Debates of April 18th, 2023

Financial Statement of Minister of Finance

[Julie Dabrusin, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Natural Resources and to the Minister of Environment and Climate Change]

Madam Speaker, I am really happy to be able to stand today and talk about how this new budget we tabled is a building block on everything that we have been doing since 2015. It is in response to so many of the issues that I have been hearing about from people in my community.

I would particularly like to focus on the work that we have been doing to support young families and people with low incomes, and our work on fighting climate change and building a strong, clean economy with jobs for the future.

We have been doing all of this work, I should add, in a time of tremendous disruption since 2015. When we think about it, we had to renegotiate CUSMA. That was something so strong and important for our economy as a whole.

After that, on another very important issue for an MP from Ontario to highlight, we made sure those automobiles and the parts here in our country were included as part of the Inflation Reduction Act in the United States.

We can talk about other issues that have been in the background as we are working through these building blocks to support Canadians. There has been a pandemic. We do not like to talk about it that much because that was a very tough period of time for our country.

Through it, our government was there to support Canadians and small businesses, and that was a lot of work that happened as we were trying to build and move these big building blocks forward. To say one nice piece after all of that, it is really nice to highlight the economy. The growth in our economy has been one of the highest in the G7 since the pandemic.

We have record-high labour involvement of women in our economy. That is partly due to the child care agreements we struck and I am going to be talking a bit more about that.

There is a final piece to highlight to show that we are doing hard work sometimes in a place where it is not always easy. The invasion of Ukraine by Russia has been disruptive to global supply chains and it has been a big change for our country as a whole and the world economy. Through all of those disruptions, we have been there to support Canadians.

Let me focus first on young families. I have to say one of the biggest disappointments for me when Stephen Harper's government formed was that the first thing he did was to scrap child care agreements right across our country. We were there.

I had young children at that time. It would have been so helpful to have had affordable child care, and yet that was scrapped. In its place was a system that sent the same payment to everyone regardless of what their income was. There were no new child care spots; there was no affordable child care and no quality child care being provided.

That is why, for me, one of the proudest pieces of this budget, and all the budgets before working as building blocks in supporting young families, is that we put in place the child care agreement.

In Ontario, in my home community of Toronto, people already have seen a 50% drop in child care fees. That is thousands of dollars kept in people's pockets. We are not only doing that, but we are going to $10-a-day day care. That is already available in some of the provinces and territories. That will make such a change on affordability for young families.

Let us also talk about what some of the first things were that we did back in 2015 when we formed government. On the Canada child benefit, I mentioned the $100 cheques; the same amount was sent to everyone regardless of what one's income was. We changed that.

Not only did we put in place child care agreements with $10-a-day child care across the country, but we also helped to create essentially guaranteed income for children by making sure that instead of sending the same amount to everyone, we provided support for children who had the greatest needs. It is a means-tested system.

According to Statistics Canada, the child poverty rates are now less than half the levels they were in 2015. That is an amazing change. That is supporting our future generation, supporting children and I think it is something that really needs to be highlighted.

The next step was dental benefits and supporting children under the age of 12 by giving them access to dental benefits. That was put in place last year. This budget goes one step further. We are making sure that dental benefits would extend to all Canadians. It would be in stages, but we would be at a point where we would have that.

When we think about where a young family was before we formed government in 2015 and where we are now, with child care agreements, with the Canada child benefit and with the dental benefits, those are a lot of important changes, and that is something I see and hear about when I talk with people in our communities.

I talk about young families a lot, but it was not just about young families; it has also been a priority of mine to make sure we are supporting people who have lower incomes and are in greater need right across the community. The dental benefit, as I mentioned, would expand to cover not just children, but the entire community, with eligibility rules on income and whether people have insurance, but that would be a big piece. We doubled the GST support during the pandemic, we did it again to address inflation, and now we have a grocery rebate. Once again, that would help people with affordability issues. We are there to continue to provide these supports.

