Routine Proceedings
Madam Speaker, I rise on a point of order. I am tabling the government's responses to Questions Nos. 337 to 356.
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Mr. Speaker, I wish the hon. member had had a conversation with the hon. member for Stormont—Dundas—South Glengarry, who said that we should end the first-time homebuyer incentive, precisely the program that is meant to help Canadians access the dream of home ownership. He should have another conversation with the member of Parliament for—
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Mr. Speaker, the problem is that they talk about home ownership, but, every single program we have in place to help first-time homebuyers, they oppose it. They have actually said this publicly. The hon. member for Stormont—Dundas—South Glengarry wants to end the first-time homebuyer incentive. The hon. member for Calgary Centre spoke about his opposition to the measure to put a tax on foreign and …
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Mr. Speaker, we intend to move forward in increasing housing supply. We intend to move forward with enhancing the first-time homebuyers incentive. We intend to move forward to set up a first-time homebuyer tax-free savings account to the tune of up to $40,000, and we intend to turn more Canadian renters into homeowners through an innovative and groundbreaking rent-to-own program.
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Mr. Speaker, maybe the hon. member should speak to another colleague, the member for Simcoe North, who said that the government should not be in the business of helping Canadians access their dream of home ownership. What kind of party is this that it cannot get its story straight? One day they talk about affordable housing, but it is not in their opposition motion or their Conservative party plat…
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Mr. Speaker, maybe the hon. member needs to have a conversation with his colleague from Stormont—Dundas—South Glengarry, who stood up in the House last week and said that we should not help first-time homebuyers. He should have a conversation with the member for Calgary Centre, who said we should cut back on the national housing strategy. He should help the hon. member for Mission—Matsqui—Fraser C…
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Mr. Speaker, we are moving ahead to make sure we implement the housing accelerator fund to offer more housing supply. We are enhancing and are committed to enhancing the first-time homebuyer incentive and making sure that we move forward on an innovative rent-to-own program that would turn more Canadian renters into homebuyers. What did the Conservatives do? They voted against a tax on foreign-own…
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Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the hon. member for Richmond Hill for his important question and his advocacy with respect to chronic homelessness. We understand as a government that the pandemic has made worse existing housing challenges for Canada's most vulnerable people. That is why we introduced an investment of $2.5 billion through the rapid housing initiative to create over 10,000 new permanen…
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Mr. Speaker, we have prioritized giving more Canadians access to their dream of home ownership. We are moving forward with a housing accelerator fund that would increase the housing supply across the spectrum, we are moving forward with a rent-to-own program that would turn more Canadian renters into homeowners, and we are also moving forward with a 1% tax on non-recreational property owned by for…
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Mr. Speaker, I will just give the hon. member one example of the large national housing strategy. The Canada—
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Mr. Speaker, the hon. member asked which programs work. I will just give him one small example that is making a significant impact on the lives of his constituents. The Canada housing benefit is helping 35,000 households with rent in Alberta. That is a program in the national housing strategy. However, perhaps the hon. member may speak to some of his colleagues. The member for Stormont—Dundas—Sout…
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Mr. Speaker, this is what we have done since coming into office. We have invested over $30 billion and re-established a federal leadership through the national housing strategy. We have proposed bringing forward a housing accelerator fund to turn more Canadian renters into homeowners. That is what we are doing. The party opposite has voted against every single measure I have mentioned. They have n…
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Mr. Speaker, not only will I tell the hon. member what we have done, but I will also tell him what the Conservatives have done constantly to oppose measures to help Canadians, whether it is the first-time homebuyer incentive or the Canada housing benefit. We heard another member talk about rental supports. The Conservatives voted against the Canada housing benefit and, as recently as last week, a …
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Mr. Speaker, we agree on the importance of enabling more Canadians than ever before to access the dream of home ownership. That is why we introduced the first-time homebuyer incentive, but the Conservatives voted against it. As recently as last week, the Conservative member for Stormont—Dundas—South Glengarry said that we should stop helping first-time homebuyers. Maybe she needs to talk the membe…
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Mr. Speaker, our government has invested over $30 billion in affordable housing since coming into office. We re-established federal government leadership through the national housing strategy, but unfortunately the Conservatives have opposed virtually every affordable housing initiative that we have introduced, and it is getting worse. Maybe the hon. member needs to speak to the Conservative membe…
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for his question. During the pandemic, the most vulnerable members of our community were in greater need of housing. We know we need to act fast. Our government created nine new affordable housing units in the member's riding for women and children fleeing violence. We will not stop working until every Canadian has a safe, affordable place to live.
