Bill C-56

Affordable Housing and Groceries Act

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

Sponsor

Status

This bill has received Royal Assent and is, or will soon become, law.

Summary

This is from the published bill. The Library of Parliament has also written a full legislative summary of the bill.

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.

Elsewhere

All sorts of information on this bill is available at LEGISinfo, an excellent resource from Parliament. You can also read the full text of the bill.

Bill numbers are reused for different bills each new session. Perhaps you were looking for one of these other C-56s:

C-56 (2017) An Act to amend the Corrections and Conditional Release Act and the Abolition of Early Parole Act

C-56 (2015) Statutory Release Reform Act

C-56 (2013) Combating Counterfeit Products Act

C-56 (2010) Preventing the Trafficking, Abuse and Exploitation of Vulnerable Immigrants Act

Votes

Dec. 11, 2023 Passed 3rd reading and adoption of Bill C-56, An Act to amend the Excise Tax Act and the Competition Act

Dec. 5, 2023 Passed Concurrence at report stage of Bill C-56, An Act to amend the Excise Tax Act and the Competition Act

Dec. 5, 2023 Passed Bill C-56, An Act to amend the Excise Tax Act and the Competition Act (report stage amendment) (Motion No. 3)

Dec. 5, 2023 Failed Bill C-56, An Act to amend the Excise Tax Act and the Competition Act (report stage amendment) (Motion No. 2)

Dec. 5, 2023 Failed Bill C-56, An Act to amend the Excise Tax Act and the Competition Act (report stage amendment) (Motion No. 1)

Nov. 23, 2023 Passed 2nd reading of Bill C-56, An Act to amend the Excise Tax Act and the Competition Act

Debate Summary

This is a computer-generated summary of the speeches below. Usually it’s accurate, but every now and then it’ll contain inaccuracies or total fabrications.

Bill C-56, also known as the Affordable Housing and Groceries Act, aims to address housing affordability by removing the GST on new rental housing construction, including apartment buildings, student housing, and seniors' residences, until 2035. The bill also seeks to enhance competition in the grocery sector and prevent anti-competitive mergers by empowering the Competition Bureau with increased investigative powers and by removing the efficiencies defence. Amendments to the Competition Act would empower the bureau to take action against collaborations that stifle competition and consumer choice, particularly in situations where larger grocers prevent smaller competitors from establishing operations nearby.

Liberal

Removing GST on rental housing: The bill would increase the GST rental rebate from 36% to 100% and remove phase-out thresholds for new rental housing projects. The government hopes this will incentivize developers to build more rental homes, including apartment buildings, student housing and seniors' residences across Canada, to address the housing crisis.
Amending the Competition Act: Bill C-56 seeks to amend the Competition Act to empower the Competition Bureau to investigate price gouging and price fixing, prevent anti-competitive mergers, and ensure large grocery stores cannot block smaller competitors. The government aims to foster a more competitive marketplace, stabilize food prices, and provide consumers with more choices.
Addressing Affordability for Canadians: The Liberal speakers emphasized the bill as a concrete step to address affordability challenges faced by Canadians, particularly concerning housing and grocery costs. They highlighted existing measures like the Canada Child Benefit and the Canada Workers Benefit, while noting Bill C-56's role in getting more homes built and increasing competition in the grocery sector.

Conservative

Supports removing efficiencies defence: The Conservatives support the removal of the efficiencies defence in the Competition Act, which currently allows companies to merge if they find efficiencies. They feel this change would give the Competition Bureau more power to prevent mergers that would lead to higher prices and less choice for Canadians.
Eliminate the carbon tax: The Conservatives are strongly opposed to the carbon tax, which they believe increases costs for farmers, truckers, and consumers, ultimately driving up grocery prices. They argue the carbon tax adds cost after cost to what the consumer pays and want to remove it to alleviate financial pressure on Canadians.
Housing affordability crisis: The Conservatives recognize the severity of the housing crisis and are critical of the Liberal government's handling of it, which has led to doubled housing costs, rents, and mortgages. They advocate for incentivizing municipalities to build more homes and cutting gatekeepers in the CMHC, streamlining the approval process for new housing projects.
Criticism of Liberal Approach: The Conservatives view the Liberal bill as inadequate and a "shrug emoji" in addressing the major issues of affordability, lacking substantial measures to tackle grocery prices or the housing crisis. They accuse the government of being out of ideas and plagiarizing Conservative proposals without fully committing to effective solutions.

