Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, I will once again take this opportunity to let the opposition members know “build Canada homes” is up and running as a one-stop shop to build affordable housing in Canada. We are going to deliver like never before. We are going to ensure that, particularly for Canadians who are on low incomes, there is a billion dollars dedicated to transitional supportive housing for those who are ho…
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Mr. Speaker, the Liberal government focuses on building affordable housing with our partners. This is an unprecedented investment, alongside a cut to the GST for first-time homebuyers, which we are rolling out. We are focused on delivering solutions and on delivering housing in the communities that need it the most. That investment was never seen from Conservative governments, certainly not in the…
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Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for Carleton for the focus today on affordable housing. I know the member for Carleton is very concerned about making sure it is green and sustainable housing, and we will certainly focus on ensuring that energy costs are low and that there are resilient homes that get us through the challenges ahead with climate change. We will make sure they are affordable, first …
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Mr. Speaker, the member opposite and the Conservatives may not believe in investing in affordable housing, but this government does. This government is making an unprecedented investment in building affordable housing, in partnership with the private sector and in partnership with cities, provinces, territories and indigenous nations. We are going to deliver with our partners like never before.
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Mr. Speaker, I am happy to share that a significant commitment of $13 billion will be invested in housing and will leverage private investment as well. We are working with private capital, builders, and communities across Canada to make sure we are building the affordable housing that Canadians need, particularly young Canadians who cannot afford to get into the market. Those 4,000 units are the f…
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Mr. Speaker, again, we will come back to the number one cost and concern for Canadians, which is affordability of housing. I know the Conservatives and the members opposite do not care about affordable housing. We are here to take action on it and make life more affordable for Canadians, starting with their home.
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Mr. Speaker, as far as promises delivered goes, the government promised to launch “build Canada homes” and make the largest investment in affordable housing in Canadian history. We are taking action where it matters most, and Canadians need support on affordable housing. Across the board we need more support, but starting with housing, housing first, particularly for those on low income and those …
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Mr. Speaker, the number one cost for Canadians is their housing, and the Liberals have taken action to make housing more affordable. Yesterday, the Prime Minister and I announced the launch of “build Canada homes”, which will be a one-stop shop for making housing more affordable across Canada. We are launching that on six pieces of Canada Lands Company land. That is 4,000 homes that we will start …
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Mr. Speaker, with regard to (a) concerning the Housing Accelerator Fund, the total funding allocated to the City of Calgary amounts to $251,309,276. The City was allocated an additional $22,843,000 during the annual review process. Additional funding was awarded to the fastest growing communities that submitted new initiatives through the annual review process and met action plan commitments and u…
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Mr. Speaker, I think I speak for all members of the House when I say that we are disappointed that BC Ferries made the procurement decision that it made. It is really unfortunate that no Canadian companies bid on the contract with BC Ferries. That is something that we have to all rectify, and we have to change that by buying Canadian. I agree with the member opposite. On this side of the House, we…
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Mr. Speaker, we are laser-focused on doubling housing construction across Canada. I am encouraged to hear the members' opposite new-found concerns about housing construction and affordability, particularly given that they voted against every significant housing program in the last few decades. Our hope now is that they will support us to double construction and vote for affordable housing in Canad…
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Mr. Speaker, I will caution the member opposite. He is leaving out all of the Canadian communities that are increasing their housing starts right now. Housing starts across Canada are near record levels. That is good news to celebrate, but it is just a start for us. Canadians elected the party that was running to double housing construction in Canada. We hope you will support us on that.
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Mr. Speaker, the member needs to check the facts. The housing starts across Canada are up to almost 280,000 pace this year, which is almost at a record level. We have been building at a strong pace this year and last. We are seeing unprecedented levels of rental housing being constructed for the first time in decades. The government is delivering, and we will take it further. We will double the ra…
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Mr. Speaker, on this side of the House, we are well aware of the challenges Canadians have with housing affordability. That is why they elected us to represent them and drive the pace of housing construction in Canada. That is what we will do. That is what we will deliver. We have already delivered on the GST break for first-time homebuyers. We are going to take it further and faster.
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Mr. Speaker, the good news is that housing starts across Canada are up this year to almost record levels. We are seeing challenges in Ontario, and we are working with our partners in Ontario to turn that around. Across Canada, we are building, and we are going to build more.
