Bill C-56

Affordable Housing and Groceries Act

An Act to amend the Excise Tax Act and the Competition Act

Part 1 amends the Excise Tax Act in order to implement a temporary enhancement to the GST New Residential Rental Property Rebate in respect of new purpose-built rental housing.
Part 2 amends the Competition Act to, among other things,
(a) establish a framework for an inquiry to be conducted into the state of competition in a market or industry;
(b) permit the Competition Tribunal to make certain orders even if none of the parties to an agreement or arrangement — a significant purpose of which is to prevent or lessen competition in any market — are competitors; and
(c) repeal the exceptions in sections 90.1 and 96 of the Act involving efficiency gains.

Affordable Housing and Groceries Act

[Michael Coteau, Liberal, Don Valley East, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the member for Scarborough Centre's riding and my riding are right next to each other. A lot of the demographics between the two are similar.

I know that the Conservatives voted against dental care for children. They voted against a $500 rebate for groceries. They also voted against subsidies to help people in apartments. I know that in my community, those were very valuable incentives for people going through a pretty challenging time.

I would just like to know this from the member: What was the response like in her community for programs that helped people during these difficult times?

[Salma Zahid, Liberal, Scarborough Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I had conversations during the summer with my constituents, and they are finding it very difficult to make ends meet. When I talk to them, they tell me what a difference the Canada child benefit and the $10-a-day child care program are making by saving them thousands of dollars each month. I know that dental care is very important. I have been talking to many of my constituents who have been able to take their young kids to a dentist, which they were not able to afford before.

It is very important that we continue investing in these programs like the $10-a-day child care, the Canada child benefit and dental care, and that we make sure we do more to make life affordable for all Canadians.

[Blake Desjarlais, NDP, Edmonton Griesbach, AB]

Mr. Speaker, it is a good day, I think, in Canada when the House, Parliament, can speak to the crisis that so many people are facing when it comes to housing, groceries and affordability. It is no secret, however, that companies, particularly monopolies and oligopolies, have tremendous power in this country. That is evidenced by many indigenous people. For example, I grew up with stories of the Hudson's Bay Company, a monopoly in Canada, one that demanded, for example, an unlimited amount of fur in exchange for one good. It said that someone would have to pile up their fur as high as a rifle in order to get that rifle, an unrealistic measure of wealth.

Today, Canadians are dealing with the same kind of strong-arm companies that are saying we need to pay more for housing, we need to pay more for telecoms and we need to pay more for groceries. The same people who are asking for this are just a few names in a room, not many people, just a few CEOs of these megacorporations. These megacorporations need to be held accountable. They are oligopolies. They are gouging Canadians.

That is why New Democrats have been steadfast in our call for a windfall tax, something that has been taking place in Conservative countries like the U.K., for example, that would disincentivize companies from price gouging Canadians at a time of crisis when groceries are going up like they are, when housing is going up like it is and when food is at such an unrealistic price. It is time for a windfall tax so we can make these billionaires pay their fair share and equal the playing field.

[Salma Zahid, Liberal, Scarborough Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, it is very important that we work together and act now to make life affordable for all Canadians. I heard that very clearly from constituents in my riding during the summertime. People are finding it difficult. That is why it is important that we work together to pass Bill C-56, which would make a difference.

That is why the minister of industry called the five CEOs of the major grocery companies to come to Ottawa, to tell them that it is really very important that we work together to stabilize the price of groceries. I am sure that by Thanksgiving, they will show us some results. If not, we are ready to take other measures to make sure the price of food stabilizes for all Canadians and we can make life more affordable for them.

[Bonita Zarrillo, NDP, Port Moody—Coquitlam, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I just want to follow up on the message that my colleague from Edmonton Griesbach just shared with the House. CEOs in this country are making outsized incomes, and their corporations are making outsized profits. This is not actually helping Canadians get more affordable groceries and certainly not more affordable housing.

My question to the member is around rental housing and the GST rebate. How can Canadians be sure that any savings these developers are making, if there are developers involved, get passed down to their renters?

[Salma Zahid, Liberal, Scarborough Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, reducing or eliminating the GST from the construction of purpose-built rental units will give relief to people. It will definitely make a difference. I know that prices will not go down just with doing one thing or another thing. We need a comprehensive plan. This is one major step that will really make a difference in making housing more affordable for people.

[Kevin Lamoureux, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, I know members are a little upset—

[The Deputy Speaker, Chris d'Entremont]

The hon. member for Timmins—James Bay is rising on a point of order.

[Charlie Angus, NDP, Timmins—James Bay, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I do not want to rag the puck here but if it is less than five minutes, I think it would be fair for all of us to see the clock at 6:30.

Would we need unanimous consent for that or would we just need a majority of members in the House?

I think it would be very helpful in order to have us all leave on a good point on Monday but I defer to my colleagues.

[The Deputy Speaker, Chris d'Entremont]

I would be remiss if I did not allow the hon. member to at least get some of his thoughts out, so that we can listen less next time, when we do come back and talk to this bill.

[Kevin Lamoureux, Liberal, Winnipeg North, MB]

Mr. Speaker, Bill C-56 is very important legislation that we are debating. If we just reflect, in terms of our homes and our constituents, people are genuinely concerned about issues of housing affordability, the housing supply, inflation and the price of groceries.

