44th Parl. 1st Sess.
October 23, 2023 11:00AM
Mr. Speaker, what I can say with a straight face is that the Conservative Party has voted against every measure proposed by this side of the House to provide support to families. The Canada child benefit and every investment we have made in housing come to mind. We still expect the Conservatives to vote in favour of Bill C‑56, which will stabilize grocery prices and get rid of the GST on new housing construction.
On this side of the House, we are taking care of people every day.
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- Oct/23/23 3:11:45 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the City of Coquitlam has had to foot the bill to save affordable homes because the federal government is missing in action. Renters in my community are being displaced at alarming rates as their homes are being sold off to for-profit developers. Homelessness in Coquitlam is soaring. We cannot afford to lose more co-ops and rentals. The Liberals are turning their backs on local governments that are doing their best to protect low-income renters.
How many more people need to go homeless before the Liberals take this housing crisis seriously?
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- Oct/23/23 3:12:26 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I sincerely thank my hon. colleague for her concern regarding the need to invest in affordable housing and homelessness prevention.
I would remind her that we had the opportunity not only to make an initial multi-billion dollar investment to address homelessness in Canada, but also to then double it. Shamefully, certain parties in this chamber voted against that measure.
This builds on eight years of work, where we have returned to the affordable housing space through the national housing strategy and now are working very closely with local governments, municipalities from coast to coast to coast, to build more homes. I look forward to doing that in co-operation with the NDP.
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- Oct/23/23 6:53:10 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I am rising tonight to talk about the rising rates of rents in my communities and the inability for people to find a home to rent.
In my riding of Port Moody—Coquitlam, rent is rising at an alarming rate. As of October 2023, the average rent for a one-bedroom apartment in Coquitlam is $2,465. This is a 23% increase compared to the previous year. Rentals are priced beyond what many people can afford. With the prices of homes being even further out of reach for many, rental is their only option.
The number of people who have not been able to secure safe and affordable rental housing is now causing a homelessness crisis in the Tri-Cities. In Coquitlam, Port Coquitlam and Port Moody, there has been an 86% increase in homelessness. The Tri-Cities Homelessness and Housing Task Group released its records this month. The local figures show that 160 people in the Tri-Cities indicated that they are homeless. We have seen their affordable housing being taken down and replaced with luxury condos that are unaffordable to most of our community.
Families are being pushed out of their neighbourhoods. Seniors and persons with disabilities are unable to find a new place to live as their long-term housing has been taken down. We have seen this government promise to invest in affordable housing, but its approach is just not working. The lack of affordable housing is hurting people, especially those living on fixed incomes.
Something has got to change, but this government has only just started talking about housing affordability and, really, there has been no talk about how we get people into affordable rentals now. Our communities do not need more expensive condos. They cannot wait for the much-needed GST rebate. The housing accelerator fund is not helping renters fast enough.
Will this government step up and work now to get some affordable housing in the community of Coquitlam?
I will close with another question. Right now in my riding, there is new development happening almost every day, and there is a large development coming up in my riding. I am wondering how we can get the federal government to come to the table early, to start the discussions on how we can get more affordable housing replaced in my community.
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- Oct/23/23 6:56:02 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I am getting to know my colleague more and more; we work together on the HUMA committee. This is the parliamentary committee that is primarily responsible for housing, an incredibly important issue for this entire country. In her community, my community and everyone's community, housing is the main focus of discussion around kitchen tables, and rent is going up. I will acknowledge that, first and foremost. Canadians are directing more of their income toward housing expenses. It is a provincial area of jurisdiction in the main; however, and I emphasize this point, all orders of government need to collaborate and be around the table to think of ways that they can help and what they can offer the situation in terms of making it better for the everyday person.
The member mentions that rent has gone up 23% in her community. In my own community of London, Ontario, the number is 20%. That is not an acceptable situation, and to address that, we have to understand what underpins all of this. The housing crisis in front of us, including the crisis in terms of rent, is ultimately a function of a supply crisis. That is what drives this. When demand is high and supply is limited in anything, housing included, the result will be expensive. That is what we see here.
In response, the federal government has recognized this situation and lifted the GST on the construction of apartment buildings. This is something that is especially important if we are going to incent building. We have to work with the private sector. In this case, the private sector is the homebuilding sector. I have talked to home builders in my own community, and they have looked at this measure with great promise. This is something that will help, especially in the coming years, to make up for the lack of supply. Dream Unlimited is not in my city of London, but it is in Toronto, the largest city in the country. It is going to build an extra 5,000 units of housing as a result of this measure alone. That is only one example.
The national housing strategy is also very important in this conversation. As members know, it is a multi-faceted program. There is one element of it, the national coinvestment fund, that sees low-interest loans offered through the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation, or CMHC, to builders. In my city, this has resulted in Joan's Place, a great not-for-profit initiative that was carried out by Youth Opportunities Unlimited in support of young mothers and expectant mothers who are looking for housing.
This is how we get things done. It is by working in collaboration, not only with different orders of government but also with the not-for-profit sector. I also point to Robert Nicklin Place in the member's community; she knows it very well. Low-interest loans via CMHC in the amount of $46 million led to the construction of 164 units in the community of Port Moody—Coquitlam, which I visited. It is a beautiful place; it is going through a challenging time, but this is one thing that can be done to get to better results.
That particular project is built near transit, schools and a day care facility. It is built near a park, a library, a hospital and a vibrant community centre. This is how we create housing that is meaningful. We create homes for people and build partnerships to make that happen. It is about the experience. It is about making sure that a home is a place that can have purpose and allow for individuals, students, individuals living with disabilities, seniors and all these folks who are in need of support, to have better outcomes. That is what we will continue to work toward.
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- Oct/23/23 6:59:57 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I really hope that the member and I can work more closely together and that we can go out together and look at some of those sites in my riding of Port Moody—Coquitlam. There is a lot of opportunity, but unfortunately, the supply crisis where I live in my community is driven by the loss of affordable units. It is 15 to one that we are losing affordable units.
When we talk about those units that are along transit or close to shopping, those used to be affordable units, but now they are luxury condos, up to 50 storeys tall. According to some of the housing data that is collected, almost a quarter of them are sitting empty. That is why the Government of B.C. recently brought into place a ban or limit on the Airbnbs, because those units were actually built to be Airbnbs. They are displacing long-term residents, who have rented for a very long time, with luxury units that they can no longer afford.
Yes, let us get together. However, could the member please tell me how we get those conversations started earlier with the federal government?
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- Oct/23/23 7:01:00 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, with respect to my colleague, the conversations have been happening, and we have seen concrete action.
I just mentioned a project in the member's riding that has made life better for her constituents, with 164 units. Again, I emphasize that I will continue to work with her and with any colleague, and I know the minister feels the same way. He wants to see better outcomes.
The national housing strategy is a particular avenue that can help in the immediate term, but we do have to think about the medium to long term. In the long term, there is the GST measure I mentioned and the housing accelerator fund. There are other examples as well, but those two really stand out, because they will add to supply. When we add to supply, we bring down costs. That is true with respect to rent or purchasing a home.
We can do better, we must do better and, through collaboration, we will.
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