- Member of Parliament
- Member of Parliament
- Conservative
- Peterborough—Kawartha
- Ontario
- Voting Attendance: 67%
- Expenses Last Quarter: $106,196.43
- Government Page
- Oct/16/23 2:58:29 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, after eight years of the Prime Minister, Canadians cannot afford a house. That is the reality, and we will continue to vote against inflationary spending that is driving up household debt.
Canadians are paying more on the interest on their debt. They cannot afford a home. This is from Vicky: “My single 30-plus daughter and two grandkids just moved in because she could no longer afford her $2,500-plus rent. She had to give up her job to move back into town with me, so I'm basically supporting all three.”
When will the Liberals learn how to manage money, decide about monetary policy and actually build homes, not bureaucracy?
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- Oct/16/23 2:56:53 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, Canadians and Conservatives all know that after eight years of the Prime Minister, he is just not worth the cost, but the Liberals and the NDP are still not receiving this message. For those who do not believe me, take a look at the headlines: “Average rent went up another 11% in past year—and even getting a roommate doesn't help much”.
“Canada's rental crisis is getting worse, according to a new report that found the average asking price for rent in September was $2,149—up by more than 11 per cent compared with a year ago.”
It is enough. When will the Prime Minister stop his inflationary spending so Canadians can actually afford housing?
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- Mar/6/23 2:54:57 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, nine out of 10 young Canadians have completely given up the hope of ever owning a home. Why is that? It is because, under this Prime Minister, housing and rental prices have doubled. The average monthly mortgage payment for a Canadian family is $3,000. This is outrageous. Canadian families are suffering. Food is up 12%. The time for change is long overdue.
Will the Prime Minister show some leadership, step down and take accountability or get out of the way so we can fix what he has broken?
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- Oct/21/22 1:47:58 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, as always, it is an honour to stand in the House of Commons to represent the constituents of Peterborough—Kawartha. Today I rise to speak on Motion No. 59 put forward by the member for London West. I appreciate her passion and initiative on this motion. The motion calls on the government to work with all relevant stakeholders in upholding a federal framework to improve access to adaptable, affordable housing for individuals with non-visible disabilities.
We have an intersection of crises in this country. We have a mental health crisis. We have an addiction crisis. We have an affordability crisis, with interest rates on the rise. We have a definition of affordable housing that is 80% of fair market value. That is not affordable to most people. We have a housing crisis and we have a homelessness crisis across this country. None of these things are exclusive to each other. They have one common thread: housing.
The national housing strategy put forth by the Liberal government is an epic failure. I absolutely support this motion and I support the work that is being done, but it is imperative that we speak up and call out why we are even in this position to have this motion put forth in the first place. This should have been built into the national housing strategy. Why, five years later, is this being put forth as a motion? It is absurd. It is a rinse-and-repeat cycle of the Liberal government, which is constantly in reactive mode instead of thinking ahead.
Last Friday, I went to a homelessness crisis meeting in my riding of Peterborough—Kawartha. The winter months are upon us and I know that across this country members from all ridings will agree with me that they probably have vulnerable people in their riding that will freeze to death because we do not have a sustainable strategy in place for housing and, in particular to this member's motion, for those with invisible or non-visible disabilities.
We will continue to be in a rinse-and-repeat cycle if we do not think ahead. Not thinking ahead means housing is absolutely a basic human need. If housing is put in place for people who have non-visible disabilities without supports, they will be put into a rinse-and-repeat cycle and it is just wasting money.
Yesterday, I met with members of the FASD rural network, the fetal alcohol spectrum disorder network. For those who do not know what fetal alcohol spectrum disorder is, it is when a fetus is exposed to alcohol because the mother has consumed alcohol. The spectrum is very significant, ranging from visible to non-visible. Many people live in our society without being diagnosed properly and they need supports like many people. Think of it like autism or somebody with mental health issues. If they do not have the support, understanding, diagnosis or access to the supports they need, they will not succeed.
It is our job as the government to put policies in place and make it accessible to access the money that is supposed to be there. Under the national housing strategy, it is a nightmare to access a lot of this funding. CMHC needs a complete overhaul. Reaching home is a program designed to say that it does good things, but it is not delivering what it is meant to deliver.
