Debates of March 12th, 2026

Housing

[Gregor Robertson, Liberal, Minister of Housing and Infrastructure]

Mr. Speaker, we have some good news in that CMHC report, which shows that average rents across the country are coming down. We are making progress. We are seeing the price of housing come down as well, and mortgage rates are also down, so we are seeing trends in the right direction that achieve affordability, which every member of the House seems to want to deliver on. We could deliver even more for Canadians by passing the Build Canada Homes act in the House and getting $13 billion to set up Canada's affordable housing agency permanently.

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

Mr. Speaker, it is not surprising the minister read only a part of that report, because the report actually talks about how housing starts are falling. They are dropping dramatically, and the reason they are dropping is that the cost of government is just too high and housing construction is too expensive.

My question is simple. Instead of creating a fourth federal housing bureaucracy with the new Build Canada Homes, why will the government not deal with the real barriers to home building, which are taxes, fees and approvals, so builders can get building the homes that Canadians can afford?

[Gregor Robertson, Liberal, Minister of Housing and Infrastructure]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for pointing that out, because we are cutting taxes for first-time homebuyers by up to $50,000, for young Canadians to be able to buy their first home. We are reducing the amount of red tape across the country. The housing accelerator fund is delivering for 241 cities across the country. We are seeing permitting and approvals move faster. We are delivering infrastructure investments to bring down development charges so fees for homebuilding go down. We are delivering on all these points. We need to take it to the next level with the members opposite.

[Jacob Mantle, Conservative, York—Durham, ON]

Mr. Speaker, CMHC's spring housing report is out, and the headlines are concerning. Here it is: Condo sales have collapsed, inventory of all types of housing has surged and financial conditions have worsened for homebuyers. However, here is the most concerning thing about that report. It says Canadians are delaying starting a family because of housing and affordability. They are delaying marriage and delaying having children, which are the very foundations of our society, because they cannot afford a home.

We have offered one positive solution: Remove the GST on new homes for all Canadians. Will the minister commit to doing that today?

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

Mr. Speaker, it is no surprise that Canadians are challenged with buying a home right now, when there is a war in the Middle East. There is no surprise.

In the first 100 days of Build Canada Homes, we have secured agreements with Nova Scotia, with B.C and with Nunavut. We are delivering thousands of homes. We are up to 9,000 homes that are being delivered through Build Canada Homes for Canadians, and we are just getting started. If we pass the Build Canada Homes act in the House in the days ahead, we can supercharge the construction of affordable housing, and that is what Canadians need.

[Jacob Mantle, Conservative, York—Durham, ON]

Mr. Speaker, there is an excuse for every problem, but this is a new one: The war in Iran is the cause of our housing crisis. Wow. I do not know how the Liberals figure that, or square that circle.

The minister boasts about 9,000 new homes. He promised 500,000 new homes. That is not even 2% of his target. Guess what. CMHC says that only 259,000 were built last year, which is only half of the target again, so at the rate the minister complacently brags about, we will never hit the target.

Will the minister take our idea and remove GST on all new homes for Canadians?

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

Mr. Speaker, the good news is that we had a very strong year last year for housing starts across Canada, one of the best in our history. Almost 260,000 homes were started. We need to keep that continuing. Sales are challenged right now. The economy is challenged.

This side of the House is focused on delivering for Canada on affordability, boosting our economy, creating jobs and cutting the costs and the challenges Canadians have. That starts first and foremost with our housing. We are going to deliver that with Build Canada Homes. I invite the members opposite to support the act moving forward.

[Éric Lefebvre, Conservative, Richmond—Arthabaska, QC]

Mr. Speaker, we all agree that Canada needs to build more homes. The Liberal solution is to build more bureaucracy. The only thing the Liberals have managed to build is another bureaucratic structure. The fourth Liberal housing bureaucracy is Build Canada Homes. It is going to cost Canadians $13 billion. It will build 5,000 homes per year, or 1% of what the country needs.

When will the Prime Minister cut the red tape and eliminate the GST on all new homes instead of creating yet another new bureaucratic structure?

