House of Commons photoWon his last election, in 2025, with 55% of the vote.
Business of Supply May 15th, 2023
Madam Chair, I respect the hon. member's history as a mayor. I respect all mayors, unlike his party leader who has called mayors incompetent. He has called them “woke” and he has attacked them and he has promised to hit their pocketbooks. Instead, we are working with mayors to build more housing supply.
Business of Supply May 15th, 2023
Madam Chair, it is really difficult to take the party opposite seriously on this issue because it has no plan. What little ideas that the Conservatives bring are something that we have been doing for the last number of years.
Business of Supply May 15th, 2023
Madam Chair, York Region is facing a supply shortage. We are investing in the housing accelerator fund and the hon. member voted against it. I wonder why.
Business of Supply May 15th, 2023
Madam Chair, I actually want to know why the Conservatives voted against the Canada housing benefit, which is helping renters directly.
Business of Supply May 15th, 2023
Madam Chair, I would like to know why the party opposite does not believe the federal government should help renters.
Business of Supply May 15th, 2023
Madam Chair, the housing accelerator fund will incentivize more supply and will incentivize more density, but it will also incentivize the building of climate-resilient, dense, walkable and accessible communities. How do we do that? We do it by incentivizing inclusionary zoning, transit-oriented development and more affordable housing.
Business of Supply May 15th, 2023
Madam Chair, we are investing in more supply of affordable housing through the new investments for new co-op units to the tune of a $1.5-billion investment, bringing forward future investments in the national housing co-investment fund.
However, the big program is the housing accelerator fund, with $4 billion going to local communities to increase housing supply, as well as building up to 15,000 deeply affordable units through the rapid housing initiative.
Business of Supply May 15th, 2023
Mr. Chair, according to the logic of the hon. member, the Crown corporation that is responsible for delivering almost half a million repairs and new homes as part of the national housing strategy is not entitled to determine its own compensation for its employees.
We are not going to play that game on this side of the House.
Business of Supply May 15th, 2023
Mr. Chair, the CMHC is an independent Crown corporation and no minister of the Crown will determine the compensation of employees of an independent Crown corporation.
Business of Supply May 15th, 2023
Mr. Chair, for almost a decade, the party opposite, when it was in government, revelled at attacking civil servants, denigrating them and calling them partisan names. We do not do that on this of the House. We respect the independence of Crown corporations.
The hon. member, as an hon. member of Parliament, knows or should know that Crown corporations are responsible for determining the compensation of their employees, and I am not going to get into a debate about the independence of a Crown corporation. He knows better than that. He can ask all the questions about that, and I will keep repeating.