Madam Speaker, first of all, I want to thank my friend, whom I have known for a number of years now. I know his points come from a sincere place. He cares about his community; specifically, he cares about the issue of housing.
He began by talking about the 1990s and cuts that were made. He is right. Previous governments, Liberal and Conservative, let the country down when it comes to the issue of housing. The current government has sought to do something quite different by, really, being the first government really in a generation to understand that there is a federal role with respect to affordable housing.
The member also mentions the Parliamentary Budget Officer. Specifically, he mentions the Parliamentary Budget Officer's report. That is a very good thing because that report talks about the Reaching Home initiative, among other things. This is the signature program when it comes to the federal government's response to helping communities on the issue of homelessness.
What do we know about Reaching Home? As a result of it, 87,000 people who were on the street are no longer on the street now. That includes people in the member's community of Kitchener Centre. These are people who are housed now with supportive housing. What does that mean? It means having mental health support on site and support for physical health care, such as nurses, on site. Quite often, job training programs are provided on site or very close to the facility that is being funded. That is how we get things done. That is how we build homes to ensure people have a roof over their head.
The member talks about encampments. The current federal government put forward $250 million in budget 2024 to support communities. Having encampments is a scourge. It is not acceptable. We have to respond. We have been clear that provinces need to match the funding in order to maximize the number of communities that can be supported.
I care about this. The government cares about this. I think all members of Parliament do. However, the record is clear that we are responding in a way that the Conservatives would never do. They talk about cuts. In fact, the Conservatives presented what they call a housing plan, which is a little more than something written on the back of a napkin that the Leader of the Opposition put forward in a private member's bill and that does not talk about homelessness at all.
There is more to do. We are committed to that kind of a vision of social justice, and we will get it done.