44th Parl. 1st Sess.
February 8, 2024 10:00AM
- Feb/8/24 12:55:35 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from Salaberry—Suroît, our party whip, for her speech, which was very compassionate. She clearly explained the full continuum of services that we need to provide to ensure that these people who enrich our communities are welcomed in a compassionate way. I am experiencing the same thing in my riding.
Unlike the Leader of the Opposition, I would like my whip to talk more about the fact that we cannot reduce the immigration issue to a simple matter of housing. It is much more than that. It is a full continuum of services, including health care services, for which the government needs to increase transfers, and day care services.
We cannot reduce immigration to a matter of housing or say that immigration alone is responsible for the housing crisis. That is not true. It goes beyond that.
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- Feb/8/24 1:19:17 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, in her speech, my colleague talked about the importance of being able to integrate newcomers. That is precisely the crux of our motion. It is to have consultations that will allow for a bit of predictability. What happens is that Canada sets targets, but then we have to try to meet those targets and we realize that we do not have that capacity.
We are not the only ones saying so. CMHC mentioned the number of housing units that would be needed so that they are not in short supply. Academics have talked about the added pressure. Toronto has sounded the alarm. On the ground, we feel that we are not able to meet these targets because integration capacity was not taken into consideration.
What is it about our motion that my colleague does not agree with? What we want is a comprehensive discussion on integrating immigrants, because it is not just a financial issue. It is a matter of ensuring that we can meet the goals my colleague aims for, namely the proper integration of people who have made the difficult choice to leave their previous lives behind to come and find a welcoming country here.
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- Feb/8/24 1:49:27 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, once again, I very much appreciated my colleague's speech. I believe it is Montérégie Day today. It is very important to highlight our region and the importance of immigrants in our region. I am going to repeat the question I asked earlier.
My colleague spoke about housing issues. I would like to talk about Quebeckers who are waiting for their spouses, who are abroad. These people do not have housing issues. Often, they even have a job waiting for them here in Canada. I would like my colleague to tell us about this situation. Apparently, Quebec has set a target, and people are stuck. There is a long waiting list because of Quebec's criteria.
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- Feb/8/24 1:50:29 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to come back to what I was saying, which is that the discussion on levels must be comprehensive and must also take place outside the provinces, because there is something called interprovincial migration. All of that has to be taken into account. The housing problem is critical, regardless of immigration categories. People who have always lived here are also struggling to find housing.
Take, for example, the situation in Saint‑Jean‑sur‑Richelieu, which I mentioned in my last speech. In a newspaper article, it was reported that many asylum seekers who had entered the country through Roxham Road went to Montreal, but then ended up going back to Saint‑Jean‑sur‑Richelieu because the city was welcoming, rent was a bit cheaper and it was easier to find work. Sometimes they had developed local ties, but there was still a housing shortage for these people.
It is even more urgent now. This week, it was announced that the vacancy rate in Saint‑Jean‑sur‑Richelieu is 0.4%. There are currently only 56 housing units available in Saint‑Jean‑sur‑Richelieu, which has a population of 100,000. It does not matter who the people looking for housing are; the problem exists. This needs to be taken into consideration when determining integration capacity as part of a comprehensive discussion with everyone, especially the people on the ground.
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- Feb/8/24 2:23:37 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, after eight years of this Liberal government, the housing crisis is hitting all Canadians hard.
Take Quebec City, for example. The average rent has increased by more than 19% over the past year. It will take twice as long to pay off a mortgage. They will need up to 25 years to be able to put aside the down payment to buy a house. That is the reality Canadians are facing after eight years of this Liberal government.
What are the Liberals doing? They are the undisputed champions of photo ops. When will they champion real action to build houses and apartments?
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- Feb/8/24 2:24:16 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, if there is one thing the Conservatives are champions at, it is insulting mayors. The last time we heard from the Conservative leader, he was insulting the mayors of Quebec City and Montreal, who are working with us to create more affordable housing.
On this side of the House, we believe in having programs, building affordable housing, as well as working with the provinces and with Canada's mayors. Canadians understand that we need to work together to tackle the housing problem. That is exactly what we are going to do.
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- Feb/8/24 2:24:53 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, for eight years, this government has insulted Canadians with its housing record, which is dismal right now. Even the president of CMHC acknowledges that this government has no plan to turn things around.
Housing starts have dropped by 28% over the past year. That is the Liberal reality. We will take no lessons from this minister.
When are they going to stop holding press conferences and photo ops? When are they going to take real action to build houses and apartments? That is what Canadians want.
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- Feb/8/24 2:51:34 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, after eight years of the NDP-Liberal government, Canadians are literally living in housing hell. Rent has doubled. Mortgage payments have doubled. The cost to buy a house has almost doubled. It takes 25 years now to save for a down payment. It is no wonder there are tent cities all across this country.
When will the Liberals realize people cannot live in an announcement, a photo op or a press release, and support our common-sense Conservative plan to get houses built?
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- Feb/8/24 2:52:11 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it is unfortunate that the member contradicts himself every time he speaks. Just a few days ago, he was praising the federal government's record on housing. Today, he critiques it.
Let me offer something else regarding contradiction. He talks about the challenges of homelessness, which admittedly are unacceptable in this country, and unaffordability in housing, which is unacceptable in this country, yet he voted against every measure the government has put forward to address them.
The national housing strategy is there. It is yielding results, and it will do more. We are working with municipalities to incent changes at the local level with respect to zoning. He has voted against it and so have they.
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- Feb/8/24 2:52:51 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, one knows the Liberals' housing plan is an utter disaster when the only support they can find for it is to misquote a member of the opposition. That is how bad it actually is.
