House of Commons Hansard #147 of the 41st Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was commissioner.

Topics

Speaker's RulingPrivate Members' Business

5:30 p.m.

Conservative

Blake Richards Conservative Wild Rose, AB

moved that the bill, as amended, be concurred in.

Speaker's RulingPrivate Members' Business

5:30 p.m.

NDP

The Deputy Speaker NDP Joe Comartin

Is it the pleasure of the House to adopt the motion?

Speaker's RulingPrivate Members' Business

5:30 p.m.

Some hon. members

Agreed.

No.

Speaker's RulingPrivate Members' Business

5:30 p.m.

NDP

The Deputy Speaker NDP Joe Comartin

All those in favour of the motion will please say yea.

Speaker's RulingPrivate Members' Business

5:30 p.m.

Some hon. members

Yea.

Speaker's RulingPrivate Members' Business

5:30 p.m.

NDP

The Deputy Speaker NDP Joe Comartin

All those opposed will please say nay.

Speaker's RulingPrivate Members' Business

5:30 p.m.

Some hon. members

Nay.

Speaker's RulingPrivate Members' Business

5:30 p.m.

NDP

The Deputy Speaker NDP Joe Comartin

In my opinion the nays have it.

And five or more members having risen:

Pursuant to Standing Order 98, the recorded division stands deferred until Wednesday, September 19, immediately before the time provided for private members' business.

A motion to adjourn the House under Standing Order 38 deemed to have been moved.

YouthAdjournment Proceedings

5:30 p.m.

NDP

Charmaine Borg NDP Terrebonne—Blainville, QC

Mr. Speaker, today, I have the opportunity to discuss the minister's dismissive response with regard to the cancellation of the Katimavik program. The Minister of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages said the following: “Ending funding for Katimavik is one of the easiest decisions I have ever made.” This is the same minister who described how proud he was to support this program in the organization's 2009-10 annual report, stating that:

—[Katimavik] encourages our youth to get to better know and understand Canada, its history, its citizens, and its communities. Katimavik prepares the younger generation to demonstrate their civic engagement today in order to ensure a better tomorrow.

This same minister congratulated youth on making such a significant contribution to the vitality of our country.

This summer, I travelled across Canada trying to understand why this decision was so “easy” to make. I met with hundreds of organizations and individuals across the country to discuss the impact of the program on their communities and their lives. I saw the extraordinary projects that were carried out and I understand the huge loss that this “easy” decision has caused.

In Whitehorse, youth breathed new life and new energy into a number of organizations that did not have the resources necessary to provide services to members of the community.

In Calgary, Katimavik made a major contribution to helping new immigrants in Alberta whose language was that of the minority by providing them with services in their mother tongue.

In Lethbridge, youth in the Katimavik program created tools for life that were distributed in an employment centre that aboriginal youth and other young people in the region go to in order to obtain services, find jobs and become independent.

In Winnipeg, among other things, volunteers even planted gardens and shared their crops with disadvantaged people in the community.

In Sioux Lookout, this program is at the heart of the town. It helped all the organizations to offer more services. I am thinking in particular of Out of the Cold Sioux Lookout, which helps homeless people and where a young volunteer decided to stay for the summer, after the program had ended, because she saw how desperate the needs were and how little help was available.

In Charlottetown, this “easy” decision meant that Habitat for Humanity was unable to build a house for families that really needed it.

In Moncton, volunteers were true mentors for young people in difficulty.

In Wolfville, this “easy” decision put a stop to projects, including one involving the creation of a “Youth Booth” in the public market and another involving the intergenerational transfer of knowledge through computer training sessions at the library.

Mr. Speaker, there is a lot of noise in the chamber. Could you please ask those who are talking to stop?

YouthAdjournment Proceedings

5:35 p.m.

Conservative

The Acting Speaker Conservative Bruce Stanton

I appreciate that. We will stop the clock momentarily. I would ask the hon. members who may wish to carry on conversations to take those out to the lobby at this point. There is a lot of noise in the chamber.

