44th Parl. 1st Sess.
April 29, 2024 11:00AM
- Apr/29/24 1:24:30 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I am happy to be here today to talk about the budget, called “Fairness for Every Generation”. A fair chance to build a good middle-class life and to do as well as one's parents, or better, has always been the promise of Canada. Unfortunately, today for too many younger Canadians a fair chance to build a good middle-class life feels out of reach. That is something I hear about, not just from young people, but from their parents and grandparents.
I would like to focus on one of the issues I hear about most, not only in my role as Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Housing, but as the member of Parliament for St. Catharines. That is housing.
When I was speaking to a housing advocate some months ago, he said that the one piece of good news about solving the housing crisis is that, overall, there is one simple solution, unlike many of the crises we face in the country, and that is to build more homes. How we get there is a bit more complicated, but the government has put forward a comprehensive plan.
One of the first things that caught the attention of a lot of my constituents, especially those who are members of a previous generation, is the housing catalogue. We do not need to reinvent the wheel. Solutions can exist that existed in the past. This is not the first time, as the minister has stated, that we have faced a housing crisis. We faced one after the Second World War, with soldiers returning and wanting to have houses of their own, and part of the solution was a housing catalogue.
Just as I go through St. Catharines, I am sure that many of the members here go through their communities as well and can still see those wartime houses that were in a catalogue, which people could just build based on the catalogue that existed. It used the building code to have series of pre-approved houses to shorten the window that it takes to get a house approved and built. This would not just be the strawberry-box houses that we have seen in the past. This would be higher-density, up to quadruplex, and we would see the opportunity of solving the housing crisis that Canadians had when they returned from war. Because we have done it before, we can do it again.
Another item that has been very successful across the country is the housing accelerator fund. We see the Government of Canada working with municipalities that have a bold plan to build more housing. I know the department received a lot of applications on the file, and we entered into agreements with those municipalities that had solid plans.
The City of St. Catharines was one of them, and one of the things I am most excited about is its municipal land development corporation. It might be a bit of a wonky notion, but what better place than the House of Commons to talk about something like that? The City of St. Catharines had no mechanism to help build housing. Surplus land would just be sold to the highest bidder. When I drive through St. Catharines, I see many parcels that have been sold off and are vacant, such as the two old hospital sites. Acres and acres of residential land that is primed for use sits there empty, the city passing up an opportunity to bid on it.
What this new municipal housing corporation would do, funded through the housing accelerator fund, is allow the City of St. Catharines to use those lands, land being one of the biggest costs in developing new housing, to build affordable housing and help sustain the corporation to go forth, get new land and keep building. Profit is not necessarily the motivating factor; it is about getting as many houses built at below-market price as possible, and this municipal housing corporation would really give the City of St. Catharines an opportunity to do that.
We have seen those items across Canada, whether it is permitting issues, these types of corporations or investments by municipalities. There has been significant success in moving the needle and taking that next step forward, and I was happy to see in the budget further funding for the housing accelerator fund.
One thing we know we have to do is to make the math work on building new housing. We know the significant costs of land and the increased costs across the supply chain. That is why we have taken steps to reduce or to remove the GST on purpose-built rentals. That is why the budget is committed to low-interest loans. The government cannot do this on its own. We need the private sector. We need to move the cost of building down further to get these buildings built.
Looking to my own community, the City of St. Catharines and St. Catharines city council are eager to approve housing, eager to approve higher-density housing, and there are thousands of units of approved housing waiting to be built, but the math does not work. We need to do what we can at all levels of government. We are going to work through the budget again on low-interest financing by removing the GST.
Another item is a $6-billion infrastructure fund because housing cannot just be created on its own. We expect that when we turn on a faucet, water will come out, and we expect it to be clean. One thing I hear from municipal officials across the country is that there is a desperate need for more housing-based infrastructure. We cannot build more housing if we do not have the supply of that infrastructure, which is usually water and waste water, and also roads, to get that housing built.
In the Niagara region again, there is so much land that cannot be developed at the moment. That region is waiting for the expansion of a water treatment facility. I have heard about this for a long time, as a member of Parliament, since I took this job, about the need to expand that water treatment facility. It is a priority for me, as I know it is a priority for the residents of Niagara. A water treatment plant in the Niagara region may not seem to be the most exciting issue, but I can see the member for Niagara Falls looking over at me with excitement. Perhaps we are the only two individuals in this place who are excited about it, but this is an opportunity to unlock a lot of housing. It is an opportunity to take pressure off the water system in St. Catharines, and it is an opportunity to develop the lands in Fort Erie and in Niagara Falls, where they are ready to build more housing.
