44th Parl. 1st Sess.
May 9, 2022 11:00AM
Madam Speaker, over the last couple of months we have seen a total blocking of important legislation by the Conservatives.
Teachers and farmers were basically being stopped from getting the important measures that were in Bill C-8, and that continued on for months. Now we have the budget implementation bill, which does a number of things that the NDP has pushed the government to put into place, including the first stage of national dental care. Thousands of people in the official opposition House leader's riding, Barrie—Innisfil, would benefit from that, and yet the Conservatives do not want to let it go through.
We have not seen any real, substantive action by the federal government on affordable housing for decades, and now, finally, in the budget implementation bill and in the budget this year, because of the confidence and supply agreement with the NDP, we are seeing tens of thousands of affordable housing units that could be built, including in Barrie—Innisfil. Right across the country people could benefit.
Why does my colleague, the government House leader, feel the Conservatives have been blocking everything? Why have the Conservatives disrupted every single Routine Proceedings now for almost two weeks, and why are they being so stubborn about refusing to allow important legislation to get through the House, legislation that would help people?
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Mr. Speaker, I am deeply grateful to my colleague for her excellent speech. I have a question for her as an economics expert.
Last year, the president of CMHC told the Standing Committee on Finance that the way to deal with the crisis is to increase supply.
We know the budget contains plenty of housing measures, such as the tax-free first home savings account. These measures will actually boost demand, and many economists say this is counterproductive. What are my colleague's thoughts on that?
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Mr. Speaker, the overheated housing market does differ from one city to the next. We can all agree that Vancouver, Toronto, Montreal and the regions of Quebec do not all have the same problems.
Using a single pan-Canadian measure to address all of the country's challenges is therefore a bad idea. Additionally, the housing problem is caused by a lack of supply, since the occupancy rate is very high. Providing support measures to a segment of the population that is already able to save for a home, which is what the proposed TFSA does, will ultimately stimulate even more demand. It is counterproductive.
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- May/9/22 2:28:55 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, while people are paying more and more for necessities, there is a bunch of bad apples lining their pockets.
In the seven years that this government has been in power, becoming a first-time homeowner has become an impossible dream, and it is getting harder and harder to find decent housing at an affordable price.
In the meantime, the housing market is overheating and there is a growing number of renovictions. Just yesterday, the federal housing advocate, Marie-Josée Houle, told us that Ottawa could address the crisis by combatting the financialization of housing. Will the Liberals listen?
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- May/9/22 2:29:37 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I want to take this opportunity to agree with the hon. member that we need to support renters throughout Canada. We are the government that introduced the Canada housing benefit, and in budget 2022, we are adding more investments in that program, with a top-up of $500 on average to vulnerable renters. This adds to the over $2,500 on average that we provide to the most vulnerable members of our community who need help with rent.
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- May/9/22 2:30:09 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, Canada's housing crisis has been escalated by those using the housing market to make huge profits. The largest 25 financial landlords hold nearly 20% of the country's private rentals. For every one affordable housing unit built, 15 are taken up by investors making money on the backs of Canadians.
It is time to stop treating housing as a stock market. Will the government stop corporate landlords from buying up affordable housing and help non-profits purchase them for Canadians?
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- May/9/22 2:30:51 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I agree with the hon. member that we need to build more rental housing in Canada. That is why, as part of the national housing strategy, we have the rental construction financing initiative, a program that has increased so many times over the last number of budgets because we recognize that as a government we have a responsibility to build the next generation of affordable rental units across the country. In addition to that, while we were building more rentals, we introduced the Canada housing benefit, which we are topping up in budget 2022.
We agree that we need to tackle speculation and agree that we need to build more rental housing, and that is exactly what we are doing.
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- May/9/22 2:31:31 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, millennials were told that if they got a bunch of degrees, a skilled trade and a good job, they would have no problem owning a home, yet they still live in their parents' basements. The government’s signature housing promise to solve this is a new savings account, but people need $8,000 a year in savings to use it. To add insult to injury, the government said that it will put $500 toward a house that people cannot afford, and that is not a typo.
The more the government does, the worse it gets. When will the minister actually help anybody in this country buy a home?
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- May/9/22 2:32:06 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it is really difficult to take the member seriously on this issue because she claimed in the House that we will not build a single affordable home in her region this year. We know that the national housing strategy's rapid housing initiative alone has built 10,250 permanent affordable homes, including in her region. It is really difficult to deal with the misinformation, disinformation and talking down of our housing market every single day from that side of the House.
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- May/9/22 2:32:48 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it used to be thought here in Canada that if people worked hard, made good choices and saved, they could be homeowners, but under the Liberal government housing prices have increased by 100%. Millennials and working Canadians have watched the dream of home ownership slip through their fingers. Never has a government spent so much and congratulated itself more while doing so much damage to the dreams of Canadians.
When will the Liberals climb down from their ivory tower, admit their policies have failed and fix the broken housing system they have created?
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- May/9/22 2:33:27 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I wish the hon. member would save that energy, enthusiasm and advocacy for his own caucus. One day they ask us to move away from investments in housing and leave that money to the provinces. Another time they say that we should not help first-time homebuyers. In another instance they are against the ban on foreign ownership of Canadian residential real estate.
They talk down investments in affordable housing. They do not give any credit to the Canada housing benefit, a program that is helping tens of thousands of Canadians pay their rent.
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- May/9/22 2:34:04 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, in 2015, the government was elected on a promise to make housing affordable, but since then the average Canadian house price has increased by 100%. In Orillia, it is up 300%. The government's solution is to throw a few more billion dollars at the wall and see what sticks, but the shiny new tax-free home savings account will not be available for at least one year. Then people will have five years to deposit enough money to max out the program.
