Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, this is yet another example of playing ignorance when they know better. We do not determine the compensation rates for an independent Crown corporation. Perhaps the member has the courage to talk to his leader so he stops being the biggest gatekeeper and supports housing for Canadians. When we introduced legislation to delivery much-needed rental supports to Canadians, what did that s…
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Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the hon. member for his strong advocacy on this really important issue. Our government continues to recognize that making sure we have access to safe and affordable housing remains a priority. Just this week, I announced $78 million in an investment in Ottawa to create 271 new rental units. This will prioritize women and children, indigenous people and families so they…
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Mr. Speaker, I wish the hon. member took that same level of advocacy to his leader, who has been the biggest gatekeeper in this House against supports for Canadian first-time homebuyers, against supports for rapid housing initiatives in communities facing homelessness, against supports for 64 different community entities to reduce and prevent homelessness—
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Mr. Speaker, they are living up to their record, but when someone actually states their true record on this side of the House, they have a problem listening to it, but those are the facts. When it is first-time home buyers saving up to $40,000 in a tax-free savings account, they vote against it. When it is providing more supports to communities facing homelessness through the pandemic by preventin…
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Mr. Speaker, through our reaching home anti-homelessness strategy, we have ensured that tens of thousands of people were prevented from joining homelessness and others were actually housed permanently through our efforts. We welcome the Auditor General's audit of the chronic homelessness program, we accept all the recommendations and we are willing to implement them all.
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Mr. Speaker, I am puzzled by the hon. member's comment. We have doubled the investments to tackle homelessness, including in the hon. member's riding of Vancouver East. Coming to the issue of urban, rural and northern indigenous housing, we are committed to working with indigenous peoples to codevelop an urban, rural and northern indigenous housing strategy. Budget 2022 is investing over $4 billio…
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Mr. Speaker, the leader of the official opposition talks about taking on gatekeepers. However, we have found that he is the biggest gatekeeper, keeping Canadians away from rental supports now. He is the biggest gatekeeper who voted against the Canada housing benefit. He is the biggest gatekeeper who has voted against the housing accelerator fund. He is full of buzzwords and nonsense. He does not h…
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Mr. Speaker, on this side of the House, we understand the importance of keeping access to the Canadian dream of home ownership alive. The leader of the official opposition's voting record really shows that he does not actually care about making housing more affordable for working people across the country. All he has to offer is empty rhetoric and buzzwords. Now he wants to gatekeep rent supports …
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Mr. Speaker, as I have stated before and will say again, anti-Semitism, hate and racism have no place in our society. The funding to this organization has been cut, and we have demanded repayment of the funding. We are implementing new measures to improve the Department of Canadian Heritage's vetting processes to ensure that this never happens again. On this side of the House, we will ensure that …
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Mr. Speaker, let me be absolutely clear. This organization was not approached by the Department of Canadian Heritage and was not specifically asked to run a program. We on this side of the House have repeatedly condemned anti-Semitic, vile and reprehensible comments against various groups made by this individual. We have cut the funding to this organization; we have demanded the money back, and we…
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Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the hon. member for St. John's East for her important question and her strong advocacy on this really serious issue. Our government takes homelessness seriously, and that is why we are committed to eliminating it once and for all. That is also why we have doubled the federal funding for Reaching Home, Canada's anti-homelessness strategy from $2 billion to $4 billion. I…
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Mr. Speaker, this is a very important question. Anti-Semitism, hate and racism have no place in our society. I have said this before and I will say again that the anti-Semitic, violent, racist statements made by this individual and the organization are reprehensible and vile. The funding to this organization has been cut. Our government will never tolerate this hate, and we are implementing new me…
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Mr. Speaker, there is absolutely no doubt that the comments made by this individual and this organization are absolutely appalling. We condemn the anti-Semitism, racism and hatred that he has spread over a number of years. I want to thank my colleague, the member of Parliament for Mount Royal, for bringing this individual to our attention. When this issue was raised, we immediately asked the depar…
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Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for his question. Black-led and Black-serving organizations are crucial to our fight against systemic racism. That is why our government created the Black-led philanthropic endowment fund. This fund will be managed by a Black-led organization. We will continue to build a more inclusive and equitable Canada.
