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Mr. Don Davies (Vancouver Kingsway, NDP)

May/2/23 4:39:52 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I live in Vancouver, which I think is the epicentre for the housing crisis not only in this country but around the world. It is fair to say that it is indeed a crisis. Housing anchors us in our communities. It is not just a commodity that can be traded, purchased and sold. It is an absolute necessity. It is how people anchor themselves for work; their children go to schools and people connect to community. This has been a crisis for many years I was just curious to put this to my hon. colleague. To hear him speak, one would think the housing crisis in Vancouver and the Lower Mainland began in 2015. I can tell the member most assuredly it did not. It started back in the early 1990s when the government of Brian Mulroney actually cancelled the federal government's participation in the national housing program and, of course, the Liberals promised to restore it and did not, so we have really had an absent federal partner for many decades. I wonder if the member acknowledges that. Could he tell us what specifically he would do to make sure that we can build truly affordable housing and not just rely on market supply? What does he think the federal government could do to make sure that people get access to social or affordable housing?

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Mr. John Williamson

May/2/23 4:41:06 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, there are two points from the hon. member that I would like to respond to. First of all, that is what makes this problem so infuriating. What began as an issue primarily for Vancouver and Toronto has now spread across the country. Even the smallest communities in my riding on the east coast, places with populations of 6,000 and 8,000, are experiencing homelessness, a lack of affordable housing and huge, huge price increases. This has been growing and I recognize that, but what is fundamental to understand is how much worse it has become over the last eight years with home prices doubling across the country. It is a tough file and there is no doubt about it, but it has become so much worse under a government that is doing everything wrong. Where I disagree with my hon. colleague is that the NDP views the housing stock as static, as fixed, and that we have to try to control and regulate it. Our view on this side is that we need to expand the stock of homes—

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The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mrs. Alexandra Mendès)

May/2/23 4:42:15 p.m.
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We have to resume debate. The hon. government House leader is rising on a point of order.

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Rising

Hon. Mark Holland (Leader of the Government in the House of Commons, Lib.)

May/2/23 4:42:21 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I request that the ordinary hour of daily adjournment for the next sitting be 12 o'clock midnight, pursuant to order made Tuesday, November 15, 2022.

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The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mrs. Alexandra Mendès)

May/2/23 4:42:38 p.m.
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Pursuant to order made Tuesday, November 15, 2022, the minister's request to extend the said sitting is deemed adopted. Resuming debate, the hon. member for Kenora.

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Mr. Eric Melillo (Kenora, CPC)

