44th Parl. 1st Sess.
April 26, 2023 02:00PM
- Apr/26/23 3:02:20 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister's main criticism against the former Conservative government is that our housing programs were not expensive enough. If only it had been more expensive to taxpayers, then it would have been a better program. Yes, it is true: This Prime Minister is the heavyweight champion of government spending. The problem is he keeps delivering the worst possible results.
House costs have doubled under this Prime Minister and then they are more expensive for the taxpayers who have to fund his incompetent programs at the same time. Why does he not, instead, stop wasting the money and start delivering more houses?
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- Apr/26/23 3:03:02 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, Conservative politicians still think they can cut their way to growth because that is what they tried for 10 years under Stephen Harper and failed. That is what they are continuing to propose now, cuts and austerity: they can cut their way to new jobs for Canadians; they can cut their way to fighting climate change; and they can cut their way to indigenous reconciliation. Well, they cannot.
The Conservative Party continues to cling to a trickle-down austerity approach that does not work for the middle class and people working hard to join it. That is where we will stay focused, and we will take no lessons from them.
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- Apr/26/23 3:03:41 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, let us look at the results. Under the previous Conservative government, the average mortgage payment on the average home, newly purchased, was $1,400. Now, eight years later, it is $3,200. The Prime Minister has delivered a 100% increase in mortgage costs, all while bringing in an $89-billion taxpayer-funded boondoggle in the housing program. Once again, why will he not end the government waste and get out of the way so we can build affordable housing in this country?
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- Apr/26/23 3:04:22 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I want to see the Leader of the Opposition get up again and explain to Canadians how great the 2008 recession was for people in Canada and for people around the world because that is exactly what he is saying. The fact of the matter is that the cuts, the austerity and the trickle-down approach the Conservatives always put forward failed Canadians.
That is why we have invested in the middle class and people working hard to join it: to create economic growth, to create jobs, to lift people out of poverty, to create a plan to fight climate change and to build a future. That is what we are going to continue to do.
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- Apr/26/23 3:05:07 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, today marks one week since public service employees went on strike. It is high time the Prime Minister took charge of this matter. The writing was on the wall with this one: More than 150,000 public servants have not had a collective agreement since 2021.
At this point, the Prime Minister needs to intervene to encourage a quick, negotiated solution that benefits everyone. When will he come to the table?
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- Apr/26/23 3:05:46 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, government negotiators and union representatives are working in good faith at the bargaining table. That is where this is happening. I should point out that the government has put forward a proposal that aligns with recommendations from an independent expert who said this was the right way to proceed. We have put forward this proposal, and it is definitely a starting point we can build on in the hopes of reaching an agreement in the days to come. That said, we will continue to work with the workers and with the unions in a spirit of respect and co-operation, because that is what we are doing.
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- Apr/26/23 3:06:27 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, that is most certainly not what they are doing. The Prime Minister is hiding. He is letting the crisis drag on, just like Roxham Road, the passport crisis, the border closures during the pandemic, and the 2020 rail blockades. Every time he lets a crisis drag on, other people pay the price. It can be workers, Quebeckers or everyone, but not him.
Will he be proactive for once, answer the union's call and sit down at the bargaining table?
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- Apr/26/23 3:07:05 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, this is exactly what we are doing. Our negotiators are making responsible proposals. We are working with the unions in good faith, and we hope to see this union challenge settled shortly because, yes, Canadians expect the same level of service that government employees provided in the difficult years recently behind us. We have to reach an agreement that is good for taxpayers and for public servants. This is exactly the work we are doing together now.
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- Apr/26/23 3:07:44 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, government deficits are driving up interest and mortgage rates on homebuyers, and government gatekeepers are preventing home construction.
We rank second last for housing permit times in all of the OECD, and we have the fewest houses per capita in the G7 even though we have the most land to build on. That is the Prime Minister's record. His solution is to give tens of billions of dollars more to the same municipal gatekeepers in order to block construction again. Why does he not link the infrastructure dollars that the feds give to the cities to the number of houses that actually get built?
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- Apr/26/23 3:08:25 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, one thing we know the Leader of the Opposition is good at is picking fights, because that is exactly what he is proposing to do with municipalities. We choose instead to work collaboratively with them, to recognize the important role that municipalities across this country play in delivering housing and in accelerating the processes. That is the way to get things done.
Through the pandemic, it was orders of government working together that supported Canadians. It is respect from municipalities that keeps us moving forward, and that is what we are going to do.
