Madam Speaker, I think this falls under the category of “One doth protest too much.”
Six months ago, when the member brought forward the question, he was eager for housing accelerator fund money for his community, one of his communities having gotten housing accelerator fund money, the city of Kingston, which he represents. I guess he has had to go into reverse after it was released that Conservative MPs were eager to get the funding. They wanted it because their mayors came to them and said that they need the funding and that the program is a good one.
Like good MPs, they stood up for their communities. I know that the member is a good MP who stands up for his constituents, like he did in June, wondering why one of his communities did not get the funding.
Fast-forward a few months, and the member's leader's office is screaming back down at the members, “How dare you stand up for your communities?” The member had to backpedal and come here and pretend that he did not support the program from the beginning.
The member has some interesting talking points, including that only cities represented by Liberals get money from the housing accelerator fund. I think his colleagues from Kelowna would disagree, as should he, representing the city of Kingston. There is also London, Hamilton, Calgary and Edmonton, to name a few. These are cities that are represented by Conservative members and that received substantial housing accelerator fund money, along with 179 agreements to cut red tape and fast-track building permits, things that Conservatives pretend to care about.
Once again there is the pattern of Conservatives' talking a good game about how there is a housing crisis; however, when there are actual, concrete steps taken by the government to move forward with a concrete housing plan, the Conservatives are nowhere to be found.
For a brief moment, the hon. member stood up for his constituents and said that they want the money, but his leader's office disagrees. It is disappointing that the member comes, nearly six months after his question, to backtrack, to reverse course, because he is hearing from his leader's office rather than standing up for his constituents.