44th Parl. 1st Sess.
September 20, 2023 02:00PM
- Sep/20/23 2:32:40 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister admitted that he could have and should have done more to build affordable homes in Canada. Now, the reality is that we have a situation where we are losing more affordable homes than we are building as a nation.
What does the Prime Minister have to say to a renter who is living in a home he can afford right now but who lives in fear that one day that home will be renovicted or demovicted and he will lose it? What does the Prime Minister have to say to ensure that people will be able to stay in the homes they can afford?
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- Sep/20/23 2:33:11 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I share the hon. member's concern about making sure some of the most vulnerable Canadians have a safe and affordable place to call home. That was in fact the motivation for the national housing strategy where our government re-entered the social housing space after decades of governments, I should say of different partisan stripes, vacated it.
In reality, we know we need to do more. That is why we moved forward with eliminating GST on apartments that are going to be rented to Canadians. Part of the solution to the housing crisis is to build more homes, and that is exactly what we are going to do.
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- Sep/20/23 2:33:44 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, “I should have” is not what people want to hear. People want the job done.
Right now, finding affordable housing is impossible because there is none. Affordable rent for someone looking for housing or an apartment is non-existent.
What is this Prime Minister going to do to ensure the construction of housing that people can afford?
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- Sep/20/23 2:34:16 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, people unable to find a home they can afford are struggling. That is why we started implementing national housing strategies decades ago. These investments are necessary. We are starting to build affordable homes again.
In addition, he wants to see action. Last week, we eliminated the GST on the construction of apartments in this country. This is going to add to the supply. This is going to reduce the cost for people to rent and will provide protection for people who are struggling to find a place to call home. It is the right path forward. We are going to continue.
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- Sep/20/23 2:34:56 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the Liberals came up with the carbon tax and now the Bloc Québécois is proposing to drastically increase it. The Bloc Québécois claims to stand up for the interests of Quebeckers, but let us be clear, the Bloc wants to take money from Quebeckers and hand it over to the federal government. Voting Bloc is costly.
Will the Prime Minister reject the Bloc's request to drastically increase the carbon tax at Quebeckers' expense?
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- Sep/20/23 2:35:23 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, what Quebeckers understand is the cost of the environmental crisis. After all the forest fires and floods we saw all summer, and now with the hurricane season, what Quebeckers understand is that pollution can no longer be free in this country. They want the government to keep taking action for future generations. We will keep going. It is a shame that the Conservative Party has no plan to fight climate change.
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- Sep/20/23 2:35:52 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to know what the minister thinks of a former Liberal finance minister, John Manley, who said that the Prime Minister's deficits are like stepping on the gas when it comes to inflation. This forces the Bank of Canada to step harder on the brakes by increasing interest rates.
Here is an example of completely ridiculous spending. The government spent $284 million to redo Canadian passports. That is a third of a billion dollars, and it was $123 million over budget. That is an outrageous waste.
Will the Prime Minister promise to stop burning Canadians' money?
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- Sep/20/23 2:36:32 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, this is my first chance to rise in the House as the Minister of Citizens’ Services. I would like to thank my wife, my constituents and, of course, the caucus. I look forward to working with everybody in the House to improve citizens’ services.
I am very happy to report that, thanks to the hard work of the now House leader, the passport backlog has been completely eliminated. In addition, our investment means that the printers are now five times faster and people can check their passport applications online. They will soon be able to renew their passports online as well. That is delivering better services for Canadians.
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- Sep/20/23 2:37:08 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, eight years of the Prime Minister has punished Canadians with an NDP-Liberal government that spent billions of dollars to double the price of a home, to double the rent and double the mortgage payment, all because of the Liberals' inflationary spending. They are building fewer homes this month than they did last month. Inflation is up; homebuilding is down.
When will the housing minister stand up and admit that the Prime Minister is just not worth the cost?
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- Sep/20/23 2:37:35 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, with enormous respect for my hon. colleague, when her party leader was the housing minister, he advanced a program with $300 million that he said would build 25,000 homes. Fewer than 100 were built.
