If we need 500,000 units a year for the next several years, which your government promised to do, which the Prime Minister promised during the campaign, we're talking about trillions of investment in housing.
The $13 billion might seem big to you, but we know full well that one of the biggest impediments to getting homes started and getting homes built is the cost of local government and the delays at the local level, particularly in the Lower Mainland and the GTA, which is where the epicentre of the housing crisis is. It's where the situation is, in fact, the worst.
Mike Moffatt, an economist who has advised your government on a number of occasions on housing, has warned that without decisive action, Canada risks a prolonged construction slowdown and an even deeper supply gap. If the government is so reluctant to make a big move—and I will challenge you that $13 billion is not a big move—what's your plan to get the private sector moving again and building in some of these centres where housing is too expensive?