Let us talk about housing. Just last week in my community I was at a WoodGreen location at Bowden. We are creating, through the rapid housing initiative, 50 units to support seniors who are at risk of experiencing homelessness or who are experiencing homelessness right now. This is in addition to, right nearby in my community at Cedarvale, another 60 units with the same profile, all with supportive services to help these seniors age in place in their new homes. In fact, rapid housing has created over 1,000 new homes for people who are experiencing homelessness or are at risk of experiencing homelessness in Toronto.

The rapid housing initiative is bringing big changes to our communities. The objective is to create new units of permanent affordable housing for vulnerable people. We can create this housing and include wraparound services with the help of our partners from the non-profit sector. That is very important for our communities.

That was about the rapid housing piece, but with a co-investment in my own community, we also saw affordable housing being built for seniors down at Gerrard and Leslie, and that created lower-rent affordable accommodations for people. I hear from people that they want to see these positive changes, and they are happening. I am actually seeing them being built in our community.

Those are a few of the pieces on affordability. I know I only have a couple more minutes, but I do not want to leave without talking about environment and climate change, because that is such a central piece of what is raised by people in my community.

This is also about creating jobs and a strong economy, and one thing I am very excited about is that just last week, the GHG inventory was submitted for the UN. We had that and it was made public. The numbers for 2021 for our GHGs show that we actually stayed below prepandemic levels in 2021. It is an amazing movement to be able to see, that we are actually showing a drop in our GHG emissions. The largest driver of that was moving off coal-fired electricity, so that is a really strong thing. Someone from Ontario would remember that we used to have 55 smog days a year. Now, there are no smog days, and that is because we moved off coal-fired electricity to clean electricity.

We have one of the cleanest electrical grids in the world. What the budget would do through important clean electricity investment tax credits is help support the development a strong, clean electricity grid from coast to coast to coast in our country. That would help to attract investment from industry that is looking for places to build their businesses and their manufacturing where there is clean electricity. It would also mean cleaner air for Canadians, and it would mean we would be well supported as we make that transition.

To the tax credit I mentioned, added in were investments on research, development, demonstration and deployment of new technologies. Like I said, we are talking about clean air, fighting and reducing our GHG emissions, and creating clean jobs for the future while attracting investment.

It is a very exciting time for our economy. It is a very exciting time for Canada as we move forward.

[John Brassard, Conservative, Barrie—Innisfil, ON]

Madam Speaker, listening to the hon. member's speech, one would think Canadians, and particularly Torontonians, have never had it so good. In fact, prior to the pandemic, of the 128 food bank networks across the greater Toronto area, 65,000 people were using the food bank. This March, 275,000 people used the food bank. Across Canada, 1.5 million people are using food banks.

Does the hon. member not take any responsibility for government policy creating this mess in terms of the debt, the deficits and the increased inflation, all the things that have contributed to this food bank usage?

[Julie Dabrusin, Liberal, Toronto—Danforth, ON]

Madam Speaker, what I am saying, and what I would be very strong in saying, is that I know there have been difficult times for many people in my community and my home city. I would experience that much more than someone who is from outside the community, as far as having those conversations with people and seeing it.

What I do think is most important is to be providing income supports like the Canada child benefit, like increasing the GIS and making sure we have the wraparound services for Canadians. That is what we are doing.

What the member opposite is pointing to are many global issues, and I addressed that right at the beginning when I spoke about it. We have been in a time of many disruptions and many challenges, but through that and continuing, we will always have the backs of Canadians. I am always there to listen to my community members about how we can do better to support them.

[Julie Vignola, Bloc, Beauport—Limoilou, QC]

Madam Speaker, my colleague mentioned affordable housing, specifically for seniors.

Knowing that a $2,250 unit is considered affordable because it includes a 10% discount on the actual cost of rent, but that the pension for seniors aged 65 to 74 is less than $700 per month, can my colleague explain how these units are affordable? I also wonder how she can justify the government's refusal to increase the pension for seniors aged 65 to 74, as it did for seniors aged 75 and over.

[Julie Dabrusin, Liberal, Toronto—Danforth, ON]

Madam Speaker, I mentioned seniors because I am very happy to see affordable housing being built in my community in Toronto. It is more than just affordable housing. It is housing for the most vulnerable seniors and for people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness. It is housing to help seniors who need it most.

