44th Parl. 1st Sess.
October 4, 2023 02:00PM
- Oct/4/23 2:29:12 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, two weeks ago, we introduced the affordable housing and groceries bill, which will incentivize the construction of more rental housing and increase competition, particularly among grocery stores. Instead of working with us to move this forward before Thanksgiving, the Conservative Party chose to obstruct debate because it has no plan for supporting Canadians. Actions speak louder than words. I am therefore asking all members of the House to work together to pass Bill C-56 as soon as possible.
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- Oct/4/23 2:30:36 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, if the Leader of the Opposition really wanted to get assistance out to Canadians quicker to help them with groceries and housing, he would not have obstructed our affordable housing and groceries bill. He would rather play political games and obstruct the business of the House than work with us to get Canadians the help they need.
We will continue to focus on providing assistance to Canadians and we will continue to be there for people to help with the cost of living.
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- Oct/4/23 2:31:57 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, when we wanted to provide dental care to help Canadians, the Conservatives filibustered. The same thing happened with affordable child care. Now, they are obstructing the affordable housing and groceries bill. They are using parliamentary tricks to obstruct the process. The fact is that we can always count on the Conservatives to obstruct measures that help Canadians if they can get in some partisan attacks in the process.
On this side of the House, we remain focused on helping Canadians.
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- Oct/4/23 2:33:36 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we can see that the Leader of the Opposition is always ready to play political games. A few weeks ago, we moved forward with the affordable housing and groceries act, which will help build more rental homes and increase competition, including among the largest grocers. However, instead of working with us to move this forward before Thanksgiving, the Conservative opposition chose to obstruct debate around these measures. We are going to continue to stay focused on helping Canadians while they stay focused on playing political partisan games.
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- Oct/4/23 2:35:13 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we see again that the Conservative opposition is always ready to fling attacks and make criticisms, but what they actually did was block our move to move forward on the affordable housing and groceries act. They obstructed debate last week by delaying it.
We want to move forward on this so we can help Canadians, but they stood against this act in the same way they stood against $10-a-day child care, the same way they stood against the Canada child benefit, the same way they stood against dental care for Canadians who need it. We will keep helping people.
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- Oct/4/23 2:36:34 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, as my hon. colleague is well aware, immigration is a jurisdiction shared by the Government of Canada and the Government of Quebec. We are working together to bring in people to address the labour shortage and to continue to help spur economic growth, while ensuring that the necessary investments are made to welcome and integrate these immigrants and teach them French.
We will always be there to work responsibly in partnership with the Government of Quebec.
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- Oct/4/23 2:37:46 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I disagree with my hon. colleague. I do not think that closing the door to newcomers is a solution.
We know we need more affordable housing. I agree. That is exactly why we announced measures like eliminating the GST on the construction of new rental apartments. We will continue to work with the provinces and municipalities to speed up approvals and build more housing faster to better accommodate people.
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- Oct/4/23 2:40:10 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I agree it is a good thing that Manitobans rejected the politics of fear, division and intolerance and moved forward with a progressive alternative. I look forward to working with the new Government of Manitoba on issues that matter deeply to Manitobans, whether it is building more housing, supporting on the path to reconciliation, fighting climate change or, mostly, moving forward on affordability for everyone.
We will continue to stand up for a public health care system, including with the $200 billion in health accords that we are looking forward to signing with this new progressive government.
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- Oct/4/23 2:41:47 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, words cannot express the grief and pain being felt by the Myran and Harris families, as well as the entire community of Winnipeg. They are looking to find healing and closure right now.
Our approach must be victim-centred, trauma-informed and indigenous-led to support healing. That is why today we announced $740,000 in additional funding to explore in greater detail the next steps of a search. As we announced in our last budget, we are moving forward on a red dress alert as well.
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- Oct/4/23 2:43:13 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, times are difficult for Canadians right across the country, as they are difficult for people around the world. The war in Ukraine, the global inflation crisis and the after-effects of the pandemic have all caused real challenges. That is why, as a government, we have been there to support people, whether it is with grocery support or now with the affordable housing and groceries act. The problem is that the Conservatives chose to obstruct debate on that act, to delay it. We call on them to help us move forward on it to make sure that this Thanksgiving and future Thanksgivings are more affordable for Canadians.
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- Oct/4/23 2:44:34 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, on the one hand, Conservatives continue to call for cuts to spending and cuts to supports for Canadians, while at the same time they say there is not enough access to housing. They put forward a plan, a private member's bill, to tackle the problem of housing affordability. The problem is that it will not build homes fast enough, it does not reach enough cities and it creates unnecessary bureaucracy, while cutting the accelerator fund and ripping up our agreements to build more homes with cities like London and others across the country.
