44th Parl. 1st Sess.
May 2, 2023 10:00AM
- May/2/23 3:03:06 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it is essential we support scientists and researchers across Canada so we can position ourselves as a global leader in the research ecosystem.
Can the Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry talk about the recent announcement made through the first research excellence fund and how this funding will support important research initiatives with universities across the country?
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- May/2/23 4:37:04 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I certainly appreciated the speech of my hon. colleague. I am just not sure what side of the fence he is on because, on one hand, he wants the federal government to take more action and, on the other hand, he, I believe, as a Conservative, would agree that it is market forces that determine a lot of housing affordability and it is individuals, Canadians and companies and so on, that build housing.
Does my colleague agree with his colleagues, such as the member of Parliament for Mission—Matsqui—Fraser Canyon and the member for Stormont—Dundas—South Glengarry, who have said that the government should do less on housing and pull back from its investments in the national housing strategy?
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- May/2/23 5:14:07 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I am glad to see that, like us, our colleagues across the floor are concerned about housing affordability, but concern is not enough. Since 2015, our government has been turning our concerns into actions, producing real results for real people in this country.
When we entered office, our government saw the crisis in housing affordability looming and we knew that bold action was needed. We made history in 2017 when we launched the national housing strategy, the first of its kind in this country. The strategy is a 10-year, $82-billion plan that offers grants, loans, innovation support, research funding and more.
The strategy addresses the needs of people across the housing spectrum, from homelessness, to rental housing, to home ownership. It takes a human rights-based approach to housing, focusing particularly on the people who are most vulnerable to housing needs.
We are halfway through the national housing strategy timeline, and we are on track.
Better yet, in delivering on most of the measures, we have disbursed more than one-third of the strategy's funding. With this funding, we have achieved at least 50% of most of our targets. These results include supporting the repair of more than 298,00 units, just short of the 300,000-unit target; maintaining the affordability of 234,000 community housing units, which is 60% of the target to date; and supporting the creation of nearly 120,000 units out of a target of 160,000 units.
It can be hard to comprehend such large, abstract numbers, so I am going to talk about one of those 120,000 units that were built. That unit is occupied by Bill Beaton.
Bill is a Canadian Armed Forces veteran who was living on the street before being welcomed into Veterans' House, a supportive housing facility for homeless veterans in Ottawa. The 40-unit project was created through the national housing co-investment fund, one of the strategy's flagship affordable housing programs.
For Bill, Veterans' House is not just a statistic. It is much more. It is a safe place to live. It is stability. It is a home that he would not be able to afford otherwise.
His story is similar to those of many thousands of people across Canada who have a place to live thanks to the national housing strategy. It is the story of people who were given a helping hand to access housing that they can afford and that meets their needs.
The situation has changed drastically since the Government of Canada launched the national housing strategy in 2017. Since then, we have been dealing with the pandemic, global inflation, supply chain disruptions and a war in Europe, among other things.
During that time, our government, through the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation, updated, improved and expanded the strategy's programs. We did so in response to the changing situation and the input of our partners. We recognize that housing is a shared responsibility and that the federal government will not meet its ambitious housing objectives alone.
For example, we have simplified processes that were found to be too cumbersome and bureaucratic, cutting processing times in half.
We have made changes to better meet the needs of the not-for-profit housing sector. This includes a special stream of the national housing co-investment fund that turns approvals and agreements around in as little as four weeks. That feedback on turnaround times led to a new program, the rapid housing initiative, a program that is very important to the riding of Châteauguay—Lacolle. It was designed to build homes more quickly for people who need them most and has consistently exceeded its targets. We have since extended it twice, helping even more people.
One of the things we have heard from our partners is that the cost and availability of land is a persistent barrier to building new homes, and so in 2019, we launched a direct solution: the federal lands initiative, a streamlined process to make surplus federal property available for use in building affordable housing. This 10-year, $200-million program is supporting the transfer of federal property to eligible proponents at discounted rates or no cost. So far, we have committed $118 million of that budget and nearly reached the target of 4,000 new affordable housing units.
Still, we must do more.
The magnitude of Canada's housing challenges is bigger than any one program can address. The national housing strategy and its programs are supporting action, inspiring innovation and providing a platform for the public, private and non-profit sectors to come together. It is through collaboration that we would build a better and fairer housing system.
I am not standing here today just to talk about these programs and their success; I am here to make a request. I ask each and every member in this House to work with their constituents to help connect them to the programs and funding available.
The national housing strategy approaches housing affordability from every angle that would have an impact. We believe there is something in there to meet every type of housing need. Every community can benefit from the provisions of the strategy, and together we can ensure that everyone in Canada has a place to call home.
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- May/2/23 5:21:53 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for his excellent question. I am very proud to say that we have a rather large inventory of social housing in Châteauguay—Lacolle. It is not enough, but we have quite a lot of social housing units on Montreal's south shore. That is thanks to the experience and expertise that has been developed over the years.
We have many organizations that work with community groups. They are also involved in the construction of low-income housing at the municipal level. They know how to make use of the programs when they are implemented and they make sure that social housing gets built. We have had some success stories lately in terms of low-income housing. That is also thanks to the rapid housing initiative and our partnership with our neighbour, Kahnawake.
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- May/2/23 5:24:15 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I find that rather brutal. We are five years into a 10-year strategy. In my speech, I talked about how we are meeting different objectives.
I would like continue my answer to that question by continuing my answer from before. We have increased the funding available through the CMHC. We need capital to build housing. When we are talking about social housing and affordable housing, that capital needs to come from public funding, which we all share so we can help each other equally.
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- May/2/23 5:25:58 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I can simply answer that I agree that the federal and provincial governments must work together. As far as the province of Quebec is concerned, we have worked very well in the past with the Société d'habitation du Québec, and we continue to work with that organization and with the municipalities.
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- May/2/23 6:56:11 p.m.
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Madam Chair, thank you again for the speech and the advocacy that you are putting forward.
What is the role of allyship? It is a big question in my riding. We are neighbours to Kahnawake. We have started some partnership, but perhaps you could talk about allyship in advancing this work.
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- May/2/23 7:07:11 p.m.
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Madam Chair, I am wondering about this. Earlier in the policing piece, there was a lot of talk about introducing social workers to address difficult situations. I would like to hear the member's thoughts on the kind of training needed and who those community social workers should be.
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- May/2/23 7:18:08 p.m.
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Madam Chair, I would like to thank my hon. colleague for her speech. She shared some recommendations for helping vulnerable people in difficult situations. There have been tragedies, many of them in Quebec, but also across Canada, involving indigenous women.
Does my colleague agree that systemic racism exists in Canada?
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- May/2/23 7:37:47 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, in her speech, my hon. colleague mentioned some very important aspects of this problem, including decolonization and the patriarchy. This demonstrates that there are some cultural concepts that are deeply anchored in this problem.
I would like to know if she agrees with me that more indigenous women are affected by this problem even though they represent 4% of the population.
Does systemic racism exist in our society?
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- May/2/23 8:26:46 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, I want to thank my hon. colleague for sharing his life story and his personal advocacy and growth in this area. I extend my deepest sympathies for the loss of his family members.
We sit together on the public accounts committee, which is all about value for money and that kind of thing, so I would be interested to know, in an ideal world, where my colleague would like to put the emphasis of funding and programming to work toward a solution, or if not a solution, at least a better place with this problem.
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