Adam Vaughan

[Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement Implementation Act, November 21st, 2016]

Madam Speaker, I listened to the member's speech with great interest, and heard him specifically say that the stable banking system was something that his government deserves credit for, knowing full well that it was Jim Flaherty and Conservatives and the big banks that wanted us to massively deregulate the banking system prior to 2008. A Liberal government refused to do that.

I also heard that reneging on deals was not something that the government should do, keeping in mind the previous government reneged on a deal with Newfoundland for about $289 million in compensation that was part of the negotiation. Again, this is advice given to us from the other side about what not to do, which is basically follow their advice. I also note that the other thing they said was that prior to 2008, when they already had gone into deficit prior to the meltdown, when they cashed out the surplus left to them by a Liberal government, the government said it was very important in troubled economic times to invest heavily into infrastructure. Realizing that you had to prorogue Parliament, collapse your previous budget, and do what the opposition said to achieve that, is there any advice you would not follow yourself, but you would be free to give to us?

[Budget Implementation Act, 2016, No. 2, November 14th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, one of the areas where the infrastructure bank is mentioned specifically is in the affordable housing section of our platform, which was out well before the budget, at least a year ahead, and it talks about using private sector investments to drive forward public housing projects like Regent Park in Toronto, where people pay a user fee. It is called rent, and that is how it is financed in part by the people who use it.

I wonder if the member had any other ideas about how the infrastructure bank could further infrastructure, especially in smaller municipalities that might not have the capital capacity to participate, as the economic downturn has hurt some smaller communities in this country.

[Budget Implementation Act, 2016, No. 2, November 14th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, I would just ask members of the House who keep standing and saying that the infrastructure bank was not part of our campaign platform to please go online. It is still there. They should read the section on affordable housing. I would ask them to reflect on the words, “We will direct...the new Canada Infrastructure Bank to provide financing”. Is that good enough for them to admit that it was actually in our platform?

[Budget Implementation Act, 2016, No. 2, November 14th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, the concerns raised about small towns not having the borrowing capacity to participate in the infrastructure program are exactly why the campaign promise was fulfilled. We have moved to create an infrastructure bank that would give smaller communities, in groups, access to world markets, to borrow and to do things like build water plants, which cost an extraordinary amount of money, which small towns quite often do not have the capacity to build. It is not a program for privatization. It is specifically designed to give smaller communities access to world capital.

If this happens, would the member opposite not agree that the increased capacity to build cleaner water plants might result in the delivery of clean water to smaller communities at a rate they could afford, as opposed to previously, according to even her own admission, when they had no access to world capital because they were too small?

[Fall Economic Statement, November 1st, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, one of the most exciting components of today's announcement is this infrastructure bank and the notion of what it might be able to accomplish where traditional spending may fall short.

I represent a riding that has a significant amount of public housing. This public housing is currently being revitalized through a public-private partnership. During the campaign, a number of New Democrats started to criticize this model, only to be told by the low-income residents to get out of the neighbourhood, that if they would not support revitalization, why should they even be talked to as candidates?

The challenge was this. We know there are public assets that lie dormant in land. We know there are public dollars that can only go so far in paying for the total revitalization of communities with 600 and 700 units. However, we also know that when we reconfigure the land, assemble the public assets, and put the public dollars in play with private partners, magical things can happen.

One of the most magical things that happen is that we end up with new housing for low-income communities and new housing for new arrivals into the city. The city's tax base grows and people are housed properly. What also happens is that the profits are leveraged back into the housing project to deliver more new units of housing. This is being done with great expertise in the city of Toronto, relying on private sector operators to partner with public sector assets to deliver new housing.

If the infrastructure bank can do it in one project in Toronto, it can do it in dozens of projects right across the country. It is critically important that we not put 100% public dollars into public housing, because it will not build enough quickly enough to accommodate the needs and pressures we face as a society.

There is a user fee attached to public house, and it is called rent. That rent continues to be subsidized by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation to make it affordable for people living in the city. However, what also has happened, as we have continued that subsidy, is that people have a way of moving into better and better housing, and in doing so, they start to participate in the economy in a whole new way.

The member opposite just talked about a window maker. One of the other things we are doing with this infrastructure bank, and we are doing it with the green infrastructure fund in a similarly constructed model, is that we partner, for instance, on the Tower Renewal in Toronto. We take private assets, like 1960s apartment buildings, and we fund, with a loan guarantee, the replacement of the windows to make them more energy efficient.