Part of this infrastructure fund is to enter into agreements with the provinces. The federal government can only do so much. Many of the most significant levers at play for building more housing are at the municipal and the provincial levels. We are ready to step up and work with provinces. We have done it in the past. We have done it with the Province of Quebec. I hope the Province of Ontario, my home province, steps up. I know the premier and the minister of housing for the Province of Ontario understand that there is a housing crisis and that more work needs to be done. However, we need them to come to the table in the way that the Government of Quebec did, which matched federal funding when we entered into a deal, with respect to housing.
I hope we see that same level of commitment because I do want to move forward on issues like that water treatment facility, not just in Niagara but also with all the mayors and the council members I have talked to while working on this particular portfolio of housing and infrastructure.
This is a crisis that can be solved, but it will take all levels of government working together. We have shown that we are willing to work with municipalities. We have shown that we can work with the provinces. I just hope we can move the needle forward to work with them all, to get more housing built and to solve this housing crisis. We have a plan.
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- Apr/29/24 3:06:17 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I will agree, insofar as the Conservatives believe that it is essential that we do more to make sure that young people can get into the housing market.
However, the difference between our side and theirs is that they do not have a plan to achieve that reality. The measures they are putting forward include measures that would raise taxes on home building, making it more difficult to build homes in communities, and actually cut funding for programs that are supporting home building today.
We have new measures to create tax-free opportunities for young people to save up for a down payment, new measures that would help young people establish a credit score, and new measures that would reduce their monthly mortgage costs. We will do what it takes to solve the housing crisis. I wish the Conservatives would join us.
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- Apr/29/24 3:10:01 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, our government is making historic efforts to solve Canada's housing crisis. Not only do we need to build more homes, we need to build them faster and Canada must change the way we build those homes.
Could the Minister of Housing, Infrastructure and Communities tell the House and Canadians about the new measures introduced to solve Canada's housing crisis?
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- Apr/29/24 3:10:30 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for her advocacy for housing supports, particularly for the most vulnerable across the city of Halifax.
I am pleased to share that we have put forward a plan to solve Canada's national housing crisis. It includes new measures that will help make it easier to build more homes by reducing the cost and eliminating barriers, including freeing up more public land. It includes more measures to help young people save up for a down payment and to reduce their mortgage costs. It also includes measures to support those who cannot afford to have a roof over their head, including a recent investment of $11 million to build more housing for persons with disabilities and seniors.
We are going to continue to make investments to solve Canada's housing crisis.
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- Apr/29/24 4:16:57 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I will be sharing my time with the member for Ottawa—Vanier.
Budget 2024 is taking bold measures to build more homes, make life more affordable, support those most in need and keep Canadians safe.
The best way to make housing prices more affordable is to build more homes, faster. We are cutting red tape, fast-tracking development, converting public lands into housing and using innovative technologies to build smarter. Our plan will unlock 3.87 million new homes by 2031.
For renters, we are putting home ownership back in reach. We are helping them save for their first down payment tax-free. We are giving renters credit for rental payments, so when it comes time to apply for that first mortgage, they will have a better chance of qualifying. We are also protecting affordable units and creating thousands more across Canada.
We are strengthening Canada's social safety net for every generation. Ten-dollar-a-day child care is already saving parents thousands of dollars a year and giving young Canadians the security to start their own families. Our affordable child care and family-focused programs are also smart economic policy, supporting a record-high labour force participation rate for working-aged women of 85.4%.
New programs such as the Canada dental care plan, the national school food program, the Canada disability benefit and national pharmacare, including insulin and contraceptives, will help Canadians realize even more savings and improve health outcomes.
The Canadian economy is outperforming expectations. Both the IMF and OECD project that Canada will see the strongest economic growth in the G7 in 2025. In the face of higher interest rates, Canada has avoided the recession that some had predicted. Headline inflation has fallen significantly from its June 2022 peak to 2.8% in February 2024, and it is projected to fall even further throughout the year. Canada is also maintaining the lowest net debt- and deficit-to-GDP ratios in the G7, preserving Canada's long-term fiscal sustainability.
I would like to talk about some of the measures contained in the budget.
I already mentioned housing, an issue that requires an all-hands-on-deck approach. I know that home ownership is out of reach for many young Canadians. We have a plan to build a Canada that works better for every generation, and we will work with all levels of government and the private sector to get more homes built faster.
I am proud to have been part of the efforts of our government to ban assault-style firearms in 2020. We are now moving forward with a plan to buy these assault weapons back from retailers and Canadians to ensure that they never fall into the hands of criminals. We are also providing funding to modernize the telephone and case management systems of the RCMP, something advocates have long asked for.
PolySeSouvient has said that they are “pleased to see that the federal government has reiterated its commitment to implement the long-awaited buyback program for firearm models prohibited in 2020”. It has also said, “the government remains determined to deliver on its promise to Canadians to remove these dangerous guns from circulation”.
