Debates of Nov. 1st, 2024

Housing

[Stephanie Kusie, Conservative, Calgary Midnapore, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the NDP-Liberal government is not worth the cost of housing. A Conservative government will axe the federal GST on new homes sold. On an $800,000 home, this is a saving of $40,000. The CEO of the West End Home Builders Association said that this is the most significant housing policy in two decades. It means more young people will get to buy a home.

Will the Liberal-NDP government axe the federal GST on housing sales so more young people can finally purchase a home?

[Adam van Koeverden, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Environment and Climate Change and to the Minister of Sport and Physical Activity]

Mr. Speaker, unfortunately with the Conservatives, the proof is always in the pudding and the details are in the fine print. It really comes down to what they are going to cut to pay for that GST cut. In this case, it is the housing accelerator fund, which dozens of Conservative MPs have written to our Minister of Housing about, pleading with him for money for their towns and cities.

I would pose a question back to the member: Do the Conservatives really care about the housing accelerator fund? Do the dozen members who have written to our Minister of Housing want the housing accelerator fund for their towns and cities? It is not just up for renewal; there is another round coming.

[Stephanie Kusie, Conservative, Calgary Midnapore, AB]

Mr. Speaker, what Conservatives will do is end the failed Liberal housing programs that have led to the doubling of rents, mortgages and down payments.

The president of the Residential Construction Council of Ontario commended the leader of the official opposition for putting forward this program and hoped the provinces would do the same. The founder of the Canadian Alliance to End Homelessness said that it is “smart”.

Will the Prime Minister make the same commitment to help young Canadians who desperately want to purchase a home and commit to axing the federal GST on new home sales?

[Adam van Koeverden, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Environment and Climate Change and to the Minister of Sport and Physical Activity]

Mr. Speaker, I am glad the Conservative member confirmed that the Conservatives' plan is to cancel the housing accelerator fund. I wonder how that makes the dozen or so Conservative members who have been pleading with our housing minister for the funding for their towns and cities feel.

Speaking of feelings, we saw how the Conservatives felt about people who are underhoused and unhoused yesterday at committee. The member for Peterborough—Kawartha, in a really disgusting display of how she feels about people who are homeless, underhoused and unhoused, said that they are the reason we have poverty and crime in Canada. Stigmatizing people who are underhoused is not compassionate.

Government Accountability

[Stephanie Kusie, Conservative, Calgary Midnapore, AB]

Mr. Speaker, I will tell members what is disgusting. Carbon tax conflict of interest Carney is moving his headquarters out of Canada. This is the individual who is using his position as an adviser to lobby government. He is pocketing profits as a member of the board of Stripe. He is reaping the benefits of amortization rules through his role at Brookfield.

Why is the Prime Minister exempting conflict of interest carbon tax Carney from conflict of interest laws? That is disgusting.

[Mark Holland, Liberal, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, what we see is that as soon as somebody does not support what the Conservatives do, they are slandered and attacked.

Incendiary language has been used about an individual in this instance who has served his country in so many different capacities, both as a governor of the Bank of Canada and as a governor of the Bank of England. He is recognized internationally as making incredible contributions to the world and its thinking about finance, and what we get from the party opposite is ad hominem attacks and personal insults, all because they do not share his opinion. That is concerning.

The Economy

[Dominique Vien, Conservative, Bellechasse—Les Etchemins—Lévis, QC]

Mr. Speaker, Halloween is over. It is time for the “Liberal Bloc” to remove their disguise and take off their rose-coloured glasses. Nearly three million requests for food help are made every month in Quebec. That is a 13% increase over last year. Families are suffering under the weight of Liberal-Bloc taxes.

When will this government finally admit that it has failed and call an election for the good of Canadians?

[Ryan Turnbull, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance and to the Minister of Innovation]

Mr. Speaker, this week, we heard something truly scary from the leader of the Conservatives. He said that he would cut two programs and more beyond that.

There is no doubt in my mind that Conservative cuts would hurt families. For the 400,000 kids across Canada who are able to get a healthy meal at school so they can focus on learning, the Conservatives would take that away, literally taking food out of the mouths of hungry kids. That is truly frightening. How is cutting a national school food program going to help families pay their grocery bills?

