moved:
Motion No. 34
That Bill C-66, in Clause 34, be amended by replacing lines 31 to 37 on page 21 with the following:
“or a province.”
Motion No. 36
That Bill C-66, in Clause 38, be amended by replacing lines 26 to 29 on page 22 with the following:
“pealed by this Act.”
Madam Speaker, in the last few months we have heard two very conflicting messages from the government. The government has talked a good line on housing. Last month, finally recognizing the seriousness of the homelessness crisis, a federal coordinator on homelessness was appointed and sent off to speak to housing activists.
When Liberal members stand up to speak on Bill C-66, they talk about the need for the Government of Canada to play a leadership role in housing. Unfortunately, with Bill C-66, it is not just a case of the government's actions not matching its words. The Liberal government's actions actually contradict what it says it is trying to do.
At the same time as the government's homelessness coordinator talks about a national housing program, Bill C-66 is changing the National Housing Act to allow existing social housing to be sold off by this government or provincial governments.
National standards for public housing are being eliminated. Future social housing programs may end up as little more than subsidies for private, for profit landlords. The government is surrendering the power to make decisions about housing programs to an appointed board of directors.
I am not surprised at the Liberal government's decision to turn its back on the homeless at the same time as it pretends to befriend them, but I can not help but be disappointed. One would hope the need to act on something as serious as homelessness would cut across party lines. Instead, with Bill C-66 there is every indication the government will make this situation worse.
One area of concern is the changes to the sections of the National Housing Act dealing with programs to assist with the repair or renovation of housing. The way these programs work is currently spelled out in the act and in regulations. Among the conditions for receiving assistance in the National Housing Act is the requirement that landlords who receive assistance limit rent increases for a set period after the work is completed. In addition, the CMHC is given the power to impose financial penalties when this or other conditions are not met.
In Bill C-66 this wording has been significantly weakened. Instead of requiring that landlords who receive grants or loans for repairs to rental property limit rent increases, there is a vaguely worded provision limiting the financial return which may be made from a project.
According to the government, we should support this change because CMHC needs flexibility. I ask, flexibility for what? Why does the CMHC need the flexibility to allow landlords who receive assistance to raise rents through the roof?
Programs to assist with housing repairs are meant to preserve the supply of affordable housing. Without restrictions on how much landlords can raise rent after receiving assistance rents, in areas with a low vacancy rate, could easily be increased to the point that current tenants would no longer be able to afford them.
Without restrictions on rent increases, federal programs intended to ensure affordable housing is safe and well maintained could actually reduce the supply of affordable housing.
While New Democrats share the government's view that programs to assist with repairs to affordable housing should include grants as well as loans, we disagree with the government's assertion that we need to change the National Housing Act for this to be possible. Currently the act allows loans to be forgiven. This has the effect of allowing the CMHC to make contributions.
In case members opposite do not accept my interpretation, I would like to draw their attention to a media release sent out in January of last year by the minister of public works with regard to the repair and rehabilitation assistance program, one of the programs authorized by the sections of the National Housing Act dealing with assistance for housing repairs. In its release, the minister described this program as providing both loans and grants.
I am also concerned about the impact of Bill C-66 on programs to assist Canadians with home ownership. Currently, assistance in buying a home or paying expenses related to owning a home is only available for houses costing less than a set amount. Grants, as opposed to loans, are only available when a person's financial circumstances make it difficult for the person to repay a loan. The intention is clear: to ensure assistance with home ownership goes to those who need it. These specific requirements are removed by Bill C-66 and the power to set eligibility requirements is handed over to the CMHC.
The usual justification is given, the need for flexibility. Again, one is forced to ask why flexibility is required. There is nothing unreasonable about requiring that government assistance to buy or maintain a house go to those who really need help. This is what the NDP amendment restores.
However, it is not just about what housing programs will look like in the future that should worry us. Clause 34 of the bill gives CMHC the ability to enter into joint ventures with other organizations, including for-profit corporations. What is of particular concern are provisions allowing other levels of government or corporations to assume the powers of the CMHC under these agreements.
Questions have been raised about whether, in provinces where the federal government has downloaded responsibility for housing, provincial governments could now privatize existing social housing units. What has added to the fears of housing activists is clause 38 of the legislation which allows the CMHC to waive provisions of existing agreements. Under this section an agreement between the CMHC and a housing co-op or non-profit corporation could be ripped up, leaving residents to see their homes sold out from underneath them.
What the NDP Motions Nos. 34 and 36 do is remove provisions that allow existing social housing to be privatized.
I would also like to take this opportunity to address the amendments to Bill C-66 which deal with the other major concern the NDP has about the bill; the lack of accountability. It is one thing to give the board of directors of a crown corporation the power they need to do their job. What this bill does, however, is hand most of the decision making power for federal housing policy over to the CMHC's board of directors.
As with other amendments we have moved, Motion No. 32 seeks to restore the degree of accountability present in the existing CMHC Act and National Housing Act. These acts require ministerial approval for housing research programs run by CMHC.
This does not mean the minister must approve every single research project CMHC supports. That power rests with the CMHC which has the authority to decide which projects get funding. What it does do is ensure accountability by requiring that decisions about how housing research programs work must be approved by the minister.
New Democrats are also pleased to support the amendments put forward in this group by the member for Kelowna. As with amendments we have moved, his proposal helps to restore accountability to federal housing policies.
Motions Nos. 31 and 33 both improve the accountability of the CMHC. The existing section 16 of the CMHC Act sets the capital of the corporation at $25 billion and requires that parliament approve any increase. As the CMHC is a crown corporation, there is no question that any change to its capital is a decision that belongs to elected representatives. It is a basic principle of parliamentary democracy that budgetary decisions be made by parliament. Giving the governor in council the power to set the capital of the CMHC, as Bill C-66 would do, is a clear violation of that principle.
Motion No. 33 also restores a provision of the CMHC Act which Bill C-66 is attempting to remove. In this case it is the power of the Minister of Finance to place conditions and restrictions on the type of investment and financial transaction the CMHC can enter into. Again, if crown corporations are to be accountable to citizens through their government it seems only reasonable that the Minister of Finance continue to have this authority.
These motions approve the accountability of the CMHC and are in the spirit as the NDP amendments to require the governor in council to approve the terms and conditions of housing programs under the National House Act. For this reason, New Democrats will support these amendments.
What has made accountability even more of a concern in this debate are the changes the government proposes to make to the composition of the CMHC board of directors.
Under the existing provisions of the CMHC Act, the CMHC board of directors consists of the chair, the president, a vice-president, two members selected from the public service and five from outside the public service. Bill C-66 will change the board from five civil servants and five people appointed from outside to two civil servants and eight others. Giving the government more freedom of action in appointing the board will, based on the government's track record, result in more patronage.
The government had a choice when it decided to change the National Housing Act. It could have chosen to strengthen the federal role in housing and approve programs for people with limited means. This is what the Liberal government would have done if its expressions of concern and compassion for the homelessness were the slightest bit sincere.
Instead, with Bill C-66 the Liberal government is reducing the ability of the federal government to provide safe, affordable housing. It is helping to ensure the fine words—