Debates of April 29th, 2024

Housing

[Eric Duncan, Conservative, Stormont—Dundas—South Glengarry, ON]

Madam Speaker, after nine years of the NDP-Liberal government, it is just not worth the cost. Canadians know that and, sadly, they know that in many ways. The housing hell that the Liberals and NDP have created under their watch is being seen in every part of this country. Cornwall and SD&G are no exception to this chaos and this burden.

I want to talk about some stats here to frame the context for we know nationally and what has happened locally here in eastern Ontario.

The Cornwall and District Real Estate Board says that the average house price in 2015, the year the Prime Minister came into office, was $179,900. Today, the average house price in SD&G and Cornwall is $422,000, which is a 135% increase. The down payment needed used to be $9,000, nine years ago, and it is now $21,000.

Also, in this country, it used to take 25 years to pay a mortgage off, and now the stats show it takes 25 years just to save up for a home. The average mortgage payment needed to buy this average residential house in SD&G and Cornwall, using a conventional five-year, fixed average, as per Stats Canada, in 2015 would have been $895. Now it is $2,600, which is nearly triple the mortgage payment for somebody buying a new home in our part of eastern Ontario. It is no wonder food bank use is skyrocketing at the House of Lazarus, the Agapè Centre, Saint Vincent de Paul, the Salvation Army, and the list goes on.

Rentals.ca talks about rent, which has gone up 107% in this country. In Ontario, the average now is up 8.8% in the last year alone. The average rental cost is nearly $2,200 a month in the province of Ontario. It is broken.

The problem framing the seriousness of this is that its cause is the continued failure of the government. The Liberals promise but just do not deliver on anything they say they are going to do. They bragged about a $90-billion national housing strategy. I went back and looked at the announcement. The Prime Minister literally said that it is going to be “life-changing”. It was life-changing all right, in completely the wrong way.

The more the Liberals and NDP spend on housing, the worse it gets. They add red tape. They add layers. At a time now when we need to pick up the pace of housing starts to keep up with demand, we are actually seeing, right in the city of Cornwall as well, and the Cornwall year-in-review chart showed it last year, that residential starts and permit values collapsed last year, at a time when we actually need them to increase.

We are building the same number of houses today as we did in the 1970s when the population was half the size. It is time to get rid of the red tape. It is time to get rid of the broken promises.

I will follow up, because it was the Liberal platform in 2015 that said that the Liberals were going to conduct an inventory of all available federal lands and buildings that could be repurposed. Nine years later, they have not fulfilled that yet. In the budget, they now promise a rapid review of the entirety of federal lands. After nine years, there are zero results and just a promise to do a rapid review. We have seen that in Cornwall with the Transport Canada lands that are blocking housing.

Will the government smarten up, get out of the way and allow more housing to be built in Cornwall?

[Pam Damoff, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs (Consular Affairs)]

Madam Speaker, we know that the only way to effectively address the housing crisis is to involve all partners on housing: municipalities, provinces, and the public and private sectors. We all have a part to play in the solution. The Government of Canada cannot do it alone. That is why we have signed agreements with cities and municipalities across the country to accelerate the construction of housing in their jurisdictions. We are seeing that municipalities have their own regulations, unique to their respective jurisdictions. Sometimes it is a limit on building height; in some cases, it is a restriction on secondary housing construction. In some situations, the residents themselves are resistant to new developments because they want to keep their neighbourhood as it is.

As this crisis evolves, it is unacceptable for such obstacles to prevent or hinder the development of new housing. Municipal governments understand this well, and many have stepped up to work with the federal government to rectify the situation; we are looking for more to do so. In total, the housing accelerator fund has signed 179 agreements with cities and small, rural or northern communities. It is changing the way cities build homes right across the country. The fund was designed specifically to help cities build on their ambitions by fundamentally changing their residential construction approval process. All their initiatives, such as zoning modernization, adoption of new permitting technologies, legalization of secondary suites, process streamlining and more, ultimately allow for more housing to be built more quickly.