May/2/23 4:43:00 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I greatly appreciate the opportunity to take part in this important discussion today on our opposition day motion looking to address the housing crisis that we are seeing right across this country. It truly is a crisis. Unfortunately, the housing minister has not been able to say that it is a crisis, but at least we have heard that terminology reflected in the comments of some of the other members of his caucus. I believe the hon. member for Davenport mentioned that it is a crisis. It is great to see that although the minister may not acknowledge it, some of the Liberal members are able to acknowledge that. When we look across the country, we have seen that over the last eight years housing prices have doubled. Many young people feel they will never be able to own a home. The cities of Toronto and Vancouver have been mentioned by many of my colleagues. Those two cities are among the most unaffordable places to live in the world. As my colleague from New Brunswick Southwest mentioned, it takes many people up to 60% of their income just to be able to afford a home these days after eight years of this Liberal government. It is incredibly concerning for a number of reasons. One that hits me is that the Liberal government has spent so much money on housing accelerators, housing strategies and all these wonderful things that the Liberals like to say are getting the job done, but the fact of the matter is that it is not getting the job done. The housing crisis is far worse in this country than it was when the Liberals took office. Never before has a government spent so much to achieve so little. In fact, we have the fewest houses per capita of any of our allies in the G7, despite having an incredible wealth of land in this country. As we know, Liberal spending has led inflation to rise to 40-year highs, making the cost of everything more expensive, and also leading to interest rates rising, making housing and constructive even more expensive. In fact, it is estimated that this coming year, there will be a 32% decline in construction. That would be a direct result of the government's policies and would make it even more difficult to build housing in this country. As well, there are 63 countries where it is faster to get a building permit for that construction than in Canada. We have a lot of work to do to get more homes built, to speed up those permits, to make it possible to get things built in Canada once again. That includes removing taxes and fees that are, on average, adding $200,000 to the cost of every new home in Canada. When we put that all together, it is very clear that it is a housing crisis. I mentioned Vancouver and Toronto. Obviously, these crises are in the major centres, but we are also seeing this crisis play out in my backyard, in northwestern Ontario, in communities like Kenora, Dryden, Sioux Lookout and Red Lake. Right across northwestern Ontario, there are challenges, not necessarily from the affordability side but from the supply side, in particular. Homes are being sold before they can even get to market, because there are so few available. As of now, the Kenora District Services Board estimates that there are 1,300 households currently on an affordable housing wait-list in the Kenora District. That is an increase of 1,000 in the last nine years. I want to share a little about my own story. Recently, just in the last year, I purchased my home in my riding. It was a long process. It took over a year for me to be able to find that house. I lost out on many bids, because of the fact that there is such little supply. A house would come on the market, and it was almost impossible to get access to it unless one was right there at the front of the line. That highlights the crisis. I did ask my sister her permission to share this story. She is moving back to Kenora after spending the last few years in Thunder Bay. She and her boyfriend both have great jobs. He is an engineer and she is taking on a new role doing X-rays at the Kenora district hospital, and they are struggling to find a place to live. It goes without saying that this housing affordability issue is obviously a concern for the people who are struggling to find a place to live, but it is a concern for our entire economy in northwestern Ontario. We cannot attract new people to our region. We cannot attract people such as my sister to come back to the region to work, live and raise their families if they have nowhere to live. That is one of the most major impediments to our economic development in northwestern Ontario. We have shortages of health care workers. We have shortages of workers in virtually every sector, including tourism, which is so vital to our economy in the summer months. We cannot fill those gaps in large part due to the fact there is such little housing supply. I will share another personal angle on this. I had the opportunity to be in Thunder Bay last week for the Northern Ontario Municipal Association conference. It was a great conference, and I was able to speak with mayors from across northwestern Ontario. I also had an opportunity to catch up with some colleagues, some friends of mine from university. They are just finishing their degrees at Thunder Bay and are trying to figure out where to go next. Again, the housing challenges have led many to believe they cannot come back home to Kenora or Dryden because they cannot find a place to live, and they are not sure where they will be able to lay their roots. Another aspect of this housing crisis that faces our region is around first nations housing. The Kenora riding encompasses 42 first nations, and many of the homes in the communities are unfortunately in disrepair. There is, similar to the rest of the country, an issue of supply. There are still far too many people who do not own their homes or who are not able to own their homes on reserve. In fact, during my last visit to Kasabonika, I was speaking with the community representatives about their difficulty in just being able to grow. The population is growing. They have a very young population. They have nowhere to build because government regulations and government bureaucracy is making it difficult for them to obtain new land to be able to build housing, new schools and all the critical infrastructure they need. There is obviously an incredible challenge, but an incredible opportunity as well for the federal government to work with first nations to ensure there is an equity partnership in new infrastructure developments and resource projects so we can create more economic development, good jobs and really raise the economic level to hopefully raise more and more people out of poverty to a point where they can get into a position to be able to afford their home, whether they live on reserve or off of it. Unfortunately, I am running out of time, but I would like to speak specifically to our motion that we put forward today to deal with this crisis. What our party is proposing is to tie federal infrastructure dollars for municipalities to the number of new homes built to ensure we can speed up building permits and free up more land for development. We are also proposing to tie federal funding to major transit to ensure there are condos and apartments around those transit facilities. Granted, that is not something we will be seeing in our riding, but it is important for the larger centres. Of course, we are working to free up 15% of underused federal properties for development. That is something that would be huge in places like Ear Falls and Sioux Narrows-Nestor Falls, where there is no shortage of land but there is a shortage of ability to access that land. That is the plan we are putting forward to help address this housing crisis, and I urge all my colleagues in this chamber to support it.

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Mr. Ken McDonald (Avalon, Lib.)

May/2/23 4:53:08 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, Conservatives keep going back to punishing municipalities that do not build affordable housing and taking away their infrastructure. How can they build more housing if they do not have money for the infrastructure from the federal government, as a partner in it? They are defeating the very purpose of what they are trying to do. I came from the municipal level before I got here, and the municipality has to be involved in any home-building projects in a community, whether it is issuing permits or making sure they are inspected properly for the Canadian building code. We cannot eliminate the so-called gatekeepers that they keep referring to as municipalities. They have to be a part of it. They have to be a part of this equation. Again, punishing them and taking away infrastructure defeats the purpose of trying to get more housing built in any community.

