44th Parl. 1st Sess.
October 20, 2023 10:00AM
- Oct/20/23 11:22:18 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, those are quite the words from the Leader of the Opposition. I remind him that, when he was responsible for housing during the Harper years, there was $300 million spent for housing, with fewer than 100 homes built. We can do the math: That is $3 million a home. That is the record of so-called fiscal responsibility on the other side.
On this side, we are getting homes built. Just this morning, the Prime Minister announced over $100 million for the City of Brampton, which is going to lead to 24,000 homes being built in the coming years. We are going to continue to work with municipalities through partnership.
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- Oct/20/23 11:31:46 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the member and the NDP caucus for supporting this government to double funding in response to homelessness.
We continue to work with municipalities across the country. We continue to work with not-for-profit organizations. It was this government that recognized, of course, that there is a human right to housing. In that vein, we are seeing results. There is more to do, but 70,000 people who were on the street are no longer on the street, and 122,000 people who were close to homeless are not in that position anymore because of the national housing strategy.
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- Oct/20/23 11:33:05 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, our colleague is a former mayor, and he knows, therefore, that the affordability challenge Canadians face, whether it with respect to rent or the challenge of buying a home, is due to a lack of supply. This government recognizes that. That is why we have moved ahead to put incentives on the table for the private sector, for example, for builders, like lifting the GST on the construction of purpose-built rentals, period.
That side wants to maintain the tax for the purposes of building rental homes for the middle class. It is unacceptable. It is a reckless approach.
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- Oct/20/23 11:34:22 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, as I have said and emphasized, the challenge of affordability with respect to housing writ large has to do with the lack of supply. When demand is high and supply is limited, we are always going to have an expensive situation. We see that with respect to housing.
What this government is doing is working with municipalities to see more homes built. This morning, as I said, we saw the City of Brampton move ahead, working with this government. In exchange for a $114-million investment, it is going to get more homes built. It is dealing with missing middle housing and exclusionary zoning. I thank the City of Brampton.
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- Oct/20/23 11:35:40 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the member talks about young people. I will give him credit: During his time being a member of Parliament, he has put issues on the table with respect to youth.
He can support the government, or at least he should have, with respect to the tax-free savings account the government put in place to help young people save for a down payment. Up to $40,000 can be put into that account, which is, again, tax-free. Add to that, of course, the fact that we continue to build more. We continue to put in place other policies that would see more homes built. We are doing that in partnership with municipalities.
The Conservatives are against all of that. They put half measures on the table and that is not good enough.
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- Oct/20/23 11:44:23 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, they constantly talk about their record of fiscal responsibility. During the Stephen Harper years, they ran seven consecutive deficits.
Under this government we have seen economic growth. We have seen this government go through an extremely challenging time in the pandemic. Guess what? Businesses are still there. They are finding ways to thrive as a result of the ways that we supported them and continue to find ways to support them. When Canadians need support for other key challenges now, like housing, we are there.
They are putting half-measures on the table. They are not worth the risk.
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- Oct/20/23 11:45:45 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, they inherited a surplus. They turned it into a deficit, another deficit and another deficit. On this side, we put constructive measures on the table like lifting GST on the building of rentals for Canadians. They talk about an attachment that they have to a vision for the country that puts the middle class front and centre. It is not true.
Why are they proposing at this time, at a time when Canadians are facing a housing crisis, to tax the building of rentals for the middle class? It makes no sense. It is a reckless approach from start to finish.
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- Oct/20/23 11:53:54 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, there is a bill on this floor that the Conservatives can get behind. The result, if they decide to support it, would be a more affordable situation for builders, because it would lift GST off the construction of rental apartments. They are not in favour of that. They want to tax the construction of rental apartments for the middle class.
On top of that, we are putting forward measures to help support builders by making sure there are training programs so labourers can be available. They have no support for that. It is an entirely reckless approach that they take.
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