44th Parl. 1st Sess.
May 9, 2024 10:00AM
- May/9/24 6:39:11 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague for her advocacy. There are a number of members in the chamber who were pushing for that same change, and I congratulate them on the effectiveness of their advocacy. Here we are advancing that change through federal legislation that is being debated at this very moment.
The removal of the GST for psychotherapy is essential. Mental health services are not as widely accessible as they ought to be in a country that is as advanced as Canada and that is as wealthy as Canada. Mental health care is health care. No one should be denied access to mental health supports or community services, which should be more widely available, because they cannot afford access to those services.
This is going to enhance the quality and access of care that people are able to receive, including in communities that are traditionally underserved. It is important that we do everything we can to ensure people are able to receive the care they need, when they need it. The cost should never be prohibitive for someone who is seeking the care they desperately deserve.
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Madam Speaker, I would like to ask the minister about affordable housing and what Bill C-59 offers on affordable housing. My community in London, Ontario, is challenged with homelessness, as are many communities across the country.
What is also interesting, and I would love to hear commentary on this too, is that I never hear anything from the Conservatives about a plan to address homelessness or a plan to address the challenges we see on Canadian streets. This is something, if the Conservatives want to put themselves up as the official opposition, they have a responsibility to speak to, but they never talk about it.
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- May/9/24 6:40:51 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I had the opportunity to meet my hon. colleague, the parliamentary secretary, in his community and to meet with some of the service providers who are providing solutions when it comes to affordable and supportive housing on the ground in London. It is very clear the member makes it a priority and has meaningful relationships with those who are advancing housing solutions for vulnerable persons.
The specific bill before the House includes a number of measures, including removing the GST for co-operative housing and building on the GST rebate for apartment construction more broadly. It includes additional measures. In fact, the fall economic statement had a $1-billion top-up to the affordable housing fund that can go toward some of the projects that we have learned about in his community.
In addition, the member raised the important contrast between the different plans the parties have put forward. We have seen the Conservatives put forward a plan. The subject of the legislation is something their leader now seems afraid to move forward with, because it has been largely ridiculed by those who know what they are talking about when it comes to providing housing solutions. It has no mention of homelessness. It has no mention of affordable housing. His public statements indicate he has a belief that governments do not have a role in housing. I think that is unacceptable.
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- May/9/24 6:41:58 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I would like to ask the minister a question from Mayor Kletke of the town of Trochu, a small community in my constituency.
The Trochu Housing Corporation, 118 units of senior and care-provided living, has applied a number of times to CMHC, but has not always received the best communication from it. Therefore, I would like to ask the minister if he could provide an update to Mayor Kletke and the Trochu Housing Corporation, because this is a project that, had it been able to proceed three years ago, would have cost about 20% to 25% less than it would cost to build that same project today, even with a few less units. I would also ask the minister to make sure that rural areas are not forgotten about in some of the conversations surrounding housing.
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- May/9/24 6:42:48 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I think it is important that we work together across party lines to advance solutions when it comes to affordable housing, including the programs that are run through the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation. I would be happy to dig into the specifics of the application that the Trochu Housing Corporation made to understand where it may sit and, if it is in the application process or if there was a challenge, how we can seek to overcome that together.
It sounds like it is an excellent project designed to support affordable housing solutions for people in the community of Trochu. I would be pleased to plug the hon. member into a member of my team, who is responsible for some of the projects in his region of Canada, to identify what a path forward may look like. There is absolutely a desire to work across the aisle with members who are seeking to advance affordable housing solutions in every region of this country.
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Madam Speaker, I have a question for the minister.
Bill C‑59 provides for more than $30 billion for the oil industry. For example, there is the $12.5-billion credit for carbon capture, utilization and storage. I would like to quote what his former colleague, Catherine McKenna, said about it and then have him share his comments with us.
It should never have happened, but clearly the oil and gas lobbyists pushed for that....We are giving special access to companies that are making historic profits, that are not investing those profits into the transition and clean solutions. They are returning those profits to their shareholders, who for the most part are not Canadian, and then they ask to be subsidized for the pollution they cause, while Canadians have to pay more for oil and gas for heating.
What does the hon. minister think?