On this side, we are actually linking public transit dollars to housing density, working with cities to ensure their housing proposals are ambitious and addressing the bureaucracies—
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- Oct/4/23 2:45:57 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, while the Leader of the Opposition continues to talk down Canadians and talk down the Canadian economy, we are going to continue to put Canada's strong fiscal position in service of Canadians. Yes, it is a strong fiscal position. We have the lowest deficit in the G7, we have the best debt-to-GDP ratio in the G7 and we are one of the three largest countries in the world with a AAA credit rating from the bond agencies.
We have been there for Canadians and have been responsible stewards of the public purse, and that means we will continue to be able to support Canadians through these difficult times, including with the measures we have right now.
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- Oct/4/23 2:47:27 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we see once again the Leader of the Opposition's tried and true tactic of attacking the facts when they do not suit his purposes.
The international bond rating agencies, like Moody's and S&P, have ranked the top economies as AAA economies: the United States, Germany and then Canada, some of the world's largest economies. They have said that our fiscal plan is sustainable, as we are there to support Canadians, as we demonstrate fiscal prudence and as we support Canadians through this difficult time.
He can rage war on experts and the facts and demonize them all he likes, but we will keep being there for Canadians, grounded in the facts.
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- Oct/4/23 2:48:59 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I know that Canadians will not be taking any condescending economics lessons from the Leader of the Opposition after he proposed to Canadians that a good way of avoiding inflation was to buy crypto. That was his economic counsel to Canadians. If they had followed it, they would have lost almost half of their life savings.
One can understand that we will not be taking any economics lessons from that guy.
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- Oct/4/23 2:51:06 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, while the Leader of the Opposition continues to play his partisan games and focus on me, we are going to remain focused on Canadians.
We moved forward with an affordable groceries and affordable housing act that they have continued to obstruct and debate on. We have continued to deliver things for Canadians like dental care for low-income Canadians, which they stood against. We continue to deliver $10-a-day child care in places across the country, which they campaigned against. They continue to campaign against the Canada child benefit.
We see that they are always there to make clever political arguments. They are never there to actually support Canadians like we are.
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- Oct/4/23 2:52:38 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, over the past few years, we have always been there to invest with Quebec in housing.
We will continue to do so because the federal government has a role to play to ensure that affordable apartments and homes are built across the country, including in Quebec. I know that the Minister of Housing is currently working in collaboration with his counterpart in Quebec on a plan that works for Quebec, which will allow more housing to be built more quickly.
Housing is the responsibility of every level of government. We encourage them to address this issue urgently and in partnership.
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- Oct/4/23 2:54:01 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it is a shame that the Bloc Québécois continues to pick a fight when there is no fight to pick. We are working hand in hand with the Government of Quebec to address this housing crisis and to invest that $900 million, and more, in the province of Quebec in partnership with the Government of Quebec.
The fact that we are working so well with Mr. Legault's government is good news for Quebeckers. Unfortunately, the Bloc Québécois is trying to make mischief and stir up trouble. That is unfortunate for Quebeckers. We will continue to let Quebeckers' principles and concerns guide everything we do.
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- Oct/4/23 2:55:30 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we know we need to build more rental constructions more quickly. That is why we put forward a bill that would remove the GST from new rental constructions across the country on the federal side, and that is spurring thousands of new units to be built across the country. It is a very exciting measure.
Unfortunately, Conservatives have chosen to obstruct debate on that particular measure. Why will they not line up with Canadians? Why do they not see that building housing supply is going to help Canadians right across the country? Why will they not line up with us and support Canadians across the country?
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- Oct/4/23 2:56:59 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, yesterday, following a request from the Minister of Housing to scale up its ambition, Vaughan's city council passed a bold housing resolution to unlock even more affordable family-sized homes. That is a direct result of the housing accelerator fund.
This is a concrete example of how the federal government can lead and ensure more affordable housing options so our seniors, students and families can grow in their communities. We look forward to more municipalities joining us to ensure that all Canadians have a safe and affordable place to call home.
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- Oct/4/23 2:58:08 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the Leader of the Opposition's housing plan consists of wagging a finger at municipalities and saying they better build more homes or else. We have a better approach than that. We actually work with municipalities to build more homes, and we are seeing the results of that housing plan.
Recently, alongside British Columbia and the City of Vancouver, the member for Vancouver Centre announced the groundbreaking of the construction of 154 new affordable housing units close to transit in the heart of Davie Village. This will also house QMUNITY, a non-profit organization providing safe and secure services for individuals and families living with HIV/AIDS.
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