Debates of Sept. 18th, 2023

Housing

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

Mr. Speaker, Mike Moffatt said that the housing plan announced by the Prime Minister last week is “hugely important.... This will make the numbers work.”

The governments of Ontario, B.C. and Newfoundland have already followed suit, but what do the Conservatives say about this practical plan to get more homes built? They say that we do not need more spending. How do they think we are going to get homes built in Canada? Is it by magic?

We need home builders to invest more and build faster. That is what our government is making possible. That is what is going to fix the housing challenge.

[Melissa Lantsman, Conservative, Thornhill, ON]

Mr. Speaker, let us play back the tape. In 2015, the Liberal Prime Minister said that Canada needs “real change” and “affordable housing.” Eight years after he created this housing hell, he says that he is not responsible for housing.

Housing prices have doubled. Rents have doubled. Higher taxes and more government spending equals higher inflation and higher interest rates.

Canadians can see it. Why is it that the NDP-Liberal government is the only one that cannot?

[Sean Fraser, Liberal, Minister of Housing]

Mr. Speaker, I find it fascinating to watch the Conservatives' line of questioning. They certainly seem to think they have the solutions to Canada's housing crisis, but when we actually look at what they are proposing, they are just tinkering around the edges with half measures that would not make a meaningful difference.

We are getting rid of the GST on apartment construction in this country, and provincial governments are following suit. We are advancing measures to change the way that cities build houses, so they build them next to transit stations, colleges and universities. We are going to require that they build them more densely.

We have much more to come over the course of the fall, but if we put our plan against theirs, it will win seven days a week.

[Pierre Paul-Hus, Conservative, Charlesbourg—Haute-Saint-Charles, QC]

Mr. Speaker, after eight years with this Prime Minister, Canadians are in double jeopardy. The price of housing has doubled, and the Bank of Canada is warning that mortgage payments could increase by more than 40%.

Let us remember that, before the tabling of budget 2023, the Minister of Finance said, “that is one of our primary goals in this year's budget: not to pour fuel on the fire of inflation.”

When will the Prime Minister put an end to his inflationary policies so that Canadians can keep a roof over their heads?

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

Mr. Speaker, Canada has the lowest deficit in the G7. Last week, DBRS Morningstar reaffirmed our AAA credit rating.

At the same time, we know that we need to work for Canadians. That is why the Prime Minister announced last week that the GST on new rental construction will be eliminated.

That is why this morning, with my colleague, the Minister of Industry, we held a meeting with the CEOs of all grocery stores.

We are here, we are working for Canadians, and we will continue to do so.

[Pierre Paul-Hus, Conservative, Charlesbourg—Haute-Saint-Charles, QC]

Mr. Speaker, does the Minister of Finance know that mortgage payments for an average home are now $3,560 a month? That represents a 151% increase since the Prime Minister took office.

In the Liberal ridings of Montreal, people need to earn at least $113,500 a year to even hope to buy a home. These increases are the direct result of this Liberal government's inflationary policies.

Will the government commit to stop running inflationary deficits so that home ownership is not just a dream?

[Sean Fraser, Liberal, Minister of Housing]

Mr. Speaker, if we want to add housing units in Canada, then we have to invest in building homes.

The reality is that the Conservative Party likes to point out the problem. It likes to assign blame, but when it comes time to advance solutions, it is nowhere to be seen. The Conservatives are advancing half measures that would not make a meaningful lick of difference on the need to build housing at a rate that we have never built at before. We have removed taxes on home construction. We are changing the way cities build homes, and we have made years' worth of investments in affordable housing.

We are going to continue to advance policies that make a difference. It is what Canadians deserve.

Veterans Affairs

[Luc Desilets, Bloc, Rivière-des-Mille-Îles, QC]

Mr. Speaker, here is another example of how far Ottawa can go to push Quebec aside. The federal government held a competition to design a monument to commemorate the role of our soldiers in Afghanistan. A jury of experts decided that the Daoust team in Quebec won.