Since 2015, the average home prices have nearly doubled and show no signs of slowing down. In the past year alone, average house prices have increased by over 28%. Canada now has the second-most inflated housing bubble in the world. The current national housing strategy has been in place for five years, and we are currently 1.8 million homes short across this country. We have yet to see the details, like many other programs by the Liberal government, of the $4-billion housing accelerator fund that is supposed to help boost the market rate supply of homes and address the numerous barriers to getting more supply online faster.
The programs that have become available through the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation and the national housing strategy have been so inaccessible when it comes to applying for and receiving funding that it is clear the government either is not listening or is not serious about tackling the current housing supply shortage. I can say with certainty that if members were to speak with their constituents and the builders in their ridings, they would hear that these builders are ready to put up houses tomorrow. It is the restrictions under the Liberal government that are preventing the supply that needs to be put out to help these people.
It is important to also hear directly from those who would be impacted the most by this motion. The Canadian Housing and Renewal Association believes that Motion No. 59 is too narrow in scope. Empowering individuals to get ahead requires housing and services that support their individual needs. The NHS has been around for five years and has not met these needs despite advocacy from the housing sector. Why is this finally happening five years in? However, it does support the motion.
My riding of Peterborough—Kawartha was ranked as the most overvalued housing market in Canada, at 107% overvalued, in April 2022. The reason for this was lack of supply. As it stands right now, we are not meeting demand and we have not been building to meet the demand for 30 years. While more houses were being built in 2021 and 2022, two good years certainly do not make up for 30 years of not building enough.
The population in my community has steadily risen due to immigration, but the number of new homes built has fluctuated, and there were a number of years when no new apartment buildings were built in the city of Peterborough at all. We cannot continue to build homes at the same rate as in the 1970s and think we are doing enough. We need all levels of housing built at an expedited rate, with a focus on the missing middle when we look at the housing continuum.
This motion puts a focus on housing for individuals with non-visible disabilities. Still, to fulsomely address this housing shortage we need to look at all levels of housing, from single detached family homes to mid- and high-rise apartments with one bedroom. We even need to look at tiny homes. Every single one of these pieces matters because they free up supply for those who need it most and keep costs down.
What can we do better to address the current lack of housing across our country? As I have outlined in this speech today, one is the timely release of funding programs once they are announced. Housing cannot wait for a flashy headline. Another is easier applications. Many of the organizations that are applying for funding for affordable units are grassroots not-for-profits on shoestring budgets that many times are hiring staff solely to fill out applications and waiting extended periods to hear if they were successful. It is such a ridiculous system.
We need to create service standards with transparency on successful applications, and accountability on how many dollars remain in specific funds and where funds are going. If we have learned one thing already in this Parliament, it is that the government needs to be accountable for wasteful spending. There is money that can be used properly and not for reckless spending. That is where we are losing taxpayer money. The ArriveCAN app should have cost $250,000 but cost $54 million, and we do not even know where that money is. How many homes could have been built with that money?
The last solution I would like to propose has been suggested for many years by several organizations. This is the key to leadership, which is missing. We need to listen and we need to act. What has been proposed is a permanent national housing round table made up of all stakeholders in the housing sphere. If we are not listening to the experts on the front lines, how do we think we can make the decisions that would best suit Canadians? It is our job to bring their voices here, not take Ottawa's voice to them. The solutions exist if we ask the experts. Let us listen and then act.
People with non-visible disabilities are entitled to a home just like every Canadian in this country. Maslow's hierarchy of needs includes basic shelter, food and clothing. If people do not have a place to live, if they do not have somewhere to hang their coat, to feel safe and to know that their things will not be taken, torn down or removed, they are displaced. They cannot be productive members to themselves, their partners or their employers.
We have so much work to do on housing and it is a fundamental basic need that needs to happen in order to deal with the crises we are seeing across this country, such as mental health, addiction, crime and affordability. Everyone deserves access to housing.
I will support this motion, but I hope the government has heard what I had to say today.
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- Sep/27/22 3:44:58 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, as always, it is an honour and a privilege to stand in the House of Commons to represent the constituents of Peterborough—Kawartha.
