44th Parl. 1st Sess.
February 3, 2023 10:00AM
Madam Speaker, the minister told me he is going to Washington next week. I know there is a Chinese surveillance balloon going over the U.S., and I understand the government has withdrawn its terrible firearm amendments to Bill C-21. When the minister is there, if he spots it, maybe he could do something about it with an appropriate firearm.
After eight years, the government is finally getting around to making some administrative changes to the Investment Canada Act. Why is this important? Because foreign direct investment is increasing and causing us great problems in Canada.
I would start off by informing the House that, while we think these amendments are inadequate to deal with the things that are happening, we will be voting in favour, in principle, at second reading of this bill. These amendments improve the bill, just not enough. However, we will be seeking considerable amendments to improve this bill at the committee stage.
The minister went through some of the things the bill does, and I will start by commenting on a few of them. I think the preimplementation filing change required in certain industries when a deal is done, that the filing and notification go to Investment Canada, is good. It should happen after closing. I would have hoped the minister would make all investment applications subject to prefiling. I do not know what the point is of looking at a foreign direct investment after it is closed; it is very difficult to unwind a transaction.
The minister spoke about the streamlining of the process to speed it up within the 45 days. We have some concerns about removing cabinet from that process, not necessarily up front, because I think that process to start it is an important one. However, when the review comes back from officials, either for or against it having a national security or net benefit issue, we believe that should go to cabinet in all cases. I know the experience during the Harper government was that when these things came back to cabinet, there was robust discussion on every one, and this resulted in a better decision, Therefore, we think that the power to actually decide that at the end of the day should still rest with cabinet.
It does add the ability for the minister to create a list of targeted industries through regulation. We would like to learn a little more about what industries the minister is going to address. I think there are industries outside of the list. These include, to be parochial in my neck of the woods, seafood and other areas that are being targeted in the food sector by state-owned enterprises from less co-operative countries.
The interim conditions and all of that in the bill are a good addition to the bill.
We want to explore the area of the legal process appeal issues around secrecy for national security or commercial reasons a bit more at committee. We just want to make sure we understand that, in the future, we are not going to be blocking information the public should have. I think there are some transparency provisions in this bill that say if the minister rejects an acquisition, the reasons for this have to be fairly transparent and public. I do not believe there is a requirement to do that now.
However, there are some things we do not believe the provisions address. Let us start with the record of the current government regarding China's takeover of many of our important assets. The other thing the bill does not do, and I will talk about this in a few minutes, is deal with the sale not just of companies, but of the assets of companies.
In 2017, there was, and still is, a company called Norsat out of British Columbia, which also owns a company called Sinclair in Toronto. It was acquired by Hytera in China, which is partially owned by the Government of China, in the critical telecommunications business. Even though he was urged many times in the House, the minister of industry of the day refused to do a national security review of that acquisition. The minister has the freedom to say that he does not think it is a problem and he is not going to do it. Therefore, no national security review was done of that acquisition.
That is a problem because now we come to January 2022, when Hytera was charged with 21 counts of espionage in the United States in and then banned from doing business in the United States by President Biden. Yet eight months later, the RCMP bought radio frequency equipment to go into the communications system, giving the Chinese state-owned subsidiaries access to all the locations of the RCMP communications services. There was no public security review of that. These are the things that still fall through the cracks.
As I mentioned earlier, Manitoba-based lithium mining company, Tantalum Mining Corp., known as Tanco, was purchased in 2019. Again, the previous minister, not this one, refused to do a national security review of that acquisition. When this minister asked three Chinese state-owned enterprises to divest their Canadian critical mining assets, he did not even include this one, yet it is the largest producer of lithium and cesium in Canada, and all of it goes to China.
In 2020, we all know, the Department of Foreign Affairs bought X-ray equipment from a Chinese state-owned enterprise to go in all the embassies. I believe this minister may have been the minister at that time. No, he was not, but it was a Liberal minister, obviously, who said it was okay and did not back off on it until it was raised in this House.
In March 2021, as the minister referenced, the minister updated and enhanced the guidelines for national security reviews in the absence of an updated act, although an update could have been done. In January the minister did not even follow his own guidelines when he had a divestiture order that included neither the Neo Lithium Corp. nor the Tanco Corp.
