SoVote

Context: House Hansard - 339 - Sep/19/24

Sep/19/24 10:15:59 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I always find it entertaining when the member for Kingston and the Islands starts talking in here, because it is clear he does not understand the math. If announcing billions of dollars could solve the problem, we would not have a problem in this country. However, I have just given the Liberals' own data, which shows the situation is worse today than when they started. I do not care how much money they spend; they make the situation worse. Cities make it more expensive every single year. The charges cities charge to get homes built have gone up exponentially every single year, and the government just rewards them instead of making them reduce those charges and make it cheaper for people to buy homes.

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Mr. Mario Simard (Jonquière, BQ)

Sep/19/24 10:16:47 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, indeed, we cannot ignore the fact that there is a housing crisis, and our out-of-control migration policies have something to do with this. In Quebec we know this only too well, since we are the ones receiving the majority of the temporary residents. These policies certainly have something to do with this. I do not believe, though, that the solution proposed by the opposition leader, namely to insult city mayors who are in a position to build housing, is ideal. What Ottawa could do is reach an agreement with Quebec and transfer funds that would be used to build homes. I would like to hear what my colleague has to say about the insults his leader has directed at mayors. Does he think they are constructive?

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Mr. Scott Aitchison

Sep/19/24 10:17:27 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it is a question of whether we hold other levels of government to account or not, and cities have made it more expensive to build homes in this country. On average, 33% of the cost of every single dwelling unit built in this country is government. Nobody makes more money on housing than governments, so it is sanctimonious to stand in this place and say we need to give more money. We need to reduce the charges. We need to reduce the fees. We need to make it easier to get homes built so young people are not saddled with debt forever and they can actually get into the market. That is the solution.

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Ms. Lisa Marie Barron (Nanaimo—Ladysmith, NDP)

Sep/19/24 10:18:05 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we are all very aware there is a huge housing crisis happening right now. In my riding of Nanaimo—Ladysmith, people are being particularly hard hit. For example, a two-bedroom in Nanaimo right now costs $2,459 per month. Who can afford that? Not many Canadians can. Unfortunately, a problem that both the former Conservative government and the Liberal government have been allowing is for large corporations to swoop in and buy up affordable homes, yet the Conservative member is now saying he has the solution. When the leader of the Conservatives was the minister of housing, he built zero affordable homes in British Columbia. When will the Conservatives actually take the problem seriously and build affordable homes that people can live in, not just allow rich developers to be propped up?

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Mr. Scott Aitchison

Sep/19/24 10:18:55 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I will just simply say that it gets a little tiring listening to the NDP demonize private sector developers, because we need literally trillions of dollars of investment in housing in this country. We are not getting that done without the private sector. I think it is time that the NDP and its friends stop demonizing private sector investment. Let us start finding ways to attract that investment to this country.

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Mrs. Dominique Vien (Bellechasse—Les Etchemins—Lévis, CPC)

Sep/19/24 10:19:26 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to commend my colleague from Parry Sound—Muskoka for his excellent contribution. He did a good job explaining and presenting what we are discussing today. This subject is of interest to a great many Canadians and Quebeckers too. The housing crisis we are facing today was caused by this government, which has mismanaged its files since it came to power in 2015. My colleague spoke about this government's incompetence, which I believe takes many forms. I hope to have the opportunity to point to some of the factors that led us to this housing crisis, which has sadly affected all of Canada and all of Quebec, including in places where homelessness would have been unthinkable. This has caused terribly unfortunate situations in our cities as well as in our small towns. As my colleague was saying, people are having to sleep on couches. This is a hidden form of homelessness, and even our small towns are not immune to it. In fact, this is happening in my riding and pretty much across Quebec. Other forms of homelessness are increasingly visible, and that is so unfortunate to see. It is truly sad that people in Canada, a G7 country, a G20 country, are not even able to put a roof over their heads. Plenty of ordinary Canadians are now finding themselves on the streets, homeless. This week I heard a man on a call-in show describe his situation, which was pretty cut and dried: He was forced out of his home because the landlords were taking over the property. This is allowed in Quebec. He found himself on the street because there is no housing. He bought himself a tent and that is where he lives today. Does anyone think we have palm trees and sunny skies year round in Canada? October is coming. November too. In December the snow comes, along with temperatures in the negative twenties and thirties. These people will be sleeping outside. As parliamentarians and members of this legislature, we cannot simply look away. It borders on the criminal to do so. Thomas Mulcair, a well-known former politician who used to lead the NDP, is now a high-profile political commentator in Quebec. He said that the Prime Minister and his government promised affordable housing in 2015. They promised they would build homes so that everyone would have a roof over their head. Where are we today? The situation, as my colleague pointed out, is worse than it was nine years ago, when this Prime Minister came to power. Many people of all backgrounds and circumstances have entered our country in recent years, and it was the Liberals who did this. However, they built less housing. How can it be that they did such a poor job? Let us crunch the numbers. Fewer homes were built in 2022 than in 1972, despite the population having doubled. How can they have done such a poor job? I repeat, fewer homes were built in 2022 than in 1972, despite a doubling of the population. In my opinion, someone somewhere is not doing their job. Someone, somewhere, on the other side needs to wake up, because this is not working. The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, or CMHC, has indicated how many homes must be built by 2030 if we are to try and get a handle on the situation. We will need 8.5 million housing units. I am not the one saying this. It is the CMHC. They are the experts. Here are some figures. I do little summaries like this on every sector in Canada. I can also talk about the budget and a whole host of other things, but since I only have four minutes left, I am going to focus on the housing question. Rent has doubled since 2015. Mortgage costs have doubled since 2015. Of all the OECD countries, Canada is the slowest to build. Of the G7 countries, based on our land mass, Canada has the fewest homes, and yet, if one looks at a map of Canada, it is not for lack of space. In Toronto, it takes 25 years to save for a down payment, when that should be the repayment period. That is unbelievable. I repeat: Fewer housing units were built in 2022 under this government than in 1972. Something is not working. Right now, money is being spent left and right. We do not know what is happening with that money. Right now, we are seeing just how overwhelmed Canada's big cities are with what has been happening, especially in Montreal. Does anyone feel like going to Montreal these days? Shots are being fired, there are guns everywhere and people are sleeping outside. That is the current situation. Our leader introduced a bill to build housing and encourage the use of federally owned surplus buildings and land, but it was voted down. The bill stipulated that municipalities would have to build 15% more housing and meet housing construction goals. How could anyone think that voting against that bill was a good idea? I will tell the House why they voted against it. They voted against it simply because it came from the Conservatives. That is the only reason. It is a matter of partisanship, when what we are trying to do here is to take care of Quebeckers and Canadians, to put a roof over their heads. That is what we are trying to do here—