Help is six years away, not today. The government is abandoning young people on housing. Why?
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- May/9/22 2:34:40 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, that is absolutely not true. In one instance, through the housing accelerator fund, we are putting on the table $4 billion to work with the municipalities to increase housing supply. We know that supply is a big part of the challenge facing Canada. Canada has one of the fastest-growing populations among G7 countries, but our housing supply has not kept up with that.
We are also helping first-time homebuyers, and we are making sure that we crack down on speculation and unfair practices in the real estate sector. On top of that, we are doubling down and investing more in affordable housing.
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- May/9/22 2:35:19 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the dream of home ownership is being stolen from my generation, as now 80% of young Canadians do not believe they will ever be able to afford a home. They do not need a few hundred bucks from the government and they do not need a new savings account. They need a plan to address the real issues, like the lack of housing supply.
Over the last seven years, the government has failed to incentivize enough development, creating this housing crisis, so why should Canadians believe that the minister is going to get the job done this time?
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- May/9/22 2:35:55 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the hon. member talks about housing supply, yet that party, including him, voted against the first stage of investments in the housing accelerator fund, a program that single-handedly will deliver 100,000 units in new housing supply across the country. They vote against investments in co-ops, in the rapid housing initiative and to make sure that we reinvest more money in the Canada housing benefit. We are bringing forward money for the national housing co-investment fund to build 22,000 permanent affordable homes, for the housing accelerator fund and for the innovation fund.
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- May/9/22 2:36:37 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, despite all of the government's rhetoric, the reality is that the price of a home continues to be unattainable for many young families. You just have to admit you failed. Now the Liberals say they are going to address housing supply, yet they excluded any measure in the budget implementation act to address housing supply.
When will the government realize that promises and empty rhetoric do not build houses?
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- May/9/22 2:37:12 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the hon. member for Mission—Matsqui—Fraser Canyon is on record as saying that we should walk away from our leadership role and investments in affordable housing and just leave it to the provinces. That is the leadership he is suggesting.
He talks about housing supply. We are dedicated to housing supply through the housing accelerator fund for 100,000 new homes and making permanent, sustainable changes in permitting, zoning, intensification and infrastructure to make sure we build more housing for the future.
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Madam Speaker, I was saying that we are experiencing four major crises in Canada, and I was talking about the housing crisis. I was explaining that there are some measures in the budget that we find a bit dangerous, particularly with regard to speeding up the construction of housing with the municipalities.
In my riding, La Halte du Coin is an organization for the homeless with high acceptance rates. It was set up during the pandemic when there was an outbreak in downtown Longueuil. I want to recognize Nicolas Gildersleeve, the director, and the entire team at La Halte du Coin for the incredible job they do.
All of Longueuil pitched in to make this organization a reality. The homelessness and housing sector in Longueuil is extremely good. Some people have been working in that field for 25 or 30 years. They are experts, very committed and empathetic individuals. I love them and I learn something new from them every time I see them.
Last Thursday, I left here to participate in a fundraiser for La Halte du Coin. Longueuil's entire housing sector was there already. It was remarkable. I wrote down a list of everyone who participated and I thought I would have a chance to name them all, but I really do not have enough time left.
The last time I went to La Halte du Coin, at the beginning of April, the organization was in need of volunteers. Like many such organizations, they need more people. I went by and spent two hours around suppertime serving meals.
That is unique and it is what I wanted to talk about. La Halte du Coin is located in a church on Sainte-Foy Boulevard in Longueuil. The organization serves meals during the day and has 30 beds at night. Around 6 p.m., they ask everyone to leave so that they can get the beds ready. About 50 people had a meal and then went outside to smoke while they waited. That evening in early April was cold and rainy.
After helping to serve supper and set up the beds with the people who were there, I went outside. There were 50 people waiting. It was very upsetting to see because there was not going to be enough room for everyone. Fifty meals were served but there were only 30 beds inside. Those who were unable to get a bed slept on the ground outside the building, in the parking lot or in the ATM vestibule not far from there.
It is terrible. We are unable to house all those who need it in this country. There are many causes for homelessness, including mental health issues and addiction. Homelessness is a complex issue.
I was talking to the people who were there, the homeless. I had the opportunity to talk to them at suppertime. I got the feeling that these are very proud people and that they are not happy about having to rely on a resource for homeless people. They wanted to tell me that soon, in one or two months, they would be able to find a place to live, that they were happy, that they had a job lined up and that things were going to work out. Sometimes that does not happen, but I got the feeling that—
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Madam Speaker, the member is talking about housing. It is important for us to recognize that there is a need for strong leadership on the housing file because it is not only Ottawa that plays a role. The provincial governments, municipal governments and different stakeholders all have a role to play.
I think what we have seen from Ottawa over the last number of years is very strong leadership, whether through the first-ever national housing strategy, the historic amount of public dollars being invested in housing or the support of programs such as housing co-ops.
I am wondering if the member would reflect on the importance of the role that the three levels of government in particular need to play to increase the housing stock in Canada.
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Madam Speaker, let me begin by apologizing for contradicting my colleague, but when he says the federal government has led by example, that is not true.
According to a report published two or three months ago, the government has built only 35,000 units since 2017. In the budget, the government promised to build 100,000 units. We do not even know how that is going to work.
In a newspaper interview a few days ago, the director of the National Housing Council, the organization that was created as part of the National Housing Strategy, said that the strategy had met the needs of only 4.8% of households with urgent housing needs. The point of the strategy is to help the most vulnerable, but right now, it just is not cutting it.
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