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Mr. Speaker, the program that the hon. member referred to is just one of many programs in the national housing strategy and federal investments in Nunavut housing, including the Canada housing benefit, the bilateral housing agreement between Canada and Nunavut, and over $400 million in distinctions-based funding for Inuit-led housing in Inuit Nunangat. By working together with territorial and indi…
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Mr. Speaker, on this side of the House, we acknowledge the reality of Islamophobia in Canada. That is why we have taken concrete steps, including marking January 29 as the National Day of Remembrance and Action Against Islamophobia and holding a national summit on Islamophobia. We have provided significant resources to community organizations fighting Islamophobia on the ground. We are committed t…
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Mr. Speaker, the Conservative Party in the House faces a leadership problem. It does not even have the term “affordable housing” in its plans. The Conservatives vote against every measure that comes before the House to enable Canadians to access homes. I hope the hon. member talks to his colleague from Stormont—Dundas—South Glengarry, who said that our government should “pull back” from the nation…
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Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the hon. member for her advocacy on an important matter. Our government has taken the issue of tackling racism as a top priority. That is why we have invested over $100 million in the anti-racism strategy, including investing $70 million in community organizations fighting racism on the ground. However, we know there is more work to be done. That is why we are committe…
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Mr. Speaker, the national housing strategy has a number of important programs, including the rental construction financing initiative. It is important to assess each program based on the needs of Canadians in different parts of the housing spectrum. The particular program the hon. member mentioned actually has conditions with respect to accessibility and energy efficiency, and it has minimum affor…
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Mr. Speaker, the hon. member knows very well that no minister in my position has or will ever interfere in an independent Crown corporation's decisions when it comes to employment and salaries. We are focused on federal investments in housing, making sure that more Canadians than ever before have a safe and affordable place to call home. In British Columbia, where the member's riding is, we have i…
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Mr. Speaker, the hon. member knows very well that no minister has or will ever interfere in the salaries and compensation of employees of an independent Crown agency. We are focused on providing affordable housing solutions for Canadians. Every single time that we have brought more federal investments to the table, the member opposite has voted against them. The Conservatives are not serious about…
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Mr. Speaker, we remain committed to the important issue of housing affordability in Canada, and we have proposed solutions such as a new housing accelerator fund to speed up both the supply and the speed of housing construction in Canada, a new rent-to-own program to help renters become homebuyers, as well as a temporary ban on foreign buyers of non-recreational residential property. We have moved…
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Mr. Speaker, the hon. member knows that no minister in my position has or will ever make decisions in terms of an independent Crown corporation's employee compensation system. CMHC, like every Crown corporation in Canada, is independent of political interference when it comes to the hiring and salaries of its employees.
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Mr. Speaker, I welcome the opportunity to set the record straight. Who is not serious about housing affordability? That party is not serious about housing affordability. They voted against the foreign vacancy tax. They voted against the first-time homebuyer incentive. They voted against investments in affordable housing. They voted against the rapid housing initiative. They voted against the top-u…
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Mr. Speaker, we have been very clear on our commitment to implement a temporary ban on foreign buyers for non-recreational, residential property. The member opposite knows very well that the amendment he is referring to was ruled out of order in the committee and would not have been enforceable, even if it passed. We are committed to moving forward on this issue. If the member opposite and his par…
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Mr. Speaker, we thank the housing council for its work, and we commit to closely examining the recommendations contained in the report that it prepared. We are the government that reintroduced federal leadership in the housing sector. We have brought in significant resources through the national housing strategy, which has grown from $40 billion to over $72 billion. The hon. member mentioned the c…
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Mr. Speaker, I encourage the hon. member to enable his party to actually vote for the measures we have brought in to enable affordability. The party opposite voted against the vacancy tax that we were supposed to move forward on. It voted against measures to help first-time homebuyers. It voted against measures to improve more investments in affordable housing. These are the things we are doing, a…
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Mr. Speaker, let me make this absolutely clear. Even if one Canadian finds himself or herself on the street, it diminishes us as a society. I share the grief of the hon. member. I want to reiterate our support for investments in affordable housing. I have lost count of the number of times I have been to Winnipeg, virtually and in person, to make announcements through the rapid housing initiative, …
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Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the member for her very strong advocacy on the issue of affordable housing. Recently in the member's riding, we announced $8.2 million to create 42 new, permanent, affordable housing units for seniors and women at risk of, and in fact experiencing, homelessness. This is real action. It means 42 Canadians now have the housing that they need and a safe place to call home…
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Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the member's concern and advocacy for his community. The rapid housing initiative has far exceeded its initial targets. We have delivered over 10,250 new, permanent, affordable housing units for Canada's most vulnerable individuals, including those experiencing homelessness and those who are at risk of experiencing homelessness. The member opposite knows, from his time as…
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Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives are not really serious about housing affordability because every single time we have brought a measure here to enable Canadians to be able to afford a home, they have voted against it, including the first-time homebuyers incentive and all the measures that we have brought in. They even voted against imposing a vacancy tax on foreign-owned non-resident properties. The…
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Mr. Speaker, I had technical issues and I wanted to register my vote as yea.