However, that is not all. I also talked about dental care and support through the guaranteed income supplement. There are many ways to help seniors. Seniors are so important, and we must always support them.

[Niki Ashton, NDP, Churchill—Keewatinook Aski, MB]

Madam Speaker, I wanted to acknowledge the member talked about people who are struggling right now. There are many communities here in our region, particularly indigenous communities, for which the cost-of-living crisis has become even worse.

One of the biggest challenges indigenous communities in our region face is the housing crisis. The Liberals, unfortunately, in this budget, while they heard our advocacy on the importance of investments in indigenous housing, pushed the bulk of the funding committed past the possible next election. This is a very cynical move that delays the urgent funding indigenous communities need when it comes to housing.

Does this member acknowledge the housing crisis on first nations and indigenous communities and does she agree it needs to be dealt with urgently with significant federal funds?

[Julie Dabrusin, Liberal, Toronto—Danforth, ON]

Madam Speaker, I agree not only that it is urgent and important, but also that it must addressed. I will point out I talked about rapid housing and the rapid housing initiative in my own community because it can be different with people who are indigenous who are living in urban areas and what the needs may be. I am glad to see some of the rapid housing funding has gone to build housing specifically for indigenous people who are experiencing homelessness or who may be at risk of experiencing homelessness, but I 100% agree it would be one of my priorities to continue working for more to support indigenous housing.

[Doug Shipley, Conservative, Barrie—Springwater—Oro-Medonte, ON]

Madam Speaker, I am proud to rise in the House today and add the voices of the people of Barrie-Springwater-Oro-Medonte to today’s debate.

Residents in my riding, in places such as Midhurst, Elmvale, Minesing, Shanty Bay, and Moonstone, all beautiful little communities, know very well that Canadians are getting less and paying more. They are struggling to pay rent, feed their families and heat their homes.

Before I discuss my concerns with the specifics of this budget and the concerns I am hearing from residents in my community, I want to take a moment to reflect on how we got into this cost of living crisis and how it is affecting Canadians today.

During the pandemic, the Liberals used historically low interest rates to justify record spending and record deficits. The Prime Minister then stated he was not worried about the cost to service Canada’s increasing debt, because rates were very low. The Governor of the Bank of Canada stated that borrowing rates “are very low and they’re going to be there for a long time.” He went on to assure Canadians, “If you’ve got a mortgage or if you’re considering to make a major purchase, or you’re a business and you’re considering making an investment, you can be confident rates will be low for a long time.”

Thousands of Canadians locked in their mortgages at a variable rate, believing that when the government and the Bank of Canada said rates would be low for a long time, they meant it. Fast-forward to today, and we have seen the Bank of Canada raise its policy interest rate eight times to 4.5% in less than a year. Families that bought typical homes five years ago, with typical mortgages that are now up for renewal, will pay an additional $7,000 per year. This is thanks to the Liberal government’s inflationary spending.

How has this government responded to the crisis it has created? In this year’s budget presentation, it responded by recklessly adding $4,300 in new spending and debt for every household in Canada. It is driving up inflation, raising taxes and harming Canadians.

Last year, the finance minister stood up in the House and stated that the debt-to-GDP ratio was her government’s “fiscal anchor”. She promised that our debt-to-GDP ratio would decline and that our deficits would be reduced. We see plainly now that promise to Canadians has not been kept. In fact, our debt-to-GDP ratio will increase from 42.4% this fiscal year to 43.5% in 2023-24.

Furthermore, the cost to service Canada’s debt is up. This year, the government will spend almost $44 billion to service our debt, which is double the cost from the last fiscal year at $24.5 billion. The more this government spends to service our debt, the less money it can spend on programs that help Canadians. To put this number in perspective, the defence department’s budget is currently $27 billion, and this year’s budget includes just over $30 million of new defence spending over the next five years, at a time when our country is under pressure from our allies to increase spending.

Leading up to the tabling of this year’s budget, Conservatives had three clear demands in order to lend our support to the government’s fiscal plan: lower taxes for workers, an end to the inflationary deficits that are driving up the cost of goods, and the removal of red tape that prevents homes from being built for Canadians.

