House of Commons Hansard #98 of the 44th Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was 2022.

Topics

Reuniting Families ActPrivate Members' Business

6:50 p.m.

Liberal

Jenica Atwin Liberal Fredericton, NB

Madam Speaker, it is great to see you back in the chair and to see all of my colleagues in this wonderful place. It is, of course, an honour to rise on behalf of the residents of Fredericton and to join our voice in this debate this evening.

I would like just to begin with my wish for this fall session on behalf of our colleagues here in this place. I hope for a session of collaboration, of collegiality and, dare I say, of kindness and compassion. I know that is what Canadians want to see from us on all issues, even difficult ones. Even on issues where we may disagree, there is a place for us to show our respect for one another. Really, Canadians want us to work together. I hope to see rhetoric toned down. I hope to see a little less polarization, understanding that our behaviours in this place are reflected in our communities.

This evening we are discussing Bill C-242, which is the reuniting families act. In Fredericton, inquiries regarding immigration, refugee status and visas are the highest number that we have as far as constituency files go. I would like to thank my incredible staff for the work that they do on behalf of our residents as well. It is difficult work and we hear a lot about the need for family reunification. None of us can imagine the difficulty of being separated from our loved ones for long periods of time, but it certainly continues to happen, and I am happy to see that there are measures being taken to address these long absences.

The super visa is extremely popular. Our government recognizes that having parents and grandparents being able to visit Canada for longer periods of time will bring substantial benefits for families living in Canada and, by extension, the Canadian economy as well.

After extensive consultation with caucus, stakeholders and experts, it was determined that the fundamental program changes sought in this bill would be in the best interests of Canadians and Canadian permanent residents. For this reason, in June the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship used his authority under ministerial instructions to make changes to the length of stay for a super visa holder and he committed to designate certain international medical insurance companies as authorized to provide coverage to super visa applicants. These changes will strengthen family reunification in Canada, which is, of course, a priority for our government.

What this shows is a demonstration of working together with opposition members on some of the issues that they also see in their constituencies. It also shows a willingness to listen to what Canadians and other members in the House are telling us, and the commitment to work together to solve these problems. It may not be exactly what we saw in the private member's bill. It shows kind of a tweaking of the message there, but our minister has been doing an excellent job of really responding to the high needs that we see in each constituency.

Again, it is an honour to rise. I did not realize I would be participating in tonight's debate, so I am happy to have my voice on the record. It is a complicated issue, but we have found the best pieces to work together on. I am sure there are still places we can improve, but the goal is to focus on family reunification and ensuring that those long absences do not add to the stress that those families are feeling and do not add to the mental health issues that we are seeing with those who are separated from loved ones for long periods of time. It is something that we are going to continue to work on, listening to Canadians and hoping to deliver.

Reuniting Families ActPrivate Members' Business

6:55 p.m.

Brampton East Ontario

Liberal

Maninder Sidhu LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs

Madam Speaker, I am rising for the first time after our summer break, so I would like to thank my constituents for a wonderful summer of meetings, Canada Day celebrations and really just reconnecting with constituents. It felt really good to be back out and about.

I also want to thank my constituency team, which worked really hard throughout the summer. We are talking about TRVs and immigration, and my case work team has been incredible. They have been there for families hoping to reunite.

We are also talking about the super visa program, which is extremely popular in my riding. We have a lot of first-generation immigrants who have family back home, whether that is in India or another region. When we talk about super visa programs, we talk about the changes the minister made back in June 2022 and how extremely important they were.

We heard from constituents who came back to us and said it is hard for their grandparents to travel back home every couple of years so they can come back again to the country. When we took this back to the minister, it was nice that he heard us out and made a change to the system so they would not have to go back and were able to stay for several years in this country.

It also helps families. We now have the child care program. Before we had this child care program, a lot of the families in my riding really relied on their grandparents and parents, who stayed home to take care of their children so they could participate in our economy, give back and learn from their careers.

