44th Parl. 1st Sess.
January 30, 2024 10:00AM
- Jan/30/24 2:54:40 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, as I mentioned yesterday, I would say to my colleague across the way, who tells us to get off our islands, that we have indeed left our Magdalen Islands and that Magdalen Islanders have gone all over Canada. These are people who are involved in their community.
If he has a backbone, he will stand up and apologize to Magdalen Islanders.
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- Jan/30/24 2:55:04 p.m.
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Members know full well that they cannot impugn the reputation of another member. I invite the minister to withdraw her comments about the member for Portneuf—Jacques-Cartier.
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- Jan/30/24 2:55:52 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I apologize.
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- Jan/30/24 2:55:59 p.m.
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I thank the minister.
The hon. member for Dufferin—Caledon.
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- Jan/30/24 2:56:06 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, every day the Minister of Housing rises in the House, he has a new program, a new announcement. The cheque is in the mail. All of these things—
Some hon members: Oh, oh!
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- Jan/30/24 2:56:21 p.m.
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Order. I invite the member for Dufferin—Caledon to start from the top, and I invite other members to please listen to the question without interruption.
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- Jan/30/24 2:56:49 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, every day, the housing minister pops up and has a new program, a new plan—
Some hon. members: Oh, oh!
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- Jan/30/24 2:56:59 p.m.
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I invite the government House leader and the chief whip to please ask their members to listen quietly to the question without interruption.
The hon. member from Dufferin—Caledon, from the top. I hope it will be the last time he will have to start his question again.
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- Jan/30/24 2:57:48 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, every day, the housing minister pops up and celebrates his new announcement, his new project or his new scheme, but the sad thing is that the Liberals do not actually build a single house.
Meanwhile, in the real world, after eight years of the NDP-Liberal government, rents are skyrocketing. In fact, asking rent is now up 22%. Donna's rent in Orangeville is going up again and she cannot afford it.
When will the minister realize that these announcements are doing nothing and that housing is a disaster, and apologize to Donna and to Canadians?
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- Jan/30/24 2:58:38 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, perhaps my hon. colleague is confused about the pace at which we are advancing new policies, because on the Conservative side he is not used to seeing the work actually getting done.
Let us compare our plan to theirs, They would put Canada on a track to build fewer homes than we were already projecting to have built in the years ahead. We have cut taxes; they will raise them. We have made investments; they will cut them. We have completely changed the way large cities in this country are zoning to build more housing; the Conservatives oppose that too.
We will do what it takes to build homes, to bring down rents and to make sure every Canadian has a roof over their head.
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- Jan/30/24 2:59:22 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, all of that leads us to exactly where we are today: nowhere. Rent for a one-bedroom apartment is up 12% to $1,900, and rent for a two-bedroom apartment is up 9.8% to $2,300. Rent is now at a record high across Canada: $2,100, up 8.6%. Why is that? It is because all they have are phony announcements and photo ops.
When will he finally admit they have made the mess that Canadians are suffering through, apologize to people like Donna and apologize to Canadians? It is their mess.
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- Jan/30/24 2:59:58 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, since the adoption of the national housing strategy, hundreds of thousands of homes have been constructed or renovated to support Canadians who need help. There are millions of Canadians who have benefited directly from government supports to ensure that they could keep a roof over their head. We are going to continue to put policies in place that will improve the quality of life people get to enjoy, by helping them find a place they can afford.
The Conservative plan would raise taxes on home building, cut funding for cities that are trying to change their rules and eliminate supports for affordable housing altogether. That is the wrong approach. It was tried; it has failed.
We will build the homes to support Canadians.
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- Jan/30/24 3:00:40 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I want to talk about a public servant from the Quebec City area who ended up $25,000 in debt because of the government. It all began in 2016 when the Phoenix pay system began to repeatedly forget to issue him his paycheque. Now, seven years later, despite all of the calls he has made and everything he has done to try to remedy the problem, he has had to refinance his home and is struggling with a great deal of stress.
I have to ask. Would this happen to the minister? Would the system “forget” to issue a paycheque if the payee were the minister?
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- Jan/30/24 3:01:20 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, as my colleague is well aware and as she said so well, it is completely unacceptable for public servants, those who put all their talent and energy into working for the public service, to not be paid properly and on time. That is why we must work harder every day so that people like the person the member mentioned get what they need and what they are owed for the work they do, for the time and talent they put into serving our country.
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- Jan/30/24 3:01:56 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, an isolated case would be cause enough for a scandal, but we are talking about 448,000 Phoenix-related payroll problems in 2023 alone. Public servants are even avoiding changing their address or accepting a promotion because they are afraid of experiencing pay issues if they make the slightest change. Worst of all, this government sees no urgency in paying what it owes its own employees.
When will the minister finally open his eyes and fix this incredible fiasco that would bankrupt any private company?
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- Jan/30/24 3:02:39 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank our colleague once again for raising this issue. She is right. We need to invest more in order to pay our public servants on time and correctly, and that is why we are currently hiring hundreds of new compensation officers. We are investing in improved technology that will enable better information flow between the departments concerned and the payroll centre, most of whose employees are in Miramichi. We have already done a lot of work, but there is a lot more to come over the next few months.
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- Jan/30/24 3:03:18 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the Liberals are great at breaking things. They have broken the bank. They have broken the law, and they have broken the budget.
It turns out that budgets do not balance themselves. Record government spending leads to record inflation and soaring interest rates. Canadians need the budget fixed. A dollar of new spending must be met with a dollar of savings. It is a simple concept; even children can understand it.
Will the Liberals finally end their inflationary spending, or will they keep breaking the budget?
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- Jan/30/24 3:03:53 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, bitter experience has taught Canadians that whenever Conservatives talk about public finances, whenever they talk about saving money, what they are talking about is taking money away from Canadians.
They are talking, to be very specific, about taking away early learning and child care. They are talking about taking away dental care and about taking away the investments in things like the EV factories in Ontario that are the jobs of today and the future.
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- Jan/30/24 3:04:31 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I will tell members what Conservatives are going to cut. We are going to cut broken apps and we are going to cut high-priced consultants because Conservatives talk directly to Canadians, so we do not need to spend billions of dollars to find out what Canadians think.
Let me tell members what Canadians are thinking. They want to axe the tax. They want to fix the budget. They want to build homes. They want to stop crime. Will the Liberals finally listen to them?
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- Jan/30/24 3:05:07 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we have learned just now about one specific thing Conservatives will cut. I am an MP for Ontario. The member opposite is too. They are going to cut the nearly $1,000 that an average family of four in Ontario is getting right now. That is money that is helping people every day. Of course they are going to cut child care; they voted against it. They are going to cut dental care, and they will not make the investments our economy needs.
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