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Mr. Chair, the leader can ask all the questions he wants, but these are the facts. He does not believe in helping homebuyers. He does not believe in building more supply. He does not have a real plan on housing. He has a half-baked plan built on our real plan that was already in progress from 2017. That is the fact. We can have this debate. I am happy to compare our record to his, which is non-exi…
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Mr. Chair, we are actually doing something about that. We are investing in measures to increase housing supply, but the member has voted against that, so he should come out and explain to Canadians why he keeps doing that. If he cares about supply, why does he block investment in more supply?
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Mr. Chair, different prices can be seen in different parts of the country, so I would like the leader of the official opposition to recognize that fact.
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Madam Chair, the Conservatives do not even believe that Canadians have a human right to housing. We are the ones who legislated a human right to housing.
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Mr. Chair, I can give him the numbers. In Halifax, in 2022, the average was $541,790.
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Mr. Chair, we know there is a challenge with the rising costs of housing. That is why we have implemented a number of policies to enable Canadians to access their dream of home ownership.
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Mr. Chair, if they care about housing affordability, why did the Conservatives vote against the first-time homebuyer incentive?
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Mr. Chair, I am really perplexed by the logic of the hon. member. She says that our national housing strategy is not really doing anything on the ground. Contrary to that, I can report back to the hon. member that we have invested in either repairing or building 500,000 units; this has supported almost two million Canadian households. That is the impact the national housing strategy has had on thi…
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Mr. Chair, I know Covenant House; It does good work. The member opposite as well as his party voted against more funding for organizations serving the homeless community.
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Madam Chair, if the party opposite had its way, it would not even offer any supports to first-time homebuyers to access their dream of home ownership.
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Mr. Chair, why did the Conservatives vote against supports for homebuyers?
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Mr. Chair, I have provided that information.
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Mr. Chair, that is the party that believes in cuts. We believe in federal leadership on housing.
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Mr. Chair, I will do it again by saying that I have provided that information. It is regional, and I am happy to provide the regional breakdowns to the leader.
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Madam Chair, the Conservatives do not believe in the right to housing. They have no plan. All they have are gimmicks and buzzwords.
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Mr. Chair, the federal government is determined to help Quebeckers find safe and affordable housing. Since 2015, we have invested more than $6.5 billion in Quebec to help more than 45,000 families and individuals secure the housing they needed. The bilateral agreement between the governments of Canada and Quebec will result in a combined investment of an additional $3.7 billion over 10 years to im…
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Mr. Chair, our whole national housing strategy is geared towards helping non-profits and those who are dedicated to increasing affordable housing, as the member has spoken about. They can get help from the federal government so they can build more affordable housing units for Canadians.
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Mr. Chair, I actually agree with the hon. member that co-op housing is a very good model for housing, because it is community owned and community managed. We know that co-op housing is a good model for affordable, community-owned and community-managed housing. That is why we are investing $1.5 billion to build the first new co-op units in 30 years; we understand that we need a healthy mix of housi…
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Mr. Chair, how does the hon. member believe attacking mayors will produce more housing?
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Mr. Chair, it would be interesting to know how the Conservatives plan to build more rentals with less money and less investment in housing.
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Mr. Chair, everyone deserves a place where they can raise their family, plan for the future and belong to a community. Unfortunately, families across the country are struggling with the rising cost of living, especially the rising cost of housing, both for homeowners and for renters. Housing is a basic human need. It is also an economic necessity. Our economy is built by people, and people need ho…
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Mr. Chair, it is a regional number depending on what part of the country one lives in.
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Mr. Chair, the average down payment on a home, again, depends on the region. Those are the numbers I have. I am happy to provide them.
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Mr. Chair, as I said, a number of factors lead to making housing more expensive and contribute to the challenges facing Canadians. One of them is financialization, but a second one is supply, and we are taking measures to deal with both.
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Mr. Chair, the national housing strategy has resulted in the creation, building and repair of almost half a million homes and the support of almost two million households. That is our record.
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Mr. Chair, it is very rich listening to that side of the House talking about how many units were built, how many were created, how many were repaired and how many people were helped, when he voted against every one of those measures to help Canadians.
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Mr. Chair, for one last time, does the party opposite believe that Canadians have a right to housing, yes or no?
