Debates of Nov. 30th, 2021

International Trade

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, the softwood lumber duties are unjustified and are hurting workers and businesses on both sides of the border. The Minister for International Trade has raised this issue with the U.S.

We will always vigorously defend our softwood lumber industry and its workers, just as we were able to defend our steel industry and our aluminum workers when the U.S. was going to slap punitive tariffs on that sector. We will always be there to defend the interests of Canadians and to advance our economic interests.

Housing

[Jagmeet Singh, NDP, Burnaby South, BC]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians are facing a housing crisis that is striking hard at all Canadians across the country. It is so difficult for anyone to find a home within their budget. The former governor of the Bank of Canada has stated really clearly that the federal government has a role in tackling this housing crisis. We agree. The federal government needs to tackle the pressures driving up the cost of housing, the speculation, and address the supply side of the issue by building more homes that people can actually afford.

People are desperately in need of help. Why is the Prime Minister not responding to this crisis with the urgency necessary?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, on the contrary, as outlined in the Speech from the Throne, housing is a major priority for this government. We will deliver with programs such as the housing accelerator fund, which will help municipalities build more and better, faster.

Whether it is building more units per year or increasing affordable housing, we will work with partners to get real results for Canadian families. We will also help families buy their first home sooner with a more flexible first-time home buyer incentive, a new rent-to-own program, and a reduction in the closing costs for first-time buyers. We will respond to this housing crisis in ways that support Canadians.

[Jagmeet Singh, NDP, Burnaby South, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the housing crisis is hitting us hard. People cannot find affordable housing.

The former governor of the Bank of Canada clearly stated that the federal government has a role to play in tackling this problem, and we agree. The federal government needs to tackle the pressures driving up the cost of housing and build more affordable housing and social housing.

People are desperate. Why is the Prime Minister not taking the urgent action needed to solve this problem?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, on the contrary, as outlined in the Speech from the Throne, housing is a major priority for our government.

We will deliver with programs like the housing accelerator fund, which will help municipalities build more, better and faster. Whether it is building more units per year or increasing affordable housing, we will work with our partners to get real results for Canadian families.

I encourage all members of the House to work with us to address the housing crisis with targeted investments for Canadians.

[Laila Goodridge, Conservative, Fort McMurray—Cold Lake, AB]

Mr. Speaker, housing prices have increased by 22% in Canada since this minister was appointed to the finance portfolio. This is not due solely to the pandemic or supply chain issues, because land prices continue to rise.

Why will this government not recognize that it is just inflation?

[Chrystia Freeland, Liberal, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, in the election campaign, the Conservatives put forward a housing plan that would have made homes more expensive for Canadians.

Let us review their proposal. They proposed a tax cut for selling rental properties that would have encouraged speculation and created a financial incentive for wealthy Canadians to turn houses into investment vehicles rather than places to live.

We on this side of the House have a clear plan.

[Laila Goodridge, Conservative, Fort McMurray—Cold Lake, AB]

Mr. Speaker, here is the problem: Land does not have supply chains. It is already underneath our feet, yet land prices have inflated 20% during a year, driving housing inflation.

Other countries had COVID disruptions, yet according to Bloomberg, Canada has the second-worst housing bubble. Toronto and Vancouver are more unaffordable than almost every city on earth. Why does Canada have the second-worst housing bubble in the world? Is it just inflation?

[Chrystia Freeland, Liberal, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, in the election campaign, the Conservatives put forward a housing plan that would have made homes more expensive for Canadians. They proposed a tax giveaway for selling rental properties, which would have encouraged speculation and created a financial incentive for wealthy Canadians to turn houses into investment vehicles rather than places to live.

Politicians in glass houses should not throw stones.

[Laila Goodridge, Conservative, Fort McMurray—Cold Lake, AB]

Mr. Speaker, here is the challenge, if the only answer is government subsidies and assistance, then the government is further distorting the market, which means for every family it helps, it is pushing house prices out of reach for another family. The Liberals are spending all kinds of money to make housing more expensive for taxpayers and home buyers.

Why does Canada, with among the most abundant supply of land in the entire world, have the second-worst housing bubble in the world? Is it just inflation?

[Ahmed Hussen, Liberal, Minister of Housing and Diversity and Inclusion]

Mr. Speaker, here are the facts: In our six years of being in government, we have spent $4.5 billion a year to build more housing in this country for Canadians. The Conservative record is $250 million a year. Those are the facts—

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

I want to hear the answer because it was a good question. Maybe the minister could start over, right from the beginning. This way we will be able to hear it.

[Ahmed Hussen, Liberal, York South—Weston, ON]

Mr. Speaker, in our six years in office, for every year that we have been in power, we have spent $4.5 billion investing and providing more housing for Canadians. What is the Conservative record? It is $250 million a year.

Second, when we brought in the Canada housing benefit to put money directly into the pockets of Canadians so they could pay their rent, Conservatives voted against it. When we brought in help for co-ops, the best form of housing for middle-class Canadians, they voted against it. When we put forward rapid housing initiatives for cities to build permanent housing solutions for the most vulnerable, they voted against it.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Carleton, ON]

Mr. Speaker, let us get this straight. When Conservatives were in power, according to him, we spent $250 million on housing, and the average house cost Canadians $450,000. With Liberals now in power, they are spending 27 billion tax dollars, and the average house costs $720,000. Housing is now not just more expensive for taxpayers, it is more expensive for home buyers. Failing is bad. Failing expensively is even worse.

