- Member of Parliament
- Minister of Tourism
Minister responsible for the Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec
- Liberal
- Hochelaga
- Quebec
- Voting Attendance: 63%
- Expenses Last Quarter: $108,332.48
- Government Page
- Nov/2/22 6:56:25 p.m.
- Watch
Madam Speaker, it is always a pleasure to hear members of other parties in the House agree with us on the need to increase housing supply and preserve affordability. It is vital that responsibility for this goal be shared amongst all levels of government, the private sector and the non-profit sector. We all need to do our part to maintain affordability.
Too many people in this country are struggling to find housing that they can afford, that meets their needs and that also meets the need to live with dignity by having a safe and affordable home. There is simply not enough supply to meet the demand.
Our government has implemented a number of programs under the national housing strategy to increase the supply of housing. However, as my colleague pointed out, supply is only one of the factors driving up the cost of housing. Financialization and speculation have artificially increased prices to such an extent that prices no longer reflect the true value of housing. That is to say nothing of the “renoviction” phenomenon.
That is why we brought in a 1% annual tax on vacant residential properties belonging to non-resident, non-Canadian owners. That is also why we adopted a measure prohibiting foreigners from purchasing residential property in Canada for a period of two years. That is also why we are planning a suite of other measures to guarantee that housing in this country is used for its intended purpose, in other words, as a place to live for people in need.
Earlier this year, we announced a federal review of housing as an asset class. This fiscal review will help us better understand the role of large corporate players in the market and their impact on Canadian renters and homeowners.
We also announced measures to protect buyers and renters against bad practices. We are implementing a homebuyers' bill of rights that will make the process of buying a home more open, transparent and fair. We are also proposing new measures to crack down on illegal activity in our housing market and make sure that property flippers and speculators are paying their fair share of tax.
Our government has made housing affordability a priority since we were first elected, and we will continue to do so. It was the cornerstone of our 2022 budget, which proposed measures to address the issue from every angle that could have an impact.
I thank my colleague for asking me this question and for giving me another opportunity to talk about housing. Again, it is a shared responsibility. He can count on my full co‑operation in providing affordable housing for all Canadians.
446 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Oct/28/22 11:31:56 a.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for her question. There is definitely a speculative element in the real estate market right now. That is why our government decided to implement an annual tax of 1% on the value of residential property owned by non-resident non-Canadians and to prohibit foreign investment for two years. We want to make sure we protect our market here in Canada.
67 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Oct/3/22 6:47:01 p.m.
- Watch
Madam Speaker, the government recognizes the pressures faced by Canadians with the current housing market. We recognize that home ownership is out of reach for far too many Canadians. That is why we made housing a cornerstone of our last budget. The government presented the most ambitious plan that Canada has ever had to increase the supply of housing and make it more accessible for everyone in the country.
My colleague dismisses this government's past and present housing efforts, but his constituents may not. Twenty families from the Cook's Ferry Indian Band and the Leq'á:mel and Splatsin First Nations have housing as a result of the rapid housing initiative, and some 1,000 other units and beds have become available in this riding alone with federal funding. These success stories are happening in ridings across the country.
This government is proud of the efforts it has made to date and we are committed to doing even more. Our plan includes many provisions that will help people who are trying to get into the housing market for the first time. These provisions include the extension and expansion of the first-time home buyer incentive.
First-time homebuyers can also take advantage of a new tax-free savings account. This homebuyer incentive will help them save up to $40,000 for the purchase of their first home. We have also doubled the first-time homebuyers' tax credit to $10,000, providing up to $1,500 in direct support to homebuyers.
One of the drivers of rising house prices is simply that supply is not keeping pace with demand. That is why we have increased funding in our budget to double residential construction over the next decade. To that end, we will invest $4 billion to create a new fund to accelerate housing construction with the goal of building 100,000 net new units within five years. This fund and other related measures will help provinces, territories and municipalities build more housing faster.
We will also accelerate the construction of housing by providing $2.9 billion in funding through the national housing co-investment fund. This will enable us to support the creation of up to 4,300 units and facilitate the repair of up to 17,800 units for the people who need them most in this country.
Our government made housing a priority. As soon as we took office, we realized the extent of the impending crisis. During this time, we have brought in a wide range of strategic measures, including the first-ever national housing strategy.
These strategies include the first-time homebuyer incentive as well as other successful programs, such as the rapid housing initiative. Our budget provides $1.5 billion over two years to extend this very successful program, which constantly exceeded its affordable housing construction targets.
Far too many people in this country struggle to find safe and affordable housing. Although the government has already taken excellent measures that we can describe as historic to help these people, we know that we still have a lot of work to do. I would invite my colleague and all opposition members to support the measures we will be presenting over the coming weeks and months.
543 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- May/13/22 11:35:28 a.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for her question. Again, it gives me the opportunity to name a few of the measures in budget 2022, namely, the bill to implement an annual tax on the value of non-resident, non-Canadian-owned residential real estate. We also announced a two-year ban on on foreign investment in real estate.
We need to do something about access to home ownership. We need to make sure that every Canadian is able to buy a home, if they so desire, and more importantly, that every Canadian has a roof over their head.
100 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- menumenu
- notificationsnotifications
- home
- mailmail
- searchsearch