In December, I mentioned Hytera and the Canada Border Services Agency. Of course this week we learned, although it is not an acquisition, that the scientific arm of the army of the People's Republic of China is doing research on artificial intelligence and supercomputing in our universities, our 10 biggest universities. They own the IP from that, and it is partially funded by Canadian taxpayers.
These are the things the bill does not address. It is a shameful situation that we are actually helping the largest surveillance state in the world, which used that technology not only on its own citizens but also to repress the Uighurs, and we actually helped develop that technology. Of course we know it uses that technology here. In 2017, China passed a national security act, and clauses 7 and 10 of that act require all citizens and all companies to spy on companies and people in the world. It is against the law for a company based in China to not spy and steal technology and information from companies abroad. We have allowed these takeovers to happen in the last eight years under the Liberal government.
There are several areas that we need to talk about for additional improvement. There was a really good House of Commons industry committee report, which our leader was the vice-chair of in the last Parliament. Most of the recommendations have been ignored by the Liberal government, even though government members put the recommendations forward. Not only is the Liberal government ignoring the recommendations that the official opposition put forward, but it is also ignoring the recommendations for improvement to the Investment Canada Act put forward by its own members of Parliament.
Recommendation number one in that report dealt with state-owned enterprises. What it asked for was that state-owned enterprises for all countries that we deem to be authoritarian or hostile to Canada have an automatic review. The way that is done is by reducing the financial threshold for the automatic review. Right now, that is $415 million. A state-owned enterprise can come in and buy anything it wants in Canada for under $415 million, as my friend from the NDP referenced in his question to the minister, without any scrutiny by the government.
Even in my own community, four fish-buying businesses were bought by Chinese state-owned enterprises on the south shore of Nova Scotia in the last quarter. That is important because those businesses set the price of what they get from fishermen. They set what the fishermen get. Through that process and through China's buying two international freight corridors, China now controls all lobster and the access to the departure of lobster from the Halifax airport. None of those transactions would be reviewable under this act. As a result, my lobster buyers would not truck their lobster to the Halifax airport, because China has taken it up. Rather, they would have to truck it to New York and Chicago to get our lobster to Asia. That is just a small part.
We know the Chinese enterprises are buying farms. They are buying up all kinds of key assets in this country, and none of that gets reviewed. Therefore, we would encourage and would be seeking amendments to this bill in committee to move that threshold for state-owned enterprises to zero in the act, requiring the minister and the department to follow that.
The government did not include any provisions that I can see in the net benefit for that issue of state-owned enterprises in foreign countries actually getting control of industries, let alone a particular asset. We are not looking at the concentration control, particularly of hostile actors going after that strategically. I know there is a provision in the bill that would allow the minister to create a list of targeted industries. We are a little skeptical that the list would be as comprehensive as it needs to be and would reflect a zero-dollar review, given the record of the current government over the last eight years. It has not even sought national security reviews of state-owned enterprises from China when it had the authority to do so on those acquisitions.
The bill does not include a provision to actually list countries. Other countries have looked at that. In addition to selected industries, the minister should have the authority, through regulation, to have a list of state actors and countries that we do not believe are advantageous for our economy or are actually a threat to our economy if they continue to try to buy not only our companies but the companies' assets. I will come to this in a minute.
The bill would change the process, which I referred to earlier, of the involvement of cabinet. We would like to probe this a little more in committee, but I understand the need. The 45 days has not changed in the Investment Canada Act and there is obviously a need for speed. Therefore, the point that the minister has put forward here, which is that at the beginning of the process, the minister and Minister of Public Safety can determine when that goes in without having to go to cabinet, and this would speed up the process. We believe that is a reasonable thing, but we would want to explore that a little more in committee. However, it is on the other end that we have the problem because perhaps not all ministers of industry are as diligent as this one.
I do know, in the short time I have been working with the minister, that he is the most accessible minister I have had a chance to work with since I have been in the House, and he is co-operative. I know he understands and is concerned about what the opposition members think in terms of looking at amendments to the bills, and he takes our suggestions seriously. We want to look at this issue wherein a minister who was perhaps not as diligent would be less involved in making the right decision when it is determined to be a net benefit, or not, or when the research comes back and says it is a national security interest, or not. Whatever the recommendation from officials, we believe it should always go back to cabinet for discussion before the final decision is made.
The act does not attempt to change definitions of state-owned enterprises or look at the issue of what constitutes control.
