44th Parl. 1st Sess.
February 2, 2024 10:00AM
- Feb/2/24 11:09:28 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, every member of Parliament recognizes that the first honour of this job is the honour of representing their community and those who make it up. Along the way, we meet tremendous people. One of those was Tom Hennessy, who recently passed away at the age of 101. He served multiple campaigns in World War II as a fighter pilot. Later, he continued to give back to our community by becoming a physical education teacher.
I first met Tom in 2022 when he finished his walk of gratitude; that is a walk of 100 miles in support of injured veterans. His example shows that democracy does not happen by accident. It rests on the shoulders of those who came before us. His efforts and those of other veterans have secured our democracy. We can exist in this House of Commons and debate the issues of the day because of people like Tom.
To his family and friends, I offer my deepest condolences. It was an honour to know Tom Hennessy.
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- Feb/2/24 11:19:55 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, yes, I agree that there is a housing crisis in our country. What is the best approach? The best approach is what our government is doing.
What have we done since certainly this fall but also throughout our tenure in government? We have let more homes be built in this country and put in place serious measures to work with municipalities. In fact, we have an agreement with the Province of Quebec that will lead to thousands more homes being built. This is the housing accelerator fund. Throughout the country we see that as well. It is an approach that incents more building, all types of building. The Conservatives want to tax building.
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- Feb/2/24 11:21:18 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, they say they have the backs of Canadians. It is interesting and hypocritical for them to point arguments like that out time and again.
What did we learn yesterday? We learned that the chief adviser to the opposition leader has served as the chief lobbyist for Galen Weston and Loblaws.
Today we learned something else. The opposition leader ought to get in touch with his deputy leader, who served as a lobbyist for Walmart, the grocery conglomerate. They want to talk about competition in the grocery sector, but they vote against it every time. It is no surprise.
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- Feb/2/24 11:33:17 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, the member is an associate member of the finance committee. Yesterday, the Governor of the Bank of Canada appeared there and made it clear that carbon pricing is not a fundamental factor in inflation.
What is important is the fact that we have to get behind the idea of competition. The Liberal government has put forward a measure that would advance competition in the grocery sector. We know why Conservatives do not support it. Their chief adviser is on the side of Loblaws, that party is in the pocket of Loblaws and they are in the pocket of Walmart, it seems. Their deputy leader has been a lobbyist for them. They do not believe in competition in the grocery sector. They do not believe in Canadians.
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- Feb/2/24 11:42:53 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, we have worked, as members know, with the City of Calgary on a range of matters, including getting more housing built through the housing accelerator fund.
However, I find the hypocrisy in the Conservative position stunning. The Conservatives continue to talk about the vulnerable when we know what they would do if they were in office. They would cut pensions. They would cut EI. The Canada child benefit would be cut. Regarding dental care and child care, the Conservatives have never been for it. They talk about homelessness. Let us be serious. They do not believe in dealing with homelessness because every time they had a chance to vote for measures that would deal with it, they voted against it, as recently as a few weeks ago. They are not serious.
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- Feb/2/24 11:47:48 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, I have a good rapport with the colleague opposite. We work together on the HUMA committee, but it is hard to take him seriously in the House today when we know that recently he has voted against 99 units of housing for his own community. At 520 Isaac Street, and he can go down there as I am sure he knows where that is, 99 units of housing have been built as a result of the Liberal government's funding. That is what the national housing strategy is doing. Across the country, we have seen that 125,000 people who were very close to being homeless are off the streets, and 70,000 people who were homeless are off the streets with wraparound supports. We—
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- Feb/2/24 11:49:07 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, if he wants to see the results of the national housing strategy, again, I would remind him to go down to 520 Isaac Street in his riding. He can see the results: 99 units of housing. As far as the other points raised, he is talking about the housing accelerator fund. Yes, we have concluded agreements with 30 communities that will incentivize zoning changes that lead to the construction of duplexes, triplexes, fourplexes, mid-rise apartments, row houses and more.
That is how we get Canadians housed. That is how we bring down costs. They want to put taxes on the construction of apartments. In addition, they want to continue measures that will not go ahead with getting more housing built in this country.
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- Feb/2/24 11:51:22 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, it would be interesting to look at the Conservative Party's history when it comes to taxes.
We know that deficit after deficit is the story of the Conservative Party. In fact, now we see a AAA credit rating and the lowest debt-to-GDP ratio in the G7. We co-rank third in the OECD when it comes to attracting foreign direct investment. Deal after deal has been concluded by the Minister Industry, including in my region of southwestern Ontario and St. Thomas, specifically, and in Windsor, to see electric vehicle battery plants built. That gets Canadians working. Of course, we see also a very low unemployment rate.
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- Feb/2/24 12:01:59 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, we will continue to work with the beer sector and vintners to ensure that they are competitive.
In fact, if we look at the wider Canadian economy, what do we see? We see a lower unemployment rate than existed before the pandemic. There are more jobs working now than before the pandemic.
That party continues to put forward an austerity agenda that would do what? It would cut pensions, cut EI and cut the Canada child benefit, dental care, child care, all of it. The Conservatives do not believe in the social programs that have upheld this country in so many different ways. They do not believe in Canadians by extension. That is what I have to say to that.
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- Feb/2/24 12:03:22 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I am happy to do exactly that, but let me first say that the member's tireless advocacy led to agreements like the one completed with Squamish. In fact, other MPs on this side have also worked to ensure outcomes through the housing accelerator fund.
I have talked about it before, but it bears repeating. This is a fund that ensures incentives on the municipality's part to change zoning, which will lead to more building in return for federal funding. What do we see as a result? We see duplexes, fourplexes, triplexes and mid-rise apartments. All of these will lead to 500,000 homes being built over the next decade and 78,000 homes built over the next four years. That is how we get housing going.
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