Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, I had the honour of being at the BCIT, the B.C. Institute of Technology, earlier this week to talk about 100,000 jobs for young Canadians to build homes and infrastructure. The members opposite have an opportunity to support the spring economic update, which would dedicate $6 billion to training young Canadians to be part of our economy and to build the affordable housing that we need…
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Mr. Speaker, our spring economic update is making very smart investments and making life more affordable for Canadians. The opposition does not seem to ever want to talk about affordable housing and the success that we are having, bringing rents down for 18 months in a row. In this update, we can see up to 100,000 Canadian workers who are going to help build affordable housing for decades to come.…
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Mr. Speaker, while the Conservatives may be mired in the last decade or two of failure, this government is focused on the future and delivering today. This spring update has an incredible opportunity for young Canadians. Up to 100,000 Canadians will have access to training and support to build the affordable homes and community infrastructure that this country needs to build Canada strong.
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Mr. Speaker, once again, Conservatives are attacking former mayors like they attack current mayors. They have no respect. For leaders of our cities and towns, leaders of our provinces and territories, leaders of our indigenous communities, they have zero respect. In my first seven years as a mayor in Vancouver, how much support did we get from the Harper Conservative government? Zero. This governm…
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Mr. Speaker, I congratulate the member for University—Rosedale. Yes, we are very happy to see housing starts up 10% year to year and to see construction activity above the 10-year average, as well as seeing average rents come down for 18 consecutive months. We are seeing movement in the right direction. There is a lot more work to do. Build Canada Homes is delivering on more social, supportive and…
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Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for her concerns about public transit. The good news is that we have expanded the opportunities for funding on public transit, not only from the Canada public transit fund, which is the first permanent dedicated public transit fund in Canadian history, but also from the build communities strong fund, which is $51 billion of funding for infrastructure in communities …
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Mr. Speaker, there is exciting news this morning here in Ottawa. I was proud to be at a construction site with the Prime Minister and the mayor to announce those eight shovel-ready projects. There will be over 1,100 homes. Over 90% of those are affordable homes by the Build Canada Homes' standard. This is great news. We are building at scale. We are prioritizing projects on the ground. We are buil…
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Mr. Speaker, our government is leading a national effort to solve the housing crisis by working with cities and towns across Canada to get more housing built. In reducing red tape, the housing accelerator fund has been very successful working with 241 communities across the country. Those communities made commitments. This government holds everyone accountable to their commitments. The integrity o…
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Mr. Speaker, the results speak for themselves. Affordability for housing has been improving over the last several years. The actions taken by the government are having an immediate effect. We are seeing rents come down. We are seeing home prices come down. We are seeing housing supply increase. We do have immediate-term measures to boost housing supply with provinces and territories. We are workin…
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Mr. Speaker, we have good news. Housing starts are up almost 10% across Canada year to date, so we are seeing progress in terms of housing starts. We are seeing rents decrease. We are seeing mortgages reduced. We are seeing home prices reduced. Affordability is improving for housing across Canada. It is not just a short-term change that we have to grapple with, with the uncertainty we face. Build …
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Mr. Speaker, we are at the negotiating table; we are in discussions with Quebec. We are committed to working with our provincial counterparts to ensure that our communities are connected by robust and reliable public transport and active transport services.
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Mr. Speaker, we are tackling Canada's housing challenges with urgency and innovation. Build Canada Homes is already showing what is possible when we work in strong partnership with provinces, territories, local governments and community builders. We have agreements in place with many provinces. We have over 10,000 homes under way. What we can do now is pass the Build Canada Homes act in the House.…
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Mr. Speaker, we are doing a lot of work right now in B.C. to lift up people, particularly young people, with the break on new home purchases for first-time homebuyers, a GST break of up to $50,000. There is also a housing supply bonus going out to the provinces and territories to help reduce the cost of housing, which is the number one driver with affordability. When we look at the cost of housing…
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Mr. Speaker, let us be clear. This band of Conservatives is what is sowing dissent and anxiety in Canada. The government is being crystal clear. We support—
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Mr. Speaker, I will reinforce the concerns this side of the House has about the anxiety and fearmongering the Conservatives are pushing on this issue. This is a very serious issue. The government supports the appeal. The government supports the rights of private property owners. The government supports reconciliation. We will pursue the course of action of appealing the superior court decision in …
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Mr. Speaker, this government supports the rights of private property owners and this government is 100% committed to reconciliation. Canadians want the clarity that this appeal will provide. They do not want the fear and misinformation that these Conservatives are pushing out in an attempt to divide Canadians.
