Oral Questions
Madam Speaker, if Canada is to succeed, we know we have to get our resources to market. That is why the TMX pipeline is so important. The member knows, or ought to know, that the government does not intend to be the long-term owner of the project. A divestment process will be initiated once the project is more advanced, de-risked and, essentially, when consultations with indigenous peoples are com…
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Madam Speaker, I have to really question the member's understanding of economics. I thought he knew, but I am wondering now. Inflation is a global phenomenon and in Canada, in fact, it is declining. What is the member going to do when it comes to voting on the budget? Is he going to stand and declare an intention to support child care in this country, to make sure that we have a vision of fairness…
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Mr. Speaker, whether it is co-op housing, missing middle housing, duplexes, triplexes, fourplexes or mid-rise apartments, the focus of the government is building more and dealing with that crisis in supply. This is what the government is seized with. In fact, I recently met with the federation responsible for co-op housing and its advocacy in this country. They remarked how happy they were with th…
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Madam Speaker, I remember that not too long ago the member was begging to be a member of the Liberal caucus. That did not really work out for him. He is now auditioning to join the other side. He can. He will find a place over there, where they want to cut child care, dental care and pharmacare. A few weeks ago, when the government tabled pharmacare legislation, the Leader of the Opposition ran aw…
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Madam Speaker, our government has been very clear on this issue. Our record is also very clear. Relations between the Government of Canada and the municipal governments are very strong. We see that. We see that in different ways throughout the country. We will continue to engage with municipalities on infrastructure matters and related matters. I am happy to discuss further with the member the spe…
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Madam Speaker, the idea is not without merit, and I thank the hon. colleague for raising it here today. I am not going to talk about what may or may not be in the budget, but what we do focus on is the well-being of Canadian families. In recent years, we have seen a massive decline in poverty throughout the country and, in particular, child poverty. When Canadians needed their government there dur…
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Mr. Speaker, I am happy to take up this specific matter with the member after question period to know more about that specific case in Nanaimo, but I will say that the federal government is absolutely committed to ensuring there is greater supply. Supply is always what underpins a housing crisis, in this country and every other country that is experiencing exactly that. We need to see more being b…
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Mr. Speaker, that colleague is from Ontario where I am from and the climate rebate that Ontarians will receive is over $1,100. That is for a family of four. I am not surprised, though, to hear that member and the Conservatives continue to bring up these points. They want to take money out of the pockets of Canadians. Today, historic legislation was tabled in the House of Commons with respect to ph…
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Madam Speaker, yesterday I made the comment that the hon. colleague takes a non-partisan approach to issues, and he does, which is why I am surprised that he continues to maintain the approach he does today. He knows very well that the government has invested in over 8,500 bridge, road or highway projects across the country. We are proud that has happened, and it needs to continue. However, direct…
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Madam Speaker, I regularly participate in question period, and this is the first time I have heard the member raise this particular issue. I am sincere when I say that I am happy to talk with him after question period to learn more about his particular concern. However, which of the almost 4,000 road, bridge or highway projects that have been funded just in the province of Ontario alone, where the…
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Madam Speaker, there is $223 million for 736 road, bridge and infrastructure projects in British Columbia, where the member is from. How many did he vote for? He voted for zero. Where is his support for his constituents and his province? I know he is a sincere member. I have heard him speak in the House many times. I am not sure what has happened, whether he has been whipped to not support the par…
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Madam Speaker, we will ensure a continued competitive environment for brewers and vintners. That environment is one that allows for people to go out and buy their beer or buy their wine, or whatever they wish to do with their free time. In this country, we want to ensure continued success, and what do we see? We see a very low unemployment rate that is lower than what was the case before the pande…
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Madam Speaker, as I said, we will continue to do everything we can to ensure a competitive environment for brewers, for the vintner sector and for all Canadians. However, it is interesting: The member talks about unions. That is what stood out in his question. The Conservative Party is the party of unions all of a sudden? I could not think of anything less true. Throughout the Conservatives' tenur…