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- May/9/24 6:44:30 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I think it is very important to use every measure to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the energy sector. It is very important to reduce these emissions to protect the entire world.
I have had conversations with people in the energy sector and companies that have the skills to create technologies to reduce emissions. It is possible to use programs in the bill to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in this sector. It is also very important to eliminate subsidies for traditional energy producers. At the same time, we need to develop solutions to reduce emissions.
I believe we can advance technologies that will help reduce emissions in the oil and gas sector. At the same time, we seek to reduce emissions through every possible means. We are in a climate crisis. It is essential that we advance solutions that will reduce emissions as quickly as possible.
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- May/9/24 6:45:42 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, as we know, indigenous people across Canada are disproportionately impacted by the housing crisis. I know my colleagues, the MP for Nunavut and the MP for Vancouver East, have done tremendous work pushing for funding in the for indigenous, by indigenous housing strategy.
I wonder if the minister can provide an update as to when we will see the necessary funding going toward indigenous people to ensure they have access to not only affordable housing but adequate housing to meet their needs.
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- May/9/24 6:46:20 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, my colleague is quite right to point out the members for Vancouver East and Nunavut for their advocacy, alongside a number of members from different parties in the House. She is also correct to point out the disproportionate impact of homelessness on indigenous peoples across Canada, both the housing needs in indigenous communities and those of indigenous people who have had that connection severed. It is extremely important to address.
In addition to indigenous communities and indigenous-led projects being eligible in our programs of general application, we have specific programs that we have developed, with billions of dollars behind them, to advance solutions. There is a $4-billion distinctions-based fund to provide housing solutions directly in community for rights holders through a distinctions-based program. In addition, there is a $4.3-billion fund, and I believe this is what she was referring to, to meet the needs of indigenous peoples in urban, rural and northern environments.
We are working to finalize some of the program design to ensure we are supporting both distinctions-based organizations and non-profit housing providers to meet the needs of indigenous peoples in urban, rural and northern environments. We expect, in the very short term, to be advancing opportunities to set up the organization nationally that will help run some of these programs as we continue to fund distinctions-based organizations that are supporting members of their community who may no longer be in community.
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- May/9/24 6:47:45 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, first of all, I want to thank the minister for the tremendous contribution that he makes to so many programs and services in the country.
I represent a very large rural indigenous riding in this country, a riding that is very much connected to the land and to the ocean, and we depend upon the natural environment for food. However, climate change is impacting the culture of the people I represent and impacting food security, which is why we know that, without an environmental plan, we do not have a plan for the economy, we do not have a plan for workers and we do not have a plan for the future of Canada.
I would ask the minister how this bill would help fight climate change and what it would mean to rural Canadians who, right now, do not have the option to switch to clean energy like many other Canadians can across Canada.
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- May/9/24 6:48:43 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, there are a number of specific elements over and above the emissions reduction plan that we have put forward over the past number of years to advance a world-leading plan to reduce emissions, particularly in an energy-producing country like Canada. An example in this specific piece of legislation is the new investment tax credits to support the advancement of green technology, which will help reduce pollution and at the same time create economic opportunities. Another example is the creation of the Canada water agency.
However, I expect what my hon. colleague is getting at in her question is the doubling of the rural rebate for the price on pollution. Moving forward with the plan that makes sure that pollution is not free is essential in Canada. We cannot allow it to be free to pollute, and we should not make pollution free again. At the same time, we have to recognize that people who live in communities like mine, who do not have an opportunity necessarily to ride public transit and have to endure longer commutes to the office or to their work site, should not be faced with higher costs unnecessarily.
The delays that we have seen from the Conservatives on this bill are denying access to the doubling of that rural top-up. However, I was pleased to see as well, in the recent federal budget, that changes are being made to ensure that rural communities that may fall within larger municipalities will have the challenge around the rural rebate addressed.
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- May/9/24 6:50:01 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I am very glad that the minister just mentioned the supposed delays that the Conservatives are causing on the bill. Technically, this government has had a majority for the last year and a half. It has a supply and confidence agreement with the NDP. It has a majority on committee and a majority in the House of Commons, which would allow the Liberals to pass any bill they want during government business. The fact that he lays out an argument that we are the problem is quite interesting.
