Mr. Speaker, it is an honour for me to salute Peter Turkstra, a leader, builder and community philanthropist. Last week, I attended the industry luncheon of the West End Home Builders Association in Hamilton, where Peter Turkstra was inducted into its hall of fame for his decades of leadership and service.
Turkstra Lumber is an institution in the construction industry. This honour was very well deserved. However, Peter's acceptance speech raised loud and clear alarm bells of an industry in crisis. He called out the excessive taxes and bureaucracy from the federal Liberals, as well as the provinces and municipalities, that are decimating homebuilding in Canada.
It hurts Peter's soul to lay off experienced and loyal tradespeople because of this crisis. This is at a time when young people have given up on the dream of home ownership in record numbers. How sad. This is not a demand problem; this is an overtaxation problem.
Let us heed Peter's call, cut the HST on all new homes, reduce development charges and cut the red tape.
I congratulate and thank Peter.