However, the Liberals rejected the advice of experts. They are publicly admitting that Quebec won, but that they are giving the contract to Ontarians anyway.

Who in this government ordered that the Quebec team be pushed aside at any cost, even if it meant breaking its own rules?

[Ginette Petitpas Taylor, Liberal, Minister of Veterans Affairs and Associate Minister of National Defence]

Mr. Speaker, the memorial to Canada's mission in Afghanistan recognizes the commitment and sacrifice of our soldiers. More than 40,000 people participated in this mission.

The Department of Veterans Affairs received input from more than 10,000 Canadians, particularly veterans, people who participated in the mission. The majority wanted to ensure that the concept would truly meet their needs.

In the end, the concept of the Stimson group more accurately reflected what veterans want. We will always be there to listen to our veterans.

[Luc Desilets, Bloc, Rivière-des-Mille-Îles, QC]

Mr. Speaker, it is hard to believe. The worst part is that they admit it. This is what they wrote to the Daoust team: “Despite the fact that the jury designated your concept as the winning concept of the competition...the Government of Canada has decided to select the concept developed by [another team] and, consequently, to award the contract to that team.”

Too bad for the jury, too bad for the architects, too bad for the artists who worked for months on end. Even worse, too bad for our own rules.

Will the government rectify this injustice and give the contract back to the firm that earned it and won this competition?

[Ginette Petitpas Taylor, Liberal, Minister of Veterans Affairs and Associate Minister of National Defence]

Mr. Speaker, as Minister of Veterans Affairs, I think it is very important to make sure that we listen to veterans, veterans who served in the Afghanistan mission.

During this process, we heard from 10,000 Canadians. Most of them are people who served during the Afghanistan mission. They told us clearly that the Team Stimson design really represented what they wanted the monument to look like.

We thank the committee for doing an amazing job, but we want to make sure we respect the veterans' wishes.

Housing

[Raquel Dancho, Conservative, Kildonan—St. Paul, MB]

Mr. Speaker, Canada has some of the most unaffordable housing in the world, and that is after eight years of this Liberal Prime Minister. Mortgages are up over 151% with payments of over $3,500 a month.

With eight years of inflationary Liberal deficits driving up interest rates, homes have become completely unaffordable in Canada. When will the Liberals end their reckless inflationary deficits so that Canadians can once again afford a place to live?

[Patty Hajdu, Liberal, Minister of Indigenous Services and Minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Northern Ontario]

Mr. Speaker, why should Canadians trust the Leader of the Opposition on housing? When he had the file, he failed hard. In fact, a $300-million fund to build housing in first nations, set up by the leader himself, built 99 houses. For every one house he and the Harper Conservatives built on reserve, we have renovated or built nine. We cannot afford his broken ideas.

[Raquel Dancho, Conservative, Kildonan—St. Paul, MB]

Mr. Speaker, this Liberal-NDP coalition can deflect and make all the excuses they want, but the fact remains that after eight years of massive Liberal deficits driving up interest rates and driving up inflation, Canadians can no longer afford a place to live. In 2015, the average rent for a two-bedroom apartment was just over $1,100 a month; eight years after these Liberals, it is $2,300 a month. That is the reality Canadians are facing under that Liberal minister.

When will the Liberals end this costly NDP-Liberal coalition and allow Canadians a place to live?

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

Mr. Speaker, Canada has the lowest debt and deficit in the G7, and our AAA rating was reaffirmed by a ratings agency last week.

However, what we need to ask is: What would Conservative austerity do to Canada? Do the Conservatives propose to cut our $200-billion investment in health care? Maybe they propose to cut our investment in early learning and child care, which has already cut fees for parents by 50%. Maybe it is dental care that they would go after.

What we know for sure is that Conservative austerity hurts Canadians.

[Richard Martel, Conservative, Chicoutimi—Le Fjord, QC]

Mr. Speaker, after eight years of this government, mortgage rates have jumped by 151% to $3,560 a month.