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Mr. Speaker, I think the housing crisis calls for a co-operative approach. What is the Leader of the Opposition's approach? He insults the mayors of Quebec City, Montreal and throughout Canada. That is not how to engage in a serious housing policy. The accelerator fund that he points to is incenting change at the zoning level municipally. That is critical if we are going to see more supply. It is …
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Mr. Speaker, it is shame; he should follow the proceedings of the finance committee more closely because just a few months ago, officials there testified that his private member's bill, supposedly meant to build more housing, would do exactly the opposite. He wants to tax home builders. He wants to cut infrastructure that communities require for housing purposes. His best idea, it would seem, to b…
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Mr. Speaker, first of all, I thank the member for what she brings to the House. I know her advocacy on a range of issues matters and does make a difference. On this side, Liberal MPs, since 2015, have ensured that this government invests in infrastructure and invests in roads and highways. I will give examples of northern infrastructure investments. We are talking about $10.5 million for the Inuvi…
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Mr. Speaker, we know that infrastructure investment is absolutely vital to economic growth. As part of our infrastructure policy, we are talking about almost 400 road and highway projects that have been invested in at the federal level. That is just one example of a fund that is at work. I have mentioned already northern examples. Let me give the example, of course, of the Gordie Howe Bridge, whic…
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Mr. Speaker, it is a bit rich to continue to hear the Conservatives talk about road infrastructure in particular, but infrastructure in general, which they continued to cut in their time in office and would do the same if they were back in power. In the GTA, and I will give examples, there are $2.3 billion to build the Scarborough subway extension; $1.9 billion to build the Eglinton cross-town wes…
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Mr. Speaker, there are almost 3,000 road and bridge projects in Ontario. That is just one example. I remember when, in this House of Commons, the government moved forward on talking with Windsor and engaging with Governor Rick Snyder in the state of Michigan. This was done years ago to make sure the Gordie Howe bridge would be a reality, and they were against it. We have put in $6 billion to make …
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Mr. Speaker, that is very interesting. The member should have checked the record. It is stunning. As a B.C. MP, he voted against over $1 million for the 100 Mile House Horse Lake Road Bridge replacement in that province. It is an example of Conservative hypocrisy on the other side. On the one hand, they want to stand for infrastructure investment and support roads. On the other, any time the curre…
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Mr. Speaker, there are more slogans from the other side. Why is it a slogan? It is because there is no sincerity, and there is no sincerity because Conservatives want to cut funding to cities. They want to cut funding to towns. Every time we put measures on the table to make sure that municipalities are better supported and provinces are there with us, they stand in the way of that. I have given e…
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Mr. Speaker, I know that member, and I have known him for many years, to be someone who brings a non-partisan approach. However, such is the approach of the Leader of the Opposition that even someone like him has taken a decidedly partisan approach to such critical issues. What do we see? Nearly 3,000 road and bridge projects, at $2.1 billion, have been funded by the current government, but the Co…
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Mr. Speaker, $470 million is the amount the federal government has allocated through, among other things, the Canada housing benefit, which was recently topped up. We will continue to support Canadians going through a difficult time and make sure that we are working with different orders of government to ensure that the outcome is a real, lasting and meaningful one for Canadians who are challenged…
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Mr. Speaker, it is unfortunate that the member contradicts himself every time he speaks. Just a few days ago, he was praising the federal government's record on housing. Today, he critiques it. Let me offer something else regarding contradiction. He talks about the challenges of homelessness, which admittedly are unacceptable in this country, and unaffordability in housing, which is unacceptable i…
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Mr. Speaker, those are more slogans from the member and the party opposite. What do we see on our side? We are putting serious measures forward to work with municipalities. Across the country, over 500 municipalities have applied for the housing accelerator fund. We have completed deals with 30 municipalities, working with mayors, not denigrating them. What do we hear on the other side? We hear no…