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Mr. Speaker, Canadians elected this new government to double construction and to make it more affordable across the country, and that is what we are going to deliver. We are focused on delivering tax breaks on GST and income tax. We are focused on lowering development costs. We are focused on delivering for Canadians with respect to affordability across housing, and we expect the members opposite …
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Mr Speaker, Canadians made a very clear choice in April to elect a government that is focused on delivering housing, and we will do that. The housing accelerator fund has been extraordinarily well supported by over 200 communities across Canada. If the members opposite do not believe in the program, they can talk to their mayors and councillors and continue to throw them under the bus. This govern…
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Mr. Speaker, as the member states, there are challenges in Ontario, and we are working with our partners in Ontario to turn that around. Across Canada, housing starts are up this year. Housing starts are at near record levels. Having almost 280,000 starts this year is the trajectory we are on. We need to build on that. We are shooting for 500,000 units, and we are going to work with our partners p…
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Mr. Chair, I am not clear on what the member is asking through that question. If he could clarify—
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Mr. Chair, it really varies with the application through CMHC. There is quite a range depending on the scale of the project for CMHC.
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Mr. Chair, the MLI select program is part of CMHC.
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Mr. Chair, I am familiar with the program, yes.
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Mr. Chair, I would be happy to provide the member with the detailed data on that as soon as possible.
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Mr. Chair, approximately 225,000 units were built in the last year.
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Mr. Chair, I am proud of the work the Vancouver affordable housing agency did in catalyzing thousands of units across the city. That is why I am focused now, here in the federal government, on delivering on behalf of all of Canada.
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Mr. Chair, the goal across Canada for us is to build more homes and to be ramping up to doubling the current rate.
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Mr. Chair, I used to farm very close to Abbotsford, so I am keenly aware of the challenges in the Fraser Valley and the disasters that have affected the region.
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Mr. Chair, certainly the government is committed to supporting communities. That is why the fund exists: to be able to make the infrastructure more resilient and to support communities—
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Mr. Chair, for this time period, $643.8 million is the amount that is put forward for the disaster mitigation and adaptation fund.
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Mr. Chair, the typical coverage across the country is per capita, but there are variations in that depending on the province and certainly the issues, the disasters.
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Mr. Chair, the disaster mitigation and adaptation fund has already provided almost $3 billion in support across Canada to—
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Mr. Chair, I can get the member that detailed answer shortly. I do not have it at my fingertips, but I can do that.
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Mr. Chair, at this point, we are dealing with the estimates for the current programs that the housing and infrastructure department is putting out.
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Mr. Chair, “build Canada homes” is not specifically in the infrastructure and housing estimates at this stage.
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Mr. Chair, at this stage, we are designing the future for “build Canada homes”. It is not an entity that exists yet, but I hope the members opposite will support the investment to scale affordable housing—
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Mr. Chair, “build Canada homes” is going to focus on building affordable housing across Canada at a scale that is unprecedented.
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Mr. Chair, I am here to answer questions on behalf of my department for the investment in affordable housing across Canada, and infrastructure and housing.
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Mr. Chair, I think the member opposite has the facts all wrong. He can check the City of Vancouver website for data on the affordable housing delivered.
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Mr. Chair, I think the focus here needs to be on building homes for people to live in, not building homes for investors to own.
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Mr. Chair, investment is secondary to people's living in homes. We need to build homes that people live in, not invest in.
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Mr. Chair, homes need to be for living in; they need to be for residents and not investors.
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Mr. Chair, I am sure the member already has the answer to the question being asked, or he would not be asking it.
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Mr. Chair, I am certainly aware of this, and our department works with Canada Lands in some cases, to help with the development. We look forward to doing a lot more of that in the future.
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Mr. Chair, what matters to me is building more affordable housing, and members on this side of the House will put all efforts into that.
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Mr. Chair, I think the general definition of affordable is that it is less than 30% of people's income.
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Mr. Chair, we have delivered a $50,000 savings to first-time homebuyers already with votes in the House, and we will continue to deliver affordability measures.
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Mr. Chair, the target around doubling housing construction in Canada is for the years to come. We need to scale up from the current level. The goal is to double construction across Canada, and we will use every tool we have available to us to do that.
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Mr. Chair, I understood the member's question to be whether rural areas are served by this program. That is correct.
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Mr. Chair, our focus is on building affordable housing. The MLI select program is working right now. We are going to focus on building more affordable housing.
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Mr. Chair, we want all Canadians to have access to safe and secure housing. Certainly the younger generation needs more opportunities to afford homes; that is why we are doing the doubling of construction across the country.
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