Mr. Speaker, some 1.7 million Canadian families still do not have adequate housing, which is unacceptable. In a country as highly regarded and prosperous as Canada, everyone should have a roof over their head.
Under the leadership of the Minister of Families, Children and Social Development and the member of Parliament for Spadina—Fort York, our government took a big step toward achieving this goal with the first-ever national housing strategy.
Over the next 10 years, this strategy will help meet the housing needs of 530,000 households and reduce chronic homelessness by half in this country.
Recently, I met with local stakeholders from the Emily Murphy Non-Profit Housing Corporation, the Cumberland Not for Profit Housing Corporation, the Orleans-Cumberland Resource Centre, Habitat for Humanity Ottawa, and Place Perrault to discuss how the new Canada housing benefit will ensure stability for Orleans residents struggling with the basic costs of housing. We are all excited about the benefits this strategy will bring to the community.