[Dominique Vien, Conservative, Bellechasse—Les Etchemins—Lévis, QC]

Mr. Speaker, here is the reality. While this government boasts about investing in the fight against food insecurity, the Moisson Saguenay‑Lac‑Saint‑Jean food bank is struggling.

Although this organization is unable to rely on any financial support to help it distribute food, it receives 76,000 requests a month from 15,000 people. The Bloc-Liberal government created this situation. Why does the government prefer to feed the bureaucracy in Ottawa instead of people going hungry in Quebec and Canada?

[Stéphane Lauzon, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Citizens' Services]

Mr. Speaker, the ability to feed our children is a priority in Quebec and in Canada.

The Conservatives and the Bloc voted against the best possible plan for young people in school. I defy my opposition colleagues to say the same thing to our Quebeckers and to look teachers in the eye and tell them that feeding our school children is unnecessary.

Seniors

[Marilène Gill, Bloc, Manicouagan, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Liberals are refusing to increase pensions for seniors aged 65 to 74 on the pretext that they are too wealthy. It is despicable.

According to the Institut de la statistique du Québec, of the supposedly wealthy seniors the Liberals are talking about, one in five lives in housing they cannot afford. They have a median after-tax income of $28,000 a year, based on 2020 data. That is below what the Institut de recherche et d'informations socio-économique considers a livable income.

Why are the Liberals turning their backs on one million Quebec pensioners as though they were ultrawealthy?

[Stéphane Lauzon, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Citizens' Services]

Mr. Speaker, our government has done more for seniors than any other government.

Where was the Bloc Québécois when we lowered the age of eligibility from 67 to 65? Where was the Bloc Québécois when we increased OAS by 10% for the most vulnerable seniors? My colleague is a woman herself, and we are here to protect older women, who are often the most vulnerable. Many seniors are unable to work.

Quebec voted against all these measures.

[Marilène Gill, Bloc, Manicouagan, QC]

Mr. Speaker, seniors are not asking for a handout, they are asking for fair treatment after breaking their backs to build Quebec. They are asking for an end to Liberal discrimination, which deprives seniors aged 65 to 74 of a 10% increase in their pension. In a Quebec where the price of rent for available housing has risen by 50% since 2020 in cities like Trois-Rivières or Rimouski, a 10% pension increase is not too much to ask.

Why are the Liberals fighting to keep discriminating against seniors?

[Stéphane Lauzon, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Citizens' Services]

Mr. Speaker, taking care of seniors also means taking care of their oral health.

As my Bloc colleague well knows, there are hundreds and hundreds of seniors who have benefited from dental insurance in her riding, yet she voted against this measure. The reality is that the dental plan enables us to give $731 to each senior in her riding to help them take care of their oral health.

Then there is the GIS, which we have increased. If anyone is making great strides for seniors, it is the Liberals.

Grocery Industry

[Alistair MacGregor, NDP, Cowichan—Malahat—Langford, BC]

Mr. Speaker, B.C. food banks are struggling. More people than ever visit them and donations are down, and all the while, greedy grocery CEOs line their pockets. For three years, food prices have skyrocketed while the Liberals have refused to stand up to greedy CEOs to lower prices. Meanwhile, the Conservatives point their fingers at everything else except those CEOs, who are gouging people.

These CEOs need to be put on notice: lower prices or face a price cap on essential foods. The only question that remains is, will the Liberals have the courage to do it, yes or no?

[Ryan Turnbull, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance and to the Minister of Innovation]

Mr. Speaker, our government knows that the best way to get food prices down is to increase competition in the market. That is why we have worked with every party in the House to advance competition laws in this country. We have also injected new cash and capital into addressing food insecurity.

The top ask of Food Banks Canada and many other food security organizations for years was to fund a national school food program. That is real support for Canadians at the food bank. It is essentially taking 400,000 kids out of food bank lineups. That is real progress.

[Leah Gazan, NDP, Winnipeg Centre, MB]

Mr. Speaker, the Liberals are ignoring rising food insecurity, something Manitobans know all too well. Over 50,000 people in Manitoba now rely on food banks, and Harvest Manitoba's president says that we are moving in the wrong direction. Obviously, the Liberals' backdoor talks with grocer CEOs are going nowhere, and the Conservatives are listening to lobbyists and staying silent on price gouging.

