44th Parl. 1st Sess.
May 2, 2023 10:00AM
- May/2/23 1:24:57 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I am going to split my time with my friend and colleague, the member for Chicoutimi—Le Fjord.
I want to take a step back, because I think this debate is about much more than housing.
The central promise of Canada has always been that it does not matter where a person has been but rather where a person is going, and it does not matter who a person is but what a person can do, and that a person can be better off than the people who came before them if they worked hard and dreamt big. This is the reason millions of immigrants have chosen to come to our nation's shore from places all around the world. It is the reason Canada is a place of inspiration for people from all over the globe. It is the reason our young people have always looked ahead to a future of hope instead of fear. They knew that Canada was a place of endless opportunity where the only limit on a person's success was how high they could set their aspirations.
That was certainly true for my own parents who came here from the Soviet Union in the 1970s and worked hard for a better life for their children. It is a testament to the power of our country that, in one generation, someone like me from my family can go from a front seat of a taxi to the front row of Parliament.
Young people, immigrants, people from all walks of life are doing exactly the same thing today. Their work ethic, passion and drive remain the same, but something has changed. Despite doing everything right, despite doing everything we have asked of them, saving money, going to school, getting a job, they are falling further and further behind, and that dream is slipping away. All we have to do is go back to any one of the 338 ridings represented by members of Parliament in this place to know that is true.
When the promise of a better life, new opportunities and bright horizons is no longer a guarantee, then something is broken in Canada, and now everybody knows it. There are many reasons why Conservatives and people from all over the country feel that way: from our broken ethics laws from the other side, to our bail system, to our eye-popping national debt. However, the embarrassing failure of this government to act to ensure housing affordability and availability for Canadians is one of the biggest failures of this generation.
To afford the average home in Toronto, a person needs to make over $207,000 a year. However, the median income in Toronto is not that. It means that home ownership is nearly impossible for anybody to attain, not to mention recently arrived immigrants who cannot work in their professions because of government gatekeeping and red tape, students working part-time trying to complete their studies or single parents just trying to make ends meet. For the lucky few who can afford a down payment on a home, the people who thought they would make it out of the woods, well, they are no better off either, because all across the country interest rate hikes caused by this Prime Minister's reckless spending are sending mortgage bills through the roof.
In 2015, when the Liberals first formed government, the average monthly mortgage payment in Canada was $1,268. After eight years, it is nearly $3,000. It has more than doubled, but our wages and our productivity have stagnated.
The Royal Bank now estimates that 62.7% of household income is needed to cover home ownership costs. That is the worst on record. It is unattainable. What does that mean? Well, we only need to look around to see that 1.5 million Canadians are at a food bank in a single month in this country. People are cutting back and skipping meals, because they need to save more money just to keep their homes. There is unprecedented financial anxiety and strain. In fact, 45% of variable mortgage rate holders have already said that they would have to sell their homes in nine months or less. That is not to mention, of course, nine out of 10 young Canadians who do not believe that they will ever own a home in this country.
I was always told that if I could not afford a home, I should rent a property until I could afford to buy something on my own. I am sure many people were told the same thing. However, even rentals are out of reach. In just one year, the average rent in Canada's three largest cities went up by 20% and, on average, grew by 10%.
In 2015, a one-bedroom apartment in Toronto cost just over $1,100. It is now over $2,300. It has more than double. The Liberals have doubled housing prices, doubled mortgage payments and doubled the cost of rent. If people cannot afford to buy a home, if they cannot afford to pay rent or do anything else, what the hell are they supposed to do? Where are they going to live?
The Liberals say that they care. They want to talk about their famous quote “the middle class and those working hard to join it”, but we have to ask if these are the results of a government that is looking out for people in need. Who is benefiting from the cost-of-living crisis? Is it ordinary people who cannot even find a place to live or is it those who already have properties, investments and assets in our biggest cities? This is Canada. It is a G7 country. This is unacceptable and everybody here should agree.