Today, I rise to speak to the Conservative opposition day motion calling on the Liberal government to eliminate its upcoming plan to triple the carbon tax. For those who are unaware, an opposition day sets aside a block of time on certain House sitting days when the opposition, the Conservative Party, can set the agenda. Most days the government sets the agenda. Today is our day to fight for Canadians, which we do every day, but especially today as we ask the government not to triple the carbon tax.
When Canadians are facing record-high inflation, a cost-of-living and mental health crisis and a growing housing affordability crisis, an increase in the carbon tax completely lacks the compassion Canadians need and deserve at this time. This increase would mean Canadians will pay more for groceries and home heating, and it would add up to 40¢ a litre to the cost of gas. Fuelling a vehicle is not a luxury to Canadians and the constituents in my riding of Peterborough—Kawartha. For many, it is essential for getting to work and school, for picking up groceries and for taking kids, if people have any, to hockey practice, tae kwon do, dance and all of their other sporting activities, if they can even afford to put them in one.
One of the biggest lessons we have learned from this pandemic is that rural and urban Canadians have very different needs, yet the Liberal government continues to punish those who have to drive to work or plow their field to feed us. The carbon tax disproportionately impacts those in rural ridings who do not have a choice in transportation.
The government argues that individuals will receive a carbon tax rebate. That is its claim to fame, that Canadians are going to get some of this money back. However, the Parliamentary Budget Officer reported that the carbon tax costs 60% of Canadian households more than what they get back in tax rebates.
As I have said many times in this House, our current affordability crisis is a mental health crisis and the two cannot be separated. This week, the CBC published its “first person” column, which amplifies personal stories that reflect contemporary Canada. In the column, Danielle Barnsley shares the actual cost of the current affordability crisis. She states, “Slowly, I watched the prices [rise] at the grocery store. The rising cost of gas. At first I thought it was me just not pinching pennies enough. It wasn't.”
She continues:
I cancelled subscriptions. I stopped eating out. When my kids are with their dad, I don't leave my house just so I can save gas money. It's like living in lockdown—from poverty—rather than the fear of the virus. I live off whatever non-perishables I have in the house and somehow cut my grocery bill by 75 per cent, but that has meant not getting as many healthier foods. The amount of fresh fruits and vegetables I buy has dwindled because it's simply not affordable. I've accessed the food bank sometimes when there just isn't enough.
I can speak from personal experience as well. In my riding of Peterborough—Kawartha, when I drive by the Salvation Army, which is an incredible organization, the lineup of people accessing food banks is longer every day.
She goes on to state:
My kids come first, my bills come next, and I go last. Every nickel is accounted for, every dollar placed toward something. Yet even with all the ways I scrimped and saved, it hasn't helped. It used to be paycheque to paycheque, now it's paycheque to 10 days before paycheque.
The average family of four is spending over $1,200 more each year to put food on the table. Grocery prices are up by 10.8%, the highest rate since 1981. Across the board, food prices are up by 9.8%. Nearly half of Canadians are within $200 of insolvency.
Taxing Canadians when they cannot afford to feed themselves or their family is not addressing climate change. It is causing further suffering and adding to our current mental health crisis.
Canadians by nature are very good neighbours. We are kind people. We care about our country and our earth. However, let us be honest. We must meet people where they are. How can someone be the best parent, partner, employee or steward of the land if they are barely surviving? We need to meet Canadians where they are and invest in technology that fights climate change, not triple an ineffective carbon tax.
There are so many solutions and alternatives we have presented in the House, yet no other party except the Conservatives are supporting these solutions: small nuclear reactors, SMRs; regenerative farming; carbon capture; and investing in our own clean oil, rather than dictator oil. We can do so much better than tripling a carbon tax that does not work. Canadians are tired of the false promises of the Liberal government. Canadians cannot trust the Liberal government. The Liberals promised the carbon tax would never go above $50 a tonne, yet here we are right now, fighting to stop three times that amount.
As a member of Parliament, it is my duty to bring the voices of Peterborough—Kawartha directly to the House. I asked my constituents how the current cost of living crisis is impacting their day-to-day lives. Here are some of their stories.