[Joël Lightbound, Liberal, Minister of Government Transformation]

Mr. Speaker, I am so glad my opposition colleague asked us that question, because it gives me an opportunity to point out that Quebec was the first province to sign on to Build Canada Homes with my seatmate, the Minister of Housing and Infrastructure. Already, hundreds and thousands of housing units are being built across the country, including in Quebec. I am very happy about that, and I encourage my colleague to watch developments closely because we will build ambitiously, rapidly and efficiently.

Public Safety

[Sima Acan, Liberal, Oakville West, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I have good news: our leader today, the Minister of Public Safety, tabled a bill respecting lawful access, with the underlying objective of giving law enforcement agencies the modern tools they need to combat organized crime, as well as further capacity to act swiftly to prevent criminal activities such as extortion.

Could the Minister of Public Safety elaborate on the critical importance of the bill and how the passage of the legislation would contribute to the safety and security of all Canadians from coast to coast to coast?

[Gary Anandasangaree, Liberal, Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, it is indeed good news. I want to thank my colleague from Oakville West for her hard work. We have been clear that lawful access measures are necessary to give law enforcement the tools it needs to protect Canadians.

Canada is the only Five Eyes G7 country to not have a lawful access measure in place. It is time that Canadian law enforcement had Canadian solutions to go after criminals. With the new measures proposed in Bill C-22, law enforcement would have the tools it has been asking for to combat childhood sexual exploitation, extortion, human trafficking and money laundering. I want to ask—

[The Speaker, Francis Scarpaleggia]

The hon. member for Dufferin—Caledon.

Automotive Industry

[Kyle Seeback, Conservative, Dufferin—Caledon, ON]

Mr. Speaker, for months we have said that the punishing auto tariffs that have been put on our auto industry are devastating and would devastate the industry. With 10,000 jobs lost, the Liberals did nothing. Three plants closed, and the Liberals did nothing. There has been 2.5 billion dollars' worth of tariffs charged to our auto manufacturers, and now the roosters have come home to roost. StatsCan reports that sales of vehicles and light-duty vehicles are down 32%, exports are down 32% and parts are down 21%. These are the worst export numbers since COVID.

When will the Liberals realize they are failing our auto workers?

[Mélanie Joly, Liberal, Minister of Industry and Minister responsible for Canada Economic Development for Quebec Regions]

Mr. Speaker, when my colleague and the Conservatives talk about the auto sector, I do not know why they are scared to talk about the auto tariffs. I do not know why they are not condemning the trade war against us. At the same time, I do not know why they are not supporting what another Conservative is saying, Premier Ford, who is supporting our new auto strategy.

Notwithstanding all the headwinds against our auto workers, we have been there fighting for them, supporting them and creating new jobs. I was in Windsor with Premier Ford last week. We just created 3,000 new jobs.

[Kyle Seeback, Conservative, Dufferin—Caledon, ON]

Mr. Speaker, as usual, the minister's answers to questions about the auto sector are some combination of suggesting that we are not doing enough, and fake news.

Let us look at the results, which are clear. The exports to the United States are down 32% for light-duty and passenger vehicles. That is billions of dollars. This is a direct result of the tariffs the Liberals said they would have removed by Canada Day 2025. It is approaching Canada Day 2026. They failed to get the tariffs off, which they said they would do. The auto industry has been devastated.

Why do the Liberals not admit their failures and apologize to auto workers and the auto sector?

[Mélanie Joly, Liberal, Minister of Industry and Minister responsible for Canada Economic Development for Quebec Regions]

Mr. Speaker, when we look auto workers in the eye, we know that they know they can trust us. Why is that? It is because we have a plan, notwithstanding all the headwinds against our auto workers and against the auto workers of the entire world.

This morning I was in conversation with the new CEO of Audi. We are working on attracting new investment to Canada. We will use our defence procurement to attract new investment in our auto sector. We will use every single lever of the government to make sure we can defend the sector's jobs. At the end of the day, this is not fake news but real news.

