SoVote

Context: House Hansard - 198 - May/16/23

Mr. Darrell Samson (Sackville—Preston—Chezzetcook, Lib.)

May/16/23 2:18:29 p.m.
Watch

Mr. Speaker, veterans and their families deserve a safe and affordable place to call home. That is why I am so pleased that the newly announced veteran homelessness program will provide comprehensive support to veterans experiencing or at risk of experiencing homelessness. A total of $79.1 million in funding will be available by way of two streams. One will provide rent supplements and wraparound services, while the other will support research on veteran homelessness and capacity building. Eligible recipients, including veteran-serving organizations, can apply to either or both funding streams through an online portal on the Infrastructure Canada website. Applications are open until June 23, and I encourage all organizations to make an application. Canada’s veterans have long served and sacrificed for our country, and it is our duty to support them.

136 words

Context: House Hansard - 198 - May/16/23

Ms. Bonita Zarrillo (Port Moody—Coquitlam, NDP)

May/16/23 3:16:52 p.m.
Watch

Mr. Speaker, the leader of the NDP and I heard from B.C. municipal leaders about the need for more reliable and affordable public transit in metro Vancouver. The mayors have a strong plan for necessary transit expansions, but the Liberal government is putting that plan at risk by delaying promised funding until 2026. Commuters are the ones who pay when the Liberals delay. Workers, students, seniors and people living with disabilities deserve timely, accessible transit now. Why are the Liberals holding back this crucial funding from communities?

88 words

Context: House Hansard - 198 - May/16/23

Ms. Annie Koutrakis

May/16/23 3:19:36 p.m.
Watch

Mr. Speaker, we will always make sure that there is appropriate funding in our budgets and in our programs to make sure that Canadians have the public rail service they deserve.

31 words

Context: House Hansard - 198 - May/17/23

Mr. Anthony Housefather (Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Services and Procurement, Lib.)

May/17/23 12:17:28 a.m.
Watch

Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for her question. Housing affordability is one of the most important challenges in the country today, especially for the most vulnerable people. Everybody needs and deserves a place to call home. It is why we have made housing a priority since the beginning of our mandate. It is why we launched Canada's first-ever national housing strategy in 2017, and it is why we have continued to add new programs, new approaches and new adjustments in subsequent budgets since then. One of our newest programs, the housing accelerator fund, is designed to reduce the turnaround time on new housing. It provides incentives to municipalities to cut red tape and streamline their processes. Applications are being accepted as of this month, but as a former mayor and former councillor, I say we have to work with municipalities. I was incredibly disturbed to see the Conservatives' demands toward municipalities, with respect to what they needed to do for housing funds. That is not the correct approach. We need to work with our municipal partners. What we need is a systematic change to how housing is built in this country and to introduce changes that will pay off long into the future. The program I am talking about is built on collaboration with our municipal partners, and we are continuing that collaborative approach with a new co-operative housing development program. We are working directly with the Co-operative Housing Federation Of Canada and others in this sector on this initiative, and we are backing that work with $500 million in contribution funding and $1 billion in loans. That amounts to the largest investment in building new co-op housing in this country in more than 30 years. These are just a couple of examples of activity happening now through the national housing strategy, and adjustments are being made to build on its success. I can stand here tonight and throw out numbers that show that the plan is succeeding, numbers that show that, generally, we are ahead of schedule on most of the strategy's metrics. I would rather stand here though and tell members about lives that have been touched through the strategy's programs. I would rather talk about Canadian Forces veteran Bill Beaton, who went from being homeless to living in a veteran's house, a supportive housing facility constructed with funding from the national housing co-investment fund, or Krystal in Surrey, British Columbia, who experienced poverty as a child. As an adult, she is helping the next generation of indigenous people in Surrey through the Skookum housing solutions project. There are real people who have benefited from the government's work on housing across the country. We will continue this work in partnership with our friends in the NDP, in pursuit of housing affordability for all, and I hope we can count on the support of the other parties in the House to do that.

495 words