Mr. Speaker, let me begin by focusing on what we agree on. I have a lot of respect for my colleague, in large part because he always raises issues related to vulnerable Canadians. He began his speech by talking about those who are unhoused. We have in place a government that hears him, that sees the issue in Canada and is responding.
A few moments ago, I talked about encampments in Canada and how the federal government has put $250 million toward ensuring that people are taken out of camps, sheltered and ultimately put into stable housing. There are other examples I could point to relating specifically to the issue the member raised. I am not unsympathetic to the idea that we need to support not-for-profits, and we do. We do in a variety of ways, like through low-interest loans, for example.
The member talked about initiatives in his home community. In my community of London, I am thinking about the Vision SoHo project, a great housing project that is going to see hundreds of people housed. This includes people who have very difficult and acute needs, people who have experienced deep trauma, physical abuse, sexual abuse and trauma that has led to them being on the street and addicted to all sorts of unfortunate things. When it comes to drug or alcohol addiction, the wraparound supports are available. The organizations that made this possible secured a low-interest loan of around 3%. That is not uncommon. Working with CMHC, not-for-profits can do that.
What not-for-profits can also do by working with the federal government is obtain access to grants. Grants allow for housing to be built. I emphasize “built” because that is what the federal government takes care of. We work on the capital side, ensuring that homes are built. We do ask, and I look to provinces especially on this, for the operating dollars when it comes to supportive housing for people facing those particular challenges. Of course, not-for-profits are taking care of the ultimate administration and execution of these programs, and municipalities have a role to play too.
The member talked about the high cost of rent. Of course, we know that is an issue in Canada and we lifted GST costs on the construction of apartments. We did so for a specific reason. Interest rates, labour costs and construction costs have been very high. We needed to do it, and now we see cranes across the country building homes for Canadians. If we add to supply, we bring down costs.