House of Commons Hansard #327 of the 42nd Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was need.

Topics

Parliamentary Budget OfficerRoutine Proceedings

10 a.m.

Liberal

The Speaker Liberal Geoff Regan

Pursuant to subsection 79.2(2) of the Parliament of Canada Act, it is my duty to present to the House a report from the Parliamentary Budget Officer entitled “Financial Sustainability Report 2018”.

Privacy CommissionerRoutine Proceedings

10 a.m.

Liberal

The Speaker Liberal Geoff Regan

I have the honour to lay upon the table the report of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada on the application of the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act and the Privacy Act for the year 2017-18.

Pursuant to Standing Order 108(3)(h), this report is deemed to have been permanently referred to the Standing Committee on Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics.

Business of SupplyRoutine Proceedings

10 a.m.

NDP

Marjolaine Boutin-Sweet NDP Hochelaga, QC

Mr. Speaker, there have been discussions among the parties, and if you were to seek it, I think you would find unanimous consent to adopt the following motion:

That, at the conclusion of today's debate on the opposition motion in the name of the member for Saskatoon West, all questions necessary to dispose of the motion be deemed put and a recorded division deemed requested and deferred to Tuesday, October 2, 2018, at the expiry of the time provided for oral questions.

Business of SupplyRoutine Proceedings

10 a.m.

Liberal

The Speaker Liberal Geoff Regan

Does the hon. member have the unanimous consent of the House to move the motion?

Business of SupplyRoutine Proceedings

10 a.m.

Some hon. members

Agreed.

Business of SupplyRoutine Proceedings

10 a.m.

Liberal

The Speaker Liberal Geoff Regan

The House has heard the terms of the motion. Is it the pleasure of the House to adopt the motion?

Business of SupplyRoutine Proceedings

10 a.m.

Some hon. members

Agreed.

Business of SupplyRoutine Proceedings

10 a.m.

Liberal

The Speaker Liberal Geoff Regan

(Motion agreed to)

PensionsPetitionsRoutine Proceedings

10 a.m.

NDP

Wayne Stetski NDP Kootenay—Columbia, BC

Mr. Speaker, I am very happy to present a petition on behalf of my constituents who are concerned about the future of their pensions and particularly related to Bill C-27, An Act to amend the Pension Benefits Standards Act, 1985.

Security in one's retirement is really important to all Canadians, certainly important to the people of Kootenay—Columbia. Basically, they are asking that the government withdraw Bill C-27.

The EnvironmentPetitionsRoutine Proceedings

10:05 a.m.

Green

Elizabeth May Green Saanich—Gulf Islands, BC

Mr. Speaker, it is an honour to rise in the House to present a petition from Canadian youth. These young Canadians ask the House of Commons to give serious consideration to the facts relating to the climate crisis that Canada has endorsed the powers agreement but does not yet have a target consistent with powers.

These youth petitioners and those who care deeply about youth, call the House of Commons to develop urgently a meaningful plan for a response to the climate crisis. They provide further details within the petition.

Foreign AffairsPetitionsRoutine Proceedings

10:05 a.m.

Liberal

Gary Anandasangaree Liberal Scarborough—Rouge Park, ON

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to present a petition on behalf of Tamil Canadians and their allies in solidarity with the courageous efforts of protesting Tamil families of the disappeared from the north and east of the island. Beginning in February 2017, Tamil families of the disappeared have protested continuously across the north and east for over 500 days.

The petitioners are seeking the release of the list of surrenderees from the end of the armed conflict, the release of the list of all the past and present secret detention centres held in Sri Lanka and the release of a list of those held under the draconian prevention of terrorism act.

Questions on the Order PaperRoutine Proceedings

10:05 a.m.

Winnipeg North Manitoba

Liberal

Kevin Lamoureux LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons

Mr. Speaker, I ask that all questions be allowed to stand.

Questions on the Order PaperRoutine Proceedings

10:05 a.m.

Liberal

The Speaker Liberal Geoff Regan

Is that agreed?

Questions on the Order PaperRoutine Proceedings

10:05 a.m.

Some hon. members

Agreed.

Opposition Motion—HousingBusiness of SupplyGovernment Orders

10:05 a.m.