We were hopeful the government would listen to Canadians and move into an era of fiscal prudence. However, the Liberals have presented us with yet another irresponsible deficit and they plan to keep us there until at least 2028. The assertion from this government that it is showing any fiscal restraint is demonstrably false.

I would like to take some time to point out what is missing from this document, namely that the budget fails to deliver any measures that would meaningfully address the rising costs of housing, groceries, and home heating. It fails Canadians who desperately need a break.

First, one of the top concerns for residents in my community is housing affordability. Make no mistake; we are in a housing crisis. Since this government came into power, rents have skyrocketed. In 2015, the average rent for a one-bedroom apartment was $973 a month. As of last month, in my riding, a one-bedroom apartment costs almost $2,000 a month to rent, on average.

Under this government, Canada has the fewest homes per capita in the G7. A recent report by RBC found that we need over 300,000 new rental units in the next three years to restore normal vacancy rates. Canadians need bold leadership in this sector. Amid sky-high housing prices and increased immigration numbers, we need to do everything we can to increase housing supply.

Home ownership is completely out of reach for most Canadians. A recent survey found that nine out of 10 young Canadians who do not own a home think they never will. On average, those who do have a mortgage are spending 62% of their income on monthly payments on the average house.

While the government's previously announced first home savings account offers Canadians the opportunity to save $40,000 for their first home, the Liberals have failed to acknowledge that most Canadians will be unable to put money into the account. Thanks to the government’s inflationary spending and taxes, young and new Canadians are spending most of their hard-earned paycheques on rent and groceries, with nothing left over to save.

The housing crisis is policy and leadership failure from the federal government. It has had eight years to address this issue. Unfortunately, this budget offers no new support for Canadians who feel that their dream of home ownership is farther and farther out of reach.

I will go on to an issue that is directly affecting families in my community, which is the rising cost of groceries. The high cost of groceries is exacerbating food insecurity, and many Canadians are turning to food banks to make ends meet. It is heartbreaking to see how many families are using food banks in my riding and across Canada. In March 2022, there were nearly 1.5 million visits to food banks in Canada. That is a 35% increase from 2020 and a 15% increase from 2021. One-third of those food bank clients are children.

Locally, the Barrie Food Bank is supporting close to 4,000 individuals every month, including 1,300 children. It has seen the number of families with children accessing the food bank rise by 56%. Sharon Palmer, the executive director of the Barrie Food Bank, which serves residents in my riding, told a local newspaper that she is seeing residents who have historically donated to the food bank now using it to feed their own families.

Despite the government’s inaction, Canadians are finding innovative ways to attempt to tackle this issue and help their neighbours who are struggling during this cost of living crisis. For example, Leah Dyck, a resident in my riding, launched a community initiative called Fresh Food Weekly to tackle rising food insecurity in our community. Fresh Food Weekly partners with local farmers and businesses to deliver fresh meal boxes to community members in need.

Canadians simply cannot afford 10% yearly food inflation. To address this issue, the government has touted an increased GST credit as a grocery rebate. The grocery rebate will give a one-time $467 payment to a family of four. To put that number in perspective, it amounts to roughly $39 a month. Canada’s Food Price Report 2023 predicts a family of four will spend up to $16,000 on food this year, or over $1,300 a month, which is $1,261 more than the rebate they will receive. We know that this top-up does not actually address the food insecurity Canadians are facing.

The fact that this year’s budget has no financial commitments to food security initiatives is unacceptable at a time when six million Canadians, including 1.4 million children, are food-insecure. I urge the government to act swiftly to address this issue.

Finally, I have received countless calls, emails and letters from residents in my riding who are concerned about the inflationary pressures they are facing.

One area in which families and businesses are feeling the pinch the most is the government’s costly carbon tax. On April 1, the Liberal carbon tax increased to $65 a tonne, increasing the price of gasoline, home heating and other fuels. This tax disproportionately affects our agricultural sector. Canada’s Food Price Report 2023 found that, by 2030, a typical 5,000-acre farm could see taxes of over $150,000 a year, which will definitely hinder an owner's ability to make a profit. The report also notes that these added costs will trickle all the way down the supply chain to consumers as producers struggle to make a profit. I am proud to represent a riding that includes a strong and vibrant agricultural sector. This year’s increase and the government’s plan to eventually triple the carbon tax by 2030 are simply too high a price for farmers in my riding and across Canada to pay.

