Evidence of meeting #111 for Indigenous and Northern Affairs in the 44th Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was communities.
A recording is available from Parliament.
11:15 a.m.
Liberal
11:15 a.m.
Conservative
Jamie Schmale Conservative Haliburton—Kawartha Lakes—Brock, ON
Thank you, Chair.
Maybe we'll focus on the actual question I just asked. The Residential Construction Council of Ontario said that there was no way the federal government would meet their housing target. Again, where are the homes?
11:20 a.m.
Liberal
Sean Fraser Liberal Central Nova, NS
Mr. Chair, I have two points in response. First of all, we've been at this committee for three minutes now, and the Conservatives have already changed the subject from indigenous housing, much as they avoided it while they were last in office—
11:20 a.m.
Conservative
11:20 a.m.
Liberal
Sean Fraser Liberal Central Nova, NS
—and he keeps interrupting to ruin the audio because he's embarrassed by the answer here, and he should be embarrassed.
11:20 a.m.
Conservative
Jamie Schmale Conservative Haliburton—Kawartha Lakes—Brock, ON
That's because you're not answering the question.
11:20 a.m.
Liberal
Sean Fraser Liberal Central Nova, NS
Mr. Chair, do I have the floor? I want to respect the interpreters, but this is inappropriate.
11:20 a.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Patrick Weiler
Order please. Can we think of the interpreters? When we have this type of cross-talk happening, the interpretation is not getting through. I'm listening to the French interpretation right now, and it's difficult when you have two people talking. Let's have one at a time if we can, please.
Mr. Schmale, your time is back to you.
11:20 a.m.
Conservative
Jamie Schmale Conservative Haliburton—Kawartha Lakes—Brock, ON
Thank you very much.
Again, rent has doubled. Housing costs have doubled. Food bank usage is at record highs. Minister, we're talking about housing that many of the people actually building housing say your government has no plan for and will not reach its target on. Again, it's a simple question, Minister. Where is the housing?
11:20 a.m.
Liberal
Sean Fraser Liberal Central Nova, NS
Mr. Chair, now that I have the floor, I trust I can make this point without interruption.
This is a study about the housing needs of indigenous communities across this country. It has been a few minutes and the Conservatives are now resorting to reading questions off their phone, off-topic, because they feel like they can't have a serious conversation about this issue. There were years when they had that opportunity to make the investments and chose not to—
11:20 a.m.
Conservative
Jamie Schmale Conservative Haliburton—Kawartha Lakes—Brock, ON
Chair, I'm going to reclaim my time if he is just going to—
11:20 a.m.
Liberal
Sean Fraser Liberal Central Nova, NS
Sorry, Mr. Chair, I'm being spoken over. Every time I make this argument he talks over me. Do I have the floor?
11:20 a.m.
Conservative
Jamie Schmale Conservative Haliburton—Kawartha Lakes—Brock, ON
If he's not going to answer the question, I'm not going to let him take my time, Chair.
11:20 a.m.
Liberal
Sean Fraser Liberal Central Nova, NS
Thank you.
Mr. Chair, with respect to my friend and colleague, he had many years with his party in office to make investments or not make investments in indigenous housing. They chose not to. Now he has an opportunity to ask questions about it, and instead he's looking at his phone to ask questions he's reading from the leader's office, rather than actually engaging on the issue of housing in indigenous communities. It's inappropriate.
With respect, he says we have no plan, and again he's talking over me. He's very uncomfortable with this argument.
11:20 a.m.
Conservative
11:20 a.m.
Conservative
Jamie Schmale Conservative Haliburton—Kawartha Lakes—Brock, ON
This is not answering my question. He doesn't get to run the clock out.
11:20 a.m.
Liberal
Sean Fraser Liberal Central Nova, NS
Mr. Chair, I'm sorry. There's been no point of order. Do I have the floor?
11:20 a.m.
Liberal
11:20 a.m.
Conservative
11:20 a.m.
Liberal
Sean Fraser Liberal Central Nova, NS
I would appreciate it if he would return the professional courtesy.
He suggested that we don't have a plan. We literally published a plan in April of this year. He may think it's foreign, because the plan he put forward as a party has no measures in it that will actually build more homes.