NDP

Sheri Benson NDP Saskatoon West, SK

moved:

That, given that a housing crisis is raging in Canada and that 90% of the funding for the government's national housing strategy will only flow after the next election, and that much of the funding depends on collaboration with provincial governments and the private sector, the House call on the government to: (a) recognize the right to housing as a human right; and (b) bring forward 50% of the strategy’s funding before the next election to invest in (i) housing for Indigenous communities, (ii) the construction of new affordable housing, new social housing units and new co-ops units, (iii) a plan to end homelessness, (iv) the renovation of existing social housing and old housing stock, (v) the expansion of rent supplements, (vi) the administration of programs that meet the special needs of seniors and persons with reduced mobility.

Mr. Speaker, I will be sharing my time with the member for Hochelaga.

A safe and affordable place to call home is not a reality for many living in my riding. As we head into the final year of the government's mandate, I had hoped we would see something different for the people I represent.

Rents have doubled in the last 10 years in Saskatchewan without a similar rise in wages or income supports for people living with disabilities, single parents and seniors. Currently, in Saskatchewan, we have the highest unemployment rate outside of the Atlantic provinces. Life is very tough for far too many people in Saskatchewan.

Invariably, when I am out and about attending events and meeting with constituents, the conversation turns to housing and people struggling to find a safe, affordable place to call home. This summer, the situation for many has become even worse. Why? Because shortly after the Saskatchewan government signed on to the principles of the new provincial-territorial framework with the federal government on housing, our provincial government cut the provincial rental supplement. As of July 1, this important support for people in my province, in my riding, was ended.

What does that mean? For Amanda, a single mother in Saskatoon with three young children, who lost her job last fall, it means living in fear of also losing her home. Amanda is receiving income support from the provincial government through its transitional employment allowance, which includes a rental supplement. Her $1,000-a-month transitional allowance, plus her rental supplement of $331, means that 65% of her income goes to her monthly rent. That means she has $481 left for groceries, utilities and clothes. It means living every day with the anxiety and stress that she will lose her rental supplement and, if that happens, what will happen.

Over 14,000 people in Saskatchewan depend on the rental supplement to afford a place to live. The Saskatoon action plan on homelessness, a community-based leadership group, has helped find safe, affordable housing for over 800 people in Saskatoon, and the vast majority of the people who were helped counted on that rental supplement.

This reality is not unique to my community, my city and my province, it is a reality for far too many people across the country. At least 235,000 households in Canada experience homelessness in any given year. Over a million households pay over 30% of their income for rent, and 400,000 of those people pay over 50% of their income for rent. I consider that a crisis, and I am not alone. It is the general consensus that as a country we must tackle this crisis now.

In 2016, the mayors of Canada's largest cities estimated there were more than 170,000 people waiting for subsidized housing. Many people on those waiting lists will become homeless while they are waiting. One in 15 aboriginal people in urban centres is homeless. Occupancy rates for emergency shelters are 90%, up 10% over the last while. Of that group that are using shelters, more are families with children. They are the fastest-growing percentage of those accessing shelters.

Today's motion is about getting the government to step up sooner rather than later, to match government action to the urgency of the issue, and to match government action and timelines to the reality too many Canadians are living with: no place to call home.

A national organization I found said it best when describing where we find ourselves: high stakes with clear choices. That seems to sum it up. I do not agree with the federal government's current choices. The largest percentage of the federal government investment comes after the next election. New investments are minimal. We have had a lot of fanfare, rejigging of programs and underwhelming targets set. I do not see a government standing up and leading the way forward.

Today's motion is about putting on the table the path forward for the government and our country to truly tackle the housing and homelessness crisis.

I would also like to make note that the only time we parliamentarians, as the House of Commons, have debated this crisis is when my NDP colleagues and I have tabled bills and motions.

I have said in the House on a number of occasions that this debate must happen in order to hold the government to account and turn its great words and strategies into action. As the mandate of the government progresses, as the fanfare around the national housing strategy fades, we see the government stepping back from the leadership and investment needed to meet the crisis we are in.

One of the key pillars from the national housing strategy is that the strategy “will first focus on the most vulnerable Canadians. This includes women and children fleeing family violence, seniors, indigenous peoples, people with disabilities, those dealing with mental health and addiction issues, veterans and young adults.”

