Debates of Feb. 3rd, 2026

A motion to adjourn the House under Standing Order 38 deemed to have been moved.

Housing

[Jenny Kwan, NDP, Vancouver East, BC]

Mr. Speaker, for more than 30 years, successive Liberal and Conservative governments have relied on the private sector to attempt to deliver the housing Canadians need. The results are undeniable. Canada's non-market housing stock has dwindled to just 4.5% of total housing, well below the G7 average. To be clear, CMHC has indicated that Canada needs an additional 3.5 million affordable homes by 2030. The PBO's report on the Build Canada Homes plan found that the government will deliver only 26,000 new units of housing over five years. That is 5,200 units per year. At this rate, it would take 673 years to reach the goal CMHC has set out. Based on the life expectancy at birth for a Canadian born in 2023, that is eight and a half lifetimes.

Housing costs have soared, homelessness is rising, and deeply affordable homes are disappearing faster than they are being built. Despite the scale of this crisis, federal housing spending is projected to drop by 56% by 2028-29. At the same time, funding for existing affordability programs is set to expire in the coming years, with no clear replacement. This is not a serious plan as it is currently laid out.

Build Canada Homes was presented during the election as something akin to a postwar level of federal investment in housing. Instead, the Parliamentary Budget Officer has confirmed that it lacks the targets, funding and safeguards needed to deliver affordability at scale. Build Canada Homes includes no minimum requirements for affordability across its projects. Of the sites announced so far, only six are expected to achieve affordability targets. Without clear targets written into the program, there is no guarantee that future projects will deliver homes that low- and moderate-income Canadians can afford.

Budget 2025 indicates that CMHC, the federal agency formerly responsible for delivering housing programs, is facing cuts of $860 million per year. Canadians do not know which programs will be cut and which will be saved by Build Canada Homes. There is no transparency or accountability. Let me be clear about what this looks like on the ground.

At the China Creek Housing Coop in Vancouver, residents are facing the possible loss of housing charge subsidies that keep their homes affordable. Earlier this year, the government announced an extension of the federal community housing initiative, creating the impression that affordability protection will continue, yet the most recent federal budget contains no provision for the continuation of these subsidies into the coming year. When the co-op contacted CMHC for clarification, it was told there is no information beyond what was presented in the budget: no timeline, no transition plan, no assurance that existing subsidy recipients will continue to receive support. CMHC has effectively told residents to contact their member of Parliament because it cannot provide answers. The residents affected include low-income seniors with serious health concerns, single parents with children, and indigenous and Métis families.

Without housing charge subsidies, many will be unable to afford their homes not only at China Creek but anywhere in Vancouver's rental market, and for that matter across the country, where rents routinely exceed the total monthly income of those most affected. The fear of imminent homelessness is real, and it is taking a profound emotional toll on people with nowhere else to go.

[Caroline Desrochers, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Housing and Infrastructure]

Mr. Speaker, I am glad to report that the Government of Canada is taking action to lower housing costs for Canadians across the country. Budget 2025 is making generational investments in housing and infrastructure because we know that housing costs have a significant impact on the cost of living. These strategic investments will build major infrastructure and homes, create lasting prosperity and empower Canadians to get ahead.

In September 2025 the Prime Minister and the Minister of Housing and Infrastructure launched Build Canada Homes, with an initial capitalization of $13 billion. Build Canada Homes is Canada's new federal agency with the mandate to scale up the supply of affordable housing across Canada. By leveraging public lands, deploying flexible financial tools and acting as a catalyst for modern methods of construction, Build Canada Homes is driving a more productive and innovative homebuilding sector.

The new agency will partner with private sector developers on mixed market housing developments that combine affordable rentals with market units. The approach will help unlock new sources of private capital, create more affordable housing supply and ensure that housing remains financially viable and affordable over the long term.

Build Canada Homes will also help fight homelessness by building transitional and supportive housing and will work with provinces, territories, municipalities and indigenous communities to pair these federal investments with necessary wraparound services.