When we talk about TRVs and family reunification, it is very important for our government. It is very promising that processing times are starting to come down as well, whether we are talking about spousal sponsorships, super visas or even TRVs for families to be together during very difficult times.

It is an honour for me to rise today to talk about the importance of the TRV process, the super visa process and the changes the minister made to insurance. Families can go to many different providers now, not just a few, to provide medical insurance so they can participate in the super visa program and have their grandparents and parents come to this country.

Going along with what my colleague said, we are very positive about the change by the minister back in June. It was well received by the community. Families know that they will be able to see their grandparents and parents here in this country for much longer than a few years and then come back.

Reuniting Families ActPrivate Members' Business

6:55 p.m.

Liberal

The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mrs. Alexandra Mendès) Liberal Alexandra Mendes

The time provided for the consideration of Private Members' Business has now expired and the order is dropped to the bottom of the order of precedence on the Order Paper.

A motion to adjourn the House under Standing Order 38 deemed to have been moved.

The EconomyAdjournment Proceedings

7 p.m.

Conservative

Stephanie Kusie Conservative Calgary Midnapore, AB

Madam Speaker, on April 26, I asked a question in the House. I said, “Mr. Speaker,” because it was a “mister” at that time, “inflation hit 6.7% last month”. I wish that had been the worst of it, but unfortunately it went to 8.1% in June.

I continued:

...a 31-year high and well above the Bank of Canada's predictions. Canadians are already struggling to pay their bills, fill up at the pump and put food on the table. Unfortunately, budget 2022 failed to provide any credible solutions, and with the extensive, unfocused spending, it is only going to get worse. The simple fact is that Canadians cannot afford this Liberal-NDP government.

When will the minister acknowledge this cost-of-living crisis we are living in and work on real solutions?

Five months later, I wish I could say things are better, but they are, in fact, worse. A story published today by CTV News indicates that nearly a quarter of Canadians are cutting back on food purchases amid high inflation, and that amid soaring prices at the grocery stores, a new survey has found that 23.6% of Canadians have had to cut back on the amount of food they are buying. This survey, as conducted by Dalhousie University's Agri-Food Analytics Lab in partnership with Caddle, was conducted between September 8 and September 10 and involved 5,000 Canadians from coast to coast.

Over the last year, 8.2% said they have had to change their diet to save money on food, and 7.1% said they had skipped meals because of the cost of groceries; 24% of Canadians are literally buying less food due to higher prices. Of that number, 70% are women, so it is highly likely that children are also impacted by what is going on with this high inflation. The survey also found that nearly three-quarters of consumers were changing their buying habits in order to snag better deals at the grocery store, and of the respondents, 33.7% said they were using more loyalty program points to pay for groceries in the last year.

In addition, 32.1% said they were reading flyers more often, and 23.9% said they were using more coupons at the grocery store.

The EconomyAdjournment Proceedings

7 p.m.

Liberal

The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mrs. Alexandra Mendès) Liberal Alexandra Mendes

I apologize to the hon. member, but I would like to ask the people who are in the outer courtyard to please lower the tone of their conversations. We can barely hear what is happening here in the chamber.

The hon. member for Calgary Midnapore.

The EconomyAdjournment Proceedings

7 p.m.

Conservative

Stephanie Kusie Conservative Calgary Midnapore, AB

Madam Speaker, today the job vacancies for the second quarter report came out for 2022, and the following was determined. Overall, average offered hourly wages increased 5.3% to $24.05 in the second quarter, yet the consumer price index increased by 7.5% in the second quarter. Simply put, wages are not keeping up with inflation. With the cost of food, bakery products increased by 13.6%, sugar and confectionary by 9.7%, fresh fruit by 11.7% and eggs by 15.8%.

I asked the government to find solutions for the economy, and five months later it is clear it has still failed.

The EconomyAdjournment Proceedings

7 p.m.

