44th Parl. 1st Sess.
October 5, 2023 10:00AM
Madam Speaker, we passed a bill in the House that allocates $4 billion to a housing accelerator fund for municipalities. The federal government cannot talk to Quebec municipalities; it has to come to an agreement with the Quebec government. Negotiations are under way, and the share due to Quebec comes to $900 million. I would like to remind everyone that housing is a provincial jurisdiction.
According to what we learned this morning, the federal government is nitpicking and dawdling. It is having a hard time choosing a colour for the tiles and the carpet. Then it questions whether a given apartment should have 8 or 14 lights. What a waste of time. Again, this is a provincial jurisdiction. There are currently 10,000 people in Quebec who do not have a roof over their heads.
What will it take to get Ottawa to send that $900-million cheque?
We need it now.
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Madam Speaker, I always find it interesting to listen to my Conservative colleagues bash the Liberal government—rightly so most of the time, and I am not suggesting that they are not good at it. However, rarely do we hear anything in the Conservatives' speeches other than criticism of the government's inaction or misdeeds. Rarely do we hear them come up with concrete solutions. There is $900 million of housing money sitting in Ottawa's coffers. It is earmarked for Quebec City to address the housing shortage.
Does my Conservative colleague agree that the federal government should hurry up and release this money unconditionally so that we can find housing for people who do not have a roof over their head and build housing to alleviate the crisis that is currently raging in Quebec and elsewhere in Canada?
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- Oct/5/23 2:14:38 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, while the leader of the Bloc Québécois is off gallivanting abroad, there is work to do here in Canada.
After eight years under this Liberal government, Canadians, including Quebeckers, are suffering. Since I am from Quebec, I try to defend the interests of Quebeckers every day. I find it alarming that the number of people going to food banks is rising and that people in Portneuf—Jacques-Cartier cannot afford to buy as many groceries. When Quebeckers are getting poorer, it is important to intervene. When Ottawa is taking more money out of Quebeckers' pockets, I call that a tax. The second carbon tax applies in Quebec.
Who voted in favour of that legislation on June 5? The Bloc Québécois. What is worse, yesterday, members of the Bloc had the opportunity to fix their mistake, but they did not. It is costly to vote for the Bloc Québécois. It will be drastically more expensive to vote for this separatist party.
The only party that is here to defend Quebec's interests is the Conservative Party of Canada.
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- Oct/5/23 2:47:32 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we are not the only ones whining. There are 10,000 homeless people in Quebec who are whining to the federal government right now.
The Quebec finance minister met with the Deputy Prime Minister on Monday. Here is what he said this morning: “I reiterated how urgent it is that an agreement be reached...Ottawa is imposing conditions, and that is unacceptable to us”. The announcement that Quebec will match the funding is supposed to be good news. As long as Ottawa continues to quibble, it means that we are no longer talking about $900 million, but $1.8 billion that is just sitting around waiting for Ottawa to get moving.
Will the government announce that it is letting the money flow to Quebec so that we can finally get to work?
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- Oct/5/23 2:49:01 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, can anyone guess why Quebec is the only province that is matching the $900 million from Ottawa for housing? It is because Quebec is the only province in Canada that invests in housing. Quebeckers made the progressive choice to take care of housing themselves. Instead of holding Quebec up as an example, the federal government is withholding the $900 million Quebec is entitled to, in a classic dispute in which the federal government holds all the cards. Enough is enough.
The Front d'action populaire en réaménagement urbain, or FRAPRU, is in Ottawa today. The government has an opportunity to announce that the housing dispute is over. When will the government stop messing around and send us our $900 million?
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Mr. Speaker, a great deal of emphasis in the member's comments was on housing. This is the first time in generations, since 1993, which was when there were constitutional changes to the Charlottetown accord, and all political parties, with the exception of the Greens, wanted the provinces to play a role and marginalize Ottawa. Since 2016, when we first came to office, this government has invested hundreds of millions to billions of dollars into a housing strategy, support for non-profits such as Habitat for Humanity and the expansion of housing co-ops. Local and provincial governments want to co-operate in investing in non-profit housing.
My question to the member is fairly straightforward. Would he not acknowledge that Ottawa plays a very important role, but it is going to take a lot more than Ottawa alone to resolve the problem? Does he agree that we need municipalities, non-profit groups, many different stakeholders and the provinces to all get on board so we can tackle this issue in Canada today.
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- Oct/5/23 6:39:56 p.m.
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Uqaqtittiji, the cost of flights in Nunavut is astronomical. All 25 communities that I represent are fly-in communities. A flight to Ottawa can cost over $5,000. It costs more to fly within our own country than it does to destinations such as Mexico, London or Nuuk.
Most of my constituents cannot choose to take vacations, because it is simply not affordable. There are no other options. Flying is an unfortunate reality of living in Nunavut, yet Nunavut does not have adequate airport infrastructure to ensure that prices are affordable.
Nunavummiut have seen increases in fares since the government first approved the Canadian North-First Air merger. I understand these increases were a result of Transport Canada undertakings that made it impossible for Canadian North to maintain sustainable operations. It is difficult and expensive to run an airline in a territory as large and sparsely populated as Nunavut. Imposing onerous conditions on one of Nunavut's only airlines is not the solution. The 25% annual fare increase that Transport Canada has allowed for is also far too high. That is four times the rate of inflation. For a $3,000 flight between Ottawa and Iqaluit, the fare could be raised by $750 this year.
When the government announced its new deal with Canadian North last April, they promised to maintain fares and departures while providing a more efficient service. In the last few months, I have received many complaints about the disruptions experienced by my constituents.
Gjoa Haven only has one or two flights per week, which can leave families in southern facilities for extended periods of time. For example, if a person from Gjoa Haven has a medical appointment in Yellowknife, that patient will most likely end up in Yellowknife for weeks because of cancelled or overbooked flights. These are patients who, because of the lack of a health care system, are forced to leave their territory to access basic health care services that are available to the rest of Canada.
The mayor of Arctic Bay wrote to me, saying they are seeing nine fewer flights per week compared with last year. This is unacceptable for communities that rely on these flights for food, health, education, tourism, infrastructure and economic development. My office is hearing many similar stories from constituents who have been stranded due to cancellations, delays or rescheduled flights.
Nunavummiut struggle every day with the excessive cost of living in the North. Not only are they battling the rising costs of food, fuel and housing, but they are also paying thousands of dollars more for essential appointments. According to the federal government release, the deal signed with Canadian North would provide “the access to air services they need, while at the same time ensuring Canadian North remains a viable service provider”. When will the government admit that it will not do so?
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