That is what Bill C-56 is all about. It is recognizing that the constituents we are collectively representing are having a difficult time. That is why we have Bill C-56. I hope that all members, from all sides of the House, will recognize that this is legislation that not only should pass but should pass in a relatively quick fashion, in order to support the people of Canada from coast to coast to coast.

In listening to all of the debate, I want to emphasize to those who might be following it that the government has been on the housing file now for many years. In fact, it is this government, more than any other government in generations, that has made a commitment to invest in housing. We are not talking one sector alone but rather, whether it is free market, non-profits or investing in stakeholders, virtually from day one, as a government, we have been investing in housing in Canada, unprecedented in comparison to any other government in generations.

All one needs to look at are some of our more recent budgets. Members often talk about the important role of non-profits. Take a look at what we are doing in housing co-ops, providing hundreds of thousands of dollars to try to encourage additional housing co-ops to be built. It is a wonderful form of housing.

We could talk about the millions and millions invested into non-profits. We could talk about the rapid transition housing. Having the ability to support housing needs has always been important to this government.

We see what is taking place in our communities. This initiative, this legislation, is actually now being looked at by provincial jurisdictions, and some of them are adopting it as provincial policy, which will see thousands of homes being built.

I would like to think that all members will look at that holistic approach that the government has been taking, the specifics of this legislation, and get behind it.

The House resumed from September 25 consideration of the motion that Bill C-56, An Act to amend the Excise Tax Act and the Competition Act, be read the second time and referred to a committee.

[Kevin Lamoureux, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, I am glad to be able to rise to speak to a very important piece of legislation. Bill C-56 is actually a reflection of many discussions that have been held throughout our communities, in virtually every community throughout the country from coast to coast to coast. In particular, I know my colleagues have been listening to what their constituents have been saying, and we have some very serious issues on which we need to work together in order to overcome them. The types of issues this bill is dealing with are things such as inflation and interest rates, indirectly if not directly. The bill specifically deals with issues like housing and competition. In order to ensure that there is a sense of stability, it deals with issues like groceries and how we have seen the rise and drop, though mostly the rise, in grocery prices.

I would argue that while some members, in particular the Conservatives, will focus their attention on being critical of personalities, the government and the members of the national Liberal caucus are very much focused on what is hurting Canada today and on listening to what Canadians have to say. That is what this bill is all about.

Just a few moments ago, I was reconfirming some headlines. One of them dealt with a developer who was saying that he was going to be moving toward building 5,000 new rental units because of the GST forgiveness, which is actually in this legislation. It is a bit dependent, as the developer is hoping to see provinces join and follow suit in terms of what the federal government is doing. We have actually seen a number of provinces do that. I believe that at the end of the day, in good part because of this legislation, we will see thousands and thousands of new homes being constructed.

We can think in terms of the issue of grocery prices and inflation and how much these are hurting the pocketbooks of Canadians. In the last budget, we created the grocery rebate for Canadians. Somewhere in the neighbourhood of 11 million Canadians were affected by that particular policy, through which we were able to put money into the pockets of Canadians to help alleviate the issue of inflation, in particular with respect to groceries.

In September, following the caucus discussion, the Prime Minister made a presentation about the importance of things like the Competition Act, of holding those who sell our groceries accountable, and the idea of bringing the big five, for example, before the minister and before the government, in one sense to hold them more accountable and to put in some deadlines. We want to see more stability in that area from Costco, Walmart, Loblaws, Metro and Sobeys, which are the big five. I understand that just over 80% of grocery sales in Canada are through those five large companies. The minister and government laid down the expectations of the government. Stability in pricing is of great importance, and this legislation would help deal with the issue. The Competition Act is something that can have an impact.

There was a time when people would say that bigger is better; they would use the argument of efficiency. That argument does not sell anymore. We need to ensure that there is more accountability and transparency; it is not good enough to stand by and watch consumers being gouged. We are very sensitive to the issue of inflation.

If we look at it, and there is the odd little heckle or murmur from the Conservatives, at the end of the day, it would be easy to say that Canada is doing exceptionally well on inflation, which is true. We understand that people are still suffering from the impacts of inflation, and that is why we have taken measures, not only in this legislation but also in other legislation and in budgetary measures that have been brought before the House.

We can understand and appreciate what people have to go through. This legislation is a reflection of what we are hearing. We are responding to the needs of the people of Canada. We will continue to focus on the policy changes necessary to help and have the backs of Canadians. We have done this through the pandemic, up to this point, and, I would ultimately argue, since we formed government back in 2015.

[Stephen Ellis, Conservative, Cumberland—Colchester, NS]

Mr. Speaker, beyond the ridiculous nature of how the member opposite goes on about the inflationary crisis that the Liberals caused, we know very clearly that many farmers in rural Canada rely on temporary foreign workers to help do their work. They build accommodations for those workers.

Will those farmers qualify for the GST rebate on the housing they build for temporary foreign workers?

[Kevin Lamoureux, Liberal, Winnipeg North, MB]

Mr. Speaker, it is important to recognize, as I started to say in my beginning comments on the issue last night, that when we look at housing, the Liberal government has supported housing as no other government in generations has.

We have done that through a national housing strategy. We have seen it through billions of dollars of investments in housing. We see it in the legislation that we have before us today and in our co-operation with different stakeholders, including provinces, territories and indigenous leaders. All this is an attempt to take a team Canada approach to dealing with the housing crisis that we have today.

This legislation would enable thousands of new homes to be constructed.