Debates of Feb. 9th, 2024

Housing

[Dan Albas, Conservative, Central Okanagan—Similkameen—Nicola, BC]

Mr. Speaker, after eight years of the NDP-Liberal government, Kelowna is in housing hell. Rents have doubled and mortgage payments have tripled. Tent cities and long lineups at food banks are now commonplace. The housing minister touts investing millions in Kelowna through his housing accelerator fund, or HAF.

Can the minister please share specifically how many homes in Kelowna, funded by last October's announcement, will start construction this year, or has he been too preoccupied with polls, press releases and photo ops to the point where he is too clever by HAF?

[Chris Bittle, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Housing]

Mr. Speaker, I hope the hon. member will come with me to 651 Cambridge Avenue in Kelowna to see a 75-unit construction. There has been $4.6 million invested in the city of Kelowna, which he voted against.

We are getting housing built in this country. Time and time again, the Conservatives pretend, during this hour of the day in question period, to care about housing, but when it comes to voting on funding, they are absent. They vote against funding, and they have promised that, when they form government, they will cut all funds and raise taxes on builders.

We are going to get the job done. We are serious about housing.

[Dan Albas, Conservative, Central Okanagan—Similkameen—Nicola, BC]

Mr. Speaker, they cannot give a number because they did not require it.

Kelowna's HAF action plan only refers to “investments in affordable housing such as land acquisition, investments in housing-related infrastructure such as sewer and water, and investments in community-related infrastructure that supports housing such as sidewalks, bridges and bike lanes”.

Does the parliamentary secretary understand that this joke of a program funds sewers and bike lanes, but does not require the construction of a single home? Is he comfortable with the fact that the only housing from this $30 million might be a bridge for someone to sleep under?

[Chris Bittle, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Housing]

Mr. Speaker, I am glad to get up to talk again about Kelowna, which is getting $31.5 million for 20,000 homes over the next 10 years. How did the member vote? He voted against it. Time and time again, the Conservatives stand in this place and vote against getting housing built in this country. We know there is a supply crisis in this country on housing. The Conservatives do not want to build a single house. It is unfortunate how unserious they are about this crisis.

We are ready to get the job done; we are getting the job done.

Health

[Gord Johns, NDP, Courtenay—Alberni, BC]

Mr. Speaker, in just two days, Belleville has seen 23 drug poisonings. It has declared a state of emergency. The mayor says that emergency services and funding are stretched too thin. The toxic drug crisis keeps getting worse, while the Liberals take a patchwork approach. Then there are Conservatives, who spread harmful disinformation instead of offering real solutions. There are 42,000 people who have died since 2016. We need a coordinated, compassionate and integrated response.

When will the minister finally declare the toxic drug crisis a national public health emergency?

[Élisabeth Brière, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Families]

Mr. Speaker, of course, our hearts go out to the people of Belleville impacted by this crisis and their loved ones. We agree with the mayor that this is horrible. The Minister of Mental Health and Addictions has spoken with Mayor Ellis to discuss how we can work together alongside the Government of Ontario, guided by our compassionate and comprehensive approach. People who use substances, their families and their communities need us to use every tool at our disposal.

Oil and Gas Industry

[Heather McPherson, NDP, Edmonton Strathcona, AB]

Mr. Speaker, a year ago, a tailings pond at Imperial Oil's Kearl site in northern Alberta overflowed. It spilled 5.3 million litres of cancer-causing toxins into the environment. Even worse, it was shown that the pond had been leaking for years and is still leaking. Both Imperial Oil and the Alberta Energy Regulator knew, but they did not tell the community.

What has the government done to hold Imperial Oil or the AER accountable for this disaster? It has done nothing. When will the minister do his job and make sure the land and water that Albertans depend upon is finally protected?

[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 greatly appreciate the advocacy from the member on the environment and protecting the environment. She is absolutely right, and that is why the environment committee called CEO Brad Corson to committee once again. Just before the holidays, I had the opportunity to hold his feet to the fire and tell him that Canadians are not satisfied with their environmental protection strategy, if we can call it that. The Athabasca River deserves better protection. The 5.3 million litres of tailings that have leaked into that river are causing poisonings, deaths and environmental destruction, and Imperial Oil must clean up its mess.

