Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, I can just imagine the setting when the leader of the Conservatives sat down with the napkin he wrote his housing plan on and thought, “What can I do to address the housing crisis? Idea one, raise taxes on home construction.” I cannot make this stuff up, but that is not all. The Conservatives also plan to cut funding for affordable housing. They plan to cut funding for cities that bui…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, he wants to talk about our policies on affordability. How about the Canada child benefit, which puts more money in the pockets of nine out of 10 Canadian families and stops sending child care checks to millionaires? His party voted against it. Let us look at the change that restored the age of retirement to 65 from 67. His party voted against it. Let us look at the guaranteed income s…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, I am curious about whether the hon. member has actually approached Conservative premiers across Canada, who maintain their own taxes on fuel. In particular, in the province of Alberta, Danielle Smith has increased the price of fuel by 13¢ and offers no rebate. I expect she knows very well that the majority of families receive more than they pay in a fuel tax, but facts do not seem to …
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, that is interesting, considering that my colleague who asked the question has no plan to fix the situation. We have a plan to make the investments needed to build housing. For example, we signed an agreement with Quebec to build 8,000 affordable housing units. To contrast, the Leader of the Opposition, when he was housing minister, was only able to build six units across the entire co…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Madam Speaker, we understand the very serious challenges that families are facing when it comes to the cost of housing, which is why we put a plan on the table that is designed to solve Canada's national housing crisis. What is fascinating is that, in the member's own riding, we have actually invested $31.5 million in that community to build thousands of homes, which she and her party oppose. More…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Madam Speaker, I appreciate the question. It is a very interesting question, coming from a member who supports a plan that is devoid of any measures to assist renters or build affordable housing, but that does include measures that increase tax rates on new apartments. That is no good. We have a plan for making investments to build affordable housing. For example, we signed an agreement with Quebe…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Madam Speaker, if my hon. friend is interested in a tragedy of oversights, I would direct him to the plan put forward by his leader when it comes to housing, which does not advance a single measure designed to help renters with the cost of living. The plan that he is now campaigning on would literally increase taxes on rental construction in this country by putting the GST back on those constructi…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Madam Speaker, first, to correct the misinformation, there is money flowing to projects, including in the member's province, as we speak. We have signed multi-billion dollar deals with provinces to build housing. We have invested billions more to help in the construction of nearly 500,000 units since the inception of the national housing strategy. However, the member seems to ignore the fact that …
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Madam Speaker, I would point to the recent federal budget, in which we announced that we would not only be taking measures to prevent corporate landowners from buying up single-family homes but also advancing measures to protect renters and bring down the cost of rent by adding more supply. We are moving forward with programs that introduce low-cost financing for more rental construction. We have …
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, I think it is important that we work together across party lines to advance solutions when it comes to affordable housing, including the programs that are run through the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation. I would be happy to dig into the specifics of the application that the Trochu Housing Corporation made to understand where it may sit and, if it is in the application proces…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, I think it is very important to use every measure to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the energy sector. It is very important to reduce these emissions to protect the entire world. I have had conversations with people in the energy sector and companies that have the skills to create technologies to reduce emissions. It is possible to use programs in the bill to reduce greenhouse g…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, there are a number of specific elements over and above the emissions reduction plan that we have put forward over the past number of years to advance a world-leading plan to reduce emissions, particularly in an energy-producing country like Canada. An example in this specific piece of legislation is the new investment tax credits to support the advancement of green technology, which…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, there are a number of pieces of misinformation included in my colleague's question. First, I do not know if he appreciates this, but this is actually a minority Parliament and he seems to have described it differently. Second, the member talks about the investments that we have been making, which are helping communities across Canada, as a negative thing. The reality is that, if he …