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Mr. Speaker, in addition to the 1% tax, we have introduced a two-year ban on foreign ownership of Canadian residential real estate, but we are not stopping there. We have also launched a review of the tax treatment with real estate investment trusts. Through budget 2022, we have launched a federal review of housing as an asset class. We are committed to making housing more affordable by doing our …
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Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for Mississauga—Malton for his important question and hard work on this important file. We know that the cost of affordable rent is increasingly out of reach for many Canadians. That is why we introduced legislation to introduce a one-time top-up of $500, which would help 1.8 million renters and would be on top of the existing average $2,500 as part of the Cana…
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Mr. Speaker, I agree with the hon. member. We are committed to a “for indigenous, by indigenous” urban, rural and northern indigenous housing strategy. That is why, in budget 2022, we invested more than $4 billion to close the gap that exists in indigenous communities. This includes a $300-million initial investment in an urban, rural and northern indigenous housing strategy. Even in existing prog…
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Mr. Speaker, we understand the issue. That is why we have already implemented a 1% annual tax on the value of non-resident, non-Canadian residential real estate. We are introducing a two-year ban on foreign investment in Canadian residential real estate. We are committed to reviewing the tax treatment of real estate investment trusts. We are launching a federal review of housing as an asset class.…
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Mr. Speaker, we know that we need to be there for Canadians who are facing increased rent. That is why we introduced the Canada housing benefit, which is already providing an average of $2,500 to renters across the country who are struggling with the cost of rent. However, we are not stopping there. We have introduced a one-time top-up to the Canada housing benefit of $500, which will go to help a…
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Mr. Speaker, we are providing real help to Canadian renters through the Canada housing benefit, which is already providing, on average, $2,500 to many vulnerable renters across the country. In recent legislation, we have introduced a top-up to that Canada housing benefit with a one-time payment of $500. If the member for Mission—Matsqui—Fraser Canyon cared about Canadian renters, he would speak to…
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Mr. Speaker, we know that speculative investments in the real estate sector are contributing to pushing home prices higher. That is why we have legislated an annual 1% tax on vacant, non-residential, non-Canadian owned properties, as well as a two-year ban on foreign ownership of Canadian residential real estate. We have also committed to reviewing the tax treatment of real estate investment trust…
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Mr. Speaker, the case the hon. member is referring to obviously touches all of us. When a member of our community is targeted and does not have access to safe and affordable housing and is on the street, it diminishes all of us. We are committed to a “for indigenous, by indigenous” urban, rural and northern housing strategy. That is why in budget 2022 we dedicated $300 million as a first installme…
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Mr. Speaker, I want to remind the hon. member that we have been very much focused on putting in place cutting-edge programs, such as the Canada housing benefit, which is now in place in 10 provinces and three territories, and on delivering direct rental supports right into the pockets of Canadian renters in vulnerable situations. On top of that, we have been building affordable rental units from c…
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Mr. Speaker, we know that it is getting harder for many Canadians to afford the increased rent. That is why today we introduced legislation to provide a $500 federal top-up to the Canada housing benefit. This will help 1.8 million low-income Canadians and will be on top of the already existing $2,500, on average, from the Canada housing benefit. On this side of the House, we will always have the b…
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Mr. Speaker, we are absolutely focused on the issue of housing affordability in this country. That is why we have put forward real solutions like the housing accelerator fund, which is about increasing housing supply. It is also about turning more Canadian renters into homeowners. It is about introducing the first-time homebuyers' tax credit and putting in place a first-time homebuyer savings acco…
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Mr. Speaker, we are very aware of the need to build more housing supply in Canada. That is why we have introduced the housing accelerator fund. That is why we are investing $4 billion that will go directly into municipalities so that they can build more housing supply and so that they can do it faster. We are the only government in Canadian history that has taken the step of creating systemic chan…
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Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the hon. member's concern on this issue. We have invested in the rapid housing initiative, for example, a program that is aimed at the most vulnerable. The member's city of Edmonton has actually benefited, to the tune of hundreds of permanently affordable new homes for the most vulnerable through our investments in the co-investment fund and our expected investments throu…
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Mr. Speaker, whenever Canadians find themselves on the street, it diminishes us all. We have invested over $562 million in the federal Reaching Home program, which targets the most vulnerable Canadians on the street. In addition to that, during the pandemic we invested another $400 million. We are giving stability and certainly to frontline organizations serving the most vulnerable. Through the ra…
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Mr. Speaker, I have no doubt in saying they are facing a crisis of leadership, because the hon. member fails to mention his very leader refuses to help municipalities with supply. His member for Mission—Matsqui—Fraser Canyon says that we should step back and not invest in provisional housing programs. He is opposed, on the record, to the foreign ban of Canadian residential real estate and has oppo…
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Mr. Speaker, the hon. member should speak to his leader, who has trashed the housing accelerator fund, which is all about supply. His colleagues from Calgary Centre, Edmonton Riverbend, Mission—Matsqui—Fraser Canyon and Central Okanagan—Similkameen—Nicola have all said contradictory things about housing supply, about support for first-time homebuyers, about building more affordable housing in this…
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Mr. Speaker, we are doing exactly that through the housing accelerator fund. The housing accelerator fund is all about supply, supply, supply, but they are on record as opposing the housing accelerator fund—
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Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for his really important advocacy for this really important work. As we commemorate the one-year anniversary of the London attack and the five-year anniversary of the Quebec mosque shooting, we know that Islamophobia is a troubling and real fact for far too many Canadian Muslims in Canada. That is why our government is creating the new position of special repre…
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Mr. Speaker, we have taken a number of important steps in collaboration and conjunction with the Muslim community in Canada, including holding the first-ever national summit on Islamophobia and dedicating January 29 as the National Day of Remembrance and Action Against Islamophobia. We have committed as a government to appoint a special representative to combat Islamophobia and we are the first go…
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Mr. Speaker, the hon. member is absolutely right. One of the key tools to making sure that there is more supply for Canadians is to actually invest in housing supply. That is exactly what the housing accelerator fund is about. We will invest $4 billion in municipal governments to make sure that we invest in their systems so they can build more supply and they can build more supply faster. We also …
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Mr. Speaker, that is a lot of hot air to cover 10 years of inaction on housing. We are the government that brought back national leadership on housing. We are investing more than ever before to help Canadians access their dream of home ownership. Every time in this House when we have brought measures to help Canadians access—
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Mr. Speaker, the reason they cannot handle my answer is that I am exposing their bankrupt policies and their fake rhetoric in this House. For 10 years, they had a chance to invest in affordable housing and provide national leadership on an important issue for Canadians. What did they do? They downloaded housing to provinces and municipalities. One would think that they would learn from their time …
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Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the hon. member for Vaughan—Woodbridge for his excellent question and work on this really important file. Last week, I was thrilled to announce $121 million to build over 430 shelters and transitional homes in over 15 municipalities across Canada. This work is being done together with 14 provincial and territorial shelter associations. These extra shelter beds and tran…
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Mr. Speaker, on Friday we announced a historic investment of $121 million to invest in shelters and transitional housing for women and children fleeing gender-based violence. This is going to support 16 projects across the country in virtually every province and at least one territory. I am happy to work with the hon. member to see if we can continue to support projects in Winnipeg.