I agree, but I do not see this priority in action or prioritized in the investments to date by the government. If this in fact were true, why is the Canada housing benefit not being launched until 2020-21, after the next federal election?

The Canada housing benefit is the transformative change we need to immediately deal with a lack of affordable housing in Canada. This pillar of the strategy must happen sooner rather than later. The Canada social housing benefit could transform lives immediately. Bringing forward the planned investment in the Canada housing benefit to next year's budget could mean over 250,000 low-income households in Canada would be able to afford their rent. This is just one example, one initiative which if brought forward would actually make people's lives better.

The federal government can afford to do more and it must do more. It has been over 30 years since the federal government really took a leadership role in housing in this country, and this backing out of a commitment to an investment in affordable housing has given rise to the crisis we are in today. It is a big part of it.

One aspect of this off-loading has been the rise in the capital repair deficit for social housing, which now stands in excess of $1.3 billion. The government has extended the operating agreements which were due to expire. This was an important first step, but it is only a stop-gap measure for now. Those who provide housing to the most vulnerable, who must provide deep subsidies so rent remains affordable, are in immediate need of support for capital repairs. The government must inject immediate investment so that we hang on to these very important social assets in our communities.

A specific strategy for indigenous peoples, those living in remote, rural and northern communities and for those living in urban centres has yet to materialize. It had a mention in the national housing strategy, but we have yet to see real progress and a concerted effort by the government despite stating it was a priority for the national housing strategy.

Frances Sanderson and Mark Maracle, the co-chairs of the Ontario Non-Profit Housing Association's Urban Aboriginal Housing Advisory Committee, stated, “If the government fails to step up with continued funding, we will, sadly, see a rise in the already devastating aboriginal homeless population.”

The government is more than well aware of the housing crisis on first nations. Some 40% of homes on first nations are in need of major repairs and 35% are not suitable for the family's size. So far, the government has only invested in 3% of the funding that is actually needed to improve the situation. I am afraid that the so-called innovation contest announced this summer for housing ideas on first nations is insulting.

Budgets are about priorities, and we have to see a budget by the government that tells Canadians the housing and homeless crisis is as important as the government keeps telling us it is. People like Amanda and the 14,000 people in Saskatchewan who are finding out that they cannot count on their provincial government are counting on the federal Liberal government to step up now.

While building more affordable rental housing is critical, we cannot in the immediate term build our way out of the affordability crisis renters face today. The government must move up its investment in the Canada housing benefit. That is the action and the leadership we must see.

I wish to end my comments on the government's commitment to legislate a right to housing with what the Prime Minister stated over a year ago, “Housing rights are human rights.” However, we have seen what appears to be a stepping back by the government on legislating a right to housing.

We have heard that the government's own consultations gave rise to a consensus that legislation be enacted to exclusively recognize the right to housing. I ask the government to follow through on this publicly stated commitment that will allow citizens to hold their government to account to what is and must be a basic human right, the right to a safe and affordable place to call home.

Opposition Motion—HousingBusiness of SupplyGovernment Orders

10:15 a.m.

Spadina—Fort York Ontario

Liberal

Adam Vaughan LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Families

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the member opposite for bringing this motion forward. It is never a bad day in the House of Commons when we are talking about housing, the housing needs of Canadians, and in particular, the issue that she has raised around indigenous housing both on and off reserve, in cities and in rural and remote areas.

I also would like to thank the member opposite for a sustained focus on the need to do better and the need to accelerate. We all share those goals. We all share the commitment to reverse 25 years of federal absence on this policy.

There were attempts to get back into the federal housing field. There was a budget that clearly put the homeless partnership strategy in place. Former minister Claudette Bradshaw was one of the heroes of the housing activists across this country when she brought the federal government back to that file.

I also would remind the member opposite that a national accord was signed in 2004 under former minister Joe Fontana which set 10 years of funding, until the last government let that wind down and put thousands of Canadians at risk.

The member has said she wants to bring money forward. Every housing expert we have talked to in this country has said a housing program should be built progressively year after year. If a program is front-end loaded, inflation and need and sustained subsidies disappear in the back-end and people are de-housed with a policy that is designed that way. Not a single expert in the country has advised us to front-end load a program.