In addition, the $1.5-billion Canada rental protection fund will also be launched under Build Canada Homes to help protect existing affordable housing. This initiative will help the community housing sector acquire at-risk rental apartment buildings to ensure that they remain affordable over the long term. The Canada rental protection fund aligns with Build Canada Homes' broader mandate to grow the supply of affordable and non-market housing. All projects funded via Build Canada Homes will include an affordable component, not only by building new homes but also by preserving those that Canadians already rely on.

Build Canada Homes and the Canada rental protection fund will build on the success of programs like the affordable housing fund. As of September 2025, over 54,000 new units have been committed through the affordable housing fund. The Government of Canada has provided an additional $1.5 billion in loans to the fund's new construction stream. This brings the total federal investment in the fund to approximately $16 billion.

To ensure that the rental market remains fair and accessible, the Government of Canada has also created the blueprint for a renters' bill of rights, which sets out principles for a fair and transparent rental system. We are calling on the provinces and territories to take action to support the blueprint's principles, to improve the rental system and to ensure that renting is a fair and transparent process across Canada.

The Government is making historic investments in affordable housing and is working to lower housing costs for Canadians so every family can find a home that fits its needs and its budget. We are committed to doing this. We will do it using Canadian materials, Canadian workers and Canadian ingenuity, and by working in collaboration with every member of the House.

[Jenny Kwan, NDP, Vancouver East, BC]

Mr. Speaker, currently, operating agreements for approximately 300,000 units of existing social and co-op housing are slated to sunset. If the Liberals do not renew those operating agreements, their housing charge subsidies will end. That means there would be, potentially, a loss of 300,000 units of already built affordable homes to add to the acute housing crisis. That means that the Prime Minister is not only failing to build truly affordable homes at the scale that is needed but is also failing to protect existing ones, homes set up to ensure that coordinated affordability is at the centre of its operation so it can deliver deeply affordable housing at scale.

My question is, will the Prime Minister correct this fundamental flaw and commit to ensuring that Build Canada Homes is doing its job to ensure that core funding is in place to ensure affordability, and will the Liberals commit to contribute funding for housing charge subsidies, including for the residents at China Creek, so no one is pushed into homelessness because of inaction by the federal government?

[Caroline Desrochers, Liberal, Trois-Rivières, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the government is committed to solving the housing crisis by focusing on affordable housing across the full affordability spectrum. Budget 2025 is making generational investments in housing and infrastructure in order to do so.

Build Canada Homes is going to work with partners across the housing ecosystem to drive the development of affordable housing options that will support a mix of income levels. Build Canada Homes is going to grow the supply of affordable and community housing and will work with non-profit housing providers to offer flexible financial tools, including low-interest loans and contributions. These partnerships are central to Build Canada Homes' strategy to grow community housing and to ensure long-term affordability.

The federal government is taking action through a wide range of measures, which I mentioned before, to restore affordability, expand housing options and ensure that every Canadian has a place to call home.

Natural Resources

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise tonight to speak to the closure of the Crofton mill on Vancouver Island and what it exposes about the state of Canada's forest sector and the Liberal government's failure to act when forestry workers need help most.

Today, February 3, the first round of layoffs at Crofton takes effect. Workers are emptying lockers and families are losing paycheques. Mortgages, rent and grocery bills do not pause while the government deliberates. Communities are being told to wait. I am raising this tonight because Geoff Dawe, the president of Public and Private Workers of Canada, contacted me directly. His concern was simple and alarming. Workers losing their good-paying union jobs cannot access the federal supports that they were promised and deserve. Crofton is not in my riding, but when hundreds of Vancouver Island workers are thrown out of work overnight, riding boundaries mean nothing. It demands a national response.

I reached out immediately to three federal departments about removing barriers to workers' support, barriers that simply should never have existed in the first place. I acknowledge those ministers and officials who responded, but let me be clear: Workers should not need an MP running interference just to get help when mills close.

