44th Parl. 1st Sess.
June 10, 2024 11:00AM
- Jun/10/24 2:38:52 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the Conservative leader is fond of making inflammatory statements. He called our system of early learning and child care a slush fund. He called co-op housing “Soviet-style” housing, and he called brave Ukraine, dismissively, a “faraway” land. However, he is silent on one issue, and that is tax fairness. Tomorrow, he is not going to be able to dither any more. Every single Conservative is going to have to take a stand. We will see what they really believe.
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- Jun/10/24 3:55:13 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, after nine years of this Prime Minister, Quebeckers are forced to sleep in shelters, under bridges or in their cars. While seniors in Quebec are living in motels or vans because of a lack of affordable housing, the Bloc Québécois is voting in favour of $500 billion in spending, and they are even voting against the leader of the Conservative Party's bill to make housing more affordable.
What do the Prime Minister and the leader of the Bloc Québécois have to say to seniors who are living in their vans because they do not have a home?
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- Jun/10/24 3:55:49 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for her question. We understand the importance of investing in housing, of investing in affordable housing. We also understand the importance of investing in affordability, for example, in dental care, which is very popular among seniors in Quebec. However, we also understand that we need to finance all those investments.
I have a question for all of the Conservative members. Will they support our tax fairness measure to finance the necessary investments?
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- Jun/10/24 8:34:22 p.m.
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Uqaqtittiji, indigenous housing remains a critical issue. Too many Inuit, first nations and Métis live in mouldy, overcrowded homes without access to running water. Far too many Inuit, first nations and Métis are compelled to leave their homes. Too many end up homeless on the streets in urban centres. These realities are a direct result of decades of underinvestment, a pattern continued under the Liberal government.
I highlight the work by the federal housing advocate. Her report on Inuit housing emphasizes that the right of Inuit to adequate housing is being violated. None of the seven elements of the right to housing have been upheld in Nunavut and Nunatsiavut. In Pangnirtung, the advocate found that 120 families are on the waiting list for public housing. With a population of 1,500, that means that 28% of all families are on a housing waiting list. The true number is likely even higher, as many people see little hope in applying for housing.
I have spoken many times about the heartbreaking conditions I see when I travel to Nunavut communities. These are conditions the federal government imposes on Inuit. Families of eight are living in two-bedroom units with no place to sleep. They have to sleep in shifts because of a lack of beds in a single unit. Children have no space to do homework. Mould and tuberculosis are present in so many homes. Addressing the housing crisis should be a top priority.
The NDP has used its power in Parliament to fight for indigenous peoples. In budget 2023, the NDP fought for the creation of a $4-billion urban, rural and northern indigenous housing program. The earned housing funding would give money directly to housing providers to help the most vulnerable Inuit, first nations and Métis living away from their home communities. More than a year later, housing providers are still waiting to receive funding from the government. That is not because of a lack of work by first nations, Inuit and Métis, as hundreds of applications have been completed. If funding does not flow soon, we will see another summer building season in the north lost. This will delay the start of projects by another year.
Indigenous peoples are dying, while the Liberals continue their delays. Having repeated all of this here once again, I ask this simple question: When will the desperately needed funds for urban, rural and northern indigenous housing be released so that we can begin closing the housing gap?
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- Jun/10/24 8:37:44 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I want to start by thanking the hon. colleague for her question and her tireless advocacy.
I also want to acknowledge that I am standing on the unceded traditional territory of the Anishinabe Algonquin people.
The negative impacts of the legacies of colonialism are numerous and wide-reaching for indigenous peoples. Poor housing conditions, overcrowding and homelessness are just a few of the lasting impacts of the historic mistreatment and persistent racism indigenous peoples experience.
With a commitment of righting past wrongs and building for the future, Canada has embarked on a journey of reconciliation with indigenous peoples to address a long history of colonialism, which is why indigenous housing priorities are being co-developed with and led by indigenous people.
Since 2016, Canada has supported the construction, renovation and retrofit of almost 34,000 homes in first nations communities. In 2018, the Canada-Métis Nation Housing Sub-Accord was signed, outlining the design, delivery and administration of housing services such as buying new homes, repairing existing homes and providing rent supplements to families most in need. This was the first time the Government of Canada provided federal funding to Métis for housing, empowering the Métis Nation to manage funding to address their needs. They decided how to use those funds.
As of September 2023, governing members of the Métis National Council and the Manitoba Métis Federation have bought or built 1,575 homes and renovated 4,600 housing units. They have also provided down payment assistance to 1,537 households and rental supports to 9,528 households.
Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada is working with the Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami and Inuit treaty organizations to deliver Inuit-specific investments and implement the co-developed Inuit Nunangat housing strategy.
Canada began providing direct funding to Inuit partners for self-determined housing delivery in 2016. Since then, over 500 new units have been constructed by Inuit, with many more units repaired and critical Inuit-led housing programming expanded.
Working as partners with indigenous peoples on solutions to housing is having a real impact and improving conditions for first nations, Inuit and Métis every day. These impacts remain possible with the significant financial investments from the federal government.
Budget 2021 allocated $50 million to the governments of Northwest Territories and Nunavut, as well as $18 million to first nations off reserve without modern treaty, Northwest Territories Métis, to address the issues of housing availability and quality, which disproportionately affected northerners.
Budget 2022 allocated $150 million to territorial governments to address critical housing needs. Budget 2022 also invested an additional $4.3 billion over seven years, starting in the year 2022-23, to accelerate work in closing indigenous housing gaps. There is more in that budget, with $2.4 billion over five years to support first nations housing on reserve, $565 million over five years to support housing in self-governing and modern treaty holder first nations communities, $845 million over seven years to support housing in Inuit communities, $190 million for housing in Métis communities, and $300 million over five years for the urban, rural and northern indigenous housing strategy.
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- Jun/10/24 8:41:57 p.m.
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Uqaqtittiji, I struggle to appreciate the past investments of this government. According to the Assembly of First Nations, the infrastructure gap stands at almost $350 billion. With Inuit and Métis, this number reaches over $425 billion. Of that, $135 billion is just for housing. We urgently need to build more than 150,000 new homes, as well as repairing 55,000 existing homes. These are astronomical numbers that will require generational investments to achieve.
What has the Liberal response been? It is a commitment of just $918 million over five years in budget 2024, which is less than 1% of what is needed. That results in pennies.
It is clear that the Liberals will not come close to meeting their target of ending the infrastructure gap by 2030. When will these promises become action, so that investments become real and the infrastructure gap is addressed?
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- Jun/10/24 8:43:14 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I can assure the hon. member that the Government of Canada takes the issue of housing for indigenous peoples very seriously. We know that indigenous people are more likely to experience poor housing conditions and overcrowding than the general population is. That is why housing in first nations, Inuit and Métis communities is backed by significant funding from the federal government, which I outlined in my speech.
By working hand in hand with indigenous partners to co-develop and implement strategies and policies, we can come up with practical solutions that will work best for their communities. Through this approach, we are seeing results. All Canadians should have access to safe and affordable housing, which is why the government has been taking concrete action with partners, building more homes and improving the housing situation for indigenous people across the country. That work is led by indigenous communities, and we think that is essential for how we close the gaps.
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