44th Parl. 1st Sess.
February 2, 2024 10:00AM
- Feb/2/24 11:41:38 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, it is a bit funny that members on that side are talking about affordability. My hon. colleague has brought up a good point. The chief strategist for the leader of the official opposition is a lobbyist for Loblaws. Loblaws is the only grocer asking not to be part of the grocery code of conduct, which is something the Conservatives supported. They were supportive of the grocery code of conduct. Now I am wondering if it is an official policy of the Conservative Party of Canada that it is no longer supporting the grocery code of conduct because its chief strategist is the lobbyist for Loblaws.
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- Feb/2/24 11:42:18 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, the current government just does not understand how badly Canadians are struggling, including in my city of Calgary. Statistics Canada recently reported that it costs more to afford basic goods and to live a moderate standard of living in Calgary than in any other major city in Canada. It now costs more to live in Calgary than it does to live in Toronto or Vancouver.
Will the Liberals stop their April 1 carbon tax increase that will make gas, groceries and home heating even more expensive, or will they pile more costs on Calgarians?
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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 11:43:34 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, Gaza is the most dangerous place to be a journalist. There have been 122 journalists killed in Netanyahu's onslaught. Mansour Shouman, a brave reporter in Gaza, a Canadian and a fellow Albertan, has been missing for over a week. Eyewitnesses say that he was taken into custody by the Israeli army. His mother is worried sick and said that the government has not done enough to keep her informed about his whereabouts.
Can the government commit to Mansour Shouman's mother and all his loved ones that it will do everything in its power to bring him home?
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- Feb/2/24 11:44:13 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, I want to thank the hon. member for raising this issue today and thank the many members who have sent me concerns about this particular case. When it comes to this case, I want to state very clearly that consular officials at Global Affairs Canada, as well as in the field, have been in touch with the family.
The minister talked to the family this week and assured the family that we are doing everything we can to find out this person's whereabouts. We are considering every possibility of engagement on this case. We will continue to do that. I am not able to go into further details due to privacy concerns but if one has more concerns or questions, please contact me directly.
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- Feb/2/24 11:44:53 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, Canadians cannot keep up with their home heating costs. Switching to a heat pump makes life more affordable while tackling the climate crisis, but the current Liberal program is riddled with problems and is almost impossible for rural and lower-income Canadians to access. The Liberals are threatening to cancel this program and are leaving people out in the cold with higher home heating bills and with no option to switch. This makes no sense.
Why will the Liberals not make big oil pay what it owes and use the funds to fix the heat pump program?
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- Feb/2/24 11:45:30 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, it is an absolutely amazing thing to see how popular the greener homes grant has been, as well as the greener homes loans. Canadians across the country have been taking this opportunity to better insulate their homes and to switch to heat pumps, all of which reduces their heating bills at the end of the day, at the same time as protecting our environment. We have a continued commitment to work toward green buildings right across our country. We will be having an update soon. Please watch for it.
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- Feb/2/24 11:45:59 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, earlier this week, I had the pleasure of joining the ministers of justice and of public safety in York Region to announce $121 million in funding to combat guns, gangs and organized crime in Ontario. In the city of Vaughan and in many big cities across the country, auto theft is a growing problem and one that is becoming increasingly violent.
Can the Minister of Public Safety please reassure my constituents and all Canadians and tell us how the government plans to tackle this issue?
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- Feb/2/24 11:46:32 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, I thank the hon. member for Vaughan—Woodbridge for standing up for safety in his community and joining the Minister of Public Safety to address auto theft, which is a serious problem that requires collaboration and an all-hands-on-deck approach with our provincial and municipal partners.
Canadians are understandably concerned for their safety, and they expect elected officials to put their partisanship aside and work together. That is why our government is working with local partners, including the police, while the Leader of the Opposition insults the individuals who have taken an oath—
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- Feb/2/24 11:47:05 a.m.
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The hon. member for Parry Sound—Muskoka.
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- Feb/2/24 11:47:09 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, after eight years of this NDP-Liberal government, the doom and gloom in the housing market is worse than ever. Fewer homes were built last year than the year before. Vacancy rates are at all-time lows, and rent is at an all-time high. Instead of removing the gatekeepers who block building, the Liberals cut them big cheques. In fact, the first four photo ops the housing minister took cost Canadians $300 million.
How much longer will they be cutting big cheques before a single home gets approved or even built?
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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 11:48:24 a.m.
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The hon. member for Parry Sound—Muskoka.
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- Feb/2/24 11:48:26 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, it is hard to take that parliamentary secretary seriously, because he knows full well that with regard to these big expensive photo ops in Mississauga and Toronto, for example, more housing than ever is getting blocked despite them.
Merely weeks after the Prime Minister's $471-million photo op in Toronto, the gatekeepers there said “no” to new housing right next door to a new transit station. Mississauga got a big $113-million cheque after having blocked 17,000 units in 2023. This photo-op Prime Minister is failing Canadians. He is not worth the cost.
When will this government stop buying housing photo ops and start—
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- Feb/2/24 11:49:03 a.m.
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The Honorable Parliementary Secretary.
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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 11:49:45 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, the housing crisis in the Lower St. Lawrence region continues.
After eight years of this government, the region has no available housing, so rents are skyrocketing. Housing costs are increasing by 7%, sometimes even 10% or more. These figures are very alarming.
They are far higher than inflation, and sometimes significantly higher than wages. That suggests renter households may be getting poorer. Why is the Prime Minister doing nothing to lower the cost of housing?
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- Feb/2/24 11:50:16 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, does anyone know what will not incentivize rental housing construction? The member knows. I am talking about their policy of putting the GST back on the construction of new rental apartment buildings. That is their policy. It is in their bill. That is their leader's proposal.
The people who build housing are telling me that removing the GST will incentivize the construction of thousands of housing units. Maybe the member should get his facts straight.
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- Feb/2/24 11:50:47 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, according to what the Governor of the Bank of Canada said yesterday, this Prime Minister's spending is keeping interest rates and inflation high. That will inevitably drive up the cost of housing, mortgage renewals and rent for Canadians and Quebeckers in the coming months.
After eight years in office, this government still does not understand that it would just be common sense to balance the budget in the foreseeable future.
Will the government take action to balance the budget in a predictable manner in the next budget?
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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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