I also want to recognize British Columbia's Minister of Forests, Ravi Parmar, who is working around the clock, North Cowichan Mayor Rob Douglas and Duncan Mayor Michelle Staples, who are doing everything they can on the ground, despite the absence of a serious, coordinated federal response. When governments fail to intervene during a sectoral crisis, the outcome is predictable: economic shock, mental health crisis, population loss and entire communities shaken to the core. This moment is a real-time stress test for employment insurance, labour market development funding, softwood lumber relief and federal-provincial coordination. Right now, the system is failing that test.

Let me explain. The government announced $1.2 billion for the forest sector. Workers quickly discovered that only $50 million of that is actually for them. That is less than 5%, not for income replacement, not for retraining and not for communities trying to survive closures. The $50 million for tens of thousands of workers is not support; it is neglect. In British Columbia alone, nearly 50,000 direct forestry jobs are at risk. These are mill workers, fallers, truck drivers, equipment operators, indigenous workers and workers in single-industry towns.

Forestry has sustained generations of families in my home province. British Columbia produces roughly 45% of Canada's softwood lumber exports, yet under the $450-million labour market adjustment envelope, British Columbia receives only about $70 million, while Ontario receives roughly $230 million. That is indefensible. It is not proportional and it abandons forestry communities in British Columbia.

When the auto sector faces crisis, Ottawa intervenes. When steel faces unfair trade action, Ottawa steps in, and rightly so. Forestry workers are asking, though, why they are treated as expendable. What is missing is a new, dedicated round of forestry relief, including softwood lumber supports, that reflects the scale of this crisis and treats British Columbia fairly. Many affected workers are between 55 and 64 years old, too old for retraining and too young for retirement. Employment insurance replaces just 60% of income, and severance clawbacks block access to support entirely.

Workers are not asking for charity; they are simply asking for action. They are asking for employment insurance replacement to be raised to at least 80% and for EI duration to be extended to 104 weeks. They are asking for no waiting periods and no severance clawbacks. They are asking for bridge-to-retirement supports for workers aged 55 to 64. They are asking for guaranteed apprenticeship completion and long-term mental health supports. They are asking for mobility assistance where local jobs do not exist.

Crofton is the test. Layoffs are happening today, and the excuses will not pay the rent. Delay is not neutral; it is harm. The government must act, and it must act now.

[Claude Guay, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Energy and Natural Resources]

Mr. Speaker, the mill closures are a challenge across the country, not just in British Columbia. We feel for every worker who is being impacted with that situation, as well as their families, but the reality is that we are faced with an unjustified tariff war from our neighbour to the south, which is affecting this industry and has been affecting it for many years. We have been fighting numerous tariffs over the years, but the government is taking on a series of activities to help the industry, and these require profound measures.

Some of those measures include the $1.2 billion the member mentioned, which is really to help, from a liquidity perspective, the companies that are facing these tariffs. The larger companies are taking advantage of SIF, the strategic innovation fund, to survive or combat those tariffs, but there is also a $500-million program that we have announced, which is related to retooling—

[An hon. member]

It is $20 million for workers.

[Claude Guay, Liberal, LaSalle—Émard—Verdun, QC]

Mr. Speaker, it is $50 million for the workers. The $500 million is actually to help companies diversify into new products and changes, which is required. The reality is that it is going to take a while to address these problems that are specific to an industry that has been affected for so long. Last but not least, we have worked with the British Columbia government, because it is also within their purview.

We have also recently created a working group for 90 days, with representatives from across the country who are going to make suggestions to the government as to what needs to happen. It is going to happen very soon. We also have, as the member mentioned, the program to help in terms of salary and retraining for the employees.

It is a difficult challenge across the country. We have heard about multiple mill closures, not just in British Columbia, but particularly in British Columbia, Quebec and Ontario. We take this very seriously, and we are there to help not only the employees. We have to help the companies too, if the companies are to hire those employees and provide them with work.