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Mr. Eric Melillo

May/2/23 4:54:03 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, as I mentioned in my remarks, I had the opportunity to join the Northwestern Ontario Municipal Association last week and was able to connect with all nine mayors from my riding. I can say that they were incredibly enthusiastic about the approach that we are bringing forward because they know we need to get more development moving forward. What I see here is an opportunity to work with the municipalities and the provincial government to ensure that we can get housing permits sped up and free up more land for development. I certainly disagree with the framing of the question by the member opposite.

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Mr. Jean-Denis Garon (Mirabel, BQ)

May/2/23 4:54:47 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, my esteemed colleague from Kenora must know that on April 24, 2023, his colleague from Beauce said in this House, “It has been clear from the start that this government does not trust the provincial and territorial governments to implement the programs themselves and that the ‘Ottawa knows best’ approach is the only way to manage these projects. If only the government had more faith in the provinces and, especially, more respect for their jurisdictions, it might be surprised to see what can be done without Ottawa getting involved.” Given that my colleague has just supported a motion that dictates conditions to municipalities and provinces and proposes to interfere directly in provincial jurisdictions, does he think that his colleague from Beauce might also be uncomfortable voting for the Conservative motion?

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Ottawa

Mr. Eric Melillo

May/2/23 4:55:31 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, we need an all-hands-on-deck approach in addressing the housing crisis. I certainly see a federal role to play in terms of what I laid out, which is in our motion today, but we also have to work with the municipalities and the provinces as well. We probably could have had a 50- or 60-page opposition motion, given the extent of the housing crisis. There is a lot of work that we can do, and I would like to work with my colleague and with the provinces moving forward.

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Mr. Taylor Bachrach (Skeena—Bulkley Valley, NDP)

May/2/23 4:56:15 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, as someone who also comes from the municipal sector, like my friend across the way, one clause stood out to me, around clawing back infrastructure dollars from municipalities that delay housing construction. It feels like something that perhaps makes for good politics, but poor policy. Of course, not every housing development is created equal and municipal governments are tasked with deliberating on very complex issues, whether they are environmental, infrastructure or social issues. When it comes to implementing this statement around clawing back money from municipalities that impose delays, how does he foresee the federal government defining delays in a way that is fair to municipalities of different sizes and that accounts for the fact that many housing developments are quite complex? We could create, in this case, a bit of the opposite effect to what we are trying to do. If we are clawing back the infrastructure dollars that are needed to fund the infrastructure that then empowers and creates the housing developments that are so needed, how do we avoid those unintended consequences of—

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The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mrs. Alexandra Mendès)

May/2/23 4:57:32 p.m.
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The hon. member for Kenora.

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Kenora

Mr. Eric Melillo

May/2/23 4:57:36 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, as I said to my Liberal colleague when he asked his question, I do think this is an opportunity to work with our municipalities. Members of parties opposite like to flash their municipal credentials. Of course, the member for Parry Sound—Muskoka, who brought forward the motion today, is a former mayor himself and understands these issues quite well, as do the nine mayors in my riding with whom I had a chance to connect last week. None of the mayors I have been talking to in my riding are concerned about our policy moving forward because they know we need to get things built. They want to move forward and are looking for the federal government to get out of the way and let that happen.

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Mr. Vance Badawey (Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Indigenous Services, Lib.)

May/2/23 4:58:23 p.m.
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Re: Bill C-47 Bill C-46