The private sector, having gotten the capital up front and paid it back with operating savings, does a couple of things. It improves the quality of housing and cuts greenhouse gas emissions, making them more energy efficient as well as reaching out to the private sector and giving jobs to people about whom the member opposite is so worried. There are a lot of new windows being replaced in a lot of old buildings with a one-time expenditure of a loan guarantee, and that delivers the economic opportunity we are looking for.

Therefore, I am very proud to say that during the campaign we ran on this. We promised it, we talked about it, and it is in our platform in black and white. Today what we have done is realize it.

We would think the NDP in particular would be happy that additional investments are being made in infrastructure. I cannot for the life of me understand why those members would want to collapse things like Regent Park, Alexandra Park, Lawrence heights, 250 Davenport, which are four projects I can see within shouting distance from my constituency office.

Why would NDP members say that there should be no private sector involvement in projects like that, even though it is alleviating poverty, reducing greenhouse gases, and providing new housing and new housing opportunities? I hope they can see their way through to supporting the new infrastructure bank and stop with the fearmongering.

[Fall Economic Statement, November 1st, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives piled $150 billion onto the debt, so it is curious to hear them talk about how bad debt is when they were so good at producing it. Even without a recession, they went into deficit before the meltdown of 2008.

I have a question on the infrastructure bank. I think we all recognize that a bad deal is a bad deal and should be avoided at any cost. However, is the Conservative Party really saying that it is going to oppose this initiative to create an infrastructure bank, even though we know that in many cities across the country it has generated even more infrastructure than the initial spend would indicate? In other words, are Conservatives going to fight the infrastructure bank or are they going to support it?

[Fall Economic Statement, November 1st, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, I have heard several times today, particularly from the NDP, how we never mentioned this during the campaign. Even as they quoted from the campaign platform, they said it was somehow not mentioned, even though it is right here in black and white. I can read it again because I ran on this and talked about it endlessly in the riding I represent. Here is what it says:

We will direct the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation and the new Canada Infrastructure Bank to provide financing to support the construction of new, affordable rental housing for middle- and low-income Canadians.

One of the most spectacular projects in the city of Toronto is a public-private partnership that is rebuilding Regent Park, a project started by a New Democrat. The same thing is happening in Alex Park in my riding. In these projects, they take public assets and partner with the private sector. As a result they get more affordable housing. There is a user fee. It is called rent.

When we have such a successful model, why would we abandon it and try to build less, that is, unless the goal is not to build housing, which is exactly what that party did when it collapsed the 2005 budget for housing under Mr. Martin?

[Budget Implementation Act, 2016, No. 2, October 31st, 2016]

Madam Speaker, I hear the concern from the member opposite, and I am glad that more indexing has been embedded into the proposal through this motion. I look forward to seeing what the committee does with respect to strengthening the child benefit, because I think it is a very effective tool. However, I would also add this. As an advocate for housing, the most important contribution that this government will make toward ending child poverty in this country is through the national housing strategy. It is currently being negotiated. That is the most important step, above all others. I hope we get the member's support to ensure it is as strong as possible, and as well funded as possible.

[Budget Implementation Act, 2016, No. 2, October 31st, 2016]

Madam Speaker, when we help students gain access to higher education at an affordable rate, it does two things: one, it gets them the education and the training they need to compete in the new economy, which is critically important for students who live in my riding, a riding that is home to three different universities and a number of different colleges; and, two, it allows students to graduate without as much student debt, which means they can enter into and spend in the economy in a more confident way rather than simply paying back debt. Therefore, it is a combination of measures. There is not any single one that is perfect, but, in concert, they are much better and much stronger. As a result, we are propelling students forward rather than holding them back. It is one of the reasons, again, to support this budget.

[Budget Implementation Act, 2016, No. 2, October 31st, 2016]

Madam Speaker, the infrastructure bank was certainly talked about in my election campaign, and it certainly has been talked about by this party for quite a while. However, it is not a replacement for infrastructure investments. The $60 billion we promised is $60 billion. The member can talk to his mayor in Hamilton to see how happy he is about the money arriving in Hamilton, for things like building the new LRT and the investments for housing. The mayor of Hamilton has endorsed our program as visionary, and has embraced it as a way of moving the city forward.

What we are talking about in an infrastructure bank is finding new ways to partner private capital with public good and public need, to see if there is a way to extend the capacity of this country even further by blending new mechanisms. I will provide a perfect example of why it is so critically important. There are small communities that cannot borrow against their assets and have no way of participating in the infrastructure program. The infrastructure bank might be a way for smaller communities to partner with these infrastructure funds, get ahead, and build the infrastructure they need, without having to borrow at even higher rates than they would have to currently. That is one of the things that the infrastructure bank could accomplish.