44th Parl. 1st Sess.
October 18, 2023 02:00PM
- Oct/18/23 2:46:32 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I will ignore the member's lack of decorum and his emotionally charged approach to focus on Canadians, because I can actually take it. I can take the debate and have it out in the open.
He talks about cuts. Canadians are making cuts in their own lives. We now have a new phenomenon in Canada, which is the middle-class homeless. We used to just have young people living in their parents' basements; now we have parents moving into their children's basements.
Will the Prime Minister reverse the inflationary policies that doubled housing costs and are forcing seniors to move into their kids' basements just to avoid going homeless?
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- Oct/18/23 2:48:02 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, incompetent rating agencies mean absolutely nothing to the unhoused seniors who say that for affordable housing in metro Vancouver, the only thing that turns up is “nothing, nothing, nothing”. Nor do they mean anything, to quote from the CBC, to him: “Living in his broken-down car, homeless man says he has until Thursday to move.”
We have nurses and carpenters living in parking lots after eight years of the Prime Minister doubling housing costs. Will the Liberals stop driving up the cost of living so that Canadians can house, feed and heat their families?
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- Oct/18/23 2:49:35 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it is actually the government that is promising over $10 billion of cuts right now, because it suddenly woke up and realized that it was bankrupt. When we were in office, we managed to balance the budget while growing health care spending every single year and, in fact, growing it faster than the current government. However, today the biggest threat to the health of Canadians is homelessness. People are losing their homes because the Prime Minister has doubled the cost of housing.
Will he realize, with people living in parking lots, that after eight years he is just not worth the cost?
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- Oct/18/23 3:05:21 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, affordability also means putting a roof over the heads of all Canadians. That is exactly what we are doing on this side of the House. Just this morning, CMHC reported a 98% increase in housing starts. The programs we have implemented will help all Canadians have a roof over their heads. That is exactly what we are going to do.
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- Oct/18/23 3:09:33 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, last week I had the opportunity to visit Peterborough, that member's riding, where I announced $42 million for the construction or renovation of over 1,100 units of housing. What is interesting is that the member voted against every program that made that funding possible, and then she tried to take credit for it. It is astounding what the Conservatives continue to do.
What Canadians need is a government to be behind them to see more construction built and to see the Canada child benefit continue to have an effect, as well as dental care and child care. They are against all of those.
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- Oct/18/23 3:14:35 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, city of Toronto housing advocates have warned that unhoused people will die as the weather gets colder. Toronto's shelter system, the largest in Canada, is beyond capacity. Hundreds of people are being turned away every day, including refugees and asylum seekers. Successive Liberal and Conservative governments have walked away from housing and left the city scrambling to house people in need. Toronto is pleading for support.
Will the Liberals step up to provide the funding required to the city of Toronto so no one has to sleep or die on the streets this winter?
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- Oct/18/23 3:15:19 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I have worked with the member for a number of years now, and I do not doubt for a moment her commitment to housing. She knows, because she voted for it, that we doubled the funding for homelessness through the reaching home initiative, and Toronto has received $290 million to combat homelessness.
We will continue to work with not-for-profit organizations that are on the ground doing the vital work to get people off the streets and providing them with the wraparound supports they need to make a transition toward something better.
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- Oct/18/23 3:15:56 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, homelessness in Coquitlam, Port Coquitlam and Port Moody is up by 86%. Community leaders from the Tri-Cities Homelessness & Housing Task Group are calling for political courage. I agree. People being unable to find a home is past the point of a crisis, and with colder weather on its way, action is needed, but the Liberals are out of touch, and their lack of concern is appalling.
What are the Liberals going to do to get people into affordable homes before the winter?
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- Oct/18/23 3:16:37 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the current government was the first government in Canadian history to recognize that there is a human right to housing.
We continue to act in that vein through the national housing strategy, a strategy that has resulted in 70,000 people being taken off the street; 122,000 who were very close to being homeless are no longer in that position. Because of the vital supports they have been given, they are now housed.
We will continue to do everything we can, and we embrace partnership through working with provinces, municipalities and, I emphasize, not-for-profit organizations, which are key to all this.
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- Oct/18/23 3:22:49 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, my colleague talks about making cuts, but where does she want to make these cuts? Is it in housing? Is there too much money in housing? Is it in pensions? Do the Conservatives think that our seniors are getting too much money? Do the Conservatives think that we should not get involved in dental care? Is it in child care? Should we not be there to help our families?
Maybe culture is the target. They are so good at that, they spent their time making cuts in culture. Where do they want to make cuts? Let them show some backbone and tell us where they want to make cuts.
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- Oct/18/23 3:30:05 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I will not take any lessons today from that side of the House. When the Conservatives were in power, they actually cut spending to fall below 1%. Let me be very clear: Military members and their families are our top priority. We are taking steps to ensure that they are supported. In budget 2022, we invested $55 million in residential housing for CAF members. We will be there for our troops. We will always support them.
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- Oct/18/23 3:39:39 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, those who join the Canadian Forces do so because they believe in service to their country. Now, members are leaving their jobs because they cannot keep up with rising house costs. Those who keep us safe cannot afford a home, and the Liberals' and Conservatives' solution is to leave housing to condo developers, who keep costs so high.
The people who serve us deserve better. What is this government going to do to ensure that members of the Canadian Armed Forces do not become homeless?
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- Oct/18/23 3:40:18 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the member for raising this. As an advocate, she has brought forward a lot of issues in the House.
However, let me be very clear. Military members and their families are our top priority, and we are taking steps to ensure that they are supported. This is why we are working with our stakeholders to align resources and acquire additional housing. In budget 2022-23 alone, we have invested $55 million in residential housing for CAF members.
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