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Decentralized Democracy

House Hansard - 268

44th Parl. 1st Sess.
December 14, 2023 10:00AM
Context: House Hansard - 268 - Dec/14/23
Mr. Michael Barrett
Madam Speaker, it was the same theatre that we saw from the minister when talking about his refusal to take action on the billion-dollar green slush fund. There was an awful lot of motion. He was quite blustery, but he wanted us to confuse that for action. He is not taking any action there, and he is not taking any action on food price affordability. When standing committees particularly make recommendations, those should be the first thing that the minister looks at, instead of having a big show trial where he brings in grocery CEOs to look him in the eye and talk sternly to them. We have presented concrete ways that they can bring down food price inflation and one of those ways would be to pass the common-sense Conservative bill, Bill C-234.
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Context: House Hansard - 268 - Dec/14/23
Ms. Bonita Zarrillo (Port Moody—Coquitlam, NDP)
  • Dec/14/23 6:57:37 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, the cost of living is past the breaking point for many people in my riding of Port Moody—Coquitlam and the government's lack of action to build affordable homes is pushing more people to be homeless this winter. Many shelters are at full capacity across the nation and Canadians are unable to find adequate housing solutions in their communities. Sequential Liberal and Conservative governments turned their backs on affordable homes across Canada for 40 years. Some 800,000 affordable homes were lost under the former Conservative government alone and the Liberals did not replace them. In the greater Vancouver area, homelessness just continues to go up under the shadow of luxury condo towers, many used as investment vehicles and Airbnbs. The inequity and injustice of this reality is a result of Liberal and Conservative bad policy decisions. In my riding of Port Moody—Coquitlam, luxury towers continue to reign and those people whose affordable housing has been displaced by the insatiable appetite of luxury condo builders are struggling to find new homes. They simply cannot afford a place to live because of unchecked corporate greed. Market-driven policies that the Liberals and the Conservatives before them started and perpetuated are not working for people. People cannot afford housing. Seniors are feeling the affordability gap more and more. The average 70-year-old, who is dependent on their well-earned government benefit, spends about 78% of their income to rent a one-bedroom apartment in B.C. This leaves them with very little at the end of the month. Many seniors are left to choose which one they can afford: groceries, rent or medications. The same is happening with persons with disabilities and anyone on a fixed income, who simply cannot absorb these enormous rent increases. With increased renovictions driven by corporate profit and greed, my community members are suffering. Not-for-profit organizations are pleading with the federal government for better investments in affordable housing. The government must act and invest in housing solutions that meet people's needs now. Will the Liberals front-load their investments into purpose-built rentals, including more investment in co-op housing and immediately match the B.C. rental protection fund to save affordable housing in the most expensive region of the country?
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