Burnaby North—Seymour B.C.

Liberal

Terry Beech LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance

Madam Speaker, I am very happy to be here to discuss this topic, and I thank the member opposite for raising it.

Canadians are seeing higher inflation rates and higher costs of living in Canada and, frankly, right around the world as the result of many factors, which include the war in Ukraine, global supply chain bottlenecks and global energy market uncertainty.

Despite these challenges, Canada's rate of inflation continues to be well below that of the G7, the United States and the OECD. I would like to remind my colleague across the aisle that our lower rate is in part due to the measures taken by our government, including in budget 2022, which put forward targeted measures to ensure that key expenses like housing, child care and dental care would be more affordable for more Canadians. Prior to that, we lowered taxes for the middle class on two occasions, tax decreases that the member and her party voted against.

While we could not foresee a global pandemic or a war in Europe, when it comes to the finances of our country, Canadians can rest assured that our net debt to GDP is the lowest in the G7 and we have improved our relative position over the course of the pandemic. Our government is fully aware that Canadians are feeling the effects of elevated inflation, particularly at the gas pumps and in grocery stores, but we also understand that inflation is a global phenomenon, driven in large part by the lasting impacts of a once-in-several-generations pandemic and, of course, Russia's illegal invasion of Ukraine.

While this is not a unique Canadian problem, we have a good plan to make life more affordable, especially for those Canadians who need it the most. Our affordability plan includes a suite of measures totalling $12.1 billion in new support for 2022. We have enhanced the Canada workers benefit, which now supports an estimated three million low-income workers. We have increased OAS for seniors 75 years and older by 10%, starting in July 2022.

By the end of this year, we will be cutting child care fees in half. That will deliver thousands of dollars for Canadian families while investing in their children and allowing more parents to get back to work. In addition, earlier today our government introduced legislation to implement new dental, housing and GST credit affordability measures that are also part of our affordability plan.

Now the new Conservative leader, and I congratulate him on his new position, said that today's announcement prints cash. That is a quote.

Let us be absolutely clear. These two pieces of legislation provide targeted relief for the middle-class Canadians who need it the most. He says this is inflationary spending. Multiple economists, including our former deputy parliamentary budget officer and the University of Calgary's Lindsay Tedds, have pointed out that these supports for Canadians are not inflationary.

The Conservative leader's solution to help with the cost of living is to make cuts to government programs without telling us what he would cut. He has also encouraged Canadians to invest in speculative assets. Sadly some Canadians listened to the Leader of the Opposition and have since lost their life savings as a result.

A more responsible approach to governance and more responsible approach to solving the affordability challenges of Canadians is required. Our government is continuing to focus on making life more affordable, and we are continuing to focus on making an economy that works for all Canadians.

The EconomyAdjournment Proceedings

7:05 p.m.

Conservative

Stephanie Kusie Conservative Calgary Midnapore, AB

Madam Speaker, I would point out that the affordability bill of 2022 has measures that are set to cost $4.5 billion. Of that $4.5 billion, $1.4 billion was previously announced in budget 2022. This bill actually adds another $3.5 billion on top of the $53-billion deficit projected in 2022.

A rent subsidy of $40 would not pay for a tank of gas, let alone help Canadians afford a more secure place to live. Every province in Canada with the exception of Manitoba has existing dental support programs for children. Conservatives are concerned about the duplication of programs interfering with provincial jurisdiction.

In summary, Conservatives are focused on fighting, not fuelling inflation, and are opposed to any new spending. I would encourage my colleague and his government that, for any new dollar in spending, it must be matched with a dollar in savings—

The EconomyAdjournment Proceedings

7:05 p.m.

Liberal

The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mrs. Alexandra Mendès) Liberal Alexandra Mendes

The hon. parliamentary secretary.

The EconomyAdjournment Proceedings

7:05 p.m.