Conservatives have proposed a real plan to remove the carbon tax from natural gas and propane used on farms, through Bill C-234. This legislation would save farmers tens of millions of dollars on upfront costs when it comes to the use of natural gas and propane for necessary practices. Unfortunately, when presented with a proposal to make life more affordable for our hard-working Canadian farmers, the Liberal caucus voted against it.

Despite the Liberal government’s claims that Canadians will be better off with a carbon tax, the Parliamentary Budget Officer has found that most households will see a net loss when the broader economic impacts of the carbon tax are considered. The Parliamentary Budget Officer found that the carbon tax will cost the average family between $402 and $847 in 2023, even after rebates.

Let me be very clear: The carbon tax is not a climate plan. It is a tax plan that places an undue burden on families, small businesses and farmers. Meanwhile, the Liberal government has failed to meet a single, solitary emissions target after eight years in power.

Canadians deserve better. They deserve a government that can bring home powerful paycheques, lower their taxes, and build more homes. Only a Conservative government can provide the relief that Canadians so desperately need.

[Lloyd Longfield, Liberal, Guelph, ON]

Madam Speaker, the member mentioned the interest rates being applied by the federal government. Interest rates are applied by the Bank of Canada, and the federal government responds through policies and programs like those we have in budget 2023, which are targeting the vulnerable people affected by interest rates. In fact, this morning, we had great news that our inflation rate is down to 4.3%, which is down from 8.1% last June. Even more impressive was that gasoline prices have actually fallen, year over year, for the second consecutive month.

Could the member tell the House how targeting programs working with the Bank of Canada to get inflation under control is precisely what this budget is doing?

[Doug Shipley, Conservative, Barrie—Springwater—Oro-Medonte, ON]

Madam Speaker, the biggest concern is, quite frankly, that people listened to and believed the Prime Minister when he stood in front of the country and said that inflation rates would remain low for a very long time. He should be someone Canadians can look up to, believe and respect. Obviously, in this case it did not happen and rates have gone up drastically.

People are now struggling. In my community, they have locked in on those rates. I personally spoke with a bank manager who said there are many families right now on the verge of losing their homes because they did not think rates would go up that much. People were told by the Prime Minister to hang in and lock in, and that rates would remain low. They did not, and Canadians are struggling.

[Julie Vignola, Bloc, Beauport—Limoilou, QC]

Madam Speaker, I think we can agree that the budget is not all bad. There are some good intentions in there.

That said, as my colleague mentioned, there are also things missing. I would like his opinion on one thing that I noted was missing, and that is respect for the jurisdictions of Quebec and the Canadian provinces, as defined by the Constitution.

I would like my colleague to tell us more about this lack of respect for the Constitution in current budgets.

[Doug Shipley, Conservative, Barrie—Springwater—Oro-Medonte, ON]

Madam Speaker, I do not know how much of that is in the budget, but I think there should definitely always be respect among the federal government, the provincial governments and all municipal governments. Sometimes, what is lacking in politics these days is respect among all politicians. I agree with the member opposite that we should all be respecting each other and our boundaries and should be working together to get things done for Canadians.

[Lisa Marie Barron, NDP, Nanaimo—Ladysmith, BC]

Madam Speaker, I most definitely agree with the member's comments about us working together to get things done for people.

The member mentioned in his speech the many Canadians who desperately need a break, and I would ask if he could speak to the implementation of a windfall tax on those who are earning excess profits at a time when many are struggling the most.

I heard about those struggling to purchase groceries in the grocery store. Does the member feel there are benefits to our taxing those who are earning profits off the backs of those who are struggling in the grocery stores? We could then use that money toward, as just one example, those living with disabilities, who are struggling now more than ever.

Could I get the member's thoughts on this issue?

