Mr. Speaker, I rise today to bring to the attention of the House an issue of monumental concern to my constituents, and indeed to all residents of the Lower Mainland of British Columbia: the crisis in housing.
An entire generation of young people is unable to fulfill the dream of owning a home, seniors and families of all types cannot find appropriate housing at a reasonable cost, and renters are being priced right out of Vancouver. This is not only a problem of broken dreams; it poses a serious risk to the health of the British Columbian economy.
I call on the federal government to recognize this crisis and immediately take steps to address it. It can do this by building affordable housing on federal lands, by renewing co-op funding agreements and expanding co-op stock, and by investigating the impact of foreign capital on housing prices and the use of laundered or corrupt money being parked in Canada's real estate market.
Every Canadian deserves to live in decent, affordable and secure housing. It is our obligation as legislators to do everything we can to ensure that this is achieved.