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Mr. Chair, that question points to the need for collaboration. Of course, the federal government has a very important leadership role to play in unlocking more housing supply across the country. We have the fastest-growing population of the G7 but very low housing supply. The federal government has a key role to play in that, but we cannot do it alone. We need collaboration and partnership from th…
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Mr. Chair, we have been tying infrastructure to housing for the last two years. They just came around to that idea recently, and they announced their half-baked plan on the same day we launched the housing accelerator fund, which is about connecting community infrastructure and transit to more housing supply.
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Mr. Chair, what I do know is that the Conservative Party, when in power, did nothing to help Canadian renters. We introduced the Canada housing benefit, which is helping renters.
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Mr. Chair, I just want to correct a few things that have been asserted by the hon. member. The Auditor General looked at the Reaching Home strategy and she looked at the performance of the Reaching Home strategy mainly during the pandemic. The Auditor General did not look at the entire national housing strategy program. I just want to clear that misconception. Secondly, the hon. member seems to do…
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Mr. Chair, we have. We have shown leadership and here is the proof. We have invested over half a billion dollars to continue doubling the annual funding for Reaching Home, which is Canada's homelessness strategy. We have gone from just over $2 billion to almost $4 billion in response to the urgent need on the ground. Our investments are paying off. We have prevented over 62,000 people from experie…
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Mr. Chair, how does the party opposite fall so morally bankrupt that the members believe in magical thinking that says that we can cut programs and cut investment, but somehow build more housing? That is incredible. The fact that they can say that with a straight face is concerning. I know that Canadians see through that because the Conservatives have voted against every single measure to help Can…
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Madam Chair, their plan does not include any mention of homelessness. Their plan does not really prioritize affordable housing.
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Mr. Chair, we are committed to building more rentals in this country. They did not have a plan. We put together the rental construction financing initiative, which is about building more rental supply right across the country.
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Mr. Chair, the hon. member thinks that we are the only order of government that is responsible for encampments, that is responsible for addressing municipal issues and provincial issues. We are doing our part, as I said, from doubling from $2 billion to $4 billion in addressing homelessness. We are committed to doing our part. While encampments fall under the jurisdictions of provinces, territorie…
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Mr. Chair, this is a program that delivers deeply affordable housing every day, right across the country. We are committed to continuing to invest in this program. In fact, we have brought $2.9 billion forward, from future years to this year.
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Mr. Chair, doubling Reaching Home from $2 billion to $4 billion is real money. Putting $1.5 billion in new money in co-ops is real housing money. Putting $4 billion on top of the $300 million for the dedicated urban, rural and northern indigenous housing strategy is real money. Bringing forward $2.9 billion in the national housing co-investment fund, so that we can deliver more deeply affordable h…
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Mr. Chair, this is an example of what can be done at the local level through investments in the national housing strategy. We were able to partner with local Legions in a number of communities, including Sault Ste. Marie, and with local indigenous governments and organizations to build deeply affordable housing, housing that not only rejuvenates local Legions, some of whose buildings are falling i…
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Mr. Chair, I am proud to work with the municipalities to build more supply. The Conservatives talk about getting rid of gatekeepers. He should start with his leader. His leader is the biggest gatekeeper in the House, voting against every measure to increase supply, increase affordability and to help vulnerable Canadians.
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Mr. Chair, that is the kind of rhetoric that keeps coming from that side. They say, “Canada is broken.” Canada is not broken. Canada is the best country in the world, and people are eager to come to Canada to help us grow our economy and create more prosperity in this country.
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Mr. Chair, we know that one of the solutions to higher housing prices is more supply. We brought in measures to create more supply. The Conservatives voted against it.
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Madam Chair, I would like to know why the party opposite does not believe the federal government should help renters.
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Madam Chair, we believe in the right to housing; they do not.
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Mr. Chair, we believe every Canadian has a human right to housing. We have legislated that right. They do not believe Canadians have a right to housing.
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Mr. Chair, do the Conservatives have a plan for housing, or do they just have rhetoric and buzzwords?
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Mr. Chair, the Conservatives do not have a plan. All they have is gimmicks and buzzwords.
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Madam Chair, the Conservatives released a housing plan with no mention of homelessness.
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Mr. Chair, the Conservatives have all the questions tonight, but they have no plan on housing, and they have no help for Canadians who actually need help with housing.
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Mr. Chair, if the Conservatives are serious about rental supports, why did they vote against the Canada housing benefit, which is delivering real supports to Canadian renters?
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