Back in 2020, the Prime Minister said, “We took on debt so Canadians wouldn't have to”. Today, however, Canadians and Quebeckers are finding it harder than ever to make ends meet.

When will the Prime Minister stop his wasteful spending and eliminate the inflationary deficit so that Canadians can keep a roof over their heads?

[Soraya Martinez Ferrada, Liberal, Minister of Tourism and Minister responsible for the Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec]

Mr. Speaker, allow me to thank the Prime Minister for his trust. This is the first time I rise in the House as a minister. I thank him.

What Quebeckers need is a Prime Minister who keeps them in mind and who works collaboratively with the municipalities. They do not need a condescending, arrogant Leader of the Opposition who treats municipal officials like incompetents. As a former municipal councillor for Montreal, I am deeply offended by the Leader of the Opposition's disregard for elected municipal officials, people who are duly elected—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

The hon. member for Châteauguay—Lacolle.

Climate Change

[Brenda Shanahan, Liberal, Châteauguay—Lacolle, QC]

Mr. Speaker, over the past few months, Canadians have experienced a series of extreme events, including forest fires, drought, heat waves, floods and violent storms that have caused incredible destruction. This has affected the lives of many people in our country.

This week, Canada will be represented in New York at the United Nations for climate week. Can the Minister of Environment and Climate Change tell us what Canada will be proposing at the United Nations General Assembly?

[Steven Guilbeault, Liberal, Minister of Environment and Climate Change]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for her question and her advocacy on this issue.

This summer I had the pleasure of spending time with her and citizens who are concerned about the issue of climate change, protecting and conserving our natural habitats and fighting pollution, including pollution caused by plastics.

That is precisely why the Prime Minister, some of my other colleagues and I are going to New York to work with our colleagues from the international community in order to find solutions to these three major international crises. In 2023, we cannot claim to be a serious government if we do not address economic development, job creation, affordability and pollution.

Carbon Pricing

[Arpan Khanna, Conservative, Oxford, ON]

Mr. Speaker, throughout the summer, I heard heartbreaking stories from families across Oxford who are struggling to put food on their tables. After eight years of this Prime Minister, this Liberal-NDP government is not worth the cost. Its carbon tax has raised the cost of food. For example, the price of onions is up 69%.

Will the Prime Minister's big meeting with grocery CEOs reverse the 69% hike by Thanksgiving, yes or no?

[Sean Fraser, Liberal, Minister of Housing]

Mr. Speaker, let me begin by congratulating the hon. member on taking his spot in the House.

Having only recently arrived, he can be forgiven if he is not aware that the party he now is a member of voted against many of the measures that, in fact, make a direct impact on having life more affordable for his constituents.

This includes investments in the Canada child benefit. This includes new investments that reduce the cost of child care. This includes new benefits to provide dental care for low-income families. This includes a rebate that leaves eight out of 10 families in the province of Ontario better off as a result of putting a price on pollution.

We can fight climate change and make life more affordable. It is what we have been doing for eight years and we are going to—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

The hon. member for Calgary Heritage.

[Shuv Majumdar, Conservative, Calgary Heritage, AB]

Mr. Speaker, for my neighbours across Calgary, seniors' savings are going up in smoke. Single moms may not be in the homes of the doors that I knocked on. The dreams of young couples and newcomers are devastated.

The Prime Minister and his NDP government have not been worth the cost. After eight years of raising carbon taxes on the farmers and truckers who bring us our food, potatoes are up 68%. Now he wants to quadruple the carbon tax to 61¢ a litre.

How much more will that add to the price of potatoes?

[Mark Holland, Liberal, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, what is irresponsible to a weary planet that is going through some of its darkest days is that although Canada has some of the lowest food inflation and some of the lowest inflation in the world, there is so much more that we have to do, but saying to people who are facing the global challenge of inflation that cutting dental care, that taking away dental care from vulnerable families, is a solution to global inflation and the crises that we face shows—