Liberal

Terry Beech Liberal Burnaby North—Seymour, BC

Madam Speaker, that is not the first time a Conservative has risen in this House to say that we were spending too much and not enough in the same sentence.

By doubling the GST credit for six months, we would provide $2.5 billion in additional targeted support to the roughly 11 million individuals and families who need it the most. This includes about half of Canadian families with children and more than half of Canadian seniors. We are also creating the Canada dental benefit. I think we could both agree that it is important that kids can get their teeth fixed, and that there are affordability and economic benefits as well.

We are providing a new one-time top-up to the Canada housing benefit, which would deliver a $500 payment to 1.8 million struggling renters, effectively doubling the commitment we made in budget 2022. Our government is focused on providing real solutions to make life more affordable. I look forward to working with the member opposite to find more ways to work together to make life more affordable for Canadian families.

Government PoliciesAdjournment Proceedings

7:10 p.m.

Conservative

Garnett Genuis Conservative Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan, AB

Madam Speaker, it is a pleasure to be here tonight.

Objective International analysis shows that Canada faces democratic decline. Our democracy in Canada is not about to cease to exist, but it is weakening under pressure from the Prime Minister.

The International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance, or IDEA, in Stockholm is the global authority on democracy evaluation. Its data underlines that Canada's score on key variables has dropped precipitously since 2015 when the Liberal government took office. This is not just what Conservatives are saying. The Objective International monitor shows that the Liberal Prime Minister is bad for democracy.

According to IDEA, Canada's performance is particularly dropping as it relates to checks on government, which are the constraints on arbitrary executive power. On this metric, we are now lower than the United States and every single country in western Europe. It may be that we have always had a strong executive branch in Canada, but the Prime Minister is presiding over a dramatic increase in his own ability to exercise arbitrary power, regardless of the concerns raised by citizens and other institutions.

This data particularly shows that the weakening of Parliament and the capacity for Parliament to scrutinize government action is driving that democratic decline. The government increasingly sees Parliament as a rubber-stamp body instead of a meaningful check on government power and the beating heart of a genuinely deliberative democracy.

There are many specific events that underline this decline and the ability of Parliament and other institutions to constrain arbitrary executive power: the SNC-Lavalin scandal, where the Prime Minister's Office sought to influence then attorney general Jody Wilson-Raybould; the suspension of debate and committee study on key legislative items; the prolonged suspension of Parliament during the early phase of the COVID-19 pandemic; the refusal of the government to hand over documents ordered by parliamentary committees; and the use of the Emergencies Act by the government to freeze the bank accounts of citizens they disagreed with without due process. These are some of the examples that mark the clear expansion of the use of arbitrary executive power and, therefore, the weakening of democracy.

The key institutions that check government power in healthy democracies are Parliament, the media and the courts. The Liberal government is undermining Parliament through its abuses of process here and the NDP has been complicit along the way. Liberals are also undermining the independence of the media through public subsidy and through efforts of social media control. The media play a critical role in a free democracy, yet the government is trying to bring the media under its influence by introducing state subsidies for private media and proposing legislation to control social media algorithms. Needless to say, the government's efforts to co-opt and control the media are a much greater threat to democracy than simple media criticism.

Trust is being lost in our institutions precisely because, according to the international data, our institutions are losing their ability to constrain government and a particular executive action. The threat to democracy in Canada is from those who are causing this phenomenon, not from those who are pointing it out. Trust in our institutions is declining because our institutions themselves are weakening in their ability to check government power under increasing pressure from the growing arbitrary power of an undemocratic Prime Minister's Office.

The Liberals need to face up to the problems they are causing. We cannot solve the problems we are facing together if we do not have a functioning independent Parliament and free media that depends on viewers instead of on the state for its support.

Therefore, I ask these questions tonight: Is the government prepared to recognize the damage it has done in the last seven years? Is it prepared to change course and support the strengthening of Parliament, free media and Canadian democracy?