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The Deputy Speaker

Sep/19/24 10:28:28 a.m.
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The member for Drummond on a point of order.

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Mr. Martin Champoux

Sep/19/24 10:28:32 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I just want to remind my colleague that interpreters have devices in their ears that enable them to interpret speeches, and when members knock on the desk in the middle of their speech, it can cause problems that are best avoided.

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The Deputy Speaker

Sep/19/24 10:28:45 a.m.
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That is a good reminder. The hon. member for Bellechasse—Les Etchemins—Lévis.

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Mrs. Dominique Vien

Sep/19/24 10:28:50 a.m.
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Re: Bill C-356

Mr. Speaker, that is an excellent comment. I apologize. I can be quite intense, and I get fired up with tough subjects like this. I am now seeing homelessness in Lévis, which was never the case. I had never seen it before, but it is there now. We see homeless people. There are young people sleeping in shelters, under bridges or in their cars. That is not normal. It is unacceptable. Our leader introduced Bill C-356, which was defeated. I do not understand how anyone could have possibly thought it was not a good idea. How could they think it was a bad idea? The bill died at second reading. I only have 10 seconds left, so I will end on this note: When we are sitting on the other side of the House, we will get this done.

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Mrs. Brenda Shanahan (Châteauguay—Lacolle, Lib.)

Sep/19/24 10:29:57 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we can be passionate about the issues, but we have to respect the people who work here. I thank my colleague for his point of order. Where I am from—

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The Deputy Speaker

Sep/19/24 10:30:15 a.m.
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The member for Mégantic—L'Érable on a point of order.

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Mr. Luc Berthold

Sep/19/24 10:30:18 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, my colleague's comments are completely unacceptable. To suggest that my colleague, the member for Bellechasse—Les Etchemins—Lévis, disrespected the interpreters despite the fact that she apologized is shameful, unacceptable and should not be accepted in the House. I would ask her to withdraw that comment.

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The Deputy Speaker

Sep/19/24 10:30:36 a.m.
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I understand. The member has already apologized. Questions and comments. The hon. member for Châteauguay—Lacolle.

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Mrs. Brenda Shanahan

Sep/19/24 10:30:47 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, my question about—

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The Deputy Speaker

Sep/19/24 10:30:54 a.m.
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The member for Mégantic—L'Érable on a point of order.

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Mr. Luc Berthold

Sep/19/24 10:30:56 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the Liberal member clearly insinuated that my colleague showed a lack of respect for the interpreters, which is completely false. I would ask her to withdraw her comment.

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The Deputy Speaker

Sep/19/24 10:31:11 a.m.
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I believe the hon. member has already apologized. Another hon. member has a question. We would like to close the matter. The member apologized to the interpreters. We would like to move on. Perhaps the member can apologize quickly so we can move on. The hon. member for Châteauguay—Lacolle.

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Mrs. Brenda Shanahan

Sep/19/24 10:31:38 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, with respect to the housing situation, I am very proud of the extremely interesting projects implemented in my riding recently. They were designed and facilitated by community groups with some expertise in affordable housing. These include groups like SOLIDES, the Société locative d'investissement et de développement social, and FROHME, the Fédération régionale des OSBL d'habitation de la Montérégie et de l'Estrie. These groups believe that their ongoing ability to take action is very important to get projects off the ground. I would like to ask my colleague whether she is prepared to support these community organizations or, conversely, whether she is going to cut the budgets, funding, and grants that help these groups get the job done.

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Mrs. Dominique Vien

Sep/19/24 10:32:31 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to go back to what my colleague said at the start. I am an intense person, but I am also extremely respectful. At no time have I ever said anything in the House that might have been hurtful to a fellow member, irrespective of party. That has never happened. The member is suggesting the contrary. This saddens and pains me. She is absolutely right, I did knock on the desk, but I apologized. I got carried away. I wanted to emphasize that. The member asked if I am going to continue supporting community agencies. A simple search of my background would have shown her that I got my start in the community sector and that I have promoted many community groups. I can assure the members of this House that I have nothing but the deepest respect and gratitude for the work done by community organizations, be it in the field of health, housing, transportation or radio, which is where I started. We are a government in waiting and an opposition that listens to people's views and maintains very close relations with the community sector.

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