Mr. Speaker, I rise today to urge the federal government to make immediate investments in the upcoming budget to build public housing.
The consequences of years of federal inaction on housing are evident in the city of Victoria. Our region has been grappling with homelessness and a severe shortage of social housing and affordable rental housing. Today, Victoria has the lowest vacancy rate of any major city in Canada and close to 1,300 households are on a wait list. There are families with children living in motels and shelters. There are people with no option but to sleep in city parks every night.
Our local government, along with housing and social agencies, is working hard on creative solutions to give people temporary shelter, but we all know that what is needed is a permanent solution. We need significant federal investments to increase the housing stock. The city of Victoria and the regional government have projects that can be ready to go once they have a federal partner.
We can do better. We must do better to ensure people have a pathway to opportunity, and the foundation for that is affordable housing for all.