Aerospace Industry

[Emmanuella Lambropoulos, Liberal, Saint-Laurent, QC]

Mr. Speaker, as a member of the parliamentary aerospace caucus, I was delighted to participate in this week's events organized by the Aerospace Industries Association of Canada. Canada's aerospace industry is an asset for our economy, our workforce and our overall growth.

Could the Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry tell us about the important role this sector plays in Quebec and across the country, and explain how we will continue to support this industry's work?

[François-Philippe Champagne, Liberal, Minister of Innovation]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague, the member for Saint-Laurent, for her leadership regarding the aerospace industry. Not only is the aerospace industry one of the most innovative sectors in our country, it is also one of the most important. It employs nearly 210,000 Canadians across the country. Members will recall that, last year, our government announced an historic investment of $350 million for the country's aerospace industry.

Not only will we have a thriving industry, we will have one of the greenest industries. We have already made it clear that we believe that having a national aerospace strategy will serve the nation's interests well.

Housing

[Eric Duncan, Conservative, Stormont—Dundas—South Glengarry, ON]

Mr. Speaker, after eight years of the Liberal-NDP coalition, Cornwall is no exception to the housing hell Canadians are facing. Rents and housing costs have doubled, and there is a desperate need for new homes and rentals to be built. Here is the worst part: Cornwall is finalizing plans for a 500-unit residential project, but it is being blocked by a gatekeeper, the Liberal government. Transport Canada has dithered for eight years on plans to transfer an intersection that would allow the entrance for this new project to be built.

Will the housing minister tell the transport minister to stop blocking this important residential project for Cornwall?

[Chris Bittle, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Housing]

Mr. Speaker, we have been working with municipalities across the country to get housing built, with 30 deals under the housing accelerator fund to build 500,000 additional units of housing. Where have the Conservatives been found on this? They are absent. They voted against it.

They are going to cut our GST cut on purpose-built rentals. They are going to increase taxes on home builders. They are going to cut the funding and deals we have with municipalities. They do not understand the complexity of the housing crisis. They are going to take us backward. We need to build more supply, not Conservative cuts, which is what they are promising.

[Eric Duncan, Conservative, Stormont—Dundas—South Glengarry, ON]

Mr. Speaker, what a sad state of affairs with the Liberals. After eight years of dithering, delaying and working with local partners to actually get something done, they do not even know what they are talking about. They could not even acknowledge the local issue after eight years of trying to actually get this done. It is one parcel of land, at the intersection of Brookdale Avenue and Water Street in Cornwall, that everyone is in agreement on. The grand chief of Akwesasne and the mayor of Cornwall are both on board; they want to get this transferred so shovels can get into the ground right away.

It is not that hard. Will the Liberals finally get out of the way and transfer the intersection so 500 units of housing can finally get built this year in Cornwall?

[Chris Bittle, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Housing]

Mr. Speaker, while the Leader of the Opposition is going across the country picking fights with local mayors, we are working with municipalities to get the job done. We are happy to work with Cornwall and municipalities across the country.

However, what does the Conservative Party have to offer in its housing policy? It is offering cuts. It is offering to increase taxes on builders who are building purpose-built rentals. Conservatives do not understand the seriousness of the housing crisis; they do not have a plan and they will take us backwards.

We are going to get the job done. We understand that this is an issue of supply. We are going to get the houses built.

[Bernard Généreux, Conservative, Montmagny—L'Islet—Kamouraska—Rivière-du-Loup, QC]

Mr. Speaker, after eight years, this government is not worth the cost. The cost of housing and houses has more than doubled in the past eight years. After all these years and all the money that it announced in that time, housing starts dropped again last year, especially in December, when housing construction fell by 28%.

Will this government take our common-sense ideas on the housing issue and implement them as quickly as possible, just as it did with the auto theft issue?

[Chris Bittle, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Housing]

Mr. Speaker, again, we see the Conservatives pretending to care about housing during the hour of question period. They bang their fists on the table to demand more work on the file, but when it comes to actually voting on housing funding, they stand up and vote against it, time and time again.

The Government of Canada has invested $900 million in the province of Quebec. How did that member vote? He voted against it.

[Bernard Généreux, Conservative, Montmagny—L'Islet—Kamouraska—Rivière-du-Loup, QC]

Mr. Speaker, instead of holding consultations and making announcements, here are some good, common-sense ideas for tackling the problem. We could sell off federal buildings and land, get housing built on that land and provide bonuses to cities that speed up the permit process by reducing red tape. According to a CIBC report released the day before yesterday, more than five million housing units need to be built within the next six years to lower housing costs. That is no small task.

