44th Parl. 1st Sess.
March 22, 2023 01:00PM
- Mar/22/23 2:23:30 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we know that people across the country continue to face challenges in terms of finding affordable housing. That is why we launched the national housing strategy in 2017.
Last week, I was in Guelph, Ontario, to announce $4 billion in investments for municipalities across the country so they can build more housing faster and make housing affordable for Canadians.
We know it takes investment to meet Canadians' expectations, and that is exactly what we are doing.
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- Mar/22/23 2:24:27 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, of course, situations vary across the country, but we have stepped up with housing programs in big cities like Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal. We have also stepped up in smaller municipalities and rural areas across the country that need supports in housing.
Unlike the previous Conservative government, which did not feel the federal government had any role to play in housing, we stepped up in tangible, concrete ways to deliver more housing, to deliver rapid housing and to deliver programs that fight homelessness and programs that increase rental stocks. We will continue investing to support people, alongside our partners in the provinces and municipalities.
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- Mar/22/23 2:25:45 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, over the past eight years, we have seen significant growth in the economy. We have seen more Canadians getting jobs than ever before. We have seen more Canadians lifted out of poverty than ever before because of the things we did, from the very first initiative, which was lowering taxes for the middle class and raising them on the wealthiest 1%, an initiative the Conservatives voted against, to delivering a Canada child benefit that puts more money in the pockets of families that need it. We also stopped sending child benefit cheques to millionaires.
We have continued to move forward in supporting communities, supporting home builders and supporting homeowners and homebuyers. We will continue to be there for Canadians.
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- Mar/22/23 2:27:12 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, across the country, we have seen record job growth. We have seen a record number of Canadians lifted out of poverty. We have seen investments to fight climate change that have put more money in people's pockets. We have continued to move forward in growing the economy.
However, it is only the Conservative leader trying to say Canadians have never had it so good. We know Canadians are struggling, and that is why we continue to step up with investments in dental care and investments in low-income rental supports, two initiatives the Conservatives voted against. We will continue to be there to deliver for Canadians while we deliver a better future for everyone.
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- Mar/22/23 2:28:35 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we have continually invested in programs and supports for Canadians, and have seen millions of families entering new homes and getting the supports they need. There are millions of refurbishments, with millions in supports right across the country.
It is interesting to contrast that with the Conservative record. In the last election campaign, the Conservative platform promise on housing was to give tax breaks to wealthy landlords. That was their approach on housing.
We contrasted with significant investments in delivering for first-time homebuyers, delivering for people facing homelessness and delivering for Canadian families to access better housing.
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- Mar/22/23 2:30:00 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, since the start, I have been very clear that it was not up to me to launch a public inquiry, because it may not be the best thing to do. That is why we decided to turn to an expert, someone who is absolutely unimpeachable, to make that determination and establish the best way forward.
That is why the former governor general will determine whether there will be a public inquiry or not, and what the parameters of that public inquiry would be. In the meantime, he is encouraging and assuring that the various committees are doing their job to set the record straight and restore the confidence of Canadians.
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- Mar/22/23 2:31:18 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I think that Canadians understand full well that for issues as serious as this one, what we need is not more partisanship, but less. That is why we chose an eminent Canadian who will be able to look into all these issues. He will ensure that we keep using our tools and approaches for ensuring the integrity of our electoral system and protecting our communities with origins in other countries.
We are offering less partisanship, but the opposition parties want more.
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- Mar/22/23 2:32:35 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, as inflation was hitting in the fall, we stepped up with support for 11 million Canadians through a GST rebate over six months. We moved forward on dental care supports so that over 200,000 kids could afford to go to the dentist. We moved forward with extra help for families that need help paying their rent.
These are the kinds of things we will continue to do to help Canadians. Child care costs are down, cut in half to $10 a day for millions of families across this country. These are the kinds of things that have made a difference. We will continue to be there for Canadians, including with the budget coming out next week.
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- Mar/22/23 2:33:51 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, over the past eight years, we have made historic investments in housing to give Canadians access to more affordable housing.
In fact, that is why I was so pleased to be in Guelph, Ontario, last week to announce $4 billion in investments for municipalities across the country to build housing faster, particularly affordable housing.
We know there is still a lot of work to do, but with our housing accelerator fund, our rapid housing initiative, our homelessness strategy and our affordability plan, we will continue to be there for Canadians.
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- Mar/22/23 2:35:19 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, this goes to the heart of the disagreement on housing between the Leader of the Opposition and I. I recognize, as this government recognizes, that we need to work with municipalities to help them change zoning laws, to help them accelerate their permitting processes and to create more opportunities to build affordable homes for Canadians across the country, whereas he sits back and attacks them and proposes absolutely nothing.