Kevin writes, “As a small business owner, I've had to up my rates to compensate for the insane diesel prices. That hurts my clients while still cutting into our profit margins, which were slim to start with. I'm making less, clients are paying more, and that is how inflation grows and grows. Raising fuel costs hurts all Canadians. No matter how badly they want us to switch to EVs, they simply aren't practical. Farming needs diesel, construction needs diesel and trucking needs diesel. This entire nation revolves around diesel; when it goes up, everything does.”
Let us acknowledge that we have a housing crisis. We have over 300 people right now in my riding of Peterborough—Kawartha who do not even have a home. If this carbon tax is driving up the cost to build a home, how is that going to help our housing crisis? How is that going to help get more houses built?
Here are some more quotes. The first says, “Rent prices have gone crazy, $2500 plus utilities. How do people afford to eat after they pay rent and utilities? No wonder mental illness is at a high, people are stressed out.” Another says, “Just switched from wood to propane as I do it all on my own and not getting any younger. $1500 a month to keep it at 58 degrees…. On top of everything else going thru the roof, I guess I will keep working 60 hours or more a week to make ends meet.”
The next one says, “As two small business owners, it's a struggle! Hard to make ends meet, but we take on extra jobs and become overworked! Nothing else you can do!!” Here is another quote: “Most of us aren't managing. We're sinking”.
When we talk about the future of this country how do colleagues think these stories are impacting our children? If parents are at the dinner table so stressed, that is, if there is even dinner, how does that impact the children in our country?
This week, a local news outlet in my riding reported that post-secondary students were looking to access shelters and being turned away due to overcapacity. A student was asking for advice about whether sleeping in a vehicle in Peterborough was safe. We have university and college students who cannot find housing. They are going to shelters that are already at overcapacity, and the government wants to triple the carbon tax. We can do so much better than this.
Canadians from coast to coast to coast are struggling with record-breaking inflation rates, with no hope for the future that, if they work hard and save reasonably, they will be able to get ahead, afford a house and feel comfortable and financially secure. The hope of home ownership has gone out the window for our younger generation.
Today, Conservatives urge the House to do the right thing, to meet Canadians where they are at, to give them the break they need and to scrap the upcoming tripling of the carbon tax.
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- Apr/26/22 2:45:30 p.m.
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Zack has a job offer in my riding of Peterborough—Kawartha, but he cannot find affordable housing. This is a common theme across the country. There are a lot of job vacancies, but no housing. How can we fix the employment crisis when we have a housing crisis?
People need a place to live. It is a basic human need. How is Zack supposed to pay off his student debt if he cannot accept job offers? Will the housing minister continue to roll out one failed program after another, and is Zack the latest victim of his housing policy failures?
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- Mar/29/22 2:35:55 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, in my riding of Peterborough—Kawartha, 26-year-old Jonathan and his partner will soon be the proud first-time homeowners of an 1,100-square-foot, two-bedroom bungalow with no garage for a screaming deal of $729,000, but wait: There is more. CMHC will take another $20,000, and they get to pay another $1,600 in taxes to CMHC.
We have a housing crisis. People need homes they can afford. Why are we punishing first-time homebuyers and rewarding CMHC?
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- Jan/31/22 1:16:21 p.m.
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I have not received that email, but I look forward to working with him because we need to get inflation under control to help people pay for housing. I look forward to working with the member because I think he does have solutions, but most importantly what we want to do on this side is get inflation and the cost of living down and let people like Peter and Julie be able to afford a house that should be $499,000, not $802,000.
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- Jan/31/22 1:16:18 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, what is interesting is that I sent the member an email asking him to help me and my riding get affordable housing and he has yet—
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- Jan/31/22 1:15:36 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, unfortunately, I do not think the member heard, so I am not sure if his earpiece is working. The solution proposed was to listen to the people. Unfortunately, because he works for the government, he was not able to listen to me as well.
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- Jan/31/22 1:04:40 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, has the government forgotten who we work for? Let me remind everyone: We work for the people.
No one can deny that Canadians are frustrated. The events that have transpired over the last week prove this. Unfortunately, what started out as a respectful and peaceful protest turned into acts that do not reflect true Canadians. I agree with all members in the House and those watching that the use of symbols of hate and defacing a public monument are criminal offences, and these individuals should be charged. There is no room for hate.
This is a quote taken directly from the Speech from the Throne:
Canada’s prosperity – and middle class jobs – depend on preserving and expanding open, rules-based trade and ensuring our supply chains are strong and resilient.