Government PoliciesAdjournment Proceedings

7:10 p.m.

Winnipeg North Manitoba

Liberal

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

Madam Speaker, I disagree entirely with the member's comments. With respect to that destructive force, he underestimates the part his own political party has played.

When he talks about institutions, one of the greatest institutions we have is Elections Canada, for example, and the way in which, in an apolitical fashion, it has attempted to engage Canadians in the democratic process. The Conservative Party undermined some of the issues dealing with Elections Canada in the sense of a fair election.

When the member talks about the institution of Parliament, he claims that the NDP and Liberals working together undermines a sense of accountability. The party inside the House where I see the most resistance to modernizing the House of Commons is the Conservative Party of Canada. There are many things we can do by changing our Standing Orders to enable additional accountability. However, the Conservative Party consistently does nothing to see the modernization of parliamentary rules.

During the pandemic, the member was critical because we had an extended period of time. What he does not make reference to is the opportunity we had to sit for the first time in a long time during the summer, in the month of July. During the time we sat, we had the opportunity for additional accountability, where members of the opposition were able to hold ministers to account, not just in one question and answer and then on to the next MP, but in a series of questions based on time, where we could see 10 second or one and a half minute questions.

There have been opportunities for us to ensure there is a higher sense of accountability inside the House of Commons, but the real challenge has been to get the Conservative Party to recognize that, to support our institutions and to look at ways in which we can reform the House of Commons and the chamber, whether here or at our standing committees, as opposed to being a destructive force. If they are genuinely concerned about the democratic decline, first and foremost they have to accept some of the responsibility for that.

As I was yesterday, I continue to be very much open to ways in which we can make this chamber more functional because, as I have argued in the past and will continue to argue, we should never take our democracy for granted here in Canada. There are things that we collectively, political partisanship aside, can do to ensure a higher sense of accountability.

The member has concerns with respect to the media, which is a fundamental pillar of democracy. He takes objection to some of the manner in which subsidies are handed out and has said that we should not subsidize. We are very much concerned about fake news and indirectly, not with a political arm, are ensuring that some of our community and rural newspapers, and even those in urban centres, are able to maintain and support a media, which is so—

Government PoliciesAdjournment Proceedings

7:15 p.m.

Liberal

The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mrs. Alexandra Mendès) Liberal Alexandra Mendes

The hon. member for Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan.

Government PoliciesAdjournment Proceedings

7:15 p.m.

Conservative

Garnett Genuis Conservative Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan, AB

Madam Speaker, respectfully, that was a particularly insubstantive response to some very serious and legitimate concerns.

What I said in my introductory comments was that international monitors have identified democratic decline, particularly around the ability of institutions to check the power of the executive, as being a key concern in Canada. The parliamentary secretary made no mention of the increasing power of the executive to exercise arbitrary power at the expense of key institutions like Parliament. He made no mention of specific issues.

He talked about how the government cancelled Parliament for a while, but had a Zoom call going on where ministers could be asked questions. That I think precisely demonstrates the problem. The government thought that cancelling Parliament and having Zoom-call questions was somehow a replacement for democracy.

Now he said the reason the government is subsidizing some media outlets is that it is concerned about fake news. This is a government that, like former president Trump, persistently calls those who disagree with it “fake news”. On the one hand, the Liberals say they want to address fake news through social media regulation, and on the other hand they accuse the opposition of fake news any time we disagree with them. This is the problem. This is the authoritarian tool kit the government is using. It is threatening our democracy.

The parliamentary secretary should take stock of the problems we face. He should take stock of what international independent monitors are saying, what the objective analysis is showing, which is that on the checks on government metric, that is on the ability of institutions to check the arbitrary power of government, Canada is in decline.

Government PoliciesAdjournment Proceedings

7:15 p.m.

