Madam Speaker, the Liberals' national housing strategy aims to create 150,000 to 160,000 units of new affordable housing over 10 years. As stated by Tim Richter from The Canadian Alliance to End Homelessness, the budget has “[l]ittle new dedicated affordable and supportive housing construction”. He goes on to say, “To have a fighting chance at ending homelessness and addressing housing need, Canada will need to build at least 300,000 new deep subsidy, permanently affordable and supportive housing units”.
The Liberal plan consistently falls well short of what housing advocates are calling for to address the housing crisis. The NDP wants to see a commitment of 500,000 units, and we will continue to push the federal government to increase investments for the construction of new social and non-profit housing. The NDP is also calling on the government to limit the ability of REITs and large capital funds to acquire properties and contribute to the financialization of the housing market. Given the ongoing housing crisis across the country, urgent action is needed now.