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Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the opportunity for the member opposite to let me highlight the work that is going into the Canada public transit fund and the zero emission transit fund. We have opportunities to invest in zero emission transportation: battery electric buses. Technology is improving by the month. There are battery electric buses operating in many cities across Canada. Edmonton is current…
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Mr. Speaker, it was wonderful to be in Brampton last week with the Prime Minister to announce the funding for a new community centre, the Embleton community centre and park, in Brampton. It is a $64-million investment for a 175,000-square foot community centre. It is exactly the kind of project that we promised Canadians we would deliver. This is one of 13 initial projects for the build community …
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Mr. Speaker, indeed today is a very good day for housing in Canada. We are working with all provinces and territories, along with our homebuilding partners, to make housing more affordable and to deliver for Canadians. The funding from the housing supply bill would keep our projects moving, protect Canadian workers and support construction. This is for the months and years ahead. We are investing …
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Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for his question. We have some good news for New Brunswick. Through Build Canada Homes, we are working with partners to build 1,200 affordable housing units, with the potential to increase this number to 1,500 housing units. These projects are ready to move forward quickly, and nearly half of these units will use modern building methods to speed up construction. Tog…
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Mr. Speaker, we are obviously very concerned about those who are homeless right now or utilizing the programs we put in place: Reaching Home and the unsheltered homelessness and encampments initiative. The unsheltered homelessness and encampments initiative was a two-year program. We have communicated very clearly the transition over to Reaching Home, which will continue for several more years. We…
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Mr. Speaker, the good news is that we had a very strong year last year for housing starts across Canada, one of the best in our history. Almost 260,000 homes were started. We need to keep that continuing. Sales are challenged right now. The economy is challenged. This side of the House is focused on delivering for Canada on affordability, boosting our economy, creating jobs and cutting the costs a…
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Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for pointing that out, because we are cutting taxes for first-time homebuyers by up to $50,000, for young Canadians to be able to buy their first home. We are reducing the amount of red tape across the country. The housing accelerator fund is delivering for 241 cities across the country. We are seeing permitting and approvals move faster. We are delivering infrastru…
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Mr. Speaker, it is no surprise that Canadians are challenged with buying a home right now, when there is a war in the Middle East. There is no surprise. In the first 100 days of Build Canada Homes, we have secured agreements with Nova Scotia, with B.C and with Nunavut. We are delivering thousands of homes. We are up to 9,000 homes that are being delivered through Build Canada Homes for Canadians, …
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Mr. Speaker, we have some good news in that CMHC report, which shows that average rents across the country are coming down. We are making progress. We are seeing the price of housing come down as well, and mortgage rates are also down, so we are seeing trends in the right direction that achieve affordability, which every member of the House seems to want to deliver on. We could deliver even more f…
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Mr. Speaker, the Drummondville project is an important milestone in affordable housing for seniors, with 100 units now open. This new building reflects our efforts to make housing more accessible. It represents tangible progress in meeting the needs of the region's seniors. I encourage my colleagues to support the Build Canada Homes legislation so that we have more tools.
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Mr. Speaker, Nova Scotians need action, and they need clean energy, not political games from the Conservatives here. They have the support of the Progressive Conservative government in Nova Scotia to advance this project and fund it. Officials at the Infrastructure Bank have supported the project. These are good jobs, energy reliability and choice for Nova Scotians.
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Mr. Speaker, the project is about clean energy. It is about local jobs and economic growth. It was approved through the independent process at the Canada Infrastructure Bank, led by non-partisan officials. Even the Progressive Conservative government of Nova Scotia is backing the project and supporting it, and it is easy to see why. It is creating clean energy. It is creating good jobs for Nova Sc…
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Mr. Speaker, the good news is that we have the build communities strong fund, which includes public transit. This is a $51-billion infrastructure fund that the House has the opportunity to support in the budget implementation act. It is $51 billion, and a significant percentage of that applies to public transit. We are in talks with the Government of Quebec to pursue the opportunity for public tra…
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Mr. Speaker, the good news is that there is a tax break coming for first-time homebuyers. I thank members of the House for standing up for our young people. We are now seeing prices starting to come down, rents coming down and home prices coming down. We see that in the new CMHC housing affordability index report that came out this morning. The trend is in the right direction, but we have to doubl…
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Mr. Speaker, we are ready to pursue public transit investment with the Government of Quebec. We are at the table. We are negotiating. We welcome the opportunity to invest. There are significant dollars available in the build communities strong fund. When the BIA is passed, we will be able to move that funding through, on top of the $25 billion that is available in the Canada public transit fund. A…
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Mr. Speaker, our next steps are critical. The next step that the member can take is supporting the Build Canada Homes act to make sure that the government has every tool available to invest in affordable housing. We have $13 billion labelled for non-market housing. That will leverage tens of thousands of units of affordable housing, from rental to affordable home ownership. We need everybody on bo…
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Mr. Speaker, that is what Build Canada Homes is all about. We have a plan to deliver. We are delivering, and the experts are weighing in on this. The Canadian Housing and Renewal Association said it clearly: Build Canada Homes is “an important step toward addressing the housing crisis—building homes at speed and scale, ensuring affordability, and listening to the community housing sector.” We have…