Liberal

Kevin Lamoureux Liberal Winnipeg North, MB

Madam Speaker, the member is being very selective in what he is saying. Everything that I indicated in my four-minute response deals exactly with what the member is talking about. In good part, it demonstrates that the Conservatives, the official opposition, also have a role to play but choose to ignore that role.

The member referenced that we took a break. Well, when we took the first break of Parliament back in April 2020, every opposition party agreed to it. The member needs to be consistent. If he genuinely has concerns regarding democratic decline, then let us talk about ways we can improve it. Numerous members, including me, are genuinely interested in changing our Standing Orders and making this chamber more functional. By doing that, we will have more accountability.

Indigenous AffairsAdjournment Proceedings

7:20 p.m.

NDP

Jenny Kwan NDP Vancouver East, BC

Madam Speaker, on April 8, 2022, I rose to ask the government when it would invest in a “for indigenous, by indigenous” urban, rural and northern housing strategy, which it has promised since 2017 but has failed to deliver. After the NDP pushed for action, the Liberals proposed just $300 million to initiate a strategy over five years. This is hardly a drop in the bucket and is not good enough. We need a federal government response that meets the gravity of this national crisis.

The situation in my community is so dire that it literally keeps me up at night. People are dying and lives are at stake. On July 25, fire officials issued an order to immediately disperse an encampment of the unhoused, who are disproportionately represented by indigenous people seeking shelter and community together in tents along East Hastings Street, citing serious fire safety concerns. When these tents come down, there will be nowhere for people to go. Meanwhile, residents are being increasingly targeted by threats of violence and criminalized by authorities.

There are simply not enough safe and affordable homes for people to move into. There are currently more than 2,000 identified homeless individuals in the city, and this number is likely an undercounting. About 40% are indigenous, meaning that indigenous people are nearly 18 times more likely to be homeless in Vancouver compared with the rest of the population.

Unhoused people also face serious health concerns and challenges. Many have chronic substance use issues and physical or mental illness. Health needs cannot be met while surviving on the streets. At least 225 unhoused people have died in Vancouver over the last five years. This is the reality today in Canada, and the government needs to face this truth.

In August 2020, I joined the B.C. provincial government and the mayor of Vancouver to call on the government to urgently enter into a fifty-fifty cost-sharing agreement with the province to build more supportive housing and acquire new housing stock, yet the government did not even respond to this call. On August 3, 2022, I wrote to the minister again with an urgent call for action. Again there was no response.

On August 23, I wrote a letter, jointly with the Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs, to the minister. A month later, there was not even an acknowledgement that the minister received the letter. Instead of responding to the crisis, the minister is choosing to just ignore the plight of the unhoused. It is as though they do not exist, that their lives do not matter.

The NDP has been raising the alarm on the housing crisis for decades, but the government continues the pattern of previous Liberal and Conservative inaction. In fact, it was the Liberals under Paul Martin who cancelled the national housing strategy in 1993. Since that time, both the Liberals and the Conservatives have allowed displacements caused by real estate developers, renovictions, demovictions and the financialization of housing by landlords, REITs and private equity firms looking to maximize profits by driving up rents.

The housing and homelessness crisis is not inevitable. It is a failure of policy, resources and political will. Through immediate intervention, through action and through a human rights-based approach, it can be solved.

Therefore, I am asking this once again: Will the government commit today to adopting a human rights approach and adequately investing in a “for indigenous, by indigenous” urban, rural and northern housing strategy?

Indigenous AffairsAdjournment Proceedings

7:20 p.m.

Winnipeg North Manitoba

Liberal

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

Madam Speaker, in so many ways, the member is wrong. We have seen a government, under the leadership of the current Prime Minister, virtually from the very beginning back in 2015, that has taken a very progressive and aggressive attitude both in legislation and in the form of budgetary measures to support housing, in essence bringing forward a national housing strategy, billions of dollars overall.