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague for her advocacy. There are a number of members in the chamber who were pushing for that same change, and I congratulate them on the effectiveness of their advocacy. Here we are advancing that change through federal legislation that is being debated at this very moment. The removal of the GST for psychotherapy is essential. Mental health services a…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, I had the opportunity to meet my hon. colleague, the parliamentary secretary, in his community and to meet with some of the service providers who are providing solutions when it comes to affordable and supportive housing on the ground in London. It is very clear the member makes it a priority and has meaningful relationships with those who are advancing housing solutions for vulnera…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, I will acknowledge that I know where Revelstoke is located. I have been there a number of different times, and it is a beautiful part of the country. I would encourage anyone who has not had the privilege of visiting to take the opportunity and support the local tourism sector in Revelstoke. With respect to the housing accelerator fund, we move forward on agreements with the most am…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, I want to draw attention to the efforts of my colleague, not only for his question today, but also for his extraordinary work when it comes to leveraging opportunities in the clean economy, particularly when it comes to social finance. We have decided to move forward with a unique approach, introducing investment tax credits to generate economic activity that will help provide clima…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, I had an opportunity to visit my hon. colleague's community, where she graciously hosted me to meet with certain stakeholders there. She is a fierce advocate for more housing in Canada's north. In addition to some of the programs that will operate through non-profits or directly support rights holders who represent distinctions-based communities in Canada's north and across the coun…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, I would first like to thank my colleague for his question and for giving me the opportunity to practise my French. Normally, we do not want to use time allocation for debates in the House, but under the circumstances, it is very important because the bill was introduced last fall, and now it is spring. There was winter and then spring. It is essential that we adopt these measures to…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, one thing that the hon. member and I have in common is that we both come from communities that have seen devastating impacts from severe weather events. That is part of the reason that we need to do everything we can from both a mitigation and an adaptation point of view; we need to ensure that we are there for communities that been impacted. With respect to the disaster financial a…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, with all due respect, I disagree with my colleague. It is very important to recognize that there is a Department of Infrastructure as well as organizations, such as the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, that implement housing policies and manage programs to support housing across the country. The purpose of the bill is not to create a new entity but to give ourselves the abil…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, with respect, when one is faced with an opposition that will obstruct and delay the process in the chamber, it can make it difficult to get legislation passed, but that will not stop us. The member is right to point out that we are going to use time allocation. I am glad he sees common sense in that approach, given that the fall economic statement was in the fall of last year. Since…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, if my hon. colleague is concerned about tax increases, I suggest he talk to the leader of his own party, who is proposing to increase taxes on new apartment construction by putting the GST back on apartment rentals in this country. The Conservatives' plan is to raise taxes on home construction. Their plan is to cut funding for the communities that are going to build homes. Their leade…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, my hon. colleague led off by pointing out that the fall economic statement feels like a very long time ago, hence the need to move forward with time allocation to actually implement the measures included in the fall economic statement now that we are into the following spring. He mentioned the home ownership prices and the rental challenges a lot of families are having in his commun…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, my colleague is quite right to point out the members for Vancouver East and Nunavut for their advocacy, alongside a number of members from different parties in the House. She is also correct to point out the disproportionate impact of homelessness on indigenous peoples across Canada, both the housing needs in indigenous communities and those of indigenous people who have had that co…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, there are a number of people who watch politics and there are a number of people who count on us to do our jobs who do not watch it that closely. I think Canadians would be disappointed to see some of the games that are played to slow down progress. If a member disagrees with the measures being put forward by the government, they have an opportunity to debate and they have an opport…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, the Conservative Party is using the most vulnerable people as political pawns. It is unacceptable. The truth is that we are building 150,000 affordable housing units under the national housing strategy. In contrast, when the Conservative leader was minister responsible for housing, only six affordable housing units were built across the country. That is unacceptable. We are making inv…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, it is difficult to accept criticisms from the Conservative Party when it comes to housing, when both its record and its plan demonstrate it has no interest in solving the housing crisis. Its members are now campaigning on a commitment to cut funding for the programs that actually support home construction. They are campaigning on a commitment to raise taxes on new apartment constructi…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, I understand that the situation is difficult for renters and those who do not have any housing solutions. That is why the government is holding discussions and negotiations to reach an agreement with Quebec to build affordable housing. With the money from the federal government, Quebec will be able to build up to 8,000 affordable housing units. The Conservative Party's position is to …
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, if the member thinks there is a housing problem in Quebec, why did he oppose the program to support the construction of housing in Quebec? One, two, three, four, five, six. Six is the total number of affordable housing units built with the support of the federal government when the leader of the Conservative Party was the minister responsible for housing. We are making investments to …
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, as I give this answer, the Conservatives jeer because they do not support the measures that would help vulnerable people in this country. We will stand up for the middle class. We will stand up for the vulnerable. It is a shame the Conservatives will not join us.
