Debates of June 11th, 2025

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

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

Mr. Chair, across the country, we need to be able to see rents come down for Canadians. I am sure that is the case in Hamilton, as it is in many cities across Canada.

[Ned Kuruc, Conservative, Hamilton East—Stoney Creek, ON]

Mr. Chair, it is $1,824. Does the hon. minister consider that affordable?

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

Mr. Chair, it all depends on people's income, but for most Canadians, that is a challenge. That is why I hope the member will support us with our new housing plan.

[Ned Kuruc, Conservative, Hamilton East—Stoney Creek, ON]

Mr. Chair, through you to the hon. minister, how many homes were built by the housing accelerator?

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

Mr. Chair, the housing accelerator has agreements with over 200 communities across Canada that will unlock over 800,000 homes in the future.

[Ned Kuruc, Conservative, Hamilton East—Stoney Creek, ON]

Mr. Chair, to the hon. minister, how much money was spent?

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

Mr. Chair, the housing accelerator fund has invested $4.4 billion to eliminate the barriers to development and build homes faster.

[Ned Kuruc, Conservative, Hamilton East—Stoney Creek, ON]

Mr. Chair, if $4.4 billion will be spent with no account of how many homes will be built, does the hon. minister have a problem with that?

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

Mr. Chair, on this side of the House, we are very committed to transparency. We will be tracking and working with the local governments to see how they are progressing on delivering the housing units they are rezoning for.

[Ned Kuruc, Conservative, Hamilton East—Stoney Creek, ON]

Mr. Chair, this is a so-called new government running old, failed Liberal programs. How does this help Hamilton?

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

Mr. Chair, I have outlined the scale of investment that is happening through this department. We are talking about $16 billion of hard-working Canadians' money that is being invested in affordable housing and infrastructure. We hope to have the member's support for that.

[Ned Kuruc, Conservative, Hamilton East—Stoney Creek, ON]

Mr. Chair, from what I have heard today, nothing will change. It is just more Liberal lip service and broken promises. The Liberals and the minister will just add to the housing hell in Hamilton.

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

Mr. Chair, I am clear that the members opposite have not supported any of these affordable housing programs in recent years. I hope, based on these questions, that there is going to be a change of approach here, and the members opposite will support scaling up these investments in affordable housing.

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

Mr. Chair, I wonder if the minister could comment on a report from the Auditor General. A federal lands initiative of $200 million was given to CMHC to be spent at an increment of $20 million a year for 4,000 units. That has subsequently been transferred over to the Department of Housing, Infrastructure and Communities, and only 309 units of the 4,000 have been built.

Can the minister tell us how much of the $200 million has been disbursed to build those 309 units?

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

Mr. Chair, certainly we are looking forward to leveraging federal lands, going forward, to get a lot more housing built across Canada. Part of “build Canada homes” is to use federal lands. In this case, most of those units under development currently will be delivered in the years ahead.

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

Mr. Chair, does the minister realize that it currently takes about six years to dispose of federal lands to be developed into housing? What does he plan to do to speed that process up?

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

Mr. Chair, I am certainly looking forward to speeding this process up. The idea with “build Canada homes” is that all the different departments and agencies of government are working in unison to deliver affordable housing across the country, leveraging federal land.

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

Mr. Chair, can the minister tell this House how long it will take for his department to create this new federal agency that will be a developer?

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

Mr. Chair, I am buoyed by this interest in “build Canada homes”. Certainly, on this side of the House, we want to make sure this effort is quick and nimble. We are focused on building these affordable homes as soon as possible, using all the tools of government.

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

Mr. Chair, has the minister ever heard of the Canada Lands Company?

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

Mr. Chair, yes.

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

Mr. Chair, is the minister aware that the Canada Lands Company does not just own the CN Tower and the port of Montreal but in fact is a land developer and is wholly owned by the federal government?

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

Mr. Chair, yes, I am aware of Canada Lands, its different functions and the assets that are held for Canadians.

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

Mr. Chair, Canada Lands is currently developing a number of residential housing projects, in Downsview Park, for example, in Toronto. Also here in Ottawa it has a number of projects on the go.

Is the minister aware of those?

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

Mr. Chair, I am certainly aware of this, and our department works with Canada Lands in some cases, to help with the development. We look forward to doing a lot more of that in the future.