Why do members of the NDP think front-end loading the program would be the right way to go when no expert would agree with them?

Opposition Motion—HousingBusiness of SupplyGovernment Orders

10:20 a.m.

NDP

Sheri Benson NDP Saskatoon West, SK

Mr. Speaker, I want to echo that the federal government did step out of housing 30 years ago and there have been steps taken into it, particularly Claudette Bradshaw's leadership around the homelessness partnering strategy. That is a piece which the Liberal government has continued to work on and add funds to.

I do not agree with the member that every single expert in the country does not agree that the Canada housing benefit is something we could bring forward sooner. It would immediately help people while we do the other hard work to build more affordable housing.

I hear what the member has to say but I do not agree with the assessment that every expert feels that what the government is doing is the right way to go.

Opposition Motion—HousingBusiness of SupplyGovernment Orders

10:20 a.m.

Conservative

Karen Vecchio Conservative Elgin—Middlesex—London, ON

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the member for working so hard on this file.

One thing that the member did mention was the challenge put out for ideas on indigenous housing. She kind of scuffed it off.

Since the Liberal government took power in 2015, it has talked about reconciliation all the time. Could the member share with me what she has seen in the last three years that has actually impacted indigenous housing in a positive way or is it all a facade, as I see it?

Opposition Motion—HousingBusiness of SupplyGovernment Orders

10:20 a.m.

NDP

Sheri Benson NDP Saskatoon West, SK

Mr. Speaker, I have not seen the action meet the rhetoric when it comes to housing, particularly housing on first nations.

When minimal investment is made that would not even get anywhere near to solving the problem, when a contest is held as a way to make it look like something is being done around housing, that does not reflect an attitude toward reconciliation that I would support.

The government has made attempts but it has not gone far enough. It needs to raise it up quite a bit to fit the rhetoric that we are hearing in our communities that this relationship is the one that is the most important to the government.

Opposition Motion—HousingBusiness of SupplyGovernment Orders

10:20 a.m.

Green

Elizabeth May Green Saanich—Gulf Islands, BC

Mr. Speaker, I want to join other members here in thanking the hon. member for bringing forward an opposition supply day motion which allows us to talk about housing. I agree with the hon. parliamentary secretary that it is never a bad day when we do that.

I share the sense that we could be doing more sooner, but I also hear the hon. parliamentary secretary that front-end loading may not be the right way.

I wonder if the hon. member for Saskatoon West could share with us the balance that we need to get to put more housing in place sooner without falling into the worrying trap put forward by the parliamentary secretary.

Opposition Motion—HousingBusiness of SupplyGovernment Orders

10:20 a.m.

NDP

Sheri Benson NDP Saskatoon West, SK

Mr. Speaker, when it came to the national housing strategy, I agreed with the steps taken in the crisis and being able to help those who were most vulnerable. I mentioned those folks in my speech. I felt the way we could do that was to help the most vulnerable, the people who are homeless now or on the verge of not having a home, like Amanda, who I spoke about in my speech.

The Canada housing benefit was a way to step in immediately. It told provinces and people in my community that the federal government understood the crisis and it was there to help them immediately. The best way is to step in right away.

Opposition Motion—HousingBusiness of SupplyGovernment Orders

10:20 a.m.

NDP

Marjolaine Boutin-Sweet NDP Hochelaga, QC

Mr. Speaker, I am truly honoured to rise to speak to the motion moved by my colleague from Saskatoon West that we are debating here today.

When I was named the housing critic for the NDP, a role I performed for several years, I launched a campaign called A Roof, A Right, which took me all across Canada. The title was carefully chosen; words matter. There is no doubt in my mind that housing is a fundamental right and should be treated as such.

In 1976, Canada ratified the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, or ICESCR, which obliges nations to recognize housing as a right.

The problem is that, under Canadian law, for an international treaty to be justiciable and actually enforceable in Canada, we have to pass legislation here in the House.

Here we are more than 40 years later, and unfortunately there is no Canadian legislation that formally recognizes every individual's right to housing.