NDP

Small steps on affordability: NDP members generally agreed the bill takes small steps to address issues of affordability in Canada, but that it does not go far enough. They stated that the housing and grocery prices are higher than ever, and the government needs to intervene with effective public policies.
Strengthen competition bureau: The NDP seeks to strengthen the Competition Bureau. One member stated that Bill C-352, introduced by the leader of the NDP, would impose harsher penalties on companies that fix prices and better regulate monopolies. The NDP believes the burden of proof should fall on companies to prove their activities benefit Canadians.
Address the housing crisis: The NDP believes there should not be a sole reliance on market-based solutions to the housing crisis. They have proposed an acquisition fund for non-profit organizations, to allow them to buy affordable social housing. Members stated that the government needs to take responsibility for the creation of social housing.
Grocery store profiteering: The NDP stated that Liberal's approach of meeting with grocery store CEOs will not be effective. They believe the government needs to recognize the role of corporate greed. They propose a windfall profit tax for grocery retailers who are price gouging, to ensure the savings are passed on to consumers.

Bloc

Supports in principle: The Bloc supports the bill because they cannot be against it. While the bill does not set out any harmful measures and does include some mini-measures, it is clearly not a panacea.
Criticism of Liberal approach: The Bloc criticizes the Liberal government for a lack of long-term thinking and action on issues like the housing crisis and rising food prices, accusing them of being out of touch with the needs of their constituents and only acting when poll results are unfavorable.
Provinces' jurisdiction: The Bloc emphasizes that housing is under the exclusive jurisdiction of Quebec and the provinces. The federal government should not interfere, especially when Quebec has innovative and effective programs.
GST rebate insufficient: The Bloc argues that the GST rebate for new rental apartment buildings will not significantly lower prices or address the critical need for social housing. They believe the government's approach is a half measure that benefits private builders, rather than addressing the core issue of affordable housing for the most vulnerable.
Competition Act changes welcomed: The Bloc welcomes the amendments to the Competition Act, particularly measures that give the Competition Bureau real investigative powers and make mergers more difficult. These changes are seen as long overdue, though questions were raised about whether the changes will really impact the domination of a few players in the market.
Need for social housing: The Bloc stresses the urgent need to construct social housing and affordable housing to solve the housing crisis. A significant portion of new builds needs to be social housing to meet the needs of the most vulnerable populations.
Federal overreach: The Bloc opposes federal conditions on funding and interference in areas of provincial jurisdiction, like housing. They criticize the government for delaying the release of funds to Quebec due to a desire to attach the Canadian flag, hindering the province's ability to address the housing crisis effectively.

Green

Supports removing GST: The Green Party supports the removal of the GST on rental home construction as proposed in Bill C-56, viewing it as a good measure, but insufficient to address the depth of the current housing crisis.
Need structural changes: The party calls for structural changes, such as ending the dependence of GDP growth on rising home prices and addressing the lack of competition in the grocery sector, but also advocates for immediate solutions like excess profits taxes on the oil and gas sector and grocery chains to fund a guaranteed livable income for Canadians.
Address financialization of housing: They stress the need to remove speculation and investment interests from housing, advocating for the elimination of real estate investment trusts and a return to co-op housing models to make housing more accessible and affordable.
Need acquisition funds: The Green Party highlights the importance of an acquisition fund to allow non-profits to preserve affordable housing units, and calls for sustained investments in social and co-op housing.

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Affordable Housing and Groceries ActGovernment Orders