One does not have to buy 50% of a company to control a company. Someone can buy small percentages of it, get a number of seats on the board or change management, which Hytera has done. It has changed management in Sinclair and Norsat. None of those things are really looked at very strongly in Bill C-34 and need a little more consideration.
One of the interesting things brought up by the industry committee at the time of that report, and I think my friend from the NDP was on the committee, was the issue of subsequent takeovers. A Canadian company may be acquired by a company or an industry that we think is okay, and it gets approved as it is not from a state-owned enterprise. Subsequently, though, down the road, that company can be bought by a state-owned enterprise. There is no provision in this bill to give the minister the power, when that happens, to automatically relook at whether, in that transaction, we should be forcing the divestiture of that Canadian asset from that future transaction of a state-owned enterprise down the road.
That is very important, because Russia and China are getting more aggressive at doing these things. They come in through the front door but also through the back door, and we need to be very vigilant about that.
The minister mentioned intangible assets. This is a big area. In 2009 it was not so much part of the economy, but it is big now. One of the ways our economy can be harmed is not just through the purchase of a company, but through the purchase or sale of some of its assets. It could be simply that it is not just the taking over one of our mining companies, but that one of our mining companies is selling a strategic mining asset, like a particular mine, to a state player we are not comfortable with. It could be that a database gets sold. It could be that a particular artificial intelligence or knowledge-based patent we have and own in Canada gets sold. That company may still remain Canadian, but more and more companies are looking, when they develop these things, at those assets.
Probably the worst example in Canada is Nortel. When Nortel went into bankruptcy, it had the most patents, I believe, of any technology- and knowledge-based company in Canada. The Canadian liquidator's responsibility was to maximize whatever it could get for the assets. China quite regularly goes in and pays four, five or six times what a business is worth. That is what it did in my riding last quarter. It paid five times what the business was worth. It paid $10 million for $2-million-valued businesses, which is way below the threshold.
It took advantage of the Nortel situation, and almost all of those patents were sold by the liquidator to a Chinese state-owned enterprise that became Huawei, which is banned now in the United States. It took the government only five years to figure that one out. We helped create Huawei through our weak rules around foreign investment in state-owned enterprises in assets, and not just the companies, so we need to have more study and understanding. We can look at those in committee, and I know the minister is taking this seriously. I see him nodding there, so hopefully we can work with the government to improve Bill C-34.
Nonetheless, the bill is an improvement over the existing act and would give the minister and the industry some much-needed clarification. Therefore, for the most part, at this stage, we will be supporting this, but we will be seeking many more amendments in committee. I look forward to hearing from the very experienced member, the shadow minister for industry from the NDP, who has been in the House for a long time and has been on the industry committee for a long time, to see what he proposes, in terms of his speech but also his work in the House.
I will conclude there, and I look forward to the debate by all members in the House on this bill, which is very important for Canadians.
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Madam Speaker, as I was listening to the hon. member very carefully, I think he gave all the reasons we need to modernize the law on investment in Canada. A number of examples he mentioned would be addressed by this revamping of a law that was crafted in 2009, the last time we did that. I think I like it, because in a way he listed all the reasons we should be doing that. By providing more agility to the minister, we would be able to answer these questions.
Canadians are watching because it is Friday morning. Will the member and his party support our bill to protect the national security of Canadians? Will he support the bill?
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Madam Speaker, I think I made it fairly clear that we will be voting for Bill C-34 at second reading. We want to see a number of improvements in the bill.
We are disappointed it has taken eight years to get this bill to Parliament and that a lot of the decisions the government made and let go in the acquisition of many of our assets by Chinese state-owned enterprises probably would not have happened if the amendments Conservatives seek in this bill were in place and had been in place earlier on in the government's tenure. There would not have been the flexibility of previous industry ministers under the Liberal government to ignore the public security threat.
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Madam Speaker, I applaud the minister and my colleagues.
At the end of last year, we learned that the RCMP had allowed Sinclair Technologies, a company with ties to communist China, access to its security systems. We then were witness to a failure of regular surveillance mechanisms and a failure by the government to try to control access to our technologies by this company controlled in part by China. It took a long time before the government finally decided to end this contract.
My colleague is more familiar with Bill C‑34 than I am. With the new amendments to the Canada Investment Act, is Sinclair Technologies the type of company the minister, who is not listening to us right now, should pay particular attention to?