The minister sat here for the last 20 minutes bragging about how much money the Liberals are going to spend in the fall economic statement. I do not think there is a Canadian who disagrees that Liberals can spend money. I think they know the Liberals are not worth the cost anymore and that they are not getting the value for money that they deserve.
My question to the minister is this: How can the Conservative opposition be delaying the bill before us, which is what the Liberals are telling Canadians, when they have a majority and they can bring this up any time they want. The bill has been tabled since November 30, so it is basically their incompetence that has not got the job done.
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- May/9/24 6:51:05 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, there are a number of pieces of misinformation included in my colleague's question.
First, I do not know if he appreciates this, but this is actually a minority Parliament and he seems to have described it differently.
Second, the member talks about the investments that we have been making, which are helping communities across Canada, as a negative thing. The reality is that, if he wants to examine the fiscal position of the Government of Canada, he will see that the federal government actually has the healthiest balance sheet in the G7. He will see that we are the third-largest economy in the world that maintains a AAA credit rating, and Moody's recently demonstrated that we have a stable outlook, stronger than the United States. The International Monetary Fund is projecting Canada to be the fastest growing economy in the G7, and we continue to see, time after time, compared to other advanced economies in the world, that Canada is among the healthiest, or the healthiest, when it comes to the fiscal projections for the Government of Canada.
It is essential that we continue to move forward with a downward trending debt-to-GDP ratio, and we have seen the impact of the responsible fiscal management with the rate of inflation coming down now to within the target range, despite the extraordinary headwinds we have faced as a global economy. Canada is leading the charge when it comes to fiscal responsibility and economic growth projections.
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Madam Speaker, Bill C-59 creates a federal department of municipal affairs, which will bring with it more interference, bickering and delays, when the housing crisis requires fast action.
Members will recall that Pierre Elliott Trudeau attempted something similar in 1971, when he created the Ministry of State for Urban Affairs, which was an abject failure. The Ministry of State for Urban Affairs was a source of contention with the provinces for its entire existence and never managed to play a useful role. It was finally disbanded in 1979.
Why is the government trying to do the same thing again when it was such a failure the first time around?
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- May/9/24 6:53:15 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, with all due respect, I disagree with my colleague. It is very important to recognize that there is a Department of Infrastructure as well as organizations, such as the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, that implement housing policies and manage programs to support housing across the country.
The purpose of the bill is not to create a new entity but to give ourselves the ability to work together on the two portfolios within a single department. That is common sense. This is about making sure that the housing program runs smoothly while moving forward with the infrastructure program. It is simple.
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- May/9/24 6:54:11 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I will just say that last night we spent five and a half hours in the chamber debating a Conservative amendment to delete the short title of a bill, yet we hear the Conservatives stand up and say they have not done anything to slow down the House of Commons. I also was in the finance committee when I watched them delay by forcing recorded votes on clause-by-clause for the fall economic statement, so they have absolutely tried to delay the bill before us.
My question to my hon. colleague is this: What does he think is the impact of slowing the bill down and delaying its provisions, in terms of the impact on Canadians and maybe on the businesses that are counting on the bill's to be passed to give them the relief they need?
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- May/9/24 6:54:55 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, there are a number of people who watch politics and there are a number of people who count on us to do our jobs who do not watch it that closely. I think Canadians would be disappointed to see some of the games that are played to slow down progress.
If a member disagrees with the measures being put forward by the government, they have an opportunity to debate and they have an opportunity to vote against. There is a bill that is particularly important to my part of the world that is focused on sustainable jobs and offshore energy, and there were 20,000 amendments that I believe were generated by ChatGPT, not by somebody who actually cares.
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- May/9/24 6:55:27 p.m.
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It is my duty to interrupt the proceedings and put forthwith the question necessary to dispose of the motion now before the House.
The question is on the motion.
If a member participating in person wishes that the motion be carried or carried on division, or if a member of a recognized party participating in person wishes to request a recorded division, I would invite them to rise and indicate it to the Chair.
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- May/9/24 6:56:50 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I request recorded division, please.
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- May/9/24 6:56:53 p.m.
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