Mr. Speaker, since elected, I have been working with my colleague from Steveston—Richmond East to address our housing priority in the city of Richmond. As a result, early this January, the Liberal government invested $35.9 million through the housing accelerator fund for Richmond to build more homes faster. This important funding enabled the City of Richmond to approve over 1,166 new housing permits by August, exceeding Richmond's target of 1,125 homes four months ahead of schedule.
The Conservative leader claimed municipal politicians are “incompetent, greedy [and] money-hungry”. Let the facts speak for themselves, and let us not forget that when the Conservative leader was the housing minister, he helped build zero apartments, zero co-operative housing units and six affordable units across Canada.
The Liberal government will continue to work with municipalities to turn ambition into action. Together, we will deliver real and lasting progress for my community of Richmond Centre and communities across Canada.