moved:
That, notwithstanding any standing order or usual practice of the House, Bill C-26, An Act to authorize certain payments to be made out of the Consolidated Revenue Fund for the purpose of improving housing supply, be disposed of as follows:
(a) the bill be ordered for consideration at the second reading stage immediately after the adoption of this order;
(b) when the House begins debate at the second reading stage of the bill, one member of each recognized party, a member of the New Democratic Party, and the member of the Green Party, may each speak at the said stage for not more than 20 minutes, followed by 10 minutes for questions and comments, provided that members may be permitted to split their time with another member;
(c) at the conclusion of the time provided for the debate at the second reading stage or when no member wishes to speak, whichever is earlier, all questions necessary to dispose of the second reading stage of the bill shall be put without further debate or amendment;
(d) if the bill is adopted at the second reading stage, it shall be deemed referred to a committee of the whole, deemed considered in committee of the whole, deemed reported without amendment, deemed concurred in at report stage, and deemed read a third time and passed; and
(e) during consideration of the bill,
(i) after 8:30 p.m., no quorum calls, dilatory motions or requests for unanimous consent shall be received by the Chair,
(ii) the House shall not adjourn, except pursuant to a motion moved by a minister of the Crown,
(iii) no motion to adjourn the debate may be moved except by a minister of the Crown.
Mr. Speaker, I rise to open the debate on Government Business No. 11 and to highlight the importance of Bill C-26, an act to authorize certain payments to be made out of the consolidated revenue fund for the purpose of improving housing supply.
The motion would allow for the quick passage of Bill C-26, putting our government in a position to make payments to the provinces and territories, up to a total of $1.7 billion, to support efforts that improve the housing supply across Canada. It is a targeted measure designed to get funding quickly to the provinces and territories for measures that get homes built, including reducing development fees or levies on new home construction and making incremental investments in provincial and territorial programming already in place to spur housing developments.
Far too many Canadians are struggling to find an affordable place to live. I believe every member of the House agrees that Canada is in a housing crisis. Solving that crisis requires a multitude of different tools and it requires immediate action. We need to bring down the costs, cut red tape, improve productivity and build more quickly. To meet the current and future housing needs of Canadians, we need to ensure that housing supply can keep pace with demand and that homes can be delivered at prices that are affordable for Canadians.
I want to speak to the urgency of the motion and the need to move quickly on the motion and the legislation. We need to move quickly to solve Canada's housing challenges by bringing down the costs, as I said, cutting red tape and building homes at a faster pace.
Bill C-26 has been designed to unlock housing supply across the country. The legislation would deliver a $1.7-billion federal investment to the provinces and territories to support measures that increase housing supply. These funds could, for example, help lower development fees or levies on new home construction, which are particularly significant in my home province of B.C. and in Ontario. They can also strengthen existing provincial and territorial programs that are already focused on building more homes through targeted, incremental investments.
In addition, the federal investment can provide support for provincial and territorial efforts to streamline regulations and boost productivity across the home construction sector. Ontario's recent announcement of an HST rebate on new homes is a key example of how these transfers would improve supply.
As part of tax relief efforts, the Ontario government, thanks to federal support tied to the bill, plans to rebate the full 13% harmonized sales tax in Ontario on new homes valued up to a million dollars, which would save buyers up to $130,000 on a new home at that $1-million price.
It is clear that strong partnerships with the provinces, territories and local governments are essential to building more homes and improving housing affordability for Canadians. Proceeding swiftly with Bill C-26 through this motion would get get these funds to the provinces, and all of the work could continue across the country at pace.
Last week, I spoke at the annual conference of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities, where I shared my own experience as a mayor. I remember asking the federal government for the investments and support my community needed. I remember the years spent trying to get Stephen Harper's Conservative government to recognize this growing problem. I remember their many refusals to even sit at the table, let alone collaborate on finding and implementing solutions.
Today, things are different. Canada has a new government that is resolutely committed to taking action. Thanks to our government's investments, we are supporting the community infrastructure that people depend on every day, from community centres and recreational facilities to parks and cultural spaces. This includes new builds, expansions, renovations, retrofits, climate adaptations and project replacements.
Simply put, it is impossible to build housing without the road and water infrastructure needed to support it. Rather than let our municipal partners shoulder these responsibilities alone or pass on the cost of this infrastructure to homebuyers, we are making essential investments through the Canada housing infrastructure fund and now through our historic new build communities strong fund.
The result of these investments is real projects that will improve people's lives. Last April, we announced $25.9 million for water infrastructure in Regina, Saskatoon and Moose Jaw, enabling the construction of more than 29,000 homes. Last December, we announced $8.6 million for Charlottetown, P.E.I., to build the infrastructure needed to build up to 525 housing units. Just over a week ago, we announced our comprehensive partnership with the Government of Quebec on community, health and transportation infrastructure. Historic action is being taken to build stronger communities, with good neighbourhoods and homes people can afford.
These investments are complemented further by the important work of Build Canada Homes. Since launching in September, Build Canada Homes has already advanced six direct-build projects in Dartmouth, Longueuil, Ottawa, Toronto, Winnipeg and Edmonton, and secured six major partnerships with the City of Ottawa and the provinces of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Quebec and B.C., and a tripartite agreement with the Nunavut Housing Corporation and Nunavut Tunngavik Inc.