The hon. member for Terrebonne—Blainville.

YouthAdjournment Proceedings

5:35 p.m.

NDP

Charmaine Borg NDP Terrebonne—Blainville, QC

Mr. Speaker, in Halifax, it is French language teaching in that community that will suffer as a result of that “easy” decision.

Every single organization has expressed its disappointment. The Katimavik program made the pool of available volunteers more diverse. They became real youth ambassadors by giving up their time during their holidays and they did so in order to organize activities for all Canadians.

The continued pursuit of integration and sharing was also appreciated by the people and communities that were given an opportunity to grow through hard, but rewarding work experiences.

Maybe this decision was “easy” for the minister, but it has not been easy for people to accept. Cancelling the Katimavik program has meant cuts to our future and to the services provided to the public. It also demeans the admirable work done by our community organizations, by refusing to support them and prevents our youth from learning, maturing and becoming engaged citizens for the rest of their lives.

This so-called “easy” decision is quite simply shameful.

YouthAdjournment Proceedings

5:35 p.m.

Oak Ridges—Markham Ontario

Conservative

Paul Calandra ConservativeParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Canadian Heritage

Mr. Speaker, we are in the midst of one of Canada's economic action plans, and part of that economic action plan has been to invest heavily in youth programs across this country. Talking about the Katimavik program specifically, since its inception in 1977, some 99% of its funding has come from taxpayers. The program costs about $28,000 for every young person it seeks to assist. One of the big problems with this program is that one-third of the people who participated in the Katimavik program never made it through to the end of the program.

By reducing funding to Katimavik and putting funding into other programs for youth, we ensure that the programs that are available to youth across this country actually work for them. We have to make sure that our youth have access to programs and services that not only give them experiences they can use for their futures but also allow them to see different parts of this country and have experiences throughout this country. That is something that Katimavik was not accomplishing, certainly not at $28,000 for every single participant in the program.

What we have done is put our resources into other programs, such as the Exchanges Canada program, or the Young Canada Works program, which provides 2,600 youth with work experience and internships across this country. The Department of Canadian Heritage language learning initiatives, work experiences and internships provide 7,900 bursaries and 300 language-monitoring jobs for our youth to learn about Canada's two official languages. We have the arts training fund, which provides contributions to training for the next generation of professional artists and reaches over 5,000 young artists. The Youth Take Charge program reaches 70,000 youth.

As I said, we have taken that $17 million that was going to Katimavik, which since its inception has cost hundreds of millions of dollars, and we are putting it into programs that actually work for young Canadians across this country. We are going to continue to do that because that is what Canada's economic action plan has said we need to do. We are hearing from young Canadians that these are the programs and services they want. I am very proud of the fact that the government continues to invest in youth programs across this country, and we will continue to do that because we understand how important it is for future generations that they get experiences across this country and in both official languages.

YouthAdjournment Proceedings

5:35 p.m.

NDP

Charmaine Borg NDP Terrebonne—Blainville, QC

Mr. Speaker, I invite my colleague opposite to speak to the young people who benefited from the Katimavik program. He is saying that it is not effective and that, basically, the kids were not able to experience it the way they should, but I invite him to go and speak to those kids. I did, and I can see the difference it made and the impact it had on their lives.

A former member of my riding had become addicted to drugs and was an alcoholic. He benefited from the Katimavik program and was able to straighten out because he had a choice. What we should be doing is giving kids choices. Countries around the world are doing just that. There are programs like Katimavik in Australia and the European Union. There are programs in the United States like Youth Volunteer Corps, Volunteers of America and Youth Service America.

If we are going to talk about the money spent on Katimavik, let us also talk about the money that has been reinvested in the communities. Let us talk about that. According to Statistics Canada, an average of $20 million and over one million volunteer hours a year have been invested. We need to take that into account when we talk about a program. Seventeen million dollars is not a huge amount, but the benefits for the communities and the people who went through this program are enormous.

YouthAdjournment Proceedings

5:40 p.m.

