44th Parl. 1st Sess.
November 29, 2022 10:00AM
Madam Speaker, last week, the Auditor General of Canada tabled a rather scathing report on housing.
My colleague talked about how, five years ago, the government launched the national housing strategy, a major housing initiative to put an end to chronic homelessness in Canada. Five years later, the government has spent a lot of money, but we have no idea what results have been achieved. There is no accountability. That is scandalous and needs to stop. We know that indigenous peoples are overrepresented when it comes to homelessness, particularly in our cities.
My colleague talked a lot about the fact that the government is spending a lot of money without getting any results. That is true, but what is the solution? What do we need to do? There are major housing problems in indigenous communities across the country, particularly in Quebec, northern Ontario, Saskatchewan and Manitoba.
What do we need to do and how can we put an end to the housing problem in indigenous communities across the country?
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Madam Speaker, I will ask a clear question.
This morning, we are talking about indigenous peoples. When the federal government tabled its budget in April, it announced that it would be investing $300 million through CMHC to co-develop and launch an urban, rural and northern indigenous housing strategy.
A few weeks ago, I met with representatives of the Canadian Housing and Renewal Association here in Ottawa. They are very concerned, because it has been six months and nothing has been done.
When the government made that announcement, people were happy. They thought that the government was investing money and was aware of the housing problem on Indigenous reserves, but nothing has been done. Does my colleague have any information he can share with us this morning? Can he tell us when things will start happening?
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Madam Speaker, I lived up north. I have travelled the Highway of Tears. I lived in Kenora and saw the abject misery on the White Dog and Grassy Narrows reserves. I have seen over the years, particularly my years in media, various attempts to improve housing and many other services. Housing is an ongoing issue.
If I can digress just a little bit, to me there is an opportunity here. As we look at the transition in our petrochemical industry, there is an opportunity to maybe move to a pilot program to 3D-print houses, which we can do using some of the very compounds we extract from the ground right now. We do not burn them for fuel. Instead, we can build far more dependable and durable houses for people in areas where getting supplies is very difficult.
That is part of the answer, I believe.
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- Nov/29/22 2:20:32 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, housing is a human right. I am proud of our government that is investing in building affordable and social housing in our communities. In fact, these investments in building new homes are taking place now.
Just last week, I was honoured to announce funding for 240 new affordable homes in my community of Ottawa Centre, along with our Minister of Housing. This includes projects led by CCOC and Ottawa Community Housing, two of the most important not-for-profit housing providers in our city.
Another project from the John Howard Society will offer supportive housing for indigenous women experiencing homelessness. This is all in addition to previous investments by our government since 2015 that add up to almost 2,000 new affordable homes, with over 11,000 retrofitted units just in my community of Ottawa Centre.
Housing is a human right.
Our government will continue its work until every Canadian can find a safe and affordable home. We can end chronic homelessness in our country.
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Mr. Speaker, I am entering my eighth year as the MP for Manicouagan. I have seen some great successes over the years, but at times I become cynical. When that happens, I tell myself that it is a question of willingness.
We have seen it many times: Large sums of money are spent, very easily, without any criteria. It is not always clear which numbers go with what. There can be some secrecy there.
There are some real concerns right now. We have concrete demands that everyone agrees on, but nothing is happening. We talk about elders, women and girls, and housing is part of that as well. It is one of the factors that keeps this violence going. Then there is the fact that seniors are facing difficulties and health is an issue.
I totally agree with my colleague. It is a question of willingness. That is perhaps one of the only things I cannot give the government as an opposition member.
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