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Madam Speaker, it is an important question, and I will answer it this way. There is a first stage to preventing what happened.
By the way, as the Minister of Public Safety said in committee this week, just because a piece of RCMP equipment is not connected in the data links of the RCMP communications, all the people who service it get access to all the RCMP locations of their equipment, can understand what the RCMP communications structure is and provide that intelligence back to China, as required under Chinese law.
The issue would have been stopped if there had been a national security review. This bill would do nothing on procurement. It would not have any ability to stop the RCMP and Canada Border Services from acquiring technologies from China.
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Madam Speaker, I appreciate the work that is done alongside the member in the fisheries committee.
We know that one of the big components of Bill C-34 is to promote economic security and combat foreign interference by modernizing the Investment Canada Act to strengthen the national security review process and to better mitigate economic security threats arising from foreign investment. When I think about threats to foreign investment, I immediately, as a fellow fisheries committee member, think of the threats to foreign investment in our fishing industry.
I am wondering if the member can share his thoughts on how this relates to, as just one example, Royal Greenland's takeover of processing plants in Newfoundland, and if it does not relate to that, what we need to do to move forward.
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Madam Speaker, I really enjoy sitting on the fisheries committee with the member for Nanaimo—Ladysmith. She brings a lot of good value to that committee, as does the member for Cape Breton—Canso.
That is an important question because this is below the threshold. The fisheries industry, which is a strategic food industry for Canada, is not, in any of the lists I have heard from the minister, generally listed as an industry that should be protected. Our food industry is below the threshold for review because these acquisitions are smaller companies that are way below the review, whether it is from China or the United States.
We are seeing more and more on the B.C. coast that many of the fisheries licences are owned by Chinese state-owned enterprises, and on the east coast we are seeing the processing side of things and the fish-buying things in Newfoundland and Nova Scotia being acquired by countries from all over the world, but primarily China.
I understand there is nothing in this bill that would stop those types of things coming. I would like to explore this a little more in committee. Perhaps the only thing would be, at this stage, if the minister put fisheries as part of the food strategic investments on his list.
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- Feb/3/23 10:59:39 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, I rise to honour the late Hon. David C. Onley, the 28th lieutenant governor of Ontario, an iconic Canadian broadcaster, educator and disability rights advocate, and a long-time resident of Scarborough and Rouge Park. Onley contracted polio when he was just three, leaving him to use a motorized scooter throughout his life.
One of Onley's greatest wishes was for all people with disabilities to have the opportunity to fully participate in every aspect of society. He became Canada's first news anchor with a visible disability. In 2007, he became the lieutenant governor of Ontario and used his position to remove physical barriers to Ontario's 1.5 million people with disabilities. After leaving office, Onley continued to inspire and advocate for people with disabilities, namely as a senior lecturer at the University of Toronto's Scarborough campus, where he talked and inspired a new generation of advocates, including several of my current and former staff.
I give my deepest condolences to his wife, Ruth Ann, and his sons, Jonathan, Robert and Michael. May he rest in peace.
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- Feb/3/23 11:00:50 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, we often hear things like “one person cannot make a difference”, but today I would like to share a story about someone who proves otherwise.
Yvonne Hazeldean, an immigrant to Canada who ran analytical labs by day and raced cars by night, is a trailblazer who is quietly one of the most influential women in Calgary. Yvonne's persistence has elected dozens of candidates, and then that same persistence has held them all to task when it comes to doing what they said they would do. Yvonne's legacy proves that one woman can change the world. I know that I would not be standing here without her support. When I speak in this place, I often catch myself using mannerisms and the passion that she exudes.
Recently, she has experienced some very severe health challenges, so now it is my turn to lift her up, as she has done so many times for me and my team. On behalf of the entire Calgary community, we love Yvonne. She proved that one woman can change the world.
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- Feb/3/23 11:01:56 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, the long-term care standards were released this week. We will have many opportunities to discuss this document. We must, however, hold fast to the unwavering belief that every senior deserves the right to live in dignity, safety and comfort, regardless of which province or territory they call home.
I am pleased that this government has made the largest investment in home and community care in Canada's history, an unprecedented $6 billion. As chair of the national Liberal seniors' caucus, I ask that all governments work together to recognize that the unique and often diverse needs of aging persons is a critical pillar of all health care programs and decisions. This is our moment to place partisan politics aside and work collaboratively to support aging Canadians.