Canadians can take no comfort from empty promises. It has been two years now since the start of the pandemic, and Canadians want things to open up for our jobs, for the supply chain, for our mental health and for honest dialogue between government and the people. This we can see from this week's events, when thousands of Canadians have come to the nation's capital to be heard, but our Prime Minister has still not addressed their concerns.
Listen to the diverse voices who speak a multitude of languages and who shape this country.
These are the words of our Governor General, which are beautiful words. However, Canadians are sick of words that our government has failed to act on. They want honesty and transparency and they want leadership.
Since the throne speech, I have heard the same stories throughout my riding, with the main one being that over 29 million Canadians have done what they were asked in order to live their lives, myself included, but every time Canadians do what is asked of them, the promise of what they will get in return is changed. The goalposts constantly move.
Olivia is a 19-year-old hard-working student who struggles with the division that has ballooned in the past couple of years. The pent-up feelings of isolation have had a profound effect on her.
This pandemic has magnified many lingering issues in our country, the biggest one being our mental health crisis. We need each other to move forward. We need a leader to acknowledge that each voice is important.
Health care workers have exhausted their resources and mental health during this pandemic, because the root cause of this issue still has not been addressed. Where in the Speech from the Throne does it acknowledge our lack of resources for our health care system? The reality is that it all comes from the top, and until our government recognizes that we need to increase health transfers to our provinces and territories to give them the resources necessary to protect Canadians, we will keep having Groundhog Day.
I have voice mails and emails from exhausted health care workers who feel like they have not been heard or acknowledged. The fact that they still do not have adequate forms of PPE and testing two years in is a disgraceful treatment of the people we call heroes. The reality is that until we have a health care system that can manage the patient load from the variants and still provide life-saving surgeries and tests, we will never get out of this.
I want to address this quote from the throne speech: “As we move forward on the economy of the future, no worker or region will be left behind.”
Since being named shadow minister for tourism, I have been meeting with key stakeholders in the industry, who have all said the same thing: “Lift the travel restrictions and open up Canada for business.” Why has the government left the tourism industry behind when it contributes a significant portion of our economy?
First-time homebuyers are also being left behind by this government. Peter and Julie are a young couple from my riding. They are 26 and 24. They both have well-paying jobs, one in engineering and one in the trades. Peter and Julie want to buy a home. They have been searching for months. One house came on the market listed at $499,000, but within eight days, there were 53 offers and the house sold for $802,000.
If our next generation cannot afford housing, that is a serious issue, and it certainly does not feel like no worker will be left behind. Our government is leaving a whole generation behind.
From the time we are born, we are taught to listen to the people in charge. We are taught to follow rules. What happens when the person in charge does not listen to the people? One thing many constituents have said to me is, “Do not just criticize. Offer solutions.” I am imploring our Prime Minister to acknowledge all Canadians, and I am imploring Canadians to listen, even if they disagree, and to be respectful and tolerant of each other. That is the solution to build trust. A reputation is not built on saying what one will do, it is built on what one actually does.
Here is another quote from the Speech from the Throne: “We will always stand up for a brighter future for all.” Who is “all”? The government has left too many behind. We need a new government. We need to act on our words. I have been a voter for a lot longer than I have been a politician, and I know how people feel. I hear the words, and I believe our members all feel the same way. We all want out of this, but we have to address what is going on.
We have to have honest dialogue. We have to acknowledge a question, and we have to look at this question. How did we get to a point where thousands of people drove thousands of miles to have their voices heard? We need to ask how we got here.
The conclusion of the Speech from the Throne states,
This decade is still young. With compassion, courage, and determination, we have the power to make it better than how it started.
But that can only happen by standing together.
What is “standing together”? Standing together should be truly having the backs of Canadians. It should be working together and listening to each other. It should be opening up our economy so we can get back to work. This economic crisis is a mental health crisis. The government has failed Canadians throughout the pandemic because it has forgotten that we work for the people.
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- Dec/9/21 4:24:09 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I would love to hear more from my colleague about how we are going to help the homeless situation, which is dire in my riding of Peterborough—Kawartha, with this motion.
How would implementing the three specific targets in the motion help the homeless crisis?
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