[Rhonda Kirkland, Conservative, Oshawa, ON]

Mr. Speaker, Canada's auto exports have fallen to their lowest levels in years. More than 5,000 auto workers have already lost their jobs as shifts are cancelled and production lines, such as the third line in Oshawa, are shut down. In communities like mine, auto workers and their families know exactly what that means. When the auto industry suffers, entire communities feel it.

Will the Liberals finally put Canadian auto workers first, or will they keep using Canadian tax dollars to subsidize foreign-made vehicles while our jobs disappear?

[Mélanie Joly, Liberal, Minister of Industry and Minister responsible for Canada Economic Development for Quebec Regions]

Mr. Speaker, I have a lot of time and respect for my colleague. I know that the Oshawa community is going through hardship right now because of the fact that GM cut the third shift. However, she should talk to her colleague from the Oshawa region as well, who went to Washington and forgot to advocate for the auto workers in his riding. That is the first point.

The second point is that we need to work as one team Canada, because the unions in the U.S. are now in favour of our position, which is no tariffs on auto workers. We need to work to put pressure on the D3, including GM. I was in conversation with GM this week. We will make sure we create jobs—

[The Speaker, Francis Scarpaleggia]

The hon. member for Oshawa.

[Rhonda Kirkland, Conservative, Oshawa, ON]

Mr. Speaker, it would be awfully nice if the Liberal government would go to Washington and fight for Canadian auto workers. We cannot control what Donald Trump does, but we do know what we can control, and that is our policies here at home. The Minister of Industry and the Prime Minister can certainly control their constant flip-flopping.

Conservatives have a plan: Scrap rebates for foreign-made EVs and remove the HST on Canadian-made vehicles to spur investment and protect jobs here at home.

Will the Liberals finally adopt our proposals and join Conservatives in supporting the resilient auto workers in Oshawa and across Canada?

[Steven MacKinnon, Liberal, Minister of Transport and Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, the minister has set out the numerous ways in which we have expressed confidence in, support for and the complete backing of our auto workers and auto sector in Canada. Those are the things we can control.

Here is one thing the member can control. She should tell her colleague to stop going to Washington and accusing Canadians of putting up a hissy fit in response to unfair, unjust and costly tariffs on our citizens, our auto sector and our workers in Canada. The member should go over a few seats and tell the member to stop the hissy fit talk.

[Fred Davies, Conservative, Niagara South, ON]

Mr. Speaker, Canada's auto exports fell to their lowest level in years this January. More than 5,000 auto workers have already lost their jobs. In Niagara alone, there are two EV plants that have either not opened or been delayed because of a declining EV market, yet the Liberals are subsidizing foreign-made electric vehicles. It makes no sense at all.

Will the Liberals finally adopt our strategy to protect Canadian workers in the auto sector, or will they continue to push ahead with their disastrous plan to subsidize foreign-made electric vehicles?

[Peter Fragiskatos, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Immigration]

Mr. Speaker, members talk about the auto sector. What about the workers? What about a vision for this country? What about a plan? We have exactly that. They say they stand for working people. We have an opportunity now to rally around those working people with a serious approach to governance and policy. It is exactly what we are doing every single day. They quote unions in this House. We have the unions' backs and their families' backs.

We will not stop until this country is on the right footing. We are going to get that work done.

Public Safety

[Jeremy Patzer, Conservative, Swift Current—Grasslands—Kindersley, SK]

Mr. Speaker, last year the RCMP seized eight kilograms of fentanyl near Swift Current. This dangerous drug was caught moving through my community. While the police did a great job catching criminals behind the opioid crisis, their heroic efforts have been undermined by Liberal catch-and-release. One year later, federal Crown prosecutors said they are staying charges against two traffickers because they are following their federal policy playbook.

My question is this: What federal policy could possibly justify this decision?

[Gary Anandasangaree, Liberal, Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, today we introduced Bill C-22, an incredibly important tool that law enforcement from across Canada have been asking for. It would enable law enforcement to address issues such as extortion, intimidation and harassment, and also to ensure that those who commit childhood sexual exploitation are given the necessary sentencing required. Lawful access will give law enforcement the tools it has been asking for.