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Madam Speaker, I will take this opportunity to inform the House that I will be sharing my time with the member for St. Catharines. We are discussing an important matter today. It is interesting the Conservatives have decided to bring up in this way, through an opposition motion, rather than putting serious and constructive measures on the table whether at committee or in other places. Be that as i…
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Madam Speaker, first of all, I will say to my hon. colleague that I did prepare the speech myself. I am not sure if his notes came from the opposition leader's office, but I did see that he spoke off the cuff and therefore I am going to make the assumption, I will be charitable, that he came up with the question, and as a former prosecutor, I certainly hope that he did. In fact, to go back to that…
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Madam Speaker, our colleague is wondering why we need to have a meeting now and why the government is taking this approach. It is interesting to hear a Bloc member say that, because the Bloc is always talking in the House about the importance of co-operation between the federal, provincial—Quebec in particular—and municipal governments throughout Canada. In this case, however, she is saying that w…
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Madam Speaker, I have a lot of respect for my colleague, because he always offers constructive ideas and has something important to say every time he speaks. I know that he has spoken in the past about the importance of making sure that we are investing in youth programs as a preventative measure. I think that has a place in this conversation but I also take very seriously the idea that criminals …
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Mr. Speaker, the member talks about affordable housing. There have been 500 applications from across the country, and 30 deals have been completed thus far. That will continue. What do we see as a result? It is adding to supply, which, of course, underpins the housing crisis in front of us. The housing crisis is ultimately a crisis in supply, which is why we are working with municipalities, partic…
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Madam Speaker, every member of Parliament recognizes that the first honour of this job is the honour of representing their community and those who make it up. Along the way, we meet tremendous people. One of those was Tom Hennessy, who recently passed away at the age of 101. He served multiple campaigns in World War II as a fighter pilot. Later, he continued to give back to our community by becomi…
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Madam Speaker, yes, I agree that there is a housing crisis in our country. What is the best approach? The best approach is what our government is doing. What have we done since certainly this fall but also throughout our tenure in government? We have let more homes be built in this country and put in place serious measures to work with municipalities. In fact, we have an agreement with the Provinc…
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Madam Speaker, they say they have the backs of Canadians. It is interesting and hypocritical for them to point arguments like that out time and again. What did we learn yesterday? We learned that the chief adviser to the opposition leader has served as the chief lobbyist for Galen Weston and Loblaws. Today we learned something else. The opposition leader ought to get in touch with his deputy leade…
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Madam Speaker, the member is an associate member of the finance committee. Yesterday, the Governor of the Bank of Canada appeared there and made it clear that carbon pricing is not a fundamental factor in inflation. What is important is the fact that we have to get behind the idea of competition. The Liberal government has put forward a measure that would advance competition in the grocery sector.…
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Madam Speaker, we have worked, as members know, with the City of Calgary on a range of matters, including getting more housing built through the housing accelerator fund. However, I find the hypocrisy in the Conservative position stunning. The Conservatives continue to talk about the vulnerable when we know what they would do if they were in office. They would cut pensions. They would cut EI. The …
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Madam Speaker, I have a good rapport with the colleague opposite. We work together on the HUMA committee, but it is hard to take him seriously in the House today when we know that recently he has voted against 99 units of housing for his own community. At 520 Isaac Street, and he can go down there as I am sure he knows where that is, 99 units of housing have been built as a result of the Liberal g…
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Madam Speaker, if he wants to see the results of the national housing strategy, again, I will remind him to go down to 520 Isaac Street in his riding. He can see the results: 99 units of housing. As far as the other points raised, he is talking about the housing accelerator fund. Yes, we have concluded agreements with 30 communities that will incentivize zoning changes that lead to the constructio…
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Madam Speaker, it would be interesting to look at the Conservative Party's history when it comes to taxes. We know that deficit after deficit is the story of the Conservative Party. In fact, now we see a AAA credit rating and the lowest debt-to-GDP ratio in the G7. We co-rank third in the OECD when it comes to attracting foreign direct investment. Deal after deal has been concluded by the Minister…