As a dedicated agency with a mandate to build affordable housing, Build Canada Homes is already doing important work to move thousands of new homes forward. We announced 1,100 new homes, including 700 supportive and transitional homes, to be built within the next 12 months, in B.C. just this last February. Build Canada Homes will build up to 750 homes across Nunavut in partnership with the Government of Nunavut and Nunavut Tunngavik Inc. Through the partnership with New Brunswick, we will accelerate the delivery of up to 1,200 shovel‑ready affordable homes, with the potential to scale up to 1,500 new homes in New Brunswick. A few weeks ago, we brought together both the build communities strong fund and Build Canada Homes by delivering approximately $350 million in housing and infrastructure investments in the Yukon.
These are just a few examples of the partnerships and progress Build Canada Homes has accomplished in less than a year.
Yesterday, this House passed Bill C‑20, the Build Canada Homes act, at third reading, taking us one step closer to turning Build Canada Homes into a Crown corporation, with even more tools to get more homes built. Whether it is through the build communities strong fund, Build Canada Homes or any of our other programs, now is the time to work together. Now is the time for all levels of government to get to the table and identify our priorities so that we can get building.
We are in uncertain times, but when we work together, we can give ourselves more than anyone can take away. That is why our government is taking action on these different fronts across the housing spectrum, reducing barriers, investing in housing-enabled infrastructure and catalyzing a more productive homebuilding sector. Bill C‑26 is an important tool within this broader effort.
The reality is that housing needs differ from region to region, and our response must be just as nuanced and targeted. The barriers faced in a fast-growing urban centre, like my home city of Vancouver, are very different from those in smaller or more remote communities. What Vancouver needs versus what Iqaluit, Chicoutimi or rural Canada needs generally differs significantly. Bill C‑26 reflects this reality by giving the provinces and territories the flexibility to find solutions that are best suited to the regional challenges that may impede housing supply and would best meet the housing needs of those jurisdictions. By empowering the provinces and territories to direct funding where it can be most impactful in addressing the housing supply barriers, we can help ensure that these federal investments align with the on-the-ground realities. This federal funding would be transferred to provinces and territories with the understanding that it will be used exclusively for measures that increase housing supply.
For instance, this could include but is not limited to reducing development fees or levies on new home construction. The funding could be used on new home construction. The funding could also be used to make incremental investments in provincial or territorial programming already in place to spur housing developments. Ontario's HST announcement on March 25 of this year is an example of how these transfers could help home supply in Ontario.
The key element here is partnership, which is also central to our broader housing approach. Strong collaboration among all levels of government, with indigenous partners and with non-profit organizations and private industry is needed to address the housing challenges that we face across Canada. Provinces and territories are well placed to determine how federal support can augment their provincial and territorial efforts to unlock additional supply across different regions, and Bill C‑26 would help enable that effort.
We are already seeing the effectiveness of partnerships. On March 23, the Prime Minister announced a partnership with Ontario to reduce development charges and support new housing supply, demonstrating how that collaboration can directly lower costs and accelerate building. As I outlined earlier, the federal government is also working with provinces, territories and indigenous partners to deliver more homes, affordable homes, through Build Canada Homes and the build communities strong fund.
These examples show what is possible when the Government of Canada works together with provinces, territories, local governments, indigenous groups and other key partners. Bill C‑26's approach complements the broader work that is already under way to increase housing supply across Canada. We are bringing partners together, aligning these efforts and ensuring that every dollar contributes to faster, more effective housing delivery.
This bill is tailor-made to meet those needs, but I also want to take a moment to talk about other important programs.
As I noted, our government is taking action to support building across the housing spectrum. The work of Build Canada Homes to scale up the supply of affordable housing nationwide is in full swing now. Other measures like targeted tax relief, such as removing the 5% GST on new purpose‑built rental construction, are lowering upfront costs and helping move projects forward.
Programs like the apartment construction loan program and the CMHC mortgage loan insurance products, MLI select being a great example, help builders secure financing. These programs are very significant across Canada. They are more on the market side of housing, but they are certainly enabling historic levels of rental housing to be built right across the country.
The apartment construction loan program is making needed capital available to make more apartment projects financially viable and get shovels in the ground. That is the key piece, particularly in these uncertain times. Recently, in the spring economic update, we announced that we would be kicking this program into even higher gear, accelerating over $7 billion in low‑cost financing to speed up rental home construction even further.
The housing accelerator fund is also a program that helps unlock supply, reducing barriers, reducing red tape and speeding up approvals at the local level. We have 241 housing accelerator fund agreements that were signed with local governments, and they are delivering tens of thousands of homes on pace that would not have been seen otherwise.
To conclude, right now there is momentum like never before to deliver on the housing issue, but we cannot do it alone. Our success relies on working together to tackle the housing crisis from every angle and deliver results for Canadians. By enabling targeted, flexible funding and reinforcing collaboration across provinces and territories, Bill C‑26 would help to ensure that we are not just investing more but investing smarter, together. This is how we will deliver the homes that Canadians need. This is how we will create more prosperous, resilient communities. This is how we will build Canada strong.