Senator Housakos: The only people exercising rhetoric are in your government. Senator Gold, your own Minister of Housing has recognized that this government and Canadians need to lower their expectations. It doesn’t take a genius to realize this — just go out there and speak to young Canadians who can’t rent an apartment, let alone buy a house.

Right now, young Canadians, first-time buyers, need to amortize their mortgage for 200 years to pay for a house in this country. Don’t lecture me about business principles in this country because you know damn well, from speaking to young Canadians, that they have never had it harder than today when it comes to buying a home.

Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate): Well, coming from someone with a business background, a question that evidences such minimal understanding of the economics of the housing market is really stunning.

The government is delivering on its plan to double housing construction to make housing more affordable. Since announcing the new measures of the Tax-Free Savings Account, or TFSA, in April, over 150,000 Canadians have opened a First Home Savings Account, or FHSA.

The actions taken by this government to remove federal GST on the construction of new rental apartment buildings, while urging all provinces to follow suit, has unlocked entrepreneurial willingness across the country. Indeed, it has also unlocked $20 billion in new financing to build 30,000 more apartments per year. In addition, the government announced Housing Accelerator Fund agreements with the cities of Hamilton, London and Vaughan, and it continues to have discussions with other communities.

This is real leadership. This is practical, on-the-ground leadership to address a problem that affects all Canadians and demands proper solutions — not rhetoric.