In order to meet its international obligations, the federal government has a responsibility not only to incorporate the right to housing into the Canadian Human Rights Act, but also to implement the necessary measures to ensure that the fundamental right to housing is fully realized.

The current housing situation in Canada clearly shows that since the ICESCR was ratified, successive governments never took the steps required to eliminate the obstacles preventing the full implementation of that basic right.

We have been hearing for years about the housing crisis in Canada. Rising rents, a shortage of rental housing units, the lack of federal government funding for social housing, too many families spending over 30% of their income on housing and increasing homelessness are only a few examples of the causes and consequences of that crisis.

According to the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, CMHC, housing is considered affordable if it represents 30% or less of a household's income. Households that spend more on housing are considered to be in core housing need.

According to the 2016 National Household Survey, 24% of households spend more than 30% of their total income on housing costs. That is one in four Canadian households. Of Canadian households that are renters 40% spend over 30% of their income on rent.

This means that households in core housing need are too often forced to choose which basic needs they will meet.

In a wealthy country like ours, no one should have to choose between buying groceries and paying rent.

The purpose of this motion is to correct this situation and to obtain strong support from the House to ensure that the government meets its international commitments.

A few months ago, the government announced its national housing strategy with great fanfare. The fundamental problem with the strategy is that, as usual, the Liberals are not following through on their promises. I am not casting doubt on the housing minister's goodwill, but he probably needs to talk to the Minister of Finance. When the Minister of Finance announced the funding that would be invested in social infrastructure, including housing, he postponed 90% of those investments until the final year of this government's term.

Despite the urgent and long-standing need for housing, the government thinks it is a good idea to withhold 90% of the money that is supposed to go towards improving living conditions for Canadian families and maybe starting to meet our international commitments. Why is the government withholding this money? Is it so it can be offered up in 2019 as a kind of pre-election treat? That is simply shameful.

That is not all. The vast majority of the funding announced largely depends on increased collaboration with our provincial and territorial partners. Funding that would come from the provinces and the private sector was even included in the national housing strategy, but without their consent.

How long will it take for families affected by the housing crisis to finally see any of this money?

With this motion, we are calling on the government to bring forward 50% of the federal funding allocated to the national housing strategy before the next election and to invest that money in the following: housing for indigenous communities; the construction of new affordable housing, new social housing units and new co-op units; a plan to end homelessness; the renovation of existing social housing and old housing stock; the expansion of rent supplements; and the administration of programs that meet the special needs of seniors and persons with reduced mobility.

I will now elaborate on a few of these calls for action. The housing situation in indigenous communities could not be more dire, and federal authorities, which have full authority in this area and fiduciary obligations towards indigenous peoples, are aware of this.

I am not making it up when I say that the federal authorities are aware of the situation. As proof, I offer the response to a request for information submitted to the government by my colleague from Timmins—James Bay about the infrastructure needs of first nations. Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada had this to say about housing conditions:

According to a needs assessment study based on the National Household Survey 2006, the housing shortage on reserve is expected to rise to approximately 115,000 units by 2031. Data from the 2009-2011 National Assessment of First Nations Water and Wastewater Systems indicates that 20,000 units need to be built on reserve in order to reduce the average number of persons by household to four people per home (on-reserve average), and 81,000 houses are needed to reduce it to the 2.5 Canadian average. Moreover, as of 2011, almost 41% of households on reserve are dwellings in need of major repair and mould or mildew has been reported in 51% of units.

That is what the government said.

Although departmental officials were aware of this situation, the government decided to fund the construction of only 300 new housing units per year in 2016 and 2017, which is only 3% of what is necessary. Moreover, if we take into consideration the fact that the housing shortage will rise to over 115,000 units over the next 15 years, it becomes very clear that the government will have to do a lot more to meet housing needs in indigenous communities and ensure that they too have the right to housing.

We are also calling on the government to invest in the construction of new affordable housing, social housing and co-operative housing units, as well as in the renovation of existing social housing and old housing stock. This is probably not the first time that members have heard me talk about this, because it has been my pet issue for a number of years now. However, it seems I need to repeat myself.