One issue that has impacted those in Oakville and Burlington, as well as other communities across the country, is auto theft, and this has been a top priority for me. As former parliamentary secretary of public safety, I have been pleased to see the government take such strong and rapid action to combat auto theft, particularly over the last few years. These actions have yielded tangible results.
Earlier this month, representatives from the Canada Border Services Agency, alongside police forces from Ontario and Quebec, announced remarkable progress in intercepting vehicle theft in Canada through Project Vector. They reported the recovery of 598 vehicles, with an estimated value of $34.5 million, that were designated for illegal exportation. Budget 2024 cracks down further on auto theft by establishing new criminal offences and providing the government with greater authority to prohibit or restrict the importation and sale of the devices used by auto thieves.
While I am disappointed that budget 2024 did not fund the Canada disability benefit at the level that many disability advocates had called for, I am also happy to see that this transformative investment has been made. Funding for the Canada disability benefit is the single largest line item in budget 2024, which demonstrates our government's strong commitment to ensuring a meaningful benefit that enables people with disabilities to participate in the labour force, grow our economy, have better outcomes and be full participants in all aspects of society and our communities.
I will continue to call for more for people with disabilities, but in these tight fiscal times, this is a meaningful initial investment to get this benefit flowing to those who need it. Moreover, it will bring provinces and territories to the table.
The government remains devoted in its commitment to protect the rights and dignities of all Canadians, fostering an inclusive Canada that is welcoming for all, regardless of race, faith, sexual orientation, gender identity or disability. Hate has no place in Canada. Everyone deserves to feel safe in their home, on the street, in places of worship and in local communities across our country. Budget 2024 invests in and scales up efforts to combat hate in order to strengthen the resiliency of our communities and institutions so that, together, we can build safer, more vibrant and inclusive communities.
I have been working to see our government implement a national red dress alert that would notify the public when an indigenous woman, girl or two-spirit person goes missing. In budget 2023, the government made investments to launch a red dress alert. Since then, I have been part of our government's engagement with provinces, territories and indigenous partners, to co-develop the national red dress alert. The government heard the need for specific, regionally tailored approaches to meet the diverse needs of indigenous communities across the country.
To move forward on this needed national alert system, budget 2024 proposes to provide $1.3 million over three years to co-develop, with indigenous partners, a regional red dress alert pilot system.
The budget implementation act would include required legislative changes to implement budget 2024 that address and prevent unintended and harmful uses of therapeutic products, such as addictive nicotine replacement therapies, from being marketed to youth. It would also amend the Tobacco and Vaping Products Act to implement a tobacco cost recovery framework. This framework would increase the tobacco industry's accountability by ensuring that tobacco companies contribute to the government's costs of responding to the tobacco epidemic and allow Health Canada to introduce new compliance and enforcement tools. Both measures have long been called for by the Lung Health Alliance and the Canadian lung foundation.
According to the Canadian Cancer Society, the increase in the tax rate for e-cigarettes in budget 2024 will help protect youth from nicotine addiction. It supports this measure to counter high rates of youth vaping.
Non-emitting nuclear energy is one of the key tools in helping the world reach net-zero emissions by 2050. Canada stands out as one of the few countries to have developed and deployed its own nuclear technology, the CANDU, and the robust Canadian supply chains built around CANDU not only generate high-skilled jobs and foster research and development but also play a role in creating affordable and clean electricity.
Canada's nuclear sector also produces medical isotopes, which are essential for radiation therapy and diagnosing heart disease. Canadian Nuclear Laboratories conducts nuclear science research that helps advance clean energy and medical technologies, as well as environmental remediation and waste management of historic nuclear sites. Budget 2024 proposes to provide $3.1 billion over 11 years to support ongoing nuclear science research, environmental protection and site remediation work.
I have long been a supporter and advocate for the entire Terry Fox organization, including the Terry Fox Humanitarian Award program. This program, first established in 1982 in honour of Terry Fox, is a national scholarship program that awards scholarships to university students who exemplify the humanitarian ideals of Terry Fox by volunteering and giving back to their communities. The Terry Fox Humanitarian Award recognizes some of the best and brightest Canada has to offer. To support the program to expand on its important mission by increasing the value and number of awards for Canadian students, budget 2024 proposes to provide $10 million to the Terry Fox Humanitarian Award.
Kids cannot learn if their bellies are empty. In Halton, two amazing organizations, Halton Food For Thought and Food4Kids Halton, ensure that students are not going hungry. With the creation of a national school food program, we are filling the gap to support our kids. The Ontario Public School Boards' Association has said it is “extremely pleased to see the federal government's investment of $1 billion over five years to support a new National School Food Program.”
These are just a few measures contained in budget 2024. There are real challenges facing our country, which demand sensible, practical solutions. It is our government that has actually put forward a plan to address these challenges, focusing on investments in Canadians.
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