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Madam Speaker, we will continue to work with the beer sector and vintners to ensure that they are competitive. In fact, if we look at the wider Canadian economy, what do we see? We see a lower unemployment rate than existed before the pandemic. There are more jobs working now than before the pandemic. That party continues to put forward an austerity agenda that would do what? It would cut pensions…
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Madam Speaker, I am happy to do exactly that, but let me first say that the member's tireless advocacy led to agreements like the one completed with Squamish. In fact, other MPs on this side have also worked to ensure outcomes through the housing accelerator fund. I have talked about it before, but it bears repeating. This is a fund that ensures incentives on the municipality's part to change zoni…
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Madam Speaker, that is quite the statement from the member opposite, who in the past has voted to not go ahead with tax cuts for the middle class and who has voted against the Canada child benefit. Just a few days ago, the Conservatives voted against more homes being built. They voted against, in fact, shelter spaces for women and children who are trying to escape domestic violence. It is true, of…
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Mr. Speaker, Canada's future prosperity depends on embracing science, technology, engineering and math, or STEM. The problem is that young people tend to lose interest in STEM by the time they finish high school. Since 1993, London-based organization Let's Talk Science has tried to address that challenge by providing vital programming and resource support for teachers who bring science to life, ma…
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Madam Speaker, I remind my colleague, and he knows this very well, that funding has been allocated and we are seeing results in his own province, in his own community. I would point to funding that was announced. There was $13 million for 78 homes for indigenous peoples throughout Manitoba that came through the rapid housing initiative. In June 2023, $12 million was announced for 57 units; this go…
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Madam Speaker, I agree with the hon. colleague on a few things. I agree that the lack of investment on the part of previous governments, Liberal and Conservative, has taken us to this point where Canada has a genuine housing crisis in front of it. We have to recognize that first and foremost. I would also say that the housing crisis and the lack of affordability we find is ultimately underpinned b…
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Mr. Speaker, the member fails to mention the advocacy of Toronto MPs who pushed for this government to invest no less than $290 million for the City of Toronto so that it could respond to homelessness challenges. That is exactly what is happening. We will continue to work with that municipality and with other municipalities across the country. This is an unacceptable situation that we find ourselv…
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Mr. Speaker, I rise to honour two new inductees into the London and District Business Hall of Fame. The first is Allan Drewlo, president of Drewlo Holdings. He helped make the company one of the country's largest leading real estate development and property management firms. On top of that, he is an important philanthropist in our community. He has supported, among others, the Kidney Foundation, t…
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Mr. Speaker, the point on the acquisition fund is one that the member and I have discussed in the past, and it does merit further consideration, but I also point to the various other programs that are part of the national housing strategy that he mentioned: the rapid housing initiative and the national co-investment fund. These programs combined, added to others, have lifted 70,000 people off the …
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Mr. Speaker, I am sure the member is very good at math; he is just not looking at all the numbers. The national housing strategy has resulted in 113,000 new units that are either built or will be built, and 126,000 units that have been repaired or are scheduled for repair. In the member's community, or at least in a portion of his community, because he does represent a portion of the Peel region, …
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Mr. Speaker, I listened to my colleague, and with all due respect, it is rather difficult to take him seriously here tonight. First of all, he made the mistake of not reading the most recent CMHC report on housing starts. In fact, housing starts are up. However, let us move to the matter at hand, which is really cost. I do agree with him that, whether it is renting or buying, costs are too high. H…
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Mr. Speaker, there are 70,000 new units for individuals who have experienced homelessness, and 122,000 people who were close to being homeless are not homeless because of the national housing strategy. That applies to what I just said before on homelessness. The member rightly brings up the plight and position of women who experience homelessness. Over 400 units of shelter were either renovated or…
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