44th Parl. 1st Sess.
February 7, 2024 02:00PM
- Feb/7/24 2:26:14 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, there are hundreds of millions of dollars for bureaucracy. We do not need bureaucracy, which has grown by 50% since this Prime Minister took office. We need housing.
According to his housing agency, there will be a shortage of 3.5 million homes. However, this week, the CBC said that there will be a shortage of five million homes, since we expect massive population growth and a drop in construction.
Where are those five million families going to live?
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- Feb/7/24 2:28:11 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, our housing ambition can be best summed up by the Conservative member for Dufferin—Caledon who said that it seems that every day our Minister of Housing has a new program, a new announcement or a new cheque for Canadians. That is exactly right.
We continue to work hand in hand with Canadians and with municipalities across the country, municipalities he would rather insult, to get more homes built faster. The investments we are making, including things like taking the GST off purpose-built rental housing, which the Conservatives voted against, will continue to create more homes for Canadians right across the country.
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- Feb/7/24 2:28:53 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, people cannot live in announcements and programs; they need homes that have walls, floors and ceilings. The Prime Minister doing another selfie in front of a construction site will not do that. In fact, construction was down 28% in December.
After eight years of the Prime Minister's promises and spending, will he accept our common-sense plan to build homes and not bureaucracy?
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- Feb/7/24 3:13:05 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the Leader of the Opposition likes to talk about the challenges Canadians are facing, and while we are busy solving them, he is proposing nonsensical solutions.
Let us talk about the Conservative leader's housing plan. It would not build homes fast enough. It would not reach enough cities. It would create unnecessary bureaucracy. He would also rip up our housing accelerator agreements, which are unlocking half a million new homes, and would put the GST back on apartment construction.
Housing experts like Mike Moffatt say his plan is exceptionally weak and a sign that the “Conservatives don't understand the...scale of the housing crisis.”
We will take no lessons from—
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- Feb/7/24 3:13:46 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the results speak for themselves. When I was the housing minister, rent was $950. It is now over $2,000. When I was the housing minister, the average mortgage payment on a newly purchased home was $1,400. It is now over $3,500.
My common-sense plan would require cities to permit 15% more homebuilding as a condition of getting federal money. It would require that they build housing around transit stations rather than having empty fields there. It would require the sale of 6,000 federal buildings and thousands of acres of federal land to build.
Why will the Prime Minister not build homes instead of building bureaucracy?
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- Feb/7/24 3:18:33 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, just a few days ago, we reinforced and extended our foreign homebuyer ban to make sure that homes in Canada are used by Canadians to live in, not as investment vehicles for foreign entities or foreign owners.
This is part of our broad plan, which invests in more housing, that increases supply and ensures that families are able to afford the future they want to build for their kids in their communities right across the country. We are stepping up on housing. We will continue to do so while the Conservatives have no plan.
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- Feb/7/24 7:52:44 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, today I want to speak about the fact that so many Canadians are suffering from losing or potentially losing their housing.
Recently in the House, I asked the housing minister what the government was going to do about keeping seniors in their rental homes as many of the affordable rental homes for seniors are being gutted for luxury condos. Luxury condo developers are buying up land, getting it rezoned and upzoned, and displacing the people who have lived in those homes for 10, 20, 30 years, and sometimes longer.
I was at a redevelopment where a 70-year-old senior asked if I could help find a long-term care home, because a developer had come and bought up that low-rise rental housing and there was nowhere for that senior to go.
I was talking to an educational assistant in her 60s who wants to retire, but is being displaced in my community of Port Moody—Coquitlam. She told me that she has nowhere to go. She has spent her entire career supporting families in this community, sibling after sibling. She loves the community, but is being pushed out by greed.
I think about the fact that the government continues to miss the mark on supporting and protecting rental homes. Conservatives lost 800,000 affordable homes. Liberals have done nothing to make up for those losses and it is affecting people on the ground.
I also want to talk about transit. We know that we need more public transit investment. The Liberal government is so far behind on its investments in communities, it would much rather spend its money on greedy CEOs who want new freezers than make sure that EAs and the seniors who have lived in our communities forever are being displaced. That is where the Liberals are focused. That is what they want to do.
Therefore, I am here today to ask the Liberal government this. Why it is so hard for it to invest in communities and people? Why is it missing the boat on transit? The Metro Vancouver mayors have been here advocating for a transit investment. The infrastructure minister said that they will get it two years from now. That is not good enough. If they do not get the money for two years, they cannot even build for another two on top of that.
What is the Liberal government doing to make sure that communities are kept whole, and that people have a place to live and transit to use?
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- Feb/7/24 7:55:50 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, it is quite the contrary. The government has made historic investments in transit infrastructure.
Though my prepared remarks and the question were originally based on housing, I am happy to have a conversation with the hon. member on the transit investments not only in British Columbia, but throughout the country.
The Government of Canada shares the hon. member's concern with respect to housing that far too many Canadians are struggling to keep a roof over their head, and those affected most are our most vulnerable neighbours. That is why we are urgently addressing this issue.
Finding solutions to Canada's housing crisis is one of our top priorities. We are already making deep investments in affordable housing through the national housing strategy. This $82-billion plan focuses, first and foremost, on providing housing for our most vulnerable neighbours: women and children fleeing family violence, seniors, indigenous peoples, people with disabilities, those dealing with mental health and addiction issues, veterans and young adults.
The rapid housing initiative, for example, is expected to create more than 15,500 permanent affordable homes across the country. These homes are being built rapidly to address the most urgent needs of those experiencing or at risk of homelessness. Several cities in my colleague's province have already benefited from this funding, including Vancouver, Surrey and Burnaby.
The national housing co-investment fund is another program geared toward helping our most vulnerable populations. It provides low-cost loans and contributions to non-profit organizations to build affordable housing. It has already committed funding to build close to 40,000 new homes and repair more than 126,000 existing homes.
In addition, our new housing accelerator fund will provide incentives to municipalities to make the changes they need to get more homes built faster. This will help clear up red tape and make the zoning changes needed to quickly get more shovels in the ground.
At the same time, we know more must be done because, while the NHS is on track to meet its goals, it is not enough. Far too many Canadians continue to struggle to find adequate and affordable housing. We are rolling up our sleeves and working even harder and smarter with partners across the housing sector to make a difference.
The recently announced GST exemption and additional financing available through Canada Mortgage Bonds recently announced by Finance Canada will also help spur construction of purpose-built rentals. This will go a long way to addressing the shortage of rental homes, bringing down rents for middle-income and low-income Canadians alike.
I invite my colleague and all members of this House to work with their communities to make the most of the national housing strategy programs and other initiatives.
I also invite all members to stay tuned for news of more of the measures we will be introducing to address Canada's urgent housing shortage and bring back housing affordability for all.
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