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Mr. Speaker, every Canadian deserves a safe and affordable place to call home. Since 2015, our government has invested nearly $30 billion for affordable housing, brought in Canada's first-ever national housing strategy, and we have a plan worth over $70 billion, which has already helped over one million Canadians find the homes that they need. We have more work to do, and we will work with provinc…
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Mr. Speaker, our government is focused on making sure that every Canadian has a safe and affordable place to call home. Since 2015, we have invested over $30 billion, introduced the national housing strategy and worked closely with provinces, territories, municipalities and the non-profit and private sectors to ensure that more affordable housing and more supply of housing is there for Canadians. …
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Mr. Speaker, what is remarkable is the astronomical gap between the Conservatives' rhetoric and their voting record. They voted against every single measure to build more affordable housing, to put more money in the pockets of Canadian renters to help them pay their rent, to build more housing for the most vulnerable and, yes, to allow more young Canadians to access their dream of home ownership t…
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Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives face a leadership problem on this issue. They have never spoken about affordable housing. They did not invest adequately in all their time in office. In their election campaign platform, the words “affordable housing” did not show up, neither did they show up in their opposition house motion. We have invested more than any other government. We brought the national ho…
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Mr. Speaker, every time we have brought a measure into the House to help Canadians through programs like the Canada housing benefit to help people with rent, the first-time homebuyer incentive, the rapid housing initiative and many other housing programs as part of the national housing strategy, every single time the Conservatives have voted against those measures, yet they stand here today preten…
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Mr. Speaker, since we came into government, we have invested almost $30 billion in affordable housing measures. My hon. friend talks about help for Canadians. Why did Conservatives vote against the Canada housing benefit, which is delivering real money into the pockets of Canadians to help them with rent? Why did they vote against the first-time homebuyer incentive, which is about making sure that…
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Mr. Speaker, I welcome the opportunity to respond to that important question. This is the change we implemented: We brought federal leadership back into the housing sector. We brought in the national housing strategy. We brought in the first-time homebuyer incentive. We brought in the rapid housing initiative. We brought in the co-investment fund. We brought in the greening homes initiative. On al…
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Mr. Speaker, every Canadian deserves a safe, affordable place to call home. We are investing more than ever in affordable housing, we are investing more than ever to eliminate chronic homelessness in Canada, and we are also enabling more Canadians than ever before to access their dream of home ownership through the first-time homebuyer incentive. We also seek to bring in enhancements to the first-…
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Mr. Speaker, this is a party that has abandoned housing investments. They downloaded investments in affordable housing to the provinces and municipalities. They did not mention affordable housing in their platform, nor in their opposition House motion. They have absolutely no credibility on this issue. We are the party that introduced a national housing strategy. We introduced the first-time home …
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Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the member for Mississauga—Malton for his advocacy on affordable housing. I want to welcome the opportunity to remind those spreading misinformation that our government is not considering charging capital gains or surtaxes on primary residences. Any suggestion otherwise, including from the Conservative Party, is absolutely false. While they continue to make up claims, …
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Mr. Speaker, this gives me another opportunity to once again state categorically that our government is not considering charging capital gains or surtaxes on primary residences. We have said this time and time again in the House of Commons and in the public sphere. While the party opposite continues to engage in misinformation, we are busy being focused on the work of ensuring that each and every …
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Mr. Speaker, we as a government have always stood up for the rights of the LGBTQ2 community domestically and abroad. We always consult with the community on ways to increase the capacity of community organizations, including in the LGBTQ2 community, to serve more Canadians and to serve fellow community members.
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Mr. Speaker, I am proud to be part of a government that has brought federal leadership back into the housing sector. Since coming into office, we have invested over $27 billion; brought in the national housing strategy; and brought in measures to help Canadians with housing supply, access to affordable housing, rent supports and so on. When the Conservatives had the opportunity to do the right thi…
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Mr. Speaker, Islamophobia is real and a troubling fact. That is why earlier this past summer we held a national summit on Islamophobia to hear directly from community members about their lived experiences, but also taking concrete steps on how we can assist them further. I am pleased to inform the hon. member for Mississauga—Erin Mills that we will take further action, including dedicated resource…
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Mr. Speaker, the problem the Conservatives face is that before the election they had done nothing on affordable housing. They proposed no clear policy ideas. For nine years in government, they invested zero dollars in affordable housing. In fact, they downloaded affordable housing onto the provinces and municipalities. Now, when they have a chance to actually support policies that work, they do no…
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Mr. Speaker, the problem the Conservatives face is that for nine years in power, they did not really invest in affordable housing. They did not have a program like the first-time homebuyer incentive. In fact, they downloaded housing responsibility and investments in housing onto the provinces and municipalities. They did nothing to invest in the capacity of more Canadians to become homeowners, and…
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