[Doug Shipley, Conservative, Barrie—Springwater—Oro-Medonte, ON]

Madam Speaker, I do not think we have a tax problem in this country. I think we have a spending issue. Taxing more really does not solve a lot of issues. It could perhaps drive people out of the country, and we need good people to create good jobs, good businesses and a good economic situation. I really do think raising taxes is never a good idea, unless it is absolutely necessary. What we need to do is rein in some spending, not increase taxes.

[Stephanie Kusie, Conservative, Calgary Midnapore, AB]

Madam Speaker, as someone currently in the role of shadow minister for the Treasury Board, I am always very interested in the public accounts and how we can show more transparency to Canadians. With his experience as a municipal councillor, can the member please express to the House what he would like to see in the budget and how he would like to see more transparency for Canadians in the budget?

[Doug Shipley, Conservative, Barrie—Springwater—Oro-Medonte, ON]

Madam Speaker, as we have seen many times over, the Liberal government ran in 2015 on being open and transparent, and on sunny ways. I have heard many times from many of my residents that it is anything but that. They are having trouble getting access to many documents, many institutions and many facts along the way. Hopefully, we can correct that as we go forward.

Some day soon, Conservatives will be on that side, and we will be open and fair and let people know what is going on.

[Ryan Williams, Conservative, Bay of Quinte, ON]

Madam Speaker, a budget is supposed to tell people where their money is going to go, not have them wondering where it went. However, after eight years of the Liberal government, Canadians are not only wondering where it went but how much more it is going to take to get results.

Canadians see grocery bills going up and a carbon tax that is adding to the price for groceries, to heat their home, to drive to work and the trucks that deliver their food. They see a health care crisis that has many people waiting for a family doctor, let a lone waiting months and months for appointments with doctors they already have. They see a mental health and addictions crisis. Military and NATO are underfunded in Canada. The cost of government has doubled to more than $39 billion just for wages alone, and consultants are $17.7 billion and counting. Farmers are seeing as much as $150,000 per farm for carbon tax, with only $862 back. A lot of farmers are wondering whether they should keep their farms or sell them. There is a housing crisis that has never been seen before in Canada.

It is the housing crisis that I want to focus on today as it, bar none, is the biggest legacy the Liberal government is going to leave for my generation and it is, bar none, the biggest issue that Bay of Quinte residents are seeing in our riding. We focused on it last week alone at two summits: one, a homelessness summit in the city of Belleville put on by the municipality of Belleville; and another housing summit by the Quinte and District Association of Realtors.

People in our generation are having to live with their parents because they cannot afford a home of their home. Homelessness, addictions and mental health are at record highs. Builders and developers are mired in red tape on every level of government. We have, this week, renovictions with respect to 120 residents in Trenton, Ontario, who are being evicted from their homes so a new owner can renovate their homes. Of course, it is a free market, but there is nowhere for them to go.

When so many Canadians are feeling down about the housing market, we need to pull them up. There is only one answer to the housing crisis, and it is three words, “build, baby, build”. We need more supply in Canada, which means we build for everyone. We build with more trades. We build affordable housing that is innovative. We build housing for our military and for our indigenous communities. We build faster and targeted, and we build to own. We need to build, baby, build.

When we build for everyone, I think we all can agree that it should be a fundamental human right that every Canadian should have a roof over his or her head. When we look in this nation right now, we see the amount of homelessness. In my region, and we count it, it has doubled in the last four years alone. It should be fundamental that we provide a shelter for residents. It is one step only to become homeless, but there are three steps to come out of it.

When we talk about homelessness, a lot of people lose their homes for a lot of reasons. The myth is that it is because of mental health and addictions. People do not lose their homes because of that. A lot of times it is because of a domestic dispute, a missed paycheque, many missed paycheques, the fact that it costs more to live, a family matter or just lack of supply. When people lose homes, it is devastating to hear their stories about what happens on the street.

I and others here have one thing that many people do not. We have a home. We are able to lock our stuff away and we have a secure place to call home, which means to have security. If people are on the street, they do not have the luxury of security, which means oftentimes they have to turn to drugs. Why drugs and why is that important? If people are up all night trying to protect their stuff and look after, God forbid, a child or a pet, a lot of times they turn to drugs because it numbs the pain and it keeps them alert because they do not have that luxury of locking their door.