Will the government take our good, common-sense ideas and fix the problem once and for all?

[Pablo Rodriguez, Liberal, Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, if he is looking for good ideas, then he should stop insulting the mayors of Quebec. He should stop coming to Quebec and telling them that they are lousy at their jobs. That does not work. Instead, he should support our measures and applaud the Government of Canada's efforts and its ability and willingness to collaborate with the Government of Quebec. Quebec is putting in $900 million, and we are putting in $900 million. That is $1.8 billion for projects. Some of those will be in his neck of the woods, and there will be more throughout Quebec. If all he wants to do is complain, he should get out of the way, because we will continue building housing in Quebec and throughout Canada.

Veterans

[Luc Desilets, Bloc, Rivière-des-Mille-Îles, QC]

Mr. Speaker, we are not backing down over the national monument to Canada's mission in Afghanistan. This week, Radio-Canada reported that the Department of Veterans Affairs had warned the government that it was tarnishing its reputation by turning its back on Daoust, the team that won the competition. Of course it is tarnishing its reputation. It is tarnishing its reputation with all the design firms around the world, which have found out that Canada fudges the competitions. It is tarnishing its reputation with veterans by claiming to speak on their behalf based on a biased, fake poll.

Will the government backtrack and give the winning contract to the winning team, Daoust?

[Randeep Sarai, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Veterans Affairs and Associate Minister of National Defence]

Mr. Speaker, the national monument to Canada's mission in Afghanistan reflects the sacrifices of 40,000 Canadian people: military, police and civilians.

We listened to over 12,000 veterans and their families in a survey. Overwhelmingly, the majority of those who responded were veterans, and they wanted the Team Stimson design; they say it best reflects their input.

When it comes to honouring the sacrifices of our veterans, we must listen to them. We did, and we will continue to do so.

[Luc Desilets, Bloc, Rivière-des-Mille-Îles, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the jury for the competition did get the results of the government's bogus survey, and it still chose the Daoust team. It did the right thing because Leger tore that survey apart. It said that the consultation “does not in any way represent the opinions of Canadian Armed Forces members, the families of Canadian Armed Forces members or the Canadian public”. I would also like to add that francophones were under-represented in the survey, as is unfortunately the custom in Canada.

Will the government finally grant the contract to the Daoust team and put an end to this sham?

[Randeep Sarai, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Veterans Affairs and Associate Minister of National Defence]

Mr. Speaker, we appreciate and respect the work of the jury members who evaluated the finalists' design concepts. However, the Team Stimson design was the one that veterans of the mission, and their families, felt best represented those who served there and their bravery, sacrifices and losses. The results of the consultation, which are public, were clear. It is important that we listen to our veterans.

Public Safety

[Michelle Rempel, Conservative, Calgary Nose Hill, AB]

Mr. Speaker, after eight years of the Liberal government, towns that used to be peaceful are being terrorized by foreign gangs that threaten our neighbourhoods with violence and arson. The rate of extortion across Canada is up a whopping 218%.

Canadians are living in fear for their lives because of NDP-Liberal bills like Bill C-5, which eliminated mandatory jail time for extortion with a firearm. This means dangerous criminals stay on the street.

It is time to stop the crime. Will the Liberals reverse this dangerous bill that keeps dangerous criminals on the street?

[Jennifer O'Connell, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, I find it interesting that the members opposite bring up issues around firearms and safety in our communities, when they actually, just over 60 days ago, voted against $80 million for the RCMP that would specifically go to supporting the work of the RCMP on guns and gangs, and organized crime.

We are taking the issue of extortion very seriously. This is why the RCMP are working with local police. The Conservative cuts would not solve this issue.

[Michelle Rempel, Conservative, Calgary Nose Hill, AB]

Mr. Speaker, eight years ago, under the last Conservative government, extortion was down. It is was five times lower, and the budget was balanced.

The mayor of Surrey has taken note. In a letter pleading with the Liberals to do something about the explosion of life-threatening extortion in her community, she said that she has “terrified” people in her community.

Conservatives would restore mandatory minimum sentences for convicted extortionists, and stop the crime explosion rate that is terrorizing Canadians across the country. Will the Liberals?