Madam Speaker, I appreciate what the government is doing, but I believe that we need to be doing more. We need national standards to protect tenants with rent and vacancy controls. This should be tied to federal transfers to the provinces. Affordable housing created through the rental construction financing initiative should be protected with covenants so that it remains affordable. Foreign investments in residential real estate need to be heavily regulated or banned. The tax exemption for real estate investment trusts should be abolished and replaced with incentives to protect affordable rental housing.
Finally, I would challenge my hon. colleague to browse through some Canadian real estate listings and count how many times the words “investor alert” are applied to affordable properties. Canadians who are trying to buy affordable homes are competing directly with investors. This needs to end.