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Mr. Speaker, the government is focused on making housing more affordable across the board, starting with our first-time homebuyers getting a tax break. Build Canada Homes has almost 9,000 homes now in development in cities across the country. Supportive housing was announced last week in B.C., with 700 homes for those who are at risk of homelessness. We are delivering. We need support from the opp…
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Madam Speaker, I spoke briefly to the impact we have already had in terms of reducing approval times, red tape and the costs related to both of those with the City of Ottawa. We have an agreement in place with the City of Ottawa to build about 3,000 homes. The homes will be expedited through the city's system and that is a good example of how Build Canada Homes, by bringing new tools to the table,…
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Madam Speaker, I want to thank the member for her question. We are focused on communities of all shapes and sizes. That is part of Build Canada Homes. The act would enable this new, lean, efficient agency to deliver both large-scale projects with larger communities and cities, and smaller projects in smaller and rural communities. We anticipate it being a measure of the impact within the community…
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Madam Speaker, I thank the member for her concern for those most vulnerable. The importance of supportive and transitional housing cannot be understated. It is a best practice, as part of a housing-first initiative, to make sure that people who are at risk of homelessness or are currently homeless have an opportunity to get into housing that has wraparound health and social supports so they can fi…
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Mr. Speaker, we have very exciting news in B.C. The Build Canada Homes partnership is set to deliver 1,100 new affordable homes. Many of these priority projects are set to break ground this year, including 700 supportive and transitional homes for people who need them the most. I hope that the members opposite will support the Build Canada Homes legislation rather than obstructing and preventing C…
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moved that Bill C-20, An Act respecting the establishment of Build Canada Homes, be read the second time and referred to a committee. Madam Speaker, the Build Canada Homes act would establish Canada as an affordable housing builder. The Build Canada Homes act is landmark legislation that would establish Build Canada Homes as a Crown corporation with a mandate to deliver affordable housing at scale…
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Madam Speaker, I thank the member for his concerns. First and foremost, to speak to the challenge that young Canadians face with housing, that is clearly a focus of Build Canada Homes: to ensure we are building affordable homes for the next generation. Many of us who sit in the House have children or grandchildren and have great concerns about the escalation of homebuilding costs and the price of …
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Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for his question. The Quebec tramway has an investment of $1.44 billion from the federal government, and we continue to invest significantly in public transit across the country through the Canada public transit fund, as well as the build communities strong fund, where there is tens of billions of dollars available to allocate towards transit if the House supports t…
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Mr. Speaker, we have a plan to attack affordability across this country; it starts with housing, but it certainly extends to tax breaks, as we saw in recent weeks with respect to groceries. There was also a tax break for 22 million Canadians last year. We are delivering on affordability. We are focused on a first-time homebuyers' tax break of up to $50,000 and on building affordable homes for youn…
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Mr. Speaker, I am concerned that the member opposite does not care about renters. In my city, half the population rents housing, and we certainly do not discriminate against people who choose to buy or those who choose to rent. Many Canadians do not have a choice; that is why we have to make affordable housing options possible for all Canadians to make sure they have a safe home. We do not need an…
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Mr. Speaker, it is critical that we build housing in the GTA that is affordable. We want to get the industry back building affordable housing for Canadians, certainly in the GTA but also across the country. We are seeing good housing starts in many cities across the country, but we are just getting started with affordability. We need to deliver, with members around the House, on the build Canada h…
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moved for leave to introduce Bill C-20, An Act respecting the establishment of Build Canada Homes. (Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed)
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Mr. Speaker, it is a good day to be asking that question. We introduced the build Canada homes act this morning, precisely to make sure that young Canadians have access to affordable housing going forward. We have dedicated $13 billion in the budget. We need the support of members of the House to pass that budget to invest in young Canadians. We do not need obstruction on the build Canada homes ac…
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Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for the question and her great work. We have got right to work with Build Canada Homes. Since the launch, we have been signing major partnerships with provinces and cities. We have six major development sites on federal lands. We are delivering over 7,500 homes, with tens of thousands more in the pipeline right now, with the Build Canada Homes act that was introduce…
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Mr. Speaker, I am very excited to share that the Government of Canada, the Government of Nunavut and Nunavut Tunngavik Incorporated reached an agreement to deliver up to 750 homes in the territory. Build Canada Homes will lead this work using innovative factory-built components to get homes ready faster. We are prioritizing Canadian materials. We are supporting Inuit-owned businesses and creating …
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Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for her concern about the challenges for co-op housing. Co-op housing is a key priority within Build Canada Homes. We will ensure that a significant portion of the Build Canada Homes funding will be targeted for stabilizing and investing in new co-op housing. As someone who has co-op housing in my riding, the most in B.C., I obviously want to make sure my constituen…
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Mr. Speaker, the member opposite should study the facts. The price of housing across the country is coming down. Average rents are coming down. Mortgage rates have come down. Our plan is working to deliver on affordability. We saw solid housing starts in this last year. We are focused on delivering that affordability with all types of housing across the country, in partnership with communities, pr…
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