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- Feb/3/23 11:02:57 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, six years ago, on January 29, a gun man entered the Islamic Cultural Centre of Quebec City and murdered six Canadians. Two years ago, a Canadian Muslim family of four were killed in a premeditated hit and run in London, Ontario. These cowardly crimes have terrorized Canadians. Hate is growing from the far-right across Canada.
Police reported that hate crimes have increased 72% over the last two years. The Liberal government has been dragging its feet in fighting Islamophobia, anti-Semitism, and all forms of racism and bigotry. New Democrats have been calling for concrete measures to protect all Canadians. Canadians expect their political leaders to fight against hatred and to work with people and communities who are at the forefront of this fight.
New Democrats stand and mourn with the families of the victims of that horrific night. We reaffirm our unwavering commitment to stand up to Islamophobia, anti-Semitism, homophobia, racism and, indeed, hate in all its toxic forms.
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- Feb/3/23 11:04:09 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, in 2016 the House officially recognized the first day of the lunar new year as the beginning of the 15-day spring festival celebration among the Chinese, Korean and Vietnamese and other Asian communities across our country. This past Tuesday, together with 30-plus caucus colleagues and the right hon. Prime Minister, we held our a lunar new year celebration on Parliament Hill.
For the first time in many years, over 500 guests attended the event, where we enjoyed authentic Chinese cuisine, traditional Korean dance and the lion dance, and exchanged best wishes. As a Chinese Canadian, I am so proud to have participated in such an important celebration on the hill, which showcased Canada's diversity and inclusiveness.
To all members of the House, xin nian kuai le. Gong xi fa cai.
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- Feb/3/23 11:05:13 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, after eight years of the Prime Minister's inflationary policies driving up prices and interest rates, the cost of living is crippling for many Canadians, especially those looking for a home. Rent has doubled, if one can find a place to rent. After eight years of the Prime Minister, mortgages have doubled as well. Nine out of 10 young people in this country who do not own a home believe they never will.
After eight years of a Prime Minister whose fiscal policy could best be described as “borrow lots, think later”, a lot of Canadians going to the bank this year to renew their mortgages are not sure if they will be able to afford their homes anymore. Even Liberal MPs are complaining about the cost of their mortgages to me.
These are dark days, but there is light at the end of the tunnel. The City of Victoria is adding the missing middle. Ontario is pushing out NIMBY local politicians, and the City of Saskatoon guarantees a building permit in five days. The best news of all is that a Conservative government is just around the corner.
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- Feb/3/23 11:06:20 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, over the last year, the conservation authority in my riding, Conservation Halton, has planted close to 80,000 trees. It has restored stream habitat; managed 11,000 acres of land; hired over 800 young people to work in nature; maintained 116 kilometres of trails; and monitored aquatic and terrestrial habitat, as well as water quality, at 325 monitoring stations.
It has carried out 45 major environmental restoration projects and also protects Crawford Lake, which has rich indigenous history and one of the coolest meromictic lakes in the world. The over 1.3 million visitors to its eight parks last year spent three million hours in nature and walked over six million kilometres on its trails. It also taught more people ever to ski and camp, including programs for new Canadians. It donated over 400 annual park passes to local libraries, so anyone can borrow a pass and access its parks for free, and it also held its third annual Pride in Nature event to show solidarity with LGBTQ2+ community members, and so much more.
Despite all that, conservation authorities in our greenbelt are being threatened by the notion that we just cannot build homes without destroying nature. I reject that notion. The integrity of our greenbelt must be protected. Green spaces are our greatest asset, and I am proud to recommit myself to being a strong and effective voice for conservation and the greenbelt in Milton and across Canada.
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- Feb/3/23 11:07:38 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, Valentine’s Day is almost here. It is a time to celebrate love and affection and a time to lend a hand.
Today I am grateful to represent a community full of incredible volunteers with big hearts. I want to give a special shout-out today to Square Roots Fairview-Clayton Park, Santa's for Seniors and Chebucto Links, which have come together to launch the Valentine’s Day veggies for seniors program.
One might have caught this on CTV, but here is how the program works. One sponsors a valentine by sending five dollars to info@chebuctolinks.ca. Then its team identifies a local senior who could use food support and delivers a gift of fresh veggies and fruits to their door.