Conservative

Paul Calandra Conservative Oak Ridges—Markham, ON

Mr. Speaker, to be clear, this government is not killing the Katimavik program. We have just reassigned the funds that have been going to Katimavik through taxpayers to other programs and services that are working very well for young Canadians. We expected that after some 30 years Katimavik could stand on its own two feet, and it could go to the people and the students it helped over the years and raise some of its own funding so it could continue to provide services for young Canadians.

In the meantime, the government is going to invest in programs and services that work better for young Canadians, that have less of a drop-out rate and that do not cost $28,000 per person like Katimavik was costing. That is a heck of a lot of money that can be reinvested and is being reinvested in organizations across this country, such as the YMCA and Encounters with Canada, giving more young people more opportunities to experience all kinds of different things across this country.

It was an easy decision to make because there are so many great programs working for young Canadians across Canada.

HousingAdjournment Proceedings

5:40 p.m.

NDP

Anne-Marie Day NDP Charlesbourg—Haute-Saint-Charles, QC

Mr. Speaker, I raised an important question in the House before the summer break, and today I want to revisit a troubling issue that I care deeply about. This issue is very important to my constituents too. The issue is affordable housing and access to home ownership in Canada.

The question I asked in the House was about the Conservatives' failure to do anything about this issue, and I asked the government to explain why Canada still did not have a national housing strategy. We know that some 300,000 Canadians are homeless and that 1.5 million households—that is about one in seven—do not have access to decent, affordable housing.

A report published in the summer of 2011 by the Canadian Housing & Renewal Association showed that the affordable housing shortage hits single-parent families, new immigrants, aboriginals and seniors in Canada hardest. We also know that the mortgage is the single largest expense for most Canadian households, which spend between 35% and 50% of their income on shelter, heating and public services related to housing. In some Canadian cities, such as Vancouver, Toronto, Montreal and even Quebec City, access to home ownership is getting harder and harder.

If we add to this already worrisome picture the fact that the Conservatives' last budget was devoid of any national housing strategy and the recent public statements by the Governor of the Bank of Canada, who is forecasting an increase in Canadians' household debt in 2012-13, the situation is downright alarming.

The last budget did not allocate any money for affordable housing and did not mention a national housing strategy, even though organizations such as the Federation of Canadian Municipalities and FRAPRU have called for one repeatedly. Reducing the amortization period for mortgages from 30 to 25 years was a good government initiative. However, this measure should be part of a broader, more visionary and more concrete plan.

Furthermore, with regard to Canadian household debt, Statistics Canada recently reported that debt as a percentage of disposable income had reached a record 152.98% in the third quarter of 2011, compared to 150% in the second quarter. That is an increase. As recently as this past June, the Governor of the Bank of Canada warned that the country's economic growth cannot depend on household debt, which includes a large amount of mortgage debt.

What is the Conservatives' careful, structured plan for long-term sustainability of affordable housing? What are they doing to give Canadian families some breathing room and to ensure that they do not have to spend half their income to put a roof over their heads?

I would like clarification of another point concerning the end of federal social housing operating agreements. We know that several Quebec non-profit housing organizations will lose federal funding and tenants will face higher rents. The government has not indicated whether it intends to provide new funds. This loss of funds will result in a significant reduction in affordable housing units. We should also note that many of these agreements have been in place for more than 30 years. CMHC will cut more than $100 million in the 2014-15 fiscal year.

Canada is the only G8 country without a national affordable housing strategy. Why not take action in these tough economic times when Canadians' lives are becoming increasingly difficult?

HousingAdjournment Proceedings

5:45 p.m.

Simcoe—Grey Ontario

Conservative

Kellie Leitch ConservativeParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development and to the Minister of Labour

Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for once again bringing the issue of affordable housing before the House.

I am pleased to reiterate our government's commitment that Canadians from all walks of life and in all parts of the country have access to safe, suitable and affordable housing, a commitment that has been backed up by helping over 755,000 Canadians with affordable housing since 2006.