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

Mr. Speaker, feelings are not enough. The layoffs are happening today. I am urging the government not to abandon the families and workers at Crofton. Forestry workers do not need more reassurance; they need action. If the government is serious about preventing further job losses and supporting workers who have already lost their jobs, it must deliver real, sector-specific relief now, including softwood lumber relief funds that are proportional to British Columbia's role in this industry and comparable to what auto and steel received.

This means stabilizing existing mills, securing fibre supply, resolving the softwood lumber dispute with the United States and diversifying markets through a team Canada approach with provinces, labour and industry. Workers are losing their jobs today, and support must be timely and fair. Many have paid into employment insurance for decades. EI at 60% is not enough. Waiting periods delay income at the very moment families are losing paycheques, and severance clawbacks punish workers for benefits they have earned.

Will the government act now? Will it help the workers and families of Crofton, B.C., right now?

[Claude Guay, Liberal, LaSalle—Émard—Verdun, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for making it very clear and obvious what is happening across the country, not just in his riding or in British Columbia. Resolving the trade issue is actually a challenge, just as it is in steel, in auto, in aluminum and in forestry. The challenges in forestry have been going on for many years, and we need some fundamental structural solutions to be able to strengthen our industry across the country and take care and offer good jobs. We have actually been talking about the Build Canada Homes program and the buy Canadian program, because if we actually consume more of our wood, we will be able to employ more employees in our mills across the country.

Finance

[Elizabeth May, Green, Saanich—Gulf Islands, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I rise tonight at Adjournment Proceedings to pursue a question I asked the Minister of Finance back on December 4, 2025, about what was committed in the budget.

At page 348 in the budget, it very clearly states that a component of carbon capture, utilization and storage, known as “enhanced oil recovery”, would not qualify for investment tax credits.

For those who are watching and do not know what “enhanced oil recovery” is, it is basically using the fig leaf that we are somehow pulling carbon out of the atmosphere, keeping it stored and avoiding its global warming effect, which is somehow good for the climate. However, what they are really doing is using the pressure and the impact of shooting carbon dioxide under the surface to areas where the industry has not been able to access the oil that is still there. Therefore, enhanced oil recovery is not about carbon capture and storage; it is about increasing oil production.

Back when the budget was being drafted and before it was tabled on November 4, a clear case was made to the government not to add a new fossil fuel subsidy and to make it very clear. It is still there. The government did not use disappearing ink. It still says, at page 348 in the English version of the budget, that enhanced oil recovery is not eligible for investment tax credits.

The reason I asked the question of the Minister of Finance back on December 4, which was ironically exactly a month after the tabling of the budget, was due to the memorandum of understanding that had been executed with the Government of Alberta on November 27, which, amazingly, said exactly the opposite of the commitment made in the budget. I made the point in my question that some might call it a flip-flop, but a flip-flop is a sandal. This is a betrayal, because in the agreement with Danielle Smith of Alberta, the Government of Canada committed to provide exactly the subsidy it said it would not provide on page 348 of the budget.

My question was a financial question. We already had quite a stunning bottom-line number in this budget for the extent of the deficit, a $78-billion deficit, but when we throw more money at subsidies, what we do is increase our deficit because we add to what the government is spending more than to what it receives.

The Green Party has a very good record on the subject of deficits and trying to strike balance. Of all the parties in the last federal election, we submitted more proposals to the Parliamentary Budget Officer for review than any other party. We provided, chapter and verse, how the government could bring in more revenue and pay down the deficit faster without austerity, without cuts, without depriving our social safety net of the resources it needs to expand and to provide for the needs of Canadians.

These studies are still on the Parliamentary Budget Officer's website, should anyone want to check out how much money we would have raised with a financial transaction tax, how much money we would raise with a wealth tax, or how much we could get if we put Canada first and stopped allowing the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board to take Canada pension plan money and invest it in other countries.

I did not get an answer that day. The Minister of the Environment rose, but she did not give me an answer.

Therefore, what is the deficit now that the Liberals have betrayed the promise on enhanced oil recovery?

[Caroline Desrochers, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Housing and Infrastructure]

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my colleague for bringing up this issue.