How thoughtful is that? For those who want to be a sponsor or refer a senior, they have until February 5 at midnight. Many thanks go out to the selfless folks who brought this wonderful initiative. This is community love and affection at its best.
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- Feb/3/23 11:08:47 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, after eight years of the Prime Minister, Canada is facing a crime wave. Since the Prime Minister was elected, violent crime is up 32%. Violent gang crime is up a staggering 92%, and in 2021 there were 124,000 more violent criminal incidents compared to 2015 when the Prime Minister was elected.
This is not a coincidence. Whether it is the Liberals' catch-and-release bail policies, eliminating mandatory jail time for serious gun crime or drastically expanding house arrest for such serious offences as sexual assault and kidnapping, the crime wave is a direct result of failed soft-on-crime Liberal policies.
The only way to defeat this violent crime wave is to defeat this soft-on-crime Liberal government and elect a Conservative government committed to standing up for victims and holding violent criminals to account to the fullest extent of the law.
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- Feb/3/23 11:09:55 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, it is the wintertime, and Bon Soo Winter Carnival is here.
This year, Bon Soo is celebrating its 60th anniversary, making it one of the oldest and best winter carnivals in all of Canada. For the next nine days, there will be daytime and evening events, some timeless and some brand new, but all packed with fun and excitement for all families of all ages.
Come and participate in the Soo in some of the timeless favourites such as the polar bear dip, and if one can do it this year in this weather, one will get a special award. There are also new events such as the polar rush urban winter obstacle challenge and the coldest Canuck challenge, and there are many more to add to this. Plus there is the pancake breakfast, which everyone looks forward to.
There is no shortage of snow in my riding, so I invite each and every member of the House and everyone across Canada to come to the Soo and enjoy the best, and one of the oldest, winter carnivals. A special thanks to all the volunteers who make this winter carnival what it is today. I know the people in our area are really going to enjoy this year's winter carnival.
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- Feb/3/23 11:11:04 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, after eight years of incompetence and corruption, Canada is broken. The trust in government is broken, and ministerial responsibility is broken.
After eight years, our military has been decimated. Military procurement is broken, and military recruitment is broken.
After eight years, violent crime is rampant. The bail system is broken, and the overwhelmed court system is broken.
After eight years, overdoses are killing thousands. Addiction support is broken, and safe supply ideology is broken.
After eight years of the Prime Minister and his cronies, Canada is broken. Canadians are being killed in random attacks. Canadians are being killed by dangerous drugs. Canadians are dying deaths of despair.
After eight years, we have gone from sunny ways to dark days. It does not have to be this way. Conservatives have a plan to turn the hurt Canadians are feeling into the hope they need. After eight years of division and wedge politics, we will bring Canadians together, united, strong and free.
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- Feb/3/23 11:12:11 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, after eight years of the government's inflationary spending, Canadians are barely getting by, while Liberal insiders and high-priced consultants have never had it so good. After eight years, Canadians have been struggling to cope with 40-year high inflation.
After eight years, 1.5 million Canadians are visiting food banks in a single month, but after eight years, the government does not care.
Instead of helping Canadians, the government decided to hand out over $100 million in contracts to its friends at McKinsey & Company, and that number keeps climbing. In fact, we still do not know the full amount awarded to McKinsey over eight years because the Liberal government refuses to say. However, we do know that, of the 23 contracts awarded, 20 of them were granted in a non-competitive environment and hand-picked by the government.
We need to know how much has been handed out to McKinsey and the influence it has on our government. Canadians deserve answers, and we will not back down.
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- Feb/3/23 11:13:14 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, for many families in Canada the tradition is to have multi-generational homes. How wonderful it is to visit a home where one not only sees the child and the parent but also the grandparent. This benefits not only the family, but also our communities. An elderly grandparent with their daughter’s family, or a son with a disability with their parents, are arrangements that can be an important way for them to take care of each other.
Our government supports multi-generational homes, and this year the multi-generational home renovation tax credit will be well under way. It provides up to $7,500 in support for constructing a secondary suite for a senior or an adult with a disability. This refundable credit would allow families to claim 15% of up to $50,000 in eligible renovation and construction costs incurred to construct a secondary suite. This is a great way to support families here in Canada.
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