There are three steps to get out of homelessness and one step to become homeless. Of the three steps to get out of homelessness, the first is to have a shelter. Step two is to have transitional housing, which is the most important because that moves people from a shelter into programs where they get mental health and addiction counselling. They also get supports for keeping a job, learning life skills and they get a place to lock up their stuff. The third step, which is really most important, is affordable rental housing. If people are on the street and the cheapest apartment they can find is $1,800, they are probably going to end up back on the street. Affordable market rent is about $700 to $900, and that is really important. However, we build for everyone.

We have heard members today talk about building for indigenous, absolutely, and building for our military, but building for every kind of person who lives in our country should be an absolute human right. The government has three programs for that. Something I am going to get into is the fact that we are not targeting on that.

There is the $40 billion national housing strategy. There is the $1 billion rapid housing initiative. There is the $1.5 billion for homelessness. All of that combined over 10 years with other programs, of the 1.8 million homes that were needed last year, only 300,000 homes were built. The government talks about $89 billion, but only 300,000 homes were build.

We are a great nation and we need a lot of immigration, especially skilled workers. We brought 955,000 immigrants in last year. Again, that raises the number of homes needed to 2.8 million. When the government touts that it spent $89 billion, that was for 300,000 homes of the 2.8 million needed. It is a dismal number.

When we talk about homes, we need 300,000 affordable rental units. When we think about what our most vulnerable in society need, it is a place they can rent and call home. We are building 70,000 a year. We needed 300,000 units by 2026 as noted in a report by the Royal Bank of Canada. We are way behind.

One of the biggest parts of immigration that we need to focus on is bringing more trades into Canada. We have a lot of new immigrants, but we also need to focus on the trades. We need home builders, dry wallers, framers and well drillers. It is not only the workers, we need those people to start their own businesses. I know many who are, but we need to really focus on that.

A normal builder in my region is capped at 50 homes a year. When builders look at how many homes they can build as a whole and the limits that they have hit in the last four or five years, they can only 50 units. We are seeing that across the country. A report this week talked about how Canada had the lowest supply of real estate in 20 years, yet prices are still going up.

A report last week, when we were supposed to have initiatives that lowered prices for Canadians, including a cap on foreign homebuyers, prices went up a whole lot. I think they are up 3% or 4% in March alone.

I want to mention a great program in our region. It is for people who have been on Ontario Works, people who sometimes have not had a job for a while. It is called elevate plus. It is put on by Quinte Economic Development Commission. It trains people for six weeks in programs that teach them about construction and how to get into home building. It is pretty amazing going to these graduations.

It is powerful for people to get trained for a job that will give them a paycheque. From being at those graduations, I can say how emotional it is for those individuals and their parents. Elevate plus is a new program, but it is something we can replicate across Canada. It is training people for jobs in the trades where we desperately need them.

As a hotelier, I have built hotels. When we talk about building hotels, we talk about building hotels by key, the price per door. The average house price for affordable housing in Canada is $465,000 a unit. It is quite unaffordable. It is ironic to me that affordable housing is actually unaffordable to build. We need to get these units down to about $200,000 to $250,000 to make them affordable.

If developers are building a house and then trying to rent that house out, to try to even make back the interest alone on running that house, how can they afford to rent that for less than $1,500 or $1,600 given interest rates today? Housing needs to be affordable.

When we talk about building, we need to build for our military. I have talked about this a lot of times. We need 4,000 military houses. It is the only housing the government actually builds. We need 4,000 units in Canada, 50 in CFB Trenton alone where we have 360 families on a waiting list. We have not done it. Money was announced in budget 2022, but it still has not been started. We have heard from other members today about indigenous communities desperately needing housing. It still is not happening. We really need to get focused on how we can make that happen. We need to build faster.

Our leaders talked about withholding federal infrastructure funding from those who do not comply with ensuring we get things built a little faster. Being a former municipal councillor, I know it is not easy but we really need to work with those municipalities on how to get that done. Part of it is looking at nimbyism. Nimbyism kills us all. It is inherent to a lot of Canadians. Nimbyism is just part of our brains. Perhaps it goes back to when we used to have caves and had to protect our stuff. We really have to work with municipalities.