Madam Speaker, I will be sharing my time with the member for Châteauguay—Lacolle. I appreciate the opportunity to contribute to today's debate. I will preface my comments by saying that, based on a former intervention, I will be concentrating on what was mentioned earlier by the member opposite: equity and the opportunities to provide for affordability through the investments that the government is currently making. At the end of March, our government released budget 2023. Our made-in-Canada plan for a strong middle class, an affordable economy and a healthy future was paramount to the remarks made by the Minister of Finance. It comes at an important moment for our country, concentrating on the business of government versus the business of politics. I am proud to say that it makes investments, for example in public health care, and provides new measures to make life more affordable for Canadians. It makes investments to offset the cost of living and in many other areas, making life more affordable. In Canada, inflation is coming down, having declined for nine months in a row, and the Bank of Canada predicts that it will drop to just 2.5% by the end of this year. However, we all know that it is still too high, and it is still making it difficult for many Canadians to make ends meet, put food on the table, put gas in the tank and ensure that their little ones have the luxuries that we had when we were growing up. Groceries are more expensive today and, for many people, higher prices on other essential goods are causing undue stress. Therefore, it is relevant that this government is making investments to offset that affordability crisis. That is why, once again, in budget 2023, we announced new, targeted inflation relief for the most vulnerable Canadians to help support them with the cost of living. This includes the introduction of a one-time grocery rebate, providing $2.5 billion to target inflation. This is relief for 11 million low- and modest-income Canadians and their families. The grocery rebate will provide eligible couples with two children with up to an extra $467, single Canadians without children with up to an extra $234, and seniors with an extra $225 on average. The grocery rebate is making great legislative progress as we speak. I am glad to report that Bill C-46 passed the House at all stages on April 19 and is now being considered by the Senate. This means we are closer to being able to deliver this much-needed support and affordability for Canadians. A couple of weeks ago, our government introduced Bill C-47, the budget implementation act. This essential piece of legislation proposes to implement many of the government's key commitments in the budget, including those that will continue to make life more affordable for Canadians. For example, we are cracking down on predatory lending. Predatory lenders can take advantage of some of the most vulnerable people throughout our communities, including low-income Canadians, newcomers and seniors, often by offering very high-interest-rate loans. With budget 2023 and Bill C-47, our government is taking this challenge very seriously. Another step our government is taking to support low-income Canadians is through automatic tax filing to ensure that—

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The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mrs. Alexandra Mendès)

May/2/23 5:03:07 p.m.
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I have to interrupt the hon. member. We have a point of order from the hon. member for Cariboo—Prince George.

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Mr. Todd Doherty

May/2/23 5:03:11 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I respect my hon. colleague greatly, as he knows, but I have to challenge the relevance. He has gone on now for almost five minutes and has not mentioned housing once.

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The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mrs. Alexandra Mendès)

May/2/23 5:03:22 p.m.
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The hon. member does know that we have quite a leeway, so I would invite the parliamentary secretary to eventually get us to the motion under discussion. The parliamentary secretary.

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Mr. Kevin Lamoureux

May/2/23 5:03:33 p.m.
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Never assume.

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Assume
Never

Mr. Vance Badawey

May/2/23 5:03:33 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, as I said in my preface remarks, once again, I am concentrating on the business of government. We are talking, this evening, about home ownership and renting affordability. What I am speaking about is affordability, whereby we are making it more affordable for Canadians to deal with the market conditions that are before them when it comes to housing by investing in other areas that, in fact, will make it more affordable for them to enter into the housing and renting market. My colleague across the floor should recognize that, as I am sure he does have some business astuteness in terms of offsetting the cost of living with respect to some of the investments that the government is making.

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Mr. Vance Badawey

May/2/23 5:08:18 p.m.
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I know that I should never assume. I will move on. Budget 2023 also announced that the federal government will increase the number of Canadians eligible for “auto-fill my return” to two million people by 2025, almost triple the current number. We are also addressing affordability with our students, our younger generation, preparing them for the next stage in their lives and the adventures they are going to embark on, whether it be through co-ops and apprenticeships or student loans, and ensuring that they have the ability to enter the markets once they are finished with the hard work they are doing at either college or university. The Canada workers benefit, which we committed to both in the 2022 fall statement and in the 2023 budget, provides up to $714 for single workers and $1,231 for a family, split between three payments, again, allowing for the affordability in some of the challenges that people are actually recognizing with homes, with groceries, with gas, etc., once again concentrating on the business of good government versus the business of good politics. That is our priority. Regarding health care, I want to be very clear that in exchange for the new funding that we are providing the provinces, in the amount of $198.3 billion over 10 years and $46.2 billion to the provinces and territories, what this is going to do is create more affordability for Canadians when it comes to housing and home rentals, not to mention what it is going to do to provide equitable health care and ensure that the provision is given to all Canadians. I will give an example. In Niagara, this will ensure that urgent care centres in the town of Fort Erie and the city of Port Colborne stay open to provide equitable services for their residents. This will ensure, once again, keeping, maintaining and enhancing all the services that are currently provided by the urgent care centres in Port Colborne or Fort Erie, as well as the hospital in the city of Welland. This is extremely important for those communities, not only adding equitable access to health care services but also, with the investments being made by the federal government in partnership with the provincial governments, ensuring affordability so that people are receiving these services while at the same time creating equity with respect to offsetting the higher cost of living. This government is investing in Canadians, and by doing that, with the myriad of different services that we are embarking on today and well into the future, we will, in fact, offset the financial challenges that many of our neighbours and our families have to endure in the market conditions that are before us today.

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