The world is changing rapidly. The United States, the world's largest economy and Canada's main economic partner, is fundamentally reshaping all of its trading relationships. To say that it is causing disruption for Canada is an understatement. This is not an economic transition. It is a generational shift, a rupture.

Sitting back and thinking about the good old days is not a strategy. We need to transform our economy from one that is reliant on a single trading partner to one that is stronger, more independent and resilient to global shocks. This is why we have removed federal barriers to internal trade so that we can be our own best customer. This is why we passed legislation to fast-track the approvals of nation-building projects, a key to diversifying our economy and fulfilling our potential as an energy superpower.

We are a resource-rich country with critical minerals, clean and conventional power and a world-class agri-food industry. Let us be clear: Canada has what the world needs, and we need to secure our place in the new global economy.

In November, our government struck a new partnership with the Province of Alberta to lower emissions, unlock our natural resources and build a stronger and more sustainable economy. It will enable a clear and efficient approval process for a new pipeline, built and paid for by the private sector with indigenous peoples' co-ownership and benefits. The pipeline will bring Canadian oil to new Asian markets. It will help us diversify our exports, reduce the discount on current sales to U.S. markets and increase Canada's independence and prosperity.

The memorandum of understanding that we signed with Alberta also advances the construction of Pathways Plus. It will be the largest carbon capture, utilization and storage project in the world. It matters because energy does not only have to be low cost; it also needs to be low carbon. Under the MOU, Alberta will beef up its own technology innovation and emissions reduction program to establish an effective carbon price of $130 per tonne. This is an accomplishment. This will help send a clear signal to industry that emitting carbon is costly, and therefore make carbon capture, utilization and storage more attractive.

For our part, we will extend federal investment tax credits to encourage large-scale carbon capture investments, including Pathways and enhanced oil recovery. Pathways will make Alberta oil among the lowest carbon-intensity produced barrels of oil in the world. As for enhanced oil recovery, it is a plus for carbon capture and storage. It generates demand and revenue for captured CO2, and therefore, it helps to scale up and attract carbon capture projects, all while storing the captured CO2 so it is not released into the atmosphere.

Canada can be and will be a superpower in both clean and conventional energy.

[Elizabeth May, Green, Saanich—Gulf Islands, BC]

Mr. Speaker, that was four minutes without an answer. I asked what the deficit is now because the government has increased throwing money at big oil. I did not get an answer.

I was told a number of things that are not true, including that, somehow, the memorandum of understanding with Alberta has something to do with diversifying trade in Canada. With a barrel of West Texas Intermediate selling at less than $60 a barrel, and they cannot make money out of bitumen in northern Alberta unless it is selling for $80 a barrel, there is not a market for bitumen. There is certainly not going to be carbon captured through the Pathways project because the only thing that carbon capture and storage has ever been proven to capture is government money all around the world.

We have to be serious about what we want to be if we are going to be a serious economy and look at a new world order. Step one is to put Canada first. We need to stop taking Canada pension plan money to spend it in other countries, start putting Canada first and put in strategic reserves for our natural resources.

[Caroline Desrochers, Liberal, Trois-Rivières, QC]

Mr. Speaker, this is exactly what we are doing. We are putting Canada first and building Canada strong.

The Premier of Alberta supports this entire memorandum of understanding. The Premier of Saskatchewan supports it. The Premier of Ontario supports it. There is a reason why, and that is that it is a plan to lower emissions, unlock our natural resources and build a stronger, more sustainable and more competitive economy. RBC's Climate Action Institute said that it could position Canada and Alberta as a continental energy superpower thanks to a clear road map, a tight deadline and a low carbon boost.

I urge all members of the House to join us in supporting our plan so we can build Canada strong.

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker, John Nater]

The motion to adjourn the House is now deemed to have been adopted. Accordingly, the House stands adjourned until tomorrow at 2 p.m., pursuant to Standing Order 24(1).

(The House adjourned at 6:48 p.m.)