We can no longer continue to build housing the way we have for decades. This is not sufficient anymore. Programs such as the housing accelerator fund are creating a whole new way to work together, which is key to increasing housing supply. We must find solutions to the housing shortage and pool our resources to implement them. This is indeed true for collaboration among the different levels of government; it is also true for everyone here. As elected officials, we all have the same goal in mind: to improve quality of life for Canadians. We ultimately work for the same people, and it is our duty as a team to deliver.

[Eric Duncan, Conservative, Stormont—Dundas—South Glengarry, ON]

Madam Speaker, after nine years, the Liberals have doubled housing costs and down payments. They have tripled mortgage payments in our part of the country alone, when we do the math. The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result.

Our solution, many Canadians would say, is common sense. The Liberals must stop promising to give money to cities and instead give money when they show results and complete houses.

We are going to require cities to increase their permits by 15% to get federal infrastructure dollars. If they do not keep their promises, they do not get paid. A real estate agent gets paid when they sell a house. A home builder gets paid when they build a house. Municipalities and big cities should be paid when they permit housing.

At a time when we need to increase the supply to meet the demand, the Liberal record is a decrease.

I will ask again: In Cornwall, Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry and right across the country—

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mrs. Alexandra Mendès), Liberal, Alexandra Mendes]

The hon. parliamentary secretary.

[Pam Damoff, Liberal, Oakville North—Burlington, ON]

Madam Speaker, it is unfortunate that the hon. member does not know how the housing accelerator fund actually works, because it does have targets that municipalities have to meet. If they do not meet their targets, they will not receive additional funding.

We are leading the national effort to solve the housing crisis by working with municipalities to remove outdated approaches to permitting and zoning that have blocked the housing Canadians need. Through our agreements, we have secured ambitious housing reforms in communities big and small, in every region of the country. This represents the largest upzoning movement in Canadian history. The Conservative leader's plan would rip up these agreements and gut housing funding to communities.

There is more work to do to solve the housing crisis, and Canadians cannot afford the risks of the Conservative leader's reckless right-wing plan on housing.

National Defence

[Kevin Vuong, Independent, Spadina—Fort York, ON]

Madam Speaker, Canadians are struggling to find a home. This includes the brave men and women of the Canadian Armed Forces.

This is why, on April 10, I pointed out to the government that its new defence policy for Canada, entitled “Our North, Strong and Free”, is just the latest in a long list of Liberal smoke and mirrors. I do not think it is a coincidence that this policy rightfully abbreviates into NSF, which Canadians increasingly know of late also means “non-sufficient funds”.

That is because this pretend policy starts out with insufficient funds. In fact, it provides zero dollars in 2024. There will be nothing for tactical helicopters, nothing for maritime sensors and nothing for badly needed military housing. On this latter item, perhaps it is just the Liberal way of making sure our military does not feel left out from the very same experience that many Canadians are struggling with, which is the inability to find a home, all under the government's watch.

If that is not enough for this farcical defence policy, it is spread out over 20 years, two decades. I hope Canada does not need any defending during this period. I just do not get it. Do the Liberals not care? We have CAF members who have to line up at food banks to ensure they do not go hungry. We have CAF members who have to sleep in tents because they cannot afford rent. These should be red flags. Instead, the Liberals continue to bury their heads in the sand, providing literally nothing for military housing while we are in the midst of a very real housing crisis.

In my initial question, I asked if the Prime Minister was aware that the government's facade policy would keep CAF personnel and their families in tents for years. I hope the parliamentary secretary can provide some insight this evening on the rationale for why the Prime Minister has allocated zero dollars for military housing in 2024 and 2025, because the Minister of National Defence's response to my question was ludicrous.

