Finance Committee on Oct. 20th, 2025

[The Chair, Liberal, Karina Gould]

Thank you, Minister.

We will continue with Mr. Garon of the Bloc Québécois, who will have six minutes.

[Jean-Denis Garon, Bloc, Mirabel, QC]

Thank you, Madam Chair.

Minister, since we haven't had time to speak yet, I would like to welcome you to Parliament and congratulate you on your appointment.

Over the past year, the credit rating agencies have downgraded four provinces that are experiencing a public finance crisis. They include your home province, British Columbia, for example, as well as Ontario and Quebec.

When the credit rating agencies increased the interest rates charged to the provinces on loans, they mentioned that there was no more money in the federal infrastructure transfer envelope.

It's all well and good to want to build houses, but if there are no sewer services or water infrastructure, as is the case in my region, the Laurentians, nothing can get built.

Have you personally asked the Minister of Finance to include a new envelope in his budget with no strings attached to fund infrastructure in Quebec and the provinces?

[Gregor Robertson, Liberal, Vancouver Fraserview—South Burnaby, BC]

Thank you for your question.

The details of your question I can't speak to. The Minister of Finance is directly responsible for that. My part of this bill is very focused on the tax break for new homebuyers and the opportunity for new homebuyers to qualify for up to $50,000 of tax—

[Jean-Denis Garon, Bloc, Mirabel, QC]

You said all of that in your opening remarks. We've also read the bill.

Today, as Minister of Housing and Infrastructure, you have nothing to say about the envelope that falls under your department to the provinces that are in a public finance crisis and have been downgraded. You were the mayor of Vancouver. It's your portfolio, but you have nothing to say to the Standing Committee on Finance about it, apart from reading the bill out to us again.

[Gregor Robertson, Liberal, Vancouver Fraserview—South Burnaby, BC]

Thank you for your question.

I'm here to discuss the bill for first-time homebuyers and the opportunity to reduce the costs of new homes for first-time homebuyers. I will say that, on the infrastructure front, housing infrastructure is critical. We can't build new homes without the housing infrastructure—it's part of that.

[Jean-Denis Garon, Bloc, Mirabel, QC]

It's critical, but you have nothing to say to us about it. I get it.

That was one of the conditions the Bloc Québécois asked for in order to support the budget. If I understand correctly, as Minister of Housing and Infrastructure, you have no opinion on infrastructure.

Minister, you're talking about affordable housing. How much does an affordable house go for in Canada?

[Gregor Robertson, Liberal, Vancouver Fraserview—South Burnaby, BC]

With Build Canada Homes, the criteria we're looking at is 30% of gross income. We want to see housing costs be less than 30% of gross income.

To your infrastructure question, we have several funds that we are working with provinces and cities, with Quebec—

[Jean-Denis Garon, Bloc, Mirabel, QC]

We're on to the next question, Minister.

The envelope is empty. You've made no representations to the minister.

For the average person, in the Laurentians or the Greater Montreal area, for example, how much would an affordable house cost? Give me a price.

[Gregor Robertson, Liberal, Vancouver Fraserview—South Burnaby, BC]

The price for people is less than 30% of their income. We're no longer doing area-based pricing and affordability indexes. We are doing it based on an individual's income so that it can be consistent through different markets. It will be responsive to people's ability to afford a home and make sure that it's less than 30% of their gross income.

There is still infrastructure funding in the Canada community-building fund and the Canada housing infrastructure fund. I announced several of those last week, and we will be continuing to invest in infrastructure for housing.

[Jean-Denis Garon, Bloc, Mirabel, QC]

Thank you. I'm sure one of my constituents would understand your answer. It was crystal clear, Minister.

The Minister of Finance and National Revenue told us that he was inverting the budget cycle to align with the construction season. Can you tell us when the construction season starts and ends?

[Gregor Robertson, Liberal, Vancouver Fraserview—South Burnaby, BC]

Thank you for your question, Mr. Garon.

The construction season, obviously, starts in the springtime, as the weather warms up, so we want to see approvals of financing through the winter so that construction can begin in the spring rather than having approvals in the spring and losing a season—

[Jean-Denis Garon, Bloc, Mirabel, QC]

You have a good answer, that's great. It took four and a half minutes to get there.

Therefore, the construction season starts in the spring and ends in early winter. Was aligning with the construction season the reason you didn't table a budget in the spring and you didn't get Bill C‑4 passed in the spring? Is that why we're here, at the end of the construction season, with winter around the corner, and yet people haven't received their GST rebate?

Is that what you mean when you say you're aligning with the construction season?

[Gregor Robertson, Liberal, Vancouver Fraserview—South Burnaby, BC]

There's been significant investment through the course of the year. Certainly, since I became Minister of Housing in May, we've made significant investments in housing and infrastructure to support housing that goes into next season.

To the member, we need to be focused on manufacturing as well, so that we can be manufacturing year-round, and then there's construction during the warmer season.

[Jean-Denis Garon, Bloc, Mirabel, QC]

We're talking about Bill C‑4.

Here's what I want to tell you. You came to Parliament in the spring. You passed Bill C‑5 imposing closure, with the Conservatives' support. The most important issue for your government was the pipelines. You spent the summer depriving people of the GST rebate for first-time home buyers. In the fall, the Minister of Finance contradicted himself and tied his two shoelaces together, and you told us that we had to align with the construction season in the winter.

That was the point I was trying to make, and I hope you took note of it.

Thank you, Madam Chair.

[The Chair, Liberal, Karina Gould]

Thank you, Mr. Garon.

We now go to the second round of questioning, and we begin with Mr. Gunn from the Conservatives for five minutes.

[Aaron Gunn, Conservative, North Island—Powell River, BC]

Thank you, Chair.

Minister, do you believe the housing market in Canada has become more or less affordable since the Liberals were elected in 2015?

[Gregor Robertson, Liberal, Vancouver Fraserview—South Burnaby, BC]

Housing has become less affordable, probably since the day I was born. By nature, it has increased over many decades. Certainly, over the past couple of decades, since my first election in 2005, on the west coast, prices were escalating quite dramatically, as you would know.

[Aaron Gunn, Conservative, North Island—Powell River, BC]

Do you think the policy decision by the Liberal government to, effectively, double or even triple immigration rates into this country contributed to the rapid increase in prices and the corresponding decrease in affordability?

[Gregor Robertson, Liberal, Vancouver Fraserview—South Burnaby, BC]

I can't speak to the immigration policies that precede my time here in Ottawa, but certainly—

[Aaron Gunn, Conservative, North Island—Powell River, BC]

Do you think it had an effect on price? I mean, you're the housing minister. Do you think the rapid increase in immigration increased housing prices and negatively impacted affordability?

[Gregor Robertson, Liberal, Vancouver Fraserview—South Burnaby, BC]

There are a number of factors that affect housing affordability. Certainly, interest rates escalating over the years recently were a big factor.

[Aaron Gunn, Conservative, North Island—Powell River, BC]

Is immigration one of them?

[Gregor Robertson, Liberal, Vancouver Fraserview—South Burnaby, BC]

Immigration is a factor. There are a number of drivers, depending on how much we're building and how many people are in the market.

[Aaron Gunn, Conservative, North Island—Powell River, BC]

You would acknowledge that the rapid increases in immigration rates decreased housing affordability in Vancouver and other cities across Canada.

[Gregor Robertson, Liberal, Vancouver Fraserview—South Burnaby, BC]

I would certainly acknowledge that there are many factors that have made housing less affordable across the country, including the federal government's not investing enough in non-market housing for several decades.