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
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, the Affordable Housing and Groceries Act, seeks to address the rising cost of living by amending the Excise Tax Act and the Competition Act. The bill aims to incentivize the construction of purpose-built rental housing by extending a GST rebate to builders and to promote competition by strengthening the Competition Bureau's powers to conduct market studies and address abuse of dominance, including revising the legal test for prohibition orders and increasing potential monetary penalties. It also seeks to eliminate the "efficiencies argument" that corporations have used to justify mergers.
Liberal
Strengthening competition law: The Liberal party views Bill C-56 as a crucial step in addressing the increasing cost of living by strengthening Canada's competition law. The bill aims to address concerns about large corporations abusing their market power and to ensure a fairer marketplace for Canadians.
Market study independence: The bill provides the Competition Bureau with market study powers while ensuring its independence. The commissioner will be able to initiate market studies, removing ambiguity and allowing the bureau to investigate specific market issues.
Addressing abuse of dominance: The bill seeks to lower the burden of proof for behaviours damaging to the public interest, aligning with international partners. It allows abuse of dominance to be established based on either intent or effects, enabling more effective enforcement against harmful conduct by large players.
Supporting affordable housing: Bill C-56 encourages the growth of purpose-built rentals to address housing issues in Canada. The government is investing in housing, working with municipalities and provinces to support the construction of new units.
Conservative
Bill is anticlimactic: The Conservative party believes that the bill, even after it becomes law, will not effectively address the issues of high grocery prices and the housing crisis in Canada. They argue that while the bill proposes minor changes to the Competition Act, it lacks the boldness to make the necessary significant changes to foster competition.
Carbon tax burden: The party emphasizes that the bill does not address the impact of the carbon tax on the cost of groceries, which they claim increases consumer expenses. The carbon tax, applied at multiple stages from production to transportation, significantly contributes to the higher prices Canadians are paying for food.
Lack of new start-ups: The Conservatives express concern over the decline in start-up businesses in Canada. They stress the importance of fostering start-ups to compete with larger corporations and create jobs, noting that Canada now has fewer entrepreneurs compared to 20 years ago, despite a growing population.
Inflation and debt: The Conservative party criticizes the Liberal government's spending policies, which they claim have led to increased inflation, debt, and taxes. They argue that the bill does not resolve these issues and will further burden Canadians, with rising prices, rents, and an unsustainable debt level.
NDP
Supports removing GST: The NDP supports removing the GST from purpose-built rental housing to incent the development of more market rent apartments, as increasing supply is good. However, they state that this is not enough.
Non-market housing needed: The NDP believes the government needs to do more to develop non-market housing, including co-ops and social housing, to ensure everyone has an enforceable right to housing. They express disappointment that the fall economic statement was not more ambitious in this area.
Unique needs unaddressed: Removing GST will not help remote communities, such as those in Nunavut, where there is a serious housing need. The member emphasized the need for public policy that is not dependent on providing incentives for profit-seeking companies.
Market isn't enough: The NDP believes that relying solely on the market to fix housing problems is insufficient and that it is the government's job to address the important things that the market will not take care of. They cite the need for a national school food program as another example of something the market will not address.
Bloc
Supports the bill: The Bloc supports Bill C-56 because it contains some good measures and does not contain any that are outright harmful, though they expected more and see it as a drop in the ocean of needs.
Increased investigative powers: The bill gives the commissioner of competition real investigative powers, which the Bloc has been calling for for 20 years, allowing them to compel testimony and order the production of documents.
Competition Act amendments: The Bloc Québécois supports the amendments to the Competition Act, including making mergers and acquisitions more difficult by repealing the provision that favors concentration if a purchase will result in a gain in efficiency, even if the merger will reduce competition.
Bill is insufficient: The Bloc considers it misleading to claim that the bill will help lower the cost of groceries and that this cannot possibly be the government's one and only response to the skyrocketing cost of housing and groceries.
Pursuant to order made on Thursday, December 7, the House shall now resolve itself into a committee of the whole to consider Motion No. 32 under Government Business.