Is this really the best we can do? That is the question for this debate. The Liberals say yes. They say that Canadians should be grateful, that Canadians have never had it so good. They say that making do with less, like cancelling a Disney+ subscription or cutting back a little, is the only thing they have to do to solve all their problems, and thank goodness they are here taking care of Canadians. The problem is that Canadians who are facing the crisis do not exactly agree. In fact, many of them do not agree. It will soon be a majority of them who do not agree.
The Conservatives say no. We understand that people across the country understand this too, because it is obvious now. The jig is up. Things are not okay in our country and it is time we did better. We can do more to help families achieve the dream of home ownership. We can do more to help young people achieve the dream of home ownership. We can do more to help new Canadians, students and people with lower incomes get by. We can do more to make Canada once again a place where there is hope for the future, where people are optimistic that they will do better than the generation that came before them.
How do we do that? We do that by fixing what the Liberals broke. We do that by removing the big-city gatekeepers, the bureaucrats and those who are keeping housing from being developed. They are keeping Canadians away from their dream of home ownership. We do it by using the power of the federal government, not to obstruct but to empower. We need to empower and incentivize municipalities to build better places for people to live, like high-density housing near transit so they can take the train or bus to work or school.
In British Columbia, people can get a permit to sell cocaine faster than they can get a permit to build a home. That is the reality in Canada today and that is shameful.
We do this by also supporting towns and cities that actually get things done, not those who talk, or study, or plan like the government does right now or make Instagram announcements of more money. In fact, the government has spent the most money to fail, and failed expensively.
This is for those who actually put shovels in the ground and build for the next generation. We do that by doing our part too, by selling the underutilized government buildings that can be turned into affordable housing. The Liberals even agree with this, because a resolution at their upcoming policy convention this week says that they should sell 30% of its building and turn them into housing. Even their supporters get it. Their most die-hard supporters have put that idea forward. When will the Liberals listen?
We do it by addressing the other issues that impact housing affordability, like the cost of essentials such as the cost of gas, groceries and home heating. They have all gone up under the government. We do it by working to bring back well-paying jobs to Canada, by making a government that actually works. In today’s Canada, it often feels like hope is lost, like our best days are behind us.
We know the Liberals do not have a plan. We know that the Prime Minister has spent more money to achieve less than all of his predecessors combined. It is even worse. The Liberals tell us just to accept it as it is.
We do know better is possible. That is the Liberal slogan, but it will be our action. We know that Canadians are strong, we know that they are resilient and we know that this is the best country on earth. It is time for a government that also knows that too. It is time for a Conservative government and Canadians will be better for it.
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- May/2/23 1:35:46 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the member opposite lives in a community that looks a lot like mine, and I am sure she hears from young people who will never afford to live where they actually grew up. Under the government, rents have doubled, mortgages have doubled and the price of a house has doubled, and it has not incentivized municipalities to build the density that is needed for young people to afford a home.
I am not sure how the member can defend that to her constituents, to York Region or, frankly, to the benches of her own government.
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- May/2/23 1:37:07 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I am not sure what coalition the member is talking about, but the opposition has put forward this motion because we hear from constituents and Canadians right across the board that housing has become out of reach, that the dream of home ownership has become out of reach, that nine out of 10 young Canadians do not believe they will ever own a home. If people looked at the 2023 budget, the one that was just deposed by the Minister of Finance, they would not know if the government is even concerned about building a single house in our country.
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- May/2/23 1:38:22 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I actually agree with the member opposite on her concern about affordable housing, but we do not have any affordable housing in our country. We do not have enough housing for the population that is becoming new Canadians, the 500,000 people a year who will come into this country and have nowhere to live. We are building four for every 10 people coming in.
I am happy to let her know that I will be speaking at the Federation of Canadian Municipalities later this month. I consistently consult with it on its ideas, and many of those ideas are found within this motion.
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- May/2/23 1:39:37 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the member opposite brings up a good point. The government has talked a lot about a housing accelerator fund. One of the biggest criticisms of that fund is that it is not actually building housing, as one cannot live in an accelerator. However, small cities do not have the manpower to staff and develop the plan. Again, that is another Instagram announcement from the government with absolutely no follow through.
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- May/2/23 2:36:09 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, what a gutless response. What if that happened to that minister's family? I have the same question. When did he know?
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- May/2/23 2:37:03 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, when did he know?
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