It is having an impact. I would challenge the member to indicate what government in the last 50 or 60 years has invested more in housing in Canada. I will give some help to the member in terms of the answer: She will not find a government that has invested more than the current government has done over the last six years. We have made significant investments. Let me highlight a few when it comes to the important issue of indigenous people.

In collaboration with ISC and the CMHC, as of December 31, 2021, first nations have been able to support the construction, renovation and retrofitting of 25,102 homes on reserves, of which 17,432 have been completed. To support housing in Inuit and Métis communities, $980 million has been announced by our government since 2016. These investments have been provided to partners, and thousands of Inuit and Métis families are now living in new and renovated homes via strategies led by indigenous partners.

In the 2022 budget, we announced an additional $4 billion in funding for indigenous housing over seven years to accelerate work in closing indigenous housing gaps, including $2.4 billion over five years to support first nation housing on reserves, $845 million over seven years for housing in Inuit communities, $190 million over seven years for housing in Métis communities and $565 million over five years for housing in self-governing and modern treaty first nation communities.

Lastly, through the indigenous homes innovation initiative, we are supporting creative projects led by indigenous people to design and build more effective, sustainable and culturally inspired living spaces, some of which will specifically support indigenous women and girls from other vulnerable populations.

This government has committed and followed through on a wide spectrum of dealings in terms of Canada's housing crisis. I could easily spend the next 20 or 30 minutes just talking about some of those initiatives. We would have to go back many years, if in fact one could find a year, to find a government that has invested more in housing. If one does a comparison with the NDP platform back in 2015, we have out-measured and outdone that platform by a country mile.

This is a government that understands the value of housing to Canadians from coast to coast to coast and continues to work with indigenous leadership to ensure that wherever the federal government can play a role, it is, in fact, playing a role. We understand the importance of reconciliation and the way in which housing plays a critical role in it.

Indigenous AffairsAdjournment Proceedings

7:25 p.m.

NDP

Jenny Kwan NDP Vancouver East, BC

Madam Speaker, I do not know what rock this member has been living under. The truth of the matter is this: It was the Liberals who cancelled the national affordable housing program back in 1993. The NDP called for the government to build 500,000 units of true affordable housing to meet that need, a gap that the Liberals created when they cancelled the national affordable housing program.

The member can talk all he wants. All he has to do is open his eyes. I invite him and the minister and the Prime Minister to come to Vancouver East and see for themselves the people who are unhoused in our community today, who are dying today, who are being criminalized today, and for him to say those words to their faces, that somehow their lives do not matter and that the Liberals are doing all that needs to be done to address the housing crisis.

Shame on the member. He has not paid any attention to the truth nor faced the truth.

Indigenous AffairsAdjournment Proceedings

7:25 p.m.

Liberal

Kevin Lamoureux Liberal Winnipeg North, MB

Madam Speaker, shame on that member. The member can come over to Winnipeg and I can tell her that after 15 years of New Democratic rule, and it is the provinces that play a critical role in housing development, the provincial NDP failed the citizens of Manitoba. They completely failed.

Take a look and take a drive in Winnipeg Centre or Winnipeg North. Members will see the severity of the housing crisis, where we have indigenous people and others living in bus shelters because the NDP, for 15 years, failed to address the issue of housing. That is the reality of it.

If we want to deal with the housing crisis, we need to work with the different levels of government and indigenous people. That is something that this government has been doing since 2015-16 under the leadership of the Prime Minister. We do not need to be lectured by the New Democrats when it comes to housing. The member can talk about 1993 and other years. As I indicated, show me a year when we have seen this much investment and support for housing in Canada.

Indigenous AffairsAdjournment Proceedings

7:30 p.m.

Liberal

The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mrs. Alexandra Mendès) Liberal Alexandra Mendes

The motion to adjourn the House is now deemed to have been adopted. Accordingly, the House stands adjourned until tomorrow at 2 p.m., pursuant to Standing Order 24(1).

(The House adjourned at 7:31 p.m.)