The Minister of National Defence had the audacity to offer to send me a copy of the new defence policy because he was concerned I may not have read it. I wonder if the minister has. I am happy to personally chip in if he needs a new pair of reading glasses, because it is clear he has trouble seeing the funding table on page 30, which clearly shows zero dollars for military housing. He classified the policy with a straight face as “a historic investment in new capabilities”. Well, it is historic, all right. It is historic that any government in the midst of a housing crisis would allocate a historic zero dollars for two years while we have men and women sleeping in tents.

Just in case the parliamentary secretary has not had a chance, like the minister, to read the policy, I would like to tell him more about the historic investments: zero dollars for maintaining national defence infrastructure, zero dollars for civilian capacity, zero dollars for housing in 2024 and 2025, zero dollars for tactical helicopters, zero dollars for satellite communications, zero dollars for enhancing our long-range missile capabilities, zero dollars for maritime sensors, zero dollars for airborne early warning aircraft, zero dollars for satellite ground station this year and next year, and zero dollars for northern operational support hubs.

I would like to ask the parliamentary secretary to explain to me and, more importantly, to explain to Canadians how she can invest in anything with zero dollars.

[Annie Koutrakis, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Tourism and Minister responsible for the Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec]

Madam Speaker, I thank the member for this opportunity to talk a bit more about the critical investments we are making in the Canadian Armed Forces through Canada's new defence policy, “Our North, Strong and Free”. First and foremost, through this policy we are increasing defence spending by $8.1 billion over the next five years and $73 billion over the next 20 years. This translates to 1.76% of GDP spent on defence by 2029-30, which is a significant step toward reaching our NATO commitment of 2%.

We developed the policy based on extensive consultation with the Canadian public, indigenous partners, industry, parliamentarians, defence experts, allies and partners, with the goal of ensuring that the policy provides the equipment we need to protect our country and our continent, to stay engaged with allies and partners across the globe, and to better support our people in uniform. This includes critical new investments in military housing on top of the $475 million already earmarked for CAF housing prior to the policy's being released.

As part of these efforts, we will establish a Canadian Armed Forces housing strategy, rehabilitate existing on-base housing and build additional new houses on base so that our military members have better access to housing when they are posted. As per National Defence policy, shelter charges should not exceed 25% of the combined gross household income of all occupants residing in the housing unit in any one year. In accordance with Government of Canada policy and National Defence regulations, the government reviews and adjusts shelter charges annually to reflect changes in the local rental market and to aim to meet these requirements. This review helps to ensure fairness and equity, regardless of whether our members choose to live in private sector accommodations or in National Defence housing.

In addition, last year the government approved the Canadian Forces housing differential, also known as the CFHD. The program, which came into effect last July, provides a monthly payment to members of the armed forces living off base who require the most financial support, particularly lower-salaried members posted to the most expensive locations, to adjust to housing costs when relocating in Canada. Rates are adjusted yearly. In fact this year's rates were published this month. This year, 24 locations will see a rate increase greater than 10%, effective July 1. Along with this program, we introduced a provisional post living differential to reduce financial stress for CAF members transitioning from the previous system, the post living differential, to the new CFHD. This temporary benefit will allow a more gradual transition to the new entitlement.

We know that housing is a concern for CAF members and their families, as it is for all Canadians. We share this concern, and we are taking critical steps to help those who have dedicated their lives to safeguarding our country and its people when they are looking for shelter.

[Kevin Vuong, Independent, Spadina—Fort York, ON]

Madam Speaker, I appreciate that the parliamentary secretary's file is tourism.

I was following along as she was going through her remarks, and I was following the Canadian Armed Forces housing strategy. It talks about it at page 19. I flipped to page 30, which specifically has the funding table. I think it is important to point out, yet again, that this year and next year, there is literally zero dollars for military housing. In five years, there is a total of a whole seven million dollars for the housing strategy.

Does the parliamentary secretary know that the government is actually spending $10 million on Iraqi youth employment this year? Does she think that, with CAF members, men and women in uniform, sleeping in tents, we should be prioritizing Iraqi youth employment, or should we prioritize military housing for our brave men and women in uniform first?

