44th Parl. 1st Sess.
December 8, 2022 10:00AM
- Dec/8/22 1:08:18 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, the issue of disabilities and how we can assist and support those disabilities was really amplified by the problems during the pandemic, when it came time to ensure that we could provide direct payments to people with disabilities.
At the time I thought it took a while before we could ultimately create the databank or the mechanism that would ensure there would be a disability payment going out. We were able to do that. I know the minister responsible also has some fairly historic legislation. I do not necessarily know all the details of it. I am open to it. In the legislation the member just referenced, there is the intergenerational credit for housing, which helps seniors and people with a disability for whom additional suites can be built. That is a positive thing.
This might not be the type of detailed answer the member would want, but that is the best I can give at this point.
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- Dec/8/22 3:12:12 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, yesterday, the Bank of Canada's interest rate was hiked yet again. Interest rates have already fuelled the high cost of rent, and this will just make it worse. Canadians are now facing a nearly 12% rent hike. In Vancouver, a one-bedroom apartment costs over $2,576, more than a 17% increase from last year.
The NDP has always said that the $500 housing benefit is not enough. Will the government help renters by expanding and extending the housing benefit?
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- Dec/8/22 3:12:52 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, unfortunately, the hon. member has not stated all the facts.
The fact of the matter is that we are the government that introduced the Canada housing benefit, which is already delivering an average of $2,500 to vulnerable renters across the country, and it is active in all 10 provinces and three territories. The $500 top-up that the hon. member is mentioning is on top of that $2,500 average payment. On top of that, we are moving ahead with the rapid housing initiative, the national housing co-investment fund and more supports for vulnerable renters.
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- Dec/8/22 3:57:31 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I also commend my colleague for his French. He has really made a lot more effort than some. He spoke more in French than many of the Liberal members from Quebec that we have heard speak recently in the House. I commend him and thank him for that.
He spoke a lot about housing. Today, the federal housing advocate released a report on homelessness that is rather critical of what is currently happening in Canada. I will read an excerpt from her press release, which states, and I quote: “Today, the Office of the Federal Housing Advocate released a series of research reports on homeless encampments that confirm a human rights crisis is unfolding in cities across Canada”.
Here, in a G7 country, we are experiencing a human rights crisis when it comes to housing and homelessness. How will the government respond to that report?
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- Dec/8/22 3:58:29 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for his question this afternoon. As regards housing and the cost of living across the country, it is very important to bring in measures to help all Canadians.
On the housing front, with the measures put in place by the fall economic statement, some of which will flow through Bill C-32 and the upcoming housing accelerator fund, we will work with all levels of government to ensure that the housing supply is boosted for Canadian families, for first-time buyers and for Canadians from coast to coast to coast.
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- Dec/8/22 7:25:48 p.m.
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All right. Maybe it has just been a long day.
Let us move on to the next speaker, the hon. Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Housing and Diversity and Inclusion.
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