing and an acknowledgement that everyone in Canada deserves a suitable home they can afford.
With this in mind, it prioritizes people made most vulnerable to housing need, and it is yielding real results. For example, the rapid housing initiative, one of the strategy's programs, specifically targets those most in need through the rapid creation of housing units. More than 2,500 homes for people experiencing homelessness or at risk of it have been built or are being built with funds from this initiative. These are 2,500 homes for people who need them when they need them most, and many of them are being built in my home community of Winnipeg.
People like those who will stay in the new 20-unit building operated by Lookout Housing and Health Society in my colleague's riding of Vancouver East are benefiting. This is being built now with funding from the rapid housing initiative. Then there is the 24-unit facility, also in my colleague's riding, operated by Lu'ma Native Housing Society, which is providing supportive housing for indigenous residents. These are just a couple of examples from one program. They are repeated across the country and across the range of programs being delivered under the strategy.
These are concrete results we are proud of, and they serve to reveal the size of the problem and the fact that we still need to do more, as the hon. member has suggested. We are doing more. Our current budget includes a combination of new ideas and expansions of past successes, all supported by significant investments. We are approaching the issue of housing affordability from every angle that will have an impact, and in collaborating with partners across the housing system, we are finding new angles every day.
I thank my colleague for continuing to share our concern for housing affordability in this country.
431 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Mar/20/23 6:34:36 p.m.
- Watch
Madam Speaker, our government has prioritized housing affordability throughout our mandate. It is why we launched the historic national housing strategy and why, in subsequent legislation, we enshrined housing as a human right. We continue to make housing a priority. We have enacted programs to help people from across the spectrum of housing need, always prioritizing those who are most vulnerable.
I would be very happy to visit the hon. member's riding. I have been to Vancouver East before, and I know there is great housing need there. We need to work together on all sides of the House to address that need.
104 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- menumenu
- notificationsnotifications
- home
- mailmail
- searchsearch
