Debates of June 11th, 2025

Main Estimates and Supplementary Estimates (A), 2025-26

[Scott Aitchison, Conservative, Parry Sound—Muskoka, ON]

Mr. Chair, I will be splitting my time three ways.

Does the minister believe that Canada is in a housing crisis?

[Gregor Robertson, Liberal, Minister of Housing and Infrastructure and Minister responsible for Pacific Economic Development Canada]

Mr. Chair, I am honoured to be here today.

Canada is definitely in a housing crisis, and it has been building over decades.

[Scott Aitchison, Conservative, Parry Sound—Muskoka, ON]

Mr. Chair, would the minister agree that Canada's housing crisis is about supply and therefore also about affordability of homes?

[Gregor Robertson, Liberal, Vancouver Fraserview—South Burnaby, BC]

Mr. Chair, Canada's housing crisis is definitely related to a lack of supply over many decades and also to the lack of the Government of Canada's being directly involved in building affordable supply.

[Scott Aitchison, Conservative, Parry Sound—Muskoka, ON]

Mr. Chair, on May 14, the minister said that he did not think that prices of homes should come down; then, on June 9, the minister said in the House that he believes the cost of homes needs to come down.

Which of those statements is correct, and which one does the minister believe?

[Gregor Robertson, Liberal, Vancouver Fraserview—South Burnaby, BC]

Mr. Chair, the overall price of housing needs to come down across Canada. We need to have more affordable housing in this country. We are not talking about intervening in the market to change individual home prices; the market sets those prices. The Government of Canada should be building more affordable housing to bring the overall cost down.

[Scott Aitchison, Conservative, Parry Sound—Muskoka, ON]

Mr. Chair, does the minister know what percentage of the cost of a new home, in the GTA for example, is government charges and fees?

[Gregor Robertson, Liberal, Vancouver Fraserview—South Burnaby, BC]

Mr. Chair, the cost of homes, in terms of housing infrastructure and the infrastructure required to build homes on, varies around the GTA. It varies with the building typology. It varies with the—

[The Assistant Deputy Chair, Conservative, John Nater]

The hon. member has the floor.

[Scott Aitchison, Conservative, Parry Sound—Muskoka, ON]

Mr. Chair, I will help the minister. The average is about 25% of the cost of every new home in the GTA, 25% in government charges and fees.

I will ask a similar question closer to home: Does the minister know the average cost of government on a new home in Vancouver?

[Gregor Robertson, Liberal, Vancouver Fraserview—South Burnaby, BC]

Mr. Chair, development cost charges in Vancouver obviously vary depending on the metro region and the municipality applying those. Typically they are cost recovery for the infrastructure required to build the homes.

[Scott Aitchison, Conservative, Parry Sound—Muskoka, ON]

Mr. Chair, the cost of government charges and fees in Vancouver is about 20% as well. Would the minister agree, though, that if the cost of homes has to come down, the cost of government needs to come down on those homes?

[Gregor Robertson, Liberal, Vancouver Fraserview—South Burnaby, BC]

Mr. Chair, first and foremost, governments need to invest in the housing infrastructure, and local governments typically make that investment and recover the cost through development charges. This government is looking at helping those—

[The Assistant Deputy Chair, Conservative, John Nater]

The hon. member has the floor.

[Scott Aitchison, Conservative, Parry Sound—Muskoka, ON]

Mr. Chair, I recognize that municipalities need to invest in infrastructure. I was a mayor myself at one point and did the exact same thing.

My question was this: Does the cost of government need to come down on the cost of a new home?

[Gregor Robertson, Liberal, Vancouver Fraserview—South Burnaby, BC]

Mr. Chair, I am not sure what the phrase “the cost of government” indicates, but development cost charges need to be covered for the housing infrastructure, and how that is split between governments—

[The Assistant Deputy Chair, Conservative, John Nater]

The hon. member has the floor.

[Scott Aitchison, Conservative, Parry Sound—Muskoka, ON]

Mr. Chair, when the minister was mayor of Vancouver, over his tenure, the city increased development charges by 141% in that time period. Does the minister agree that this made housing more expensive in Vancouver?

[Gregor Robertson, Liberal, Vancouver Fraserview—South Burnaby, BC]

Mr. Chair, the price of housing is set by the market. What we need to focus on as a government in Canada is affordability and making sure there is a supply of affordable homes.

[Scott Aitchison, Conservative, Parry Sound—Muskoka, ON]

Mr. Chair, does the minister recognize that the cost of development charges a city charges to a developer is passed on to the purchaser and, therefore, becomes part of the purchase price?

[Gregor Robertson, Liberal, Vancouver Fraserview—South Burnaby, BC]

Mr. Chair, the cost of the housing infrastructure can affect it, depending on the market across Canada. The market in some markets, such as Toronto and Vancouver, is much higher than the percentage-driven—

[The Assistant Deputy Chair, Conservative, John Nater]

The hon. member has the floor.

[Scott Aitchison, Conservative, Parry Sound—Muskoka, ON]

Mr. Chair, does the minister realize that, while he was mayor, house prices in Vancouver went up a whopping 149% and that part of the reason for that was the cost of government charges and fees?

[Gregor Robertson, Liberal, Vancouver Fraserview—South Burnaby, BC]

Mr. Chair, we have seen the prices of housing escalate across the country and in many cities around the world. This is a global challenge but one we have to—

[The Assistant Deputy Chair, Conservative, John Nater]

Resuming debate, the hon. member for King—Vaughan has the floor.