Madam Speaker, I am glad we are having a debate on a substantive motion, and I will talk a little more about it. I will be splitting my time on this important issue with the hon. member for Kings—Hants.
I am glad we are having a debate on the substantive issue of how we build more homes in Canada. We have that challenge because of the fact that Canada is growing in size. We are at 40 million people, and it is a good thing that we are growing as a country. We have an aging population and we need to ensure that we have more young people who are working and are able to populate our country from coast to coast to coast.
However, that comes with challenges on the infrastructure. We obviously have to keep pace with the growing population. We have to build more homes. We have to build more roads and public transit. We need to ensure that the infrastructure necessary to serve these homes, like water and sewer and electricity, is there as well. Of course, all of it costs money and it takes time to build.
How we go about doing that is a really important question. That is what we are debating through this opposition day motion. I will put aside all the name-calling and the personal insults, which is beneath this place and beneath all of us. I want to give credit where credit is due. For the very first time, the Conservative Party, on this substantive issue, has put forward a policy idea. Whether we agree or disagree is obviously up to all of us. However, I am glad to see that the Conservatives have put forward the idea of eliminating GST from home purchases under a million dollars. This idea merits a debate, but from my perspective, it is really not going to help build more homes. Therefore, I will be voting against this motion, and I will lay out my reasons for that.
As I see it, what is being proposed is basically to cut 5% of the GST from all new homes that are being built at a million dollars or less. According to the Conservative math that would save about $5,000, but it does not create any incentive whatsoever to build more homes, whether they are homes are to own or to rent.
It definitely does not create any incentive whatsoever to build homes that are affordable for people who are not able to rent or own a home and who need some sort of subsidy or support to have a roof over their heads. That particular element is missing. In fact, what we have just heard from the Leader of the Opposition is that the Conservatives would cancel all existing programs, all kinds of existing supports and funding that would help build affordable homes across the country. In a very quick moment, I will speak to affordable housing that is being built in my community of Ottawa Centre alone.
The Conservative proposal would basically cut the GST and at the same time cut all programs that allow municipalities to build the necessary infrastructure like water, sewer and electricity, all those things that are necessary to then ensure that people can live in these homes. It is hard to make a house a home without plumbing or electricity. That is a very significant challenge. This is why we are seeing other levels of government, provinces and municipalities, which play a bigger role in building homes, opposing the Conservative idea. They do not support it because they see the challenges it would cause.
The Leader of the Opposition can make it all about how he does not want to support politicians creating empires, etc, but he, as we know, has no experience in building anything. When he was the minister of housing, I think he was able to build six affordable homes, and that is not a record of which to be extremely proud.
However, if we talk to mayors like here in the City of Ottawa, who are responsible for the rules and all the work that happens to build homes, they will tell me that a simple cut in the GST is not sufficient to build the kinds of homes we need. If it were sufficient, this idea would have been implemented some time ago. This it not to mention the hypocrisy we are seeing from the Conservatives.
The member from the Bloc mentioned earlier that when we as a government brought in getting rid of GST from purpose-built rentals, the Conservatives voted against that idea. Therefore, they cannot be speaking out of both sides of their mouths. On one hand, they thought that was not good enough, that we should not be cutting GST from purpose-built rental. Now they think that they have the best idea in place and that everybody should align behind it.
We are trying to do a mix of both those ideas. On one hand, we have cut GST from purpose-built rentals so that we can induce more building of rental properties, and we are seeing the result of that. We are seeing rent coming down across the country. At the same time, we are creating incentives for municipalities to build more homes, and that is the essence of the housing accelerator fund.
We have done two things through that fund.
First, we have been using the money to build more affordable housing in our communities and municipalities. We know that about 15 or 16 Conservative MPs have lobbied the Minister of Housing over time. I can give the full list, if anyone wants me to, but I do not want to take away from my important time. Those members have written letters to the Minister of Housing asking that money be given to their municipalities, because they need those dollars to build more affordable housing in their respective communities.
In Ottawa, for example, if we look at my community of Ottawa Centre, we see affordable housing being built at Rochester Heights, which is maybe a 10-minute drive from here. We are seeing a whole new village being build, the Gladstone Village. We are starting to develop it, and it is being supported through the housing accelerator fund. Most recently, we made an announcement at LeBreton Flats called Dream LeBreton Flats, with the Multifaith Housing Initiative, where affordable housing along with for-profit housing will be built.
In my riding alone, we are talking 1,000 affordable units that are starting to be built because of the housing accelerator fund. That would have not happened without the fund. These are homes for real people, people who can afford market rent and people who cannot afford market rent. These people will be able to call downtown Ottawa their home. However, that would have not have happened if we had not given $176 million to the City of Ottawa.
The second thing we are doing through the housing accelerator fund is saying to cities and municipalities that if they want that money, they need to change their rules to allow for more density. They need to get rid of rules that say, “Not in my backyard.” We need for them to allow for at least four units per lot, for example.
We are the federal government, so we do not have any authority. The provinces have the authority to change their planning acts. As the federal government, we do not have any authority to change municipal rules as to how much housing they should allow for. However, through the housing accelerator fund, we have created that incentive for municipalities to change the rules to allow for more density. That is exactly what we are seeing right now.
Not only are we able to build more affordable homes, but we there are for developers. Builders and developers like more density, so we have required municipalities to change their rules so that they can create and build more housing. That is smart policy. That is why the approach we have put forward is paying dividends. We are starting to see more housing starts as a result. We are starting to see more affordable housing being built as a result.
The solution that is being put forward is worthy of debate. I am glad that the Conservatives have finally put an idea together, but it will not solve the problem of housing. It is a great slogan. It is great for the Leader of the Opposition to give fiery speeches and do his really bad acting, and he needs to get some lessons, but it is will not build the kind of housing nor the magnitude of housing we need. For that reason, I will be voting against the motion.