I will go back to this. When it comes to the budget, housing was not even mentioned once. The Liberal government does not see housing as a priority, yet it is the biggest crisis we face. A Conservative government would build housing and ensure we build it up by build baby build. We need to build for everyone. We need more trades, affordable housing for our military and indigenous communities. We need to build faster, and we need build to own.

[Jenica Atwin, Liberal, Fredericton, NB]

Madam Speaker, I share this passion. I am deeply concerned about housing in my own riding, and there has been significant federal investment in the Fredericton region. I think of the Oak Centre. We have supportive housing on multiple levels. We have 12 Neighbours, which is about tiny home investments, a really creative model. I work to support the shelter network in my community. It is always about building that collaboration with municipalities and the provincial government. I agree that housing is absolutely a human right, and we need to decommodify the housing system.

My question for the hon. member is simply: How many houses did the Conservative government build when it was in power?

[Ryan Williams, Conservative, Bay of Quinte, ON]

Madam Speaker, it is an easy answer. We had house prices that were half of what they are now. However, I want to focus the answer to the member's question specifically on how we have more collaboration.

In our region, we have an amazing group. Hastings County has put together a “7 in 7” plan where it is going to build 7,000 homes in seven years. It is going to do it by working with the municipalities, the province and innovative groups like Phil Spry and Bob Cottrell who have discovered how to put developers together with not-for-profits. The developer takes the risk and the not-for-profit runs the programs using the government. They have actually been able to build homes faster.

Seven thousand homes in seven years, which I know the member for Kingston and the Islands will benefit from, is an innovative program that is going to benefit eastern Ontario. That is the kind of innovation we look at in the future—

[Mark Gerretsen, Liberal, Kingston and the Islands, ON]

I was there at the opening; you weren't.

[Ryan Williams, Conservative, Bay of Quinte, ON]

We will work together.

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker, NDP, Carol Hughes]

Order, please. There is some cross debate. I would remind members that if they have questions or comments to wait until I call on them. I know that some of them are senior officials here and should know better.

Questions and comments, the hon. member for Drummond.

[Martin Champoux, Bloc, Drummond, QC]

Madam Speaker, I would like to mention that I was surprised to hear that there is a connection between the glaring problem of drug abuse and the fact that people do not have a door to lock so they need to stay awake and watch over their children. That does not add up to me. I would probably put more blame on mental health issues in general, but I have a different question for my colleague.

I am going to touch on something other than housing, because I thought that part of his speech was pretty interesting. I would like to know what he thinks about the fact that, even though the situation is critical, the government is not proposing EI reform in the 2023 budget.

[Ryan Williams, Conservative, Bay of Quinte, ON]

Madam Speaker, yes, we need reforms in EI for sure, but let us get back to the subject at hand: We need homes for people. As I said in my speech, shelter, transitionary homes and affordable market rent are the three answers to housing.

When we talk about mental health and addictions, what is nice about a transitionary home is that it actually provides those supports to residents to overcome addictions and to deal with mental health. We talk about everyday residents who have to wait sometimes six months just for one appointment with one counsellor for mental health.

I agree that there is a mental health crisis in our country, but let us talk about it as it comes back to the street where all of that is compounded, especially because people do not have a place of their own. We need more supports and to focus on the three answers.

[Lisa Marie Barron, NDP, Nanaimo—Ladysmith, BC]

Madam Speaker, the member said “build baby build” many times, which has a good ring to it, but I am concerned it is another Conservative slogan that is not actually based on fact.

I wonder if the member could share his thoughts around the fact that we are seeing developers building all around us. We are seeing new units popping up, but the problem is that we are seeing more unaffordable homes, more unaffordable units, popping up around us, which is not going to resolve the issue that we are currently experiencing with the ongoing commodification of housing that has happened over the last 30 years by consecutive Conservative and Liberal governments.

Would the member agree that in order to ensure that those he was referencing, including military, veterans and seniors, have access to the affordable housing they need, we need to see more social housing put into place, more affordable housing put into place, so everybody can have a place to call home?