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Madam Speaker, we know that we need to increase housing supply in this country to give more Canadians the opportunity of home ownership. We also know that we need to help first-time homebuyers with a tax-free savings account so they can buy their first home. We have banned foreign ownership of Canadian residential real estate to free up more homes for Canadian first-time homebuyers. We have all th…
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Mr. Speaker, recently at the HUMA committee, the Canadian Home Builders' Association called our $4-billion investment in the housing accelerator fund “a once-in-a-generation opportunity” to build more housing supply. What did the Conservatives do when that came on the floor of the House of Commons? They voted against it. They talk about more supports for municipalities to build more housing supply…
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Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the hon. member for Richmond Centre for his important work on this issue. This year's Asian Heritage Month is continuing a legacy of greatness, and throughout this month we celebrate the countless Asian Canadians who have contributed so much to our country. Earlier this month, our government also celebrated the 20th anniversary of Asian Heritage Month. I encourage all …
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Mr. Speaker, it is really interesting to hear the Conservatives talk about the dream of home ownership, because every time they get a chance to actually do something about it, they vote against it. When we brought in measures to increase housing supply, what did they do? They voted against it. When we brought in measures to enable first-time homebuyers to save up to $40,000, what did they do? They…
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Mr. Speaker, we are dead set on making sure that we continue our investments in housing. Budget 2022 has prioritized affordable housing investments, help for first-time homebuyers and doubling the housing supply. We are making sure that, through the national housing strategy, we work with developers, the private sector, non-profits, municipalities and provinces to get the help Canadians need so th…
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Mr. Speaker, of course, we condemn all forms of hate, racism and discrimination against all Canadians from coast to coast to coast. We have recently seen a disturbing rise in anti-Asian hate and discrimination, and we stand strongly in solidarity, shoulder to shoulder, with Asian Canadians. We have invested and we will continue to invest in community programs and organizations that are fighting ha…
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Mr. Speaker, I want to take this opportunity to agree with the hon. member that we need to support renters throughout Canada. We are the government that introduced the Canada housing benefit, and in budget 2022, we are adding more investments in that program, with a top-up of $500 on average to vulnerable renters. This adds to the over $2,500 on average that we provide to the most vulnerable membe…
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Mr. Speaker, I agree with the hon. member that we need to build more rental housing in Canada. That is why, as part of the national housing strategy, we have the rental construction financing initiative, a program that has increased so many times over the last number of budgets because we recognize that as a government we have a responsibility to build the next generation of affordable rental unit…
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Mr. Speaker, it is really difficult to take the member seriously on this issue because she claimed in the House that we will not build a single affordable home in her region this year. We know that the national housing strategy's rapid housing initiative alone has built 10,250 permanent affordable homes, including in her region. It is really difficult to deal with the misinformation, disinformatio…
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Mr. Speaker, I wish the hon. member would save that energy, enthusiasm and advocacy for his own caucus. One day they ask us to move away from investments in housing and leave that money to the provinces. Another time they say that we should not help first-time homebuyers. In another instance they are against the ban on foreign ownership of Canadian residential real estate. They talk down investmen…
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Mr. Speaker, that is absolutely not true. In one instance, through the housing accelerator fund, we are putting on the table $4 billion to work with the municipalities to increase housing supply. We know that supply is a big part of the challenge facing Canada. Canada has one of the fastest-growing populations among G7 countries, but our housing supply has not kept up with that. We are also helpin…
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Mr. Speaker, the hon. member for Mission—Matsqui—Fraser Canyon is on record as saying that we should walk away from our leadership role and investments in affordable housing and just leave it to the provinces. That is the leadership he is suggesting. He talks about housing supply. We are dedicated to housing supply through the housing accelerator fund for 100,000 new homes and making permanent, su…
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