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, in the recent federal budget, we put forward a plan to establish fairness for every generation that would ask the wealthiest to pay a little more so we can fund the things that really matter to the people who have been struggling the last couple of years. We have plans that would reduce the cost of living by reducing the cost of housing and solving the housing crisis. We have a plan t…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, on the contrary, we are investing to build homes in Quebec. For example, with the housing accelerator fund, we are concluding an agreement worth $1.8 billion with the province of Quebec to build 8,000 affordable housing units across the province. The Conservative Party opposes this investment. That is unbelievable. We continue to invest in order to make things better and build more af…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, my colleague talks about putting food on the table. I am proud to be part of a government that believes that hungry kids should have food on the table. I am proud to be part of a government that is taking action to implement a school food program so those hungry kids are able to eat when they go to school. It is unbelievable to me to hear this rhetoric from Conservative opposition mem…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, it is hard to take seriously the hon. member's criticism when he and his party voted against a pay raise for the men and women who serve this country in uniform. When we come to this chamber every day, we have an opportunity to stand up for policies that help middle-class families put food on the table. When we cut taxes for the middle class and raised it on the wealthiest 1%, the Con…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, it is vital that we invest in building housing. In fact, we are making investments along with Quebec in building affordable housing. After reaching a $1.8-billion agreement with Quebec, we are going to build 8,000 affordable housing units in Quebec alone. In comparison, across the entire country when the Conservative leader was the housing minister, the Conservatives constructed a tot…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, it is laughable when I hear the Conservative leader talk about affordability. He mentioned in a previous question some concerns he has around our housing policy. His plan to build more homes is to cut investments in homebuilding and to raise taxes on those who are building homes. When it comes to actually changing the ways cities build homes, his deputy leader held a press conference …
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, it is interesting because he has actually put his plan on the record. His plan includes putting the GST back on apartment construction for hundreds of thousands of middle-class homes in this country. He has one of the worst records of anyone in the past decade when it comes to getting homes built, from when he had the position responsible for housing in Parliament. While he was minist…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, let me begin by offering my sincere congratulations to our newest colleague in the House of Commons. It is wonderful to have him here. What the member may not realize, being new to the House, is that his leader is actively campaigning on commitments to build fewer homes than we have already projected to build. He may not realize that the Conservative leader has promised to raise taxes…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, I take the question with a heavy dose of irony, considering that we have invested $31.5 million in that member's constituency through the housing accelerator fund. Moreover, this is a fund that not only she, but every Conservative member of Parliament, vows to take apart should the Conservatives form government. Where they will cut funds for housing, we will make the investment. Where…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, it is very important to invest in building a greater number of more affordable housing units more quickly. We have been making the investments necessary to ensure that we can solve the housing crisis. We are working at the same time to help grow the economy as we put money on the table, as we announced this week, to create an acquisition fund for non-profits that are going to maintain…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, my colleague is looking for a fight, but I am looking for a solution. He was asking that same question before the housing accelerator fund. We talked and negotiated, and now we have a $1.8‑billion agreement to build affordable housing in all the provinces. We will keep making the necessary investments to fix the housing crisis in Quebec and across the country.
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, we are putting forward policies that are going to help solve the national housing crisis. We know that higher interest rate environments have made it difficult to build homes. That is why we are cutting taxes on new home construction, which the Conservatives oppose. It is why we are putting more money on the table to build new apartments, which they oppose. It is why we are putting mo…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, let me begin by congratulating my friend and colleague on his recent appointment; I look forward to working with him to defend the most vulnerable in the months ahead. With respect, over the last number of years, we have put investments on the table that are building affordable housing for low-income families, and we are accelerating that work. The upcoming federal budget is going to …
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, let me thank my hon. colleague for his advocacy for his community, which is going to help get thousands of homes built in Richmond over the course of the next number of years. In the upcoming federal budget, we are going to continue to put measures on the table that help accelerate the pace of homebuilding. This includes low-cost financing to add tens of thousands of new rental units.…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Chair, of course, as an Atlantic Canadian and a Nova Scotian, his contributions to our region cannot be understated. He helped found the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency, the regional development agency for Atlantic Canada. I happened to be present during the Atlantic Economic Forum, which we helped co-found at our shared alma mater of StFX, where the current Prime Minister actually pres…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, every instance the Conservatives have an opportunity to speak in the House, they advocate one of two things: to do less on the environment or to take money from families in my community. I will support neither. We will do whatever we can to put more money in the pockets of families and do the right thing for future generations.
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives want to peddle false information to trick Canadians into voting for them. The reality proven not by projections, but by real-world data, is that people who live in my province receive more money every year from the rebates that they receive than the fuel charge that they pay. Everything the Conservatives do—
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, over the past year and a half in our home province of Nova Scotia, we have felt the impacts of climate change more than any other part of the country, with wildfires, hurricane Fiona and floods in the hon. member's riding. He has been a staunch advocate for rural communities and for the agricultural sector every step of the way. Because of his advocacy, we have doubled the rural rebat…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for his advocacy. I had the opportunity to be in Edmonton recently to meet with the mayor and the provincial minister in Alberta, as well as with my colleague, the member for Edmonton Centre. We are working hard to advance additional funding to support community-based organizations that support Canadians who are living without a roof over their head. We also ve…
Read full speech →