Mr. Speaker, at noon today in Toronto an important prebudget submission will be made by folks who are members of the Housing Not War coalition in Toronto. It consists of 147 anti-poverty organizations, peace groups, labour unions, women's groups, faith groups, scientists, environmentalists, ethnic communities, artists, academics and social agencies, students and health practitioners.
The demonstration will take place at the corner of King and University Avenue, calling on the government to bring the Canadian troops home from Afghanistan and redirecting the billions of dollars spent on that war and putting them toward important social goals. Primarily, they are advocating for an additional 1% of the federal budget to go into housing.
We know there is a desperate need for housing in Canada. We know of the high homeless rates in Canada. We know too many Canadians pay more on rent than they should. We know affordable housing is in short supply in most communities across the country.
I suspect some people from Burlington will take part in making that submission today. Will the member for Burlington support a national housing program that is sustainable, durable, continues from year to year and on which people can depend, a program that will build affordable housing in Canada and that will help end the homelessness crisis in Canada?