Will the Liberals adopt the NDP's strategy of capping food prices and ending hunger?

[Ryan Turnbull, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance and to the Minister of Innovation]

Mr. Speaker, our government has been committed to making life more affordable for Canadians. We have done a number of things that have reduced household expenses for Canadians. There is the 50% reduction in child care fees, which is $800 a month in savings for the average family. It is a significant savings, which families can use to pay for groceries. We have offered a grocery rebate, a 50% reduction in child care fees, pharmacare and a national school food program. All of these measures make life more affordable for Canadians.

Housing

[Tracy Gray, Conservative, Kelowna—Lake Country, BC]

Mr. Speaker, after nine years of these NDP-Liberals, they are not worth the cost of housing. As just reported by Scotiabank, young Canadians are abandoning the dream of ever owning a home. Over half said that they must delay homebuying plans due to the current economic situation, and more are living with parents or family than just three years ago.

Conservatives will axe the federal sales tax on new homes sold. On an $800,000 house, this is a savings of $40,000 or $2,200 a year in mortgage payments. Will the NDP-Liberals axe the federal GST on housing so that more young Canadians can finally buy a home?

[Adam van Koeverden, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Environment and Climate Change and to the Minister of Sport and Physical Activity]

Mr. Speaker, once again, the details are really important. This week, the leader of the Conservative Party admitted that he was going to pay for that tax cut by axing the national housing accelerator fund and other important programs that are supporting Canadians. In response to that, Saskatoon's mayor said that the recent pledge from the federal Conservative Party leader to cancel the national housing accelerator fund would put hundreds of already approved housing units in peril.

This is true affordable housing, not million-dollar condos, as my colleague opposite was talking about. Affordable housing for people in need in Saskatoon is in peril with this Conservative leader's plan.

[Tracy Gray, Conservative, Kelowna—Lake Country, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the housing minister himself said that the program does not actually lead to the construction of specific homes.

Conservatives will end failed Liberal housing programs that led to the doubling of rent, mortgages and down payment costs. The Canadian Real Estate Association said that the Conservative plan to axe the sales tax on homes is a positive move forward, lowering building costs, increasing housing supply and making home ownership “more attainable for Canadians.”

Will the NDP-Liberals axe the federal GST on housing so that more young Canadians can finally buy a home?

[James Maloney, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada]

Mr. Speaker, this is a bait and switch in classic form. The Conservatives say it is a cut, and they are right. They are going to cut the housing accelerator fund. They are going to cut out the ability of tens of thousands of Canadians to access affordable housing. They are going to undercut their own MPs who want the housing accelerator fund to continue. This is absolutely a mis-characterization of what they are trying to do. I do not know how any Canadian can take these guys seriously.

[Todd Doherty, Conservative, Cariboo—Prince George, BC]

Mr. Speaker, after nine years, this NDP-Liberal Prime Minister is not worth the cost of housing. He has single-handedly destroyed the dreams of Canadians who now believe that they will never be able to afford a home, but hope is on the horizon. Our common-sense plan will axe the federal sales tax on new homes, saving Canadians up to $50,000.

Will the Prime Minister axe the federal GST on housing so that young Canadians can finally afford a home?

[Ryan Turnbull, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance and to the Minister of Innovation]

Mr. Speaker, we are, finally, glad that the Conservative leader is being honest with Canadians. This week he finally admitted that he will cut two programs and many more. One of those programs is a program that we fought for tooth and nail on this side of the House, which was to get the housing accelerator fund over the finish line. Why? It is because municipalities, for many years, have been saying that they need more capacity to speed up the process of homebuilding. In Richmond Hill, Ontario, that is $31 million for 41,000 new homes. What does the member opposite say to Mayor David West?

[Todd Doherty, Conservative, Cariboo—Prince George, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I have seen the hon. colleague's polls. He should be more interested in dusting off his résumé and updating his LinkedIn profile.

Mr. Speaker, our common-sense Conservative plan will axe the GST on new homes, saving Canadians up to $50,000. Under the Prime Minister, the cost of housing has skyrocketed. His housing plan has only doubled the bureaucracy and red tape. It has not even built a single home.

Will the Prime Minister axe the tax on housing so that Canadians can finally afford to put a roof over their head?