[Annie Koutrakis, Liberal, Vimy, QC]

Madam Speaker, in addition to critical new investments in military housing, as well as a new CAF housing strategy, the “Our North, Strong and Free” policy also includes a number of other critical supports for CAF members. These include efforts to modernize how the military manages its personnel, including providing improved career support and service delivery, and re-examining policies around compensation and benefits, HR, leave and other supports for work-life balance. Likewise, to help ease the stresses that come with deploying here in Canada or abroad, we are investing $100 million to improve access to child care services for military families across the country.

We know how difficult it is when our people are called away from their homes and their loved ones in the line of duty, especially when they have to worry about finding safe, affordable and reliable child care. Through our new defence policy, we are redoubling our support for CAF members through policies such as these, policies that support them and their families throughout their entire careers in good times—

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mrs. Alexandra Mendès), Liberal, Alexandra Mendes]

The hon. member for Yorkton—Melville.

Finance

[Cathay Wagantall, Conservative, Yorkton—Melville, SK]

Madam Speaker, I have a sobering statistic for all of us tonight. This year, the government will spend more on servicing its debt than on the Canada health transfers. Just let that sink in for a moment. Governing is about making prudent choices. It is about respecting the taxpayers by being wise stewards of their money for the long-term prosperity of Canada.

For about 30 years, there was a common-sense consensus that ruled the day in Ottawa. Regardless of party affiliation, it was understood that keeping taxes low and keeping spending in check would pay dividends for Canadians in the future. For the most part, this came to pass. While not immune to global turmoil, Canada weathered the economic recession better than most. Before it hit, the Conservative government paid down $37 billion in debt, bringing Canada’s debt to its lowest level in 25 years. When the global recession occurred, Conservatives made a deliberate decision to run a temporary deficit to protect our economy and jobs. While the NDP and the Liberals demanded reckless spending and higher taxes in the years that followed, the previous government remained on track and delivered a balanced budget in 2015, all while cutting taxes 180 times to their lowest levels in 50 years. Canada was looked to for leadership in the world. Canadians were in control of their lives.

Cut to today, and we have lost our way in Canada. We no longer have a government that is interested in governing wisely today for the prosperity of future generations. That is why Canadians have rejected the federal budget and find its claim of fairness beyond insulting. Because of the choices of the government, Canadians of today and of tomorrow are being robbed of their livelihoods by their own government's ineptness.

We never used to see food bank demand in Canada mirror the dreadful bread lines of the depression era, and now it is commonplace. One million more Canadians will seek the help of a food bank in this year, due, in large part, to the Liberals' spending addiction that drives up inflation and their punitive carbon tax.

Housing is a crisis that will continue to worsen as long as the government is in power. Put aside the fancy photo ops and the empty promises. The Bank of Canada has affirmed that the government's spending is a factor in the most aggressive interest rate hike that this bank has ever done in its history. The millions of Canadians renewing their mortgages know that the Prime Minister is directly to blame.

We are also falling behind our neighbours. While the American economy has seen an increase in GDP per capita of 7% since 2019, the Canadian rate has declined by 3%. This is the single largest underperformance of the Canadian economy in comparison to the U.S. in 60 years.

It is for these reasons that Conservatives have been on our feet every day offering solutions to the Prime Minister's debt addiction before it causes irreparable harm to Canada.

One such solution is the dollar-for-dollar rule, which would bring down interest rates and inflation. It would require the government to find a dollar in savings for every new dollar it spends, but, like a broken record, Liberal ministers repeat ad nauseam that they will not take lessons from us on this side of the House. If they will not take it from us, why do they not take it from their friends? Both the Bank of Canada and former Liberal finance minister John Manley have told the Prime Minister that he has been pressing on the inflationary gas pedal with spending that balloons interest rates. Something has to be done.

