Committees of the House  Mr. Speaker, my hon. colleague is quite correct. A big part of the problem is municipal regulation, and frankly, it is not so much even the regulations. When I was mayor, we made the rules a little tougher to develop in Muskoka and Huntsville particularly, and the development community was okay with that because, at the same time that we made the rules a little more restrictive, we also made them clear.

Committees of the House  Mr. Speaker, generally speaking, yes, I would agree with my hon colleague's comments that the national housing strategy needs to be strengthened, but the problem with the national housing strategy is that it is not really national. It is the Liberal plan. We need to be working with all levels of government to make sure we are all on the same page of the hymn book, and we are not right now.

Committees of the House  Mr. Speaker, I move that the fourth report of the Standing Committee on Human Resources, Skills and Social Development and the Status of Persons with Disabilities, presented to the House on Wednesday, October 19, 2022, be concurred in. I will be splitting my time with the member for Calgary Nose Hill.

Committees of the House  Mr. Speaker, I rise on behalf of the Conservative members of the Standing Committee on Human Resources, Skills and Social Development and the Status of Persons with Disabilities to table a dissenting report to the main report of the committee with respect to the national housing strategy.

Questions on the Order Paper  With regard to the Housing Accelerator Fund: (a) will having municipal regulations that encourage housing development be a pre-requisite for communities to receive money through the fund, and, if not, why not; (b) will communities who receive funding be required to avoid taking any action that makes the building of housing more difficult, such as restrictive zoning changes or by-laws; (c) what are the metrics that will be used by the government to monitor the effectiveness of this funding in each community; and (d) how does the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation currently track municipal housing policies, and does this tracking include whether or not a community's policies are consistent with the goals of the fund?

Housing  Mr. Speaker, on the same day day we learned that the price of the average home shot up again, the Minister of Housing would not answer simple questions about the housing crisis. We asked why rent had doubled over the last eight years. We asked why home prices have doubled over the last eight years.

Business of Supply  Mr. Chair, Covenant House Vancouver constructed a new facility. It cost $50 million. It received $12 million from the CMHC, but it cost $1 million in lobbyists and consultants. Does that sound like a wise housing plan to the minister?

Business of Supply  Mr. Chair, nine out of 10 young people in this country who do not own a home believe they never will. Does that sound like a successful housing plan to the minister?

Business of Supply  Mr. Chair, does the minister realize that voting against plans that do not work actually makes a lot more sense than just continuing on with plans that are not working and that are in fact making the situation worse?

Business of Supply  Mr. Chair, the minister's own officials have predicted a 32% decrease in housing starts this year thanks to outrageous spending and high interest rates. Is that a good housing plan?

Business of Supply  Mr. Chair, does the minister believe that a massive increase in insurance premiums for multi-unit residential rental buildings is going to slow construction of those units?

Business of Supply  Mr. Chair, I will be splitting my time with two of my colleagues. My first question for the minister is this: Does he believe that Canada is in fact in a housing crisis?

Business of Supply  Mr. Chair, I am not sure if the minister understands how this works. I ask the questions. Is Canada facing a housing crisis right now?

Business of Supply  Mr. Chair, how many rental units do we need in this country to make them more affordable again?

Business of Supply  Mr. Chair, I am wondering if the minister is aware of the number of rental units we are required to build in this country to make them more affordable again?