44th Parl. 1st Sess.
February 14, 2024 02:00PM
- Feb/14/24 2:36:37 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, obviously the relevant authorities need to follow up on this and get to the bottom of exactly how this unacceptable situation happened.
In the meantime, on this side of the House, we are going to continue to focus on making life more affordable for Canadians, for example by attracting thousands of health care workers by increasing by 50% student loan forgiveness for rural doctors and nurses, by fast-tracking the construction of more than 51,000 homes, and by finalizing the housing accelerator agreements with over 60 small and rural communities.
While the Conservative Party continues to block these initiatives, we are going to continue to step up for Canadians.
112 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Feb/14/24 2:50:27 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, while the common-sense Conservative Party is focused on cutting taxes, building housing, fixing the budget and stopping crime, this Prime Minister's radical Minister of Environment is launching a war on cars. He said that their government has decided to stop investing in new road infrastructure.
How does he think people in the regions are going to get to work? By bike?
65 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Feb/14/24 3:03:00 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister is not worth the cost of housing, which has doubled since he took office. Today, we learned on Rentals.ca that rent reached a new high in January at $2,196 a month. That is a 10% increase in one year.
When will he learn that funding bureaucracy instead of housing will not address the cost of housing?
63 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Feb/14/24 3:03:35 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, the Leader of the Opposition keeps showing that he does not even understand the programs that he intends to cut.
With our housing accelerator fund, we are investing in municipalities' capacity to build more houses faster by speeding up densification, making zoning changes, issuing permits and moving forward in a way that creates more opportunities to build more homes.
The Leader of the Opposition refuses to understand that, rather than making cuts, this is how we are going to resolve the housing crisis.
85 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Feb/14/24 3:04:18 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, let us talk about that program. Since it was created two years ago, rent has increased by 20% across the country. At the Standing Committee on Finance yesterday, the Minister of Housing was asked how many homes have been built through the accelerator fund. The answer is zero.
The minister said the program does not build houses specifically. Those were his words.
If it costs $4 billion to build no houses, how much would it cost to build one?
82 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Feb/14/24 3:04:57 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, the Leader of the Opposition just proved that he does not even understand the programs he is proposing to abolish.
Yes, we are investing $4 billion in municipalities across the country to speed up densification and housing construction and cut red tape in order to build more homes faster. That is exactly what we are doing. We are creating opportunities. More than half a million homes will be built in the next few years. The Leader of the Opposition is proposing to abolish everything because he only cares about cuts.
93 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Feb/14/24 3:08:01 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, after eight years, the Prime Minister is not worth the cost of housing, which has doubled as he has built bureaucracies that block homes. In January, according data out today, rent was up 10% year over year to $2,196, an astonishing increase in a very short time. In fact, it is up about 20% in the last two years alone, and it has been accelerating ever since he recently named his incompetent housing minister.
Will the Prime Minister follow our common-sense plan to cut the bureaucracy and build the homes?
94 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Feb/14/24 3:08:41 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, Canadians know that cuts from the Conservative leader would not get more homes built. If he were really concerned about rents, he would line up behind us and support the removal of the GST on new apartment construction. That is something they actually voted against. We know that unlocking a greater supply of housing, including with purpose-built apartment buildings across the country, is a way of bringing down rents for people. That is a concrete solution we put forward that the Conservatives chose to vote against for political gain and for political reasons.
We are going to continue to be there to do the hard work of delivering for Canadians, while he relies on catchy slogans and misunderstanding of what it is he is choosing to cut.
130 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Feb/14/24 3:09:25 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, we were the ones who proposed taking the tax off home building, the one good idea that he finally copied. However, the Prime Minister talks about slogans. One is the housing accelerator fund, the $4-billion program that was supposed to speed up housing. We asked the housing minister yesterday in committee how many homes it had completed, and the answer is zero, nada and nothing. He said, “It doesn't actually lead to the construction of specific homes.”
It cost $4 billion to build zero homes. How much would it cost to build one?
99 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Feb/14/24 3:10:04 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, once again, we have the clear proof that the Leader of the Opposition does not even understand the proposals that he is counting on cutting, that he is promising to cut, from Canadians.
The housing accelerator fund is about investing in municipalities across the country to change the frame around which they build homes faster. It involves eliminating red tape, increasing densification, changing zoning and making sure we can unlock far more house construction than any federal government could build on its own. This is the approach that we are taking, and it is working.
97 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Feb/14/24 3:11:22 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, the only tool that the Leader of the Conservative Party has put forward is cutting: cutting programs in order to somehow create more homes. What we are actually doing is investing, in partnership with municipalities, to eliminate red tape, to accelerate the construction of homes, to increase densification and to change zoning so that more houses can be built.
If he wants to talk about a number, half a million new homes are being facilitated by the housing accelerator fund right across the country. We have signed these over the past months. Construction is already under way across the country.
102 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Feb/14/24 3:16:06 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, he actually spoke the truth, maybe by accident. He said that, after eight years, life sucks for the very middle class and those working hard to join it to whom he promised so much. He taxed their grocery bills with a quadrupling carbon tax. He doubled housing costs after promising to lower them. He unleashed a crime wave across the country. Now that he admits life sucks under his leadership, why will he not accept our common-sense plan to axe the tax, build the homes, fix the budget and stop the crime?
95 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Feb/14/24 3:16:47 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, Canadians understand that these are complicated times and that governments need to step up with real solutions. Responsible leadership is about recognizing the challenges people are facing and putting forward solutions to fix them. Whether it is a housing accelerator that is getting half a million homes built over the coming years; whether it is child care that is saving thousands of dollars for families right across the country, as we help more women get into the workforce; whether it is fighting climate change in a way that puts more money into people's pockets and builds stronger careers for the future, we are putting forward solutions. He is doing nothing but attack—
116 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Feb/14/24 4:38:56 p.m.
- Watch
Madam Speaker, it is an honour to rise to present a petition that, first of all, notes that housing is a human right.
The petitioners go on to note that both the Government of Ontario and the Government of Canada have consistently failed to adequately fund social housing. They say that research, specific to the housing first model, notes housing formerly unsheltered folks consistently improves their health and quality of life, even to the point where these improved life outcomes lead to a reduction in costs in other areas of government. They also note a Scotiabank report found that even if Canada were to double its social housing stock, we would still be around the peer average for social housing in the OECD.
The petitioners go on to note that the lack of action by one level of government should not excuse the lack of action by another. As a result, the petitioners are calling on both the Government of Canada and the Government of Ontario to work together to double the current social housing stock in Ontario.
178 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