A dollar-for-dollar rule is just common sense and sound advice, but Canadians know the government has no intention of correcting its course. Its budget proves it. Canadians have had enough. They know there is hope, though, with a Conservative majority government that listens to them, cares about them—

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mrs. Alexandra Mendès), Liberal, Alexandra Mendes]

The hon. parliamentary secretary.

[Annie Koutrakis, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Tourism and Minister responsible for the Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec]

Madam Speaker, it is a pleasure to rise this evening to speak about the measures that our government is taking to ensure that all generations are able to get ahead and doing so in a fiscally responsible way. Inflation is down from a peak of 8.1% in June 2022 and has now been within the Bank of Canada's target range for three months in a row.

We know that for too many Canadians, especially the younger generations, the promise of Canada is at risk. Our plan is a plan to build a Canada that benefits all generations.

A good example of this is our Canada-wide early learning and child care system. While it allows parents to save thousands of dollars per year on child care, it has also allowed Canada to reach a record high for working-age women's labour force participation in our history.

I am proud to say that we are in the process of making further investments to create even more child care spots so that more families can benefit from the system.

Another example of this is the Canada dental benefit. More than 1.7 million Canadians who have already signed up and nine million uninsured Canadians will have dental coverage next year. With the tabling of the pharmacare act just a few weeks ago, we are paving the way to build a Canada that is not only equitable, but also more affordable for all.

The first phase of our pharmacare program will give more than nine million women better access to contraceptives and help more than 3.7 million Canadians who rely on diabetes medications such as insulin.

As announced in budget 2024, we are delivering more measures to get more houses built in Canada faster. This is what building an economy that lifts everyone up and creates fairness for every generation looks like. We are committed to making investments to ensure all generations get ahead, while doing so in a fiscally responsible way. Canadians know how important it is to responsibly manage a budget. That is exactly what we are doing, and it shows.

Canada's net debt-to-GDP ratio is well below that of our G7 peers. Our deficits are declining, and we are one of only two G7 countries rated AAA by at least two of the three independent credit experts. That enviable fiscal position gives us the ability to invest in our economy and the people who power it. We are making transformative investments in clean energy, creating lifelong careers, improving housing affordability and supporting a business environment that gives investors confidence in Canada's economy. All this while sticking to the fiscal objectives laid out in the fall economic statement, setting both deficits and the federal debt on a downward track.

While the Conservatives offer nothing but slogans and want to cut services to Canadians and their families, our government will continue to build an economy where every generation has a real and fair chance to succeed. Our economic plan will lead our economy toward growth that lifts everyone up, because it is about fairness for all generations.

[Cathay Wagantall, Conservative, Yorkton—Melville, SK]

Madam Speaker, Canadians know there would be hope with a Conservative majority government that would listen to them, care about them and provide the national framework to replace their fears with confidence in Canada's economy, sovereignty and individual freedoms.

The Prime Minister, in his nine years, has amassed more debt than all other prime ministers combined. That includes Mackenzie King, who brought us through a world war. He brought Canada back to the conditions necessary to build much of the social safety net Canada takes pride in the world over. That also includes Stephen Harper, who led our country out of the great recession by offering a path to balanced budgets.

As long as the government keeps spending like there is no tomorrow, it will be remembered for depriving our children and grandchildren of that bright future they deserve. When Conservatives serve Canadians after the next election, we will be remembered as the government that restored hope in that future.

[Annie Koutrakis, Liberal, Vimy, QC]

Madam Speaker, I am proud to be part of a government that has a plan to ensure that everyone has a fair chance to build a good middle-class life. The Conservative leader was quick to say that he will not support this year's budget. Our economic plan clearly shows that we can support fairness for every generation while protecting our fiscal anchors. The Conservatives have no plan other than cuts and austerity.

Will the member opposite support our budget?

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mrs. Alexandra Mendès), Liberal, Alexandra Mendes]

The motion to adjourn the House is now deemed to have been adopted. Accordingly, the House stands adjourned until tomorrow at 10 a.m. pursuant to Standing Order 24(1).

(The House adjourned at 8:42 p.m.)