Here are the facts: Housing investments in December were down another 18%. There are all these fake Liberal announcements and photo ops, and guess what? Fewer houses are getting built. The Liberal Prime Minister is not worth the cost, because his announcements mean nothing.
Will the Liberals finally realize they have caused housing hell in this country, and support our common-sense Conservative plan to get houses built?
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- Feb/8/24 2:53:33 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, those are more slogans from the member and the party opposite.
What do we see on our side? We are putting serious measures forward to work with municipalities. Across the country, over 500 municipalities have applied for the housing accelerator fund. We have completed deals with 30 municipalities, working with mayors, not denigrating them.
What do we hear on the other side? We hear no plan at all. Conservatives want to tax homebuilding, for example. That will not lead to more homes built. What is another big idea? They want a snitch line for residents to rat on their neighbours if there are concerns around NIMBY. That is not at all how one gets change.
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- Feb/8/24 2:54:14 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, after eight years of the NDP-Liberal government, the costs of rent and mortgage payments have doubled. This was at a time when housing starts were down in 2023.
Even if the Liberals' plan were to come to fruition, CIBC has reported that the plan falls 1.5 million homes short of restoring affordability. People are in a cost of living crisis, yet the Liberal housing minister jumps from one photo op to another. No government has ever spent so much to achieve so little.
When will the government build homes, not bureaucracy?
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- Feb/8/24 2:54:54 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, on this side of the House we are taking a comprehensive approach to building more housing. That means increasing supply. We are eliminating the GST on purpose-built rentals. We have struck deals with over 30 municipalities from coast to coast in order to ensure that we are getting more supply in the system.
We will make sure we are there for vulnerable Canadians and the middle class. All the while, the Conservatives on the other side of the House vote against measures to support Canadians. That is not our approach. We will always be there for Canada.
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- Feb/8/24 2:55:30 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, after eight years under this government, the price of homes has doubled, rent has doubled and this government is not worth the cost. A homeless shelter, the Bercail, in Saint‑George in Beauce, says that it is overwhelmed by requests for rooms in 2024.
The government keeps abandoning Canadians when it comes to housing. It needs to get out of the way and allow the municipalities to prosper like they are in Victoriaville, Saguenay and Trois‑Rivières.
Why does the Prime Minister not build more housing instead of building more bureaucracy?
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- Feb/8/24 3:29:38 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I would like to ask a question that I previously asked the former minister of housing, Mr. Hussen, during question period here in the House. It has to do with the Century Initiative, which, when it was launched, announced a goal of increasing Canada's population to 100 million by 2100.
Before the government announced that number, which is absolutely mind-boggling, did anyone ask the Minister of Housing for his thoughts?
This morning, the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce announced that we are no longer just 3.5 million housing units short, but based on the new immigration targets that Canada adopted, we are five million housing units short. I would remind the House that only 250,000 housing units were built last year.
Does my colleague think that the Minister of Housing was involved in the discussions?
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- Feb/8/24 3:30:28 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, the issue of housing construction is very important, not only for immigrants, but also for every Canadian who wants to be able to buy a home.
We must ensure that our infrastructure here in Canada is robust. We must ensure that builders have those approvals in place, which is what we are doing with the housing accelerator fund, to ensure that they can put shovels in the ground and build the homes that not only newcomers want and need but also Canadians want and need in our communities. We need to make sure we can absorb newcomers and they have a place to call home and so forth.
We know our immigration system is between two different streams, permanent and temporary residents, and we always need to balance the needs of workers and the need to build a better and better country we are all blessed to call home.
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- Feb/8/24 3:49:31 p.m.
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Uqaqtittiji, the NDP believes that immigration makes Canada stronger, so we support this motion.
I will read a quote by the premier of Nunavut on immigration. He said, “We do want to welcome new workers to Nunavut, but our immense housing shortage is the biggest obstacle we face today.”
In an effort to have Nunavut welcome immigrants, will the member support increasing investments in housing so it can do the same as other provinces and territories?
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- Feb/8/24 3:50:19 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I agree that housing and health care are important elements in ensuring that new arrivals to Canada are confident that we have proper systems in place.
The Minister of Housing was actually just in that hon. member's riding to announce housing for Nunavut. I noticed that she voted against the fall economic statement and the measures that actually contain the housing for Nunavut that was announced just recently.
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- Feb/8/24 4:14:19 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I particularly enjoyed the end of my colleague's speech, the part about compassion.
This is because of not her comments or because of the motion the Bloc is presenting, but in some Quebec media, some columnists are using a sort of intellectual shortcut and conflating higher immigration with the housing crisis we are experiencing, as if immigrants arriving today were responsible for the shortcomings of the past 30 years in terms of investment in social and co-operative housing.
We see the vacancy rates in Montreal and Rimouski. If there is 0% housing available in Rimouski, it is not because of immigration.
I would like my colleague to comment on this shell game that is being played to try to blame immigrants for a crisis that the federal Liberal government caused in 1994 when it stopped investing in social housing.
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- Feb/8/24 4:15:09 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, the member for Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie is right about one thing. The housing crisis cannot be blamed solely on immigration. No one here is doing that. Perhaps some media outlets are, but I completely disagree with them.
The housing crisis is not just due to immigration. It is due to a lot of other things, as I mentioned in my speech. The current economic climate is not conducive to building housing. In recent years, housing was not built at times when there was less immigration. During the pandemic, we were unable to build housing. Even before that, housing was not built. For nearly a decade, we have been behind on our housing construction targets.
However, it is important to note that immigration does have an impact on demand. It may not be solely due to immigration, but immigration does affect the demand for housing. Thus, there may be a mild to moderate impact that is related to immigration and that must be considered in our capacity to integrate newcomers.
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