Our approach is balanced and sound. Whether through rental housing or home ownership, the vast majority of Canadians are able to meet their housing needs in the marketplace. However, we recognize that this is not possible for all Canadians. That is why we have policies in place to support the full range of housing options: home ownership for those who can afford it; rental housing for those who prefer or need that option; and housing assistance for those who cannot have their needs met in the marketplace, including low-income families, seniors, people with disabilities, first nations and people on reserves.

The government provides strong support for a range of housing options. For example, the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation has a public policy mandate to provide mortgage loan insurance to qualified borrowers in all parts of the country and for all forms of housing.

In addition to offering mortgage loan insurance to a home buyer, CMHC is the only mortgage insurer for large, multi-unit rental purposes, properties, nursing and retirement homes. Mortgage loan insurance from CMHC is critical to ensuring that these housing options continue to be widely available to Canadians. Without it, many projects simply would not get the cost-effective financing they need for viability and affordability.

Additionally, the Government of Canada continues to invest heavily in housing. Since 2006, the government has created 46,000 new affordable housing units.

The 2011 annual report of the CMHC is the most up-to-date information on federal social housing investments. The report was recently tabled in the House and it indicates that the Government of Canada provides $1.7 billion in funding each year to ensure that almost 605,000 households living in existing social housing can continue to afford their homes. The provinces and territories also contribute annually to the existing housing stock under long-term agreements.

Over and above the $1.7 billion in annual social housing subsidies, our government and the provinces and territories are making a combined investment of $1.4 billion over three years in a range of programs to reduce the number of Canadians in housing need.

In addition, the stimulus phase for Canada's economic action plan included an investment of more than $2 billion over two years to build new and renovate existing social housing. This funding supported an estimated 16,500 social housing and first nations housing projects across Canada improving the living conditions for tens of thousands of Canadian families while creating jobs and stimulating local economies.

This government is committed to helping Canadians who need a hand up. We have backed up that commitment with concrete actions and investments in social housing.

HousingAdjournment Proceedings

5:50 p.m.

NDP

Anne-Marie Day NDP Charlesbourg—Haute-Saint-Charles, QC

Mr. Speaker, the parliamentary secretary can try to lull people with magic numbers, but the reality is that, right now, 300,000 Canadians are homeless and 1.5 million Canadians do not have access to decent and affordable housing.

Balancing the budget on the backs of middle-class families and poor people in our community is not economically viable or humanely possible.

I am asking this government to do more and to do better for Canadians with average and low incomes using a long-term approach.

This government runs on magic numbers. Well then, I would like it to take note of this one: one F-35 is equal to 6,400 affordable housing units. That is a number that the government should take note of.

HousingAdjournment Proceedings

5:50 p.m.

Conservative

Kellie Leitch Conservative Simcoe—Grey, ON

Mr. Speaker, annually the Government of Canada provides ongoing support for 605,000 existing social housing units. The investment in affordable housing framework agreements announced by the federal, provincial and territorial governments' housing ministers last July ensures that we will continue to invest in a range of affordable housing solutions in communities across Canada. Rather than imposing a one-size-fits-all approach, we are giving provinces and territories increased flexibility to design and deliver programs that address local needs and circumstances.

Our overarching goal is to continue to reduce the number of Canadians in housing need.

I would ask the hon. member why her party has voted against increases in support this government has brought forward in social housing. Again and again we ask for their support and do not receive it. I encourage her and ask her to support the government's efforts going forward.

HousingAdjournment Proceedings

5:50 p.m.

Conservative

The Acting Speaker Conservative Bruce Stanton

Notice was given earlier today that the hon. member for Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot would be participating in adjournment proceedings. There is a possibility, with the change in schedule, that this is the reason she is unable to be present. Accordingly, the notice is deemed withdrawn.

The motion to adjourn the House is now deemed to have been adopted. Accordingly, the House stands adjourned until tomorrow at 2:00 p.m. pursuant to Standing Order 24(1).

(The House adjourned at 5:52 p.m.).