We are stepping up with $4 billion to accelerate the supply of homes across this country. We will continue to invest and work with partners instead of picking fights with everyone and hoping that it all settles itself.
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- Mar/22/23 2:36:42 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, this goes to the heart of the announcement we made last week on the housing accelerator fund, which works directly with municipalities to accelerate the delivery and construction of affordable housing.
What the member opposite would have us believe is that doing nothing to address the housing crisis would have somehow made it better. He criticizes us for the investment of billions of dollars in housing over the past years. Just think, if things are expensive now, how much worse it would have been had we had a Conservative government that continued to cross its arms and cut services to Canadians for the past eight years.
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- Mar/22/23 2:38:06 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the next thing the member opposite is going to complain about is that housing prices are higher today than they were in my father's time as prime minister.
We are going to continue to invest in Canadians and recognize that while we grow the economy, while we—
Some hon. members: Oh, oh!
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- Mar/22/23 2:38:36 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, every step of the way, we have contributed to a growing economy, to lifting Canadians out of poverty and to putting more money in the pockets of the middle class and people working hard to join it. That is why we are continuing to invest in building houses and in working with municipalities and the provinces on fighting homelessness, creating affordable homes and creating more opportunities for all Canadians.
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- Mar/22/23 2:39:48 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the Conservative leader is actually arguing that fewer investments in Canadians, fewer investments alongside municipalities and provinces, and fewer programs to support Canadians would somehow have solved this problem. That is the problem with Conservatives. They think cuts can create growth. They think fewer investments in Canadians will get people to pull themselves up by their bootstraps and succeed.
We believe in investing in the middle class and people working hard to join it, and that is why Canadians are doing better than they were before.
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- Mar/22/23 2:41:09 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, Canadians well remember that when the hon. member was in government, the character of the relationships between provinces, municipalities and the federal government was fights all the time. There were conflicts and fights with cities, conflicts and fights with rural mayors, conflicts and fights with provinces, and cuts to services that Canadians relied on. The member is demonstrating that eight years of investments in Canadians in growth, in lifting Canadians out of poverty, in creating jobs and in fighting climate change just makes him want to go back to the good old days of Stephen Harper, with cuts and fights with everyone.
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- Mar/22/23 2:42:32 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the member opposite wants to talk about poverty, so let us talk about poverty. The very first thing he did after we formed the government was to vote against a tax hike on the wealthiest so we could lower taxes for the middle class. He then voted against a Canada child benefit that has lifted hundreds of thousands of kids out of poverty. We created millions of jobs while lifting millions of Canadians out of poverty. Our focus on growing the middle class and supporting people working hard to join it has delivered, and is continuing to deliver, even as we stand with people going through difficult times right now. We cannot grow this economy through cuts, no matter how much he shouts that he—
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- Mar/22/23 2:43:54 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, what Canadians expect is that issues as serious as foreign interference, particularly Chinese interference, will be dealt with in a serious and responsible manner. We know that is exactly what the former governor general is going to do. To question his commitment to Canadians and to Canada is unbecoming of the House.
We know that he is a man who will deliver for Canadians and restore public trust, in spite of all the partisan attacks being levelled at him.
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- Mar/22/23 2:45:04 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we established an independent process to address the real problem of Chinese interference.
We did more than just appoint the special rapporteur. We also created a committee of parliamentarians that includes a Bloc Québécois member. These parliamentarians have the right security clearance to be able to delve into everything we are hearing, into all the work that our security agencies do. As they have always done, they will publish reports that all parliamentarians can access and read.
The work is being done in an independent, non-partisan manner. The opposition parties are the only ones still trying to politicize this situation.
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- Mar/22/23 2:46:32 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, first I want to congratulate the Leader of the Opposition for actually talking about concrete ideas. For a long time, his only recommendation to help Canadians was to invest in Bitcoin, as that would help them avoid inflation. Now he is talking about credible opportunities to help Canadians.
What is nice, though, is that the idea of density around transit hubs is something we are already moving forward on and have invested in over the past few years. We know how important that is, but I will remind the member opposite that, in order to invest in density around transit hubs, one has to invest in public transit, which his government never did and which we have continued to do to record levels.
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- Mar/22/23 2:47:55 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, part of question period and answer period needs to be taking “yes” for an answer. I said yes. Not only do we like the idea of density around public transit spaces, but we have been doing it for years. We have been putting it in our agreements with municipalities as we invest historic amounts in public transit.
The former Conservative government refused to invest in any infrastructure larger than a doorknob or an economic action plan sign. We are continuing to invest in significant public transit, including with a permanent public transit fund, something the Conservatives have again campaigned against.
We will continue to be there to invest in Canadians.
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