SoVote

Decentralized Democracy

House Hansard - 271

44th Parl. 1st Sess.
January 30, 2024 10:00AM
Context: House Hansard - 271 - Jan/30/24
Mr. Taylor Bachrach (Skeena—Bulkley Valley, NDP)
  • Jan/30/24 4:46:42 p.m.
  • Watch
  • Re: Bill C-59 
Madam Speaker, my colleague mentioned government gatekeepers as being the problem behind the housing crisis, and he promised transit-hub-oriented development. In the region I represent, there are no transit hubs. I also do not think one could characterize the village council of the Village of Telkwa, the town council of the Town of Smithers or the city council of the City of Terrace as being gatekeepers. These folks can approve housing development in a matter of days or weeks. The challenge in these communities is infrastructure. Does the member support investing in key municipal infrastructure, as the Federation of Canadian Municipalities has called for, and as the City of Prince Rupert has called for, where his leader just was? Does the member commit to investing the tens of millions of dollars required to ensure that our communities can deliver a quality of life for their residents?
148 words
  • Hear!
  • Rabble!
  • star_border
Context: House Hansard - 271 - Jan/30/24
Mr. Marty Morantz
  • Jan/30/24 4:47:41 p.m.
  • Watch
  • Re: Bill C-59 
Madam Speaker, the member knows well that municipalities set their own infrastructure priorities and decide which infrastructure needs to be built. All we are saying is that, through the build homes not bureaucracy act, we would reward cities that build more infrastructure to get more homes built. That is really what the program is all about. Ottawa is not in the business of telling municipalities where to build their infrastructure, but we do have financial tools at our disposal to incentivize municipalities to get more homes built, and that is what we will do.
94 words
  • Hear!
  • Rabble!
  • star_border
Context: House Hansard - 271 - Jan/30/24
Mr. Marty Morantz
  • Jan/30/24 4:48:44 p.m.
  • Watch
  • Re: Bill C-59 
Madam Speaker, to the first part of the member's question, what I said is that the federal government is not in the business of telling municipalities what infrastructure they should build. We are in a position, though, to incentivize municipalities through financial contributions to build more homes. That was the point I was making.
55 words
  • Hear!
  • Rabble!
  • star_border
Context: House Hansard - 271 - Jan/30/24
Mr. Marty Morantz
  • Jan/30/24 4:49:45 p.m.
  • Watch
  • Re: Bill C-59 
Madam Speaker, it is important we distinguish between levels of government and their jurisdictions. Municipalities are best positioned to decide what infrastructure to build and where it should be built. I spent time on a municipal council myself, and I certainly respect the hard and important work that they do. We do have a housing crisis in this country. CMHC says we need to build well over five million houses by 2030, and the government's own housing program has only built 106,000 homes, so whatever it is doing is not working. We need to respect municipalities but provide the financial tools municipalities need to get more homes built.
110 words
  • Hear!
  • Rabble!
  • star_border
Context: House Hansard - 271 - Jan/30/24
Mr. Sean Casey
  • Jan/30/24 5:43:48 p.m.
  • Watch
  • Re: Bill C-59 
Mr. Speaker, this confrontational approach has no place here. It has no place anywhere. It certainly has no place in intergovernmental relations. The model that was used by the Minister of Housing, Infrastructure and Communities to urge Charlottetown along to get on board with the housing accelerator fund is one that is going to bear fruit, and it is one that displays a level of respect that is merited among public leaders at all levels.
75 words
  • Hear!
  • Rabble!
  • star_border