Until the federal government withdrew from the social housing sector in 1994, nearly 650,000 social housing units were built in Canada under long-term agreements with the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation. Those agreements, effective for 25 to 50 years, made it possible for social housing providers to give rent subsidies so that tenants did not have to spend more than 30% of their income on housing. Hundreds of these agreements have gradually been expiring over the past decade or so. From 2006 to 2013, over 45,000 social housing units were affected by the expiry of agreements, and that has had an obvious impact on poorer families. Just last year, the number of households affected climbed to 140,000.

Despite all that, the government is still making us wait before it reinvests in social housing. We do have to give the current government some credit for allocating temporary amounts to address the expiry of agreements, but what about the penny-pinching that has been going on since 2006?

In the meantime, Carole Parent, who has been living in a co-op in my riding of Hochelaga for 25 years, used to pay $175 a month for housing, which was about 25% of her income. Her co-op's long-term operating agreement expired a few years ago, and as a result, her rent jumped to $306 a month, which is an increase of nearly 75%. This is certainly less than what each member of this House pays for housing, but Ms. Parent has severe employment constraints. She cannot work and lives on social solidarity benefits.

There is an election campaign going on in Quebec, and some people have claimed that a family could buy groceries for $75 a week. After Ms. Parent pays her rent and bills, she does not even have $75 a month left for groceries.

She is not the only one in this situation, and it is only getting worse. I could have given a 20-minute speech, and I still would not have had enough time to say everything I wanted to say.

I will end on that note. Like many speakers today, I was happy that the government was willing to implement a housing strategy, but reality quickly set in. The government must put its money where its mouth is and take action now. I hope it will finally listen to reason and vote in favour of this motion.

Opposition Motion—HousingBusiness of SupplyGovernment Orders

10:30 a.m.

Québec Québec

Liberal

Jean-Yves Duclos LiberalMinister of Families

Mr. Speaker, I would like to begin by thanking my colleague from Hochelaga for all the work she has been doing for many years now to convince the Canadian government to resume an active role in housing, not just as a leader, but as a partner. I would like to personally congratulate her and encourage her to work even harder to ensure that the Canadian government's renewed involvement will have as big an impact as possible for Canadian families in the decade to come.

Is she aware that approximately one-third of the more than $40 billion in national housing strategy funding will have been invested between 2015 and 2019 and that the remaining two-thirds will be invested over the next eight years?

Opposition Motion—HousingBusiness of SupplyGovernment Orders

10:35 a.m.

NDP

Marjolaine Boutin-Sweet NDP Hochelaga, QC

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the minister's work and his kind words. I like working with him, and I know he listens to me when I go see him. I thank him for that.

However, I do not agree with everything he said. Take that $40 billion, for example. It is somewhat inflated.

The Minister of Finance tabled a budget, and that budget included a housing component, but it was actually for $11 billion over 11 years. A big chunk of that $40 billion will come from the provinces and other stakeholders, including some in the private sector.

What happens to the federal funding if a province cannot or will not spend money on housing? What happens to the federal funding in such cases? It just sits there and does not help anyone.

The first thing I want to point out is that it is not $40 billion; it is much less than that. That figure is overstated because it includes contributions from other partners. The second thing is that a big chunk of that budget is going to be spent during an election year, 2019, and half of the budget will not be released until after yet another election.

Opposition Motion—HousingBusiness of SupplyGovernment Orders

10:35 a.m.

Conservative

Harold Albrecht Conservative Kitchener—Conestoga, ON

Mr. Speaker, I have had the privilege of working with housing groups in the Waterloo region who are working hard to provide adequate housing and affordable housing for people. I had the privilege of serving on a committee with them. I certainly applaud the efforts of all these groups.

However, we are missing one big piece of the puzzle in today's motion. My colleagues are saying that people are losing jobs, and I agree with that. We need to look at what is causing this increased housing crisis. Why are people losing jobs? It is largely because of the mismanagement of the government on the economic principles that make our country strong. People are losing jobs because of uncertainty about NAFTA and because of the failure to build energy east and the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion. These are all causing huge job losses for Canadians. My question is this: Why is there not at least one word about the private sector and about the economy and the need for people to find meaningful jobs so they can afford to buy houses. There is nothing in here that allows a free market to bear a great part of the responsibility for housing, which it wants to do, if the economic principles were in place.