We have advanced programs that are going to build homes and that have been building homes. The reality is that we know we need to do more. That is why we are eliminating the GST on apartments to be constructed. That is why we are advancing a plan to change the way cities build homes. It is working.
We cannot do it alone, but we will bring communities and provinces with us. It is the right path forward. I hope the Conservatives join us.
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- Sep/20/23 2:38:10 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the cost of a home has doubled in this country. The minister who made international students sleep on the streets and lost track of a million people is now in charge of building homes in this country. How does one lose a million people? He is recycling broken campaign promises from eight years ago that will not fix the fact that buying a castle in Europe is now cheaper than buying a family home in Kitchener.
Are Canadians supposed to trust the guy who broke immigration to fix housing, or anyone over there to fix inflation?
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- Sep/20/23 2:38:48 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, with respect, I think it is very dangerous when any member of the House starts playing politics with immigration. With respect, if the Conservatives think that breaking the immigration system is tied to the fact that we have welcomed—
Some hon. members: Oh, oh!
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- Sep/20/23 2:38:59 p.m.
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- Sep/20/23 2:39:18 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, welcoming an ambitious level of newcomers is not breaking the immigration system, and we want to make sure communities are equipped to welcome them. We are not going to take lessons from the Conservatives, who failed miserably when it came to housing, by doing absolutely nothing. We have removed taxes on home construction. We are changing the way cities build homes.
We are going to build Canada and we are going to advance the measures to make it happen.
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- Sep/20/23 2:39:39 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, they lost track of a million people.
After eight years of the Prime Minister, housing prices are at an all-time high, and many Canadians have lost hope of ever owning their own home. This is a direct result of the NDP-Liberal government's reckless deficit spending that has poured countless cash into the economy, driving up inflation, which has driven up interest rates, which has doubled mortgage rates.
Will the Prime Minister finally stop his inflationary spending so Canadians can once again keep a roof over their heads?
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- Sep/20/23 2:40:21 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I hope this feigned compassion on behalf of the Conservatives is not fooling Canadians, because on two previous occasions, the Conservatives voted against lowering taxes for the middle class in this country.
We have been criss-crossing the country over the course of the summer. Not a single Canadian has told us they would like us to cut our programs. Canadians are relying on the supports that our government is providing, and we are providing them in a fiscally responsible way.
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- Sep/20/23 2:40:56 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, former Liberal finance minister John Manley said that the Liberal deficit spending is like pressing a gas pedal on inflation while the Bank of Canada is trying to press the brakes on it by raising interest rates. Eight years ago, Canadians could afford to pay off their mortgage in 25 years. Now it takes 25 years just to save for a down payment.
When will the Prime Minister stop his reckless spending so Canadians can once again afford to buy homes?
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- Sep/20/23 2:41:35 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, once again, just a few weeks ago, rating agencies confirmed Canada's AAA credit rating. That is because what we are doing is spending in order to support Canadians, but doing so in a responsible way.
We have just announced the next step in our plan to build more homes faster. What we will do is create more apartment buildings for more Canadian families right across the country. The response from the Conservative leader was that we do not need any more of those. Canadians do need their federal government, and this is the federal government that has their backs.
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- Sep/20/23 2:42:14 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, this week, Calgary is hosting the World Petroleum Congress. Ottawa has sent three ministers there. That sends a clear message.
At the same time, they have the nerve to attend a United Nations meeting on climate change. Meanwhile, oil and gas companies are lining their pockets. Everyone knows that the main reason gas prices have gone up is oil and gas company profits.
Will the government announce an end to all oil and gas subsidies at the UN?
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- Sep/20/23 2:42:59 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, as I said, we have put in place a framework to reduce and eliminate subsidies to the fossil fuel sector.
Of course I was in Calgary. I gave a speech about climate change and the need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in all sectors of the economy, and that, of course, includes the oil and gas sector.
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