We remember well when that member was in government. The fact is, there were constant fights with municipalities. We are delivering—
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- Apr/26/23 3:09:04 p.m.
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The Leader of the Opposition.
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- Apr/26/23 3:09:07 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, when Canadians are forced to live in tents, or spend $2,500 to rent a single room in a townhouse or are stuck in their parents' basement until they are 35 years old, he better believe I am going to fight for more housing. It would be nice if he fought for someone other than himself and his gatekeeper friends.
The Prime Minister's solution is to build up these municipal gatekeeping bureaucracies with federal, deficit-financed tax dollars, which means it will be even slower to get anything built. Why does he not link the number of dollars that cities get for infrastructure to the number of houses they allow to get built?
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- Apr/26/23 3:09:50 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we remember well that member's approach on fighting municipalities, fighting with experts, fighting with Elections Canada, fighting with anyone he could, and did that deliver for Canadians? Absolutely not. Right now, he is fighting against local news for Canadians. What does he have against local Canadians, against local municipalities?
The reality is, we will continue to be there to work collaboratively to build a stronger future and to invest in the kinds of things that we are delivering for Canadians while he continues to propose cuts and fights that lead nowhere.
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- Apr/26/23 3:10:29 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, actually, I delivered housing costs that were half of what they are right now. Those are the results. Sometimes we have to fight for the people, the common people, and rely on the common sense of the common people to get things done.
Right now, we have the biggest housing bubble in the G7 even though we have the most land per capita to build on. The solution is to incentivize municipalities to speed up permits so that we can build more homes.
Why does the Prime Minister not link the number of dollars cities get for infrastructure to the number of houses they allow to get built, require every federally funded transit station to have housing around it and sell off federal buildings to build homes that people can afford?
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- Apr/26/23 3:11:11 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, he wants to pretend he fights for ordinary Canadians, but he is not fighting for St. Thomas right now. He is not fighting for communities that need investment, that need opportunities to build those communities, to be there to support schools and after-school programs and hospitals and businesses in the kind of ecosystem it gets when one has a big investment like Volkswagen landing once again, after the Ford plant left under his leadership.
We are moving forward on delivering for Canadians. One of the great ways to make sure Canadians can better afford their homes is to have good-paying jobs, which again, with their attacks on unions and the middle class, they are not going to deliver.
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- Apr/26/23 3:11:56 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, our official language minority communities are facing multiple challenges. As a proud former provincial minister of Acadian affairs and francophonie, I am well aware of what community organizations need in order to address labour shortages, educational requirements, and so much more.
I was pleased to attend this morning's announcement regarding the new action plan for official languages, a road map for the next five years.
Could the Prime Minister tell the House about some of the measures included in the new action plan for official languages?
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- Apr/26/23 3:12:35 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for Halifax West for her question and for her hard work.
This morning we unveiled our new action plan for official languages. It includes historic investments to protect and promote our official languages. With this plan, we are investing over $4 billion in targeted areas such as francophone immigration, the educational continuum and the shortage of bilingual workers.
Unlike the Conservative Party, which wants to cut access to local and French-language news, our government is once again standing up for linguistic minorities across the country.
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- Apr/26/23 3:13:19 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, at a time when a family has to pay $2,500 just for one room in a house, when 1.5 million Canadians are accessing food banks and others are asking for medical assistance in dying because they are too poor to go on living after eight years of this Prime Minister, the Prime Minister is going to New York again, after billing taxpayers $6,000 for a hotel room in London.
Will the Prime Minister show some respect for the people who pay his bills and announce today that he will repay the $6,000 for the hotel room in London?
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- Apr/26/23 3:13:59 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, while the leader of the Conservative Party continues to attack me, I will continue to attack the challenges Canadians are facing.
That is why, in the 2023 budget, we are announcing a grocery rebate to help 11 million Canadians with the cost of groceries. We are providing dental care to low- and modest-income Canadians who do not have insurance, because we know that it improves their quality of life and reduces the pressure on household budgets. We will continue to be there while the Conservatives vote against these measures.
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- Apr/26/23 3:14:40 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, after sending 1.5 million people to the food bank, forcing families to spend 2,500 bucks to rent a single room in a townhouse and causing the highest food price inflation in a generation, he is off to New York to celebrate again. This is the same Prime Minister who spent $6,000 on a single hotel room for a single night at taxpayers' expense.
Will he show a little decency and announce today he will pay that $6,000 back to Canadian taxpayers?
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