SoVote

Right Hon. Justin Trudeau (Prime Minister, Lib.)

Apr/5/22 2:28:04 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we often point out that the Bloc Québécois stirs up trouble, but today it is insulting the integrity of the mayor of Montreal and the mayor of Quebec City, who are very sincere in their desire to ensure that their citizens and the entire country have a cleaner environment and a more prosperous future. We are here to work with all Quebeckers, including the Bloc, on the files that are important to all Quebeckers and Canadians. We will continue to be a constructive and ambitious government in the area of climate change as we help families across the country.

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Context: House Hansard - 53 - Apr/5/22

Hon. Ahmed Hussen (Minister of Housing and Diversity and Inclusion, Lib.)

Apr/5/22 2:37:20 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, all Canadians deserve a safe and affordable place to call home. If the Conservatives will not listen to me, perhaps they will listen to the former Conservative minister and current Mayor of London, Ed Holder. With regard to our investments through the rapid housing initiative, he said: This funding...will save lives and ultimately improve the lives of those who come to occupy these desperately needed units.... We are exceptionally grateful that our commitment to this vital work is shared with equal enthusiasm by the Government of Canada. The Conservatives voted against that, and they voted against every other affordable housing measure that we introduced.

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Context: House Hansard - 53 - Apr/5/22

Hon. Ahmed Hussen (Minister of Housing and Diversity and Inclusion, Lib.)

Apr/5/22 2:47:22 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, this is what the mayor of Winnipeg, Brian Bowman, said about the rapid housing initiative: This program has been a huge success for Winnipeg. I would invite members on the other side to look at their record. They voted against the first-time homebuyer incentive. They voted against the rapid housing initiative. They voted against the Canada housing benefit. They voted against every single program we have brought to the House. They failed in government when it comes to housing and they are now failing in opposition.

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Context: House Hansard - 53 - Apr/5/22

Mr. Brad Vis (Mission—Matsqui—Fraser Canyon, CPC)

Apr/5/22 6:37:34 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, time and time again I have risen in the House to bring to the government's attention the flooding and wildfire disasters in my riding and the horrific impacts they have had on my communities. I would be remiss if I did not mention that this is budget week and the window of opportunity to receive funds to help repair many of the damages that British Columbians have suffered is quickly closing. In October 2021, I met with the City of Abbotsford along with other members of Parliament to discuss the city's request to the provincial and federal governments for dike infrastructure upgrades. During that meeting, we talked about the record of the City of Abbotsford, which has been making these requests for many years, and even the fact that the member for Langley—Aldergrove, the member for Abbotsford and I were in a meeting with the mayor just a few weeks prior, before the floods happened, talking about the need for the federal government to work with the province and the municipality to address these major infrastructure gaps. When the first request was put in about a decade ago, at the time, estimated upgrades for the dikes would cost approximately $500 million. Fast-forward to a few months ago, and the cost to upgrade flood mitigation infrastructure has skyrocketed. The City of Abbotsford put forward four options to mitigate the threat of the Nooksack River overflowing its banks again. The options ranged in cost from $209 million, which would restore us to the previous standard and offers little protection, to a whopping $2.8 billion, which would provide protection for Matsqui, Sumas and Clayburn Village well into the future. Clearly, what happened in my riding and across B.C. was a costly lesson to learn. Hesitation on the part of both provincial and federal governments of Liberal and Conservative stripes to get funding out the door cost our communities a heavy price, and the bill to build back continues to grow. We cannot afford any further delays in building flood mitigation infrastructure moving forward. We know there is going to be another flood. We know that we are going to face another disaster. It might be in 10, 15 or even 30 years, but right now the mind of Canada, as we have the government's attention, is on British Columbia. We have an opportunity to do something that is going to keep people safe for many decades to come. In the last number of weeks, I have probably stood more often on this issue than on any other I have spoken about. The Emergency Planning Secretariat, a local organization for 31 first nations, is calling for some of this work to be done. The Letse'mot community forum that I am part of, which means “one heart” in the Halq'eméylem language, has put forward many requests. I have also met with numerous indigenous bands in my riding: Sq'éwlets, Siska, Spuzzum, Shackan and Lytton First Nation. They are all calling on the federal government to improve emergency responses on indigenous lands. Now is the time to act. Now is the time to protect British Columbia. Now is the time for the government, in the budget on Thursday, to put forward the taxpayer funds to protect British Columbia. I am pleading with the government to give more than $5 billion. Just Abbotsford alone will cover half of that, and we have not even talked about Merritt and other small communities in the Fraser Canyon that cannot afford to pay for the infrastructure upgrades that are required. Taxpayer dollars are needed. I plead with the government to put them in the budget in the next couple of days.

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