Why do we have the second biggest housing bubble in the world?

[Ahmed Hussen, Liberal, Minister of Housing and Diversity and Inclusion]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians can see through that partisan rhetoric. The fact is that Conservatives invested zero dollars in co-ops, and they unloaded housing costs to municipalities and provinces. The reason we have a housing crisis is because they had no leadership in housing for their time in office.

Here are some more facts: We brought in federal leadership in housing. We introduced the national housing strategy. We are working more than ever before with municipalities, and we are bringing in a first-time home buyer incentive to make sure we are turning Canadians into home buyers.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Carleton, ON]

Mr. Speaker, he seems to be bragging that he is the most expensive housing minister in Canadian history. Not only are Canadians spending more when they buy a house, now they have to pay more on their taxes for the failed programs that this minister and the government put in place to inflate the housing bubble to begin with. Canada has the second biggest housing bubble in the world, behind a tiny island in the South Pacific called New Zealand. Every other country has less housing inflation.

What is causing this massive bubble? Is it just inflation?

[Chrystia Freeland, Liberal, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, since the member for Carleton has referred to inflation, let us do a little fact checking of what we heard in the House earlier today. The member for Louis-Saint-Laurent referred to Germany having higher inflation than Canada. I would urge the hon. members to check their facts before they come into this House because this morning Germany reported 6% inflation. The eurozone this morning reported 4.9% inflation.

Even the Leader of the Opposition has admitted he understands that inflation is a global phenomenon. I wish other members of his party would listen to him sometimes.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Carleton, ON]

Mr. Speaker, maybe the Prime Minister will listen to the Deputy Prime Minister's book, and in that book she could explain how she has managed to create the second biggest housing bubble in the world. In fact, Vancouver has the second highest home prices on earth. Toronto is number five. They are more expensive than Manhattan; San Francisco; London, England; and other places with far less land, far more people and far more money. This is housing inflation that has resulted since the government unleashed a torrent of money printing.

Will the finance minister finally tell us what is causing this housing bubble? Is it just inflation?

[Chrystia Freeland, Liberal, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, if the Conservatives really disagree with Stephen Poloz, appointed by Stephen Harper as governor of the Bank of Canada, and they really believe that COVID was the time for austerity, then it is time for them to come clean with Canadians and talk about what they would have cut.

Would they have cut the CERB, which supported nine million Canadians who lost their jobs? Would they have cut the wage subsidy, which supported 450,000 employers and kept 5.3 million hard-working people on the payroll? Would they have cut CEBA, which supported nearly 900,000 businesses? Canadians need to know.

Natural Resources

[Monique Pauzé, Bloc, Repentigny, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the fossil fuel industry plans to drill 1,363 new wells in 2022. Most of them will be for oil. However, Canada is fully supplied; there is no demand for more oil. Clearly, that oil must be intended for export, and a pipeline will be needed to reach global markets. However, the only new export pipeline project is Trans Mountain, which is owned by the government.

In the midst of a climate emergency, will the minister denounce the increase in oil production and confirm that his government will not promote it through its pipeline?

[Jonathan Wilkinson, Liberal, Minister of Natural Resources]

Mr. Speaker, as everyone knows, a global effort is under way to stop climate change, including greenhouse gas emissions. As Her Excellency the Governor General mentioned in the Speech from the Throne, our government will cap emissions from the energy sector in a way that will protect both jobs and the environment. We are committed to capping and reducing emissions in the energy sector by 2050, and the entire country will, of course, be carbon neutral.

[Monique Pauzé, Bloc, Repentigny, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the government is defending the indefensible. I want to continue talking about Trans Mountain. The flooding in British Columbia unearthed entire sections of the pipeline and exposed them to debris. Trans Mountain is now at an increased risk of spills because of climate change. The project is doubly harmful. On the one hand, it is accelerating climate change and, on the other hand, climate change is increasing the risk of spills. It is a lose-lose situation for the environment.

How can the minister support an increase in dirty oil exports through his pipeline that is doubly harmful?

[Jonathan Wilkinson, Liberal, Minister of Natural Resources]

Mr. Speaker, the government is working with the industry, including Trans Mountain, to decarbonize the energy sector and cap emissions while still remaining competitive and maintaining energy security, affordability and market access. The Trans Mountain expansion allows us to use the resources we have now and the revenue they have generated to fund tomorrow's green energy solutions. We must work together with all Canadians and all regions across the country.

Canada-U.S. Relations

[Rick Perkins, Conservative, South Shore—St. Margarets, NS]

Mr. Speaker, historically, Nova Scotia has been excluded from softwood lumber duties and tariffs imposed by the U.S. because any exemption earned in litigation is carried forward to future agreements. These exemptions have always been defended by Canada, until now. Nova Scotia has not received a firm commitment from the government that this exemption will be preserved.

Will the government commit to Nova Scotia's lumber workers that this exemption will be defended?