Chad Collins

[Business of Supply, May 2nd, 2023]

Madam Speaker, I do not know if the member opposite knows this, but his leader, today and for the last number of months, has been blaming municipalities, small town mayors and big city mayors. He has been critical of mayors and councillors across the country for not doing their part as it relates to assisting with the affordable housing supply, and the housing supply in general.

Our government, as members know, has taken a more collaborative approach, working with municipalities to provide support in building supply. I wonder, as a small town mayor, whether he feels that a more collaborative approach is better than the one that his leader is taking, which is to demonize municipalities that are, in large part, trying to help all levels of government with the challenges we face.

[Business of Supply, May 2nd, 2023]

Mr. Speaker, it has been an odd debate to follow today because we have consistently heard the message from the party opposite blaming municipalities for a lack of supply and lack of affordable housing support, and many of them are former mayors and councillors.

What I have not heard today is any one member of the Conservatives single out a municipality or tell the government which municipalities are the gatekeepers, which ones have the red tape and are blocking supply. Not one of the Conservative members have referenced that, and I hope the member opposite can assist right now in identifying a geography in Canada that is not playing its part.

[Business of Supply, May 2nd, 2023]

Mr. Speaker, as a former Hamilton councillor, I know that my former colleagues and municipal staff are doing everything they can to increase housing supply, as well as provide support for affordable housing.

What I do not understand is the motion that has been put today by members on the opposite side of the House, which seeks to blame their former municipalities or the municipalities where they are from and the municipalities that they represented.

The member opposite was from Centre Hastings, a former municipal councillor who is blaming her municipal staff for standing in the way, the gatekeepers, in terms of preventing supply and affordable investment.

We have heard from the former mayor of Collingwood, whose motion here today speaks to that same issue, in terms of blaming municipalities.

I wonder if my colleague sees fit, in terms of supporting municipalities, and sees how our national housing strategy is providing support to municipalities instead of laying blame at their feet.

[Business of Supply, May 2nd, 2023]

Mr. Speaker, there have been a lot of speeches from the other side of the House today that have been trying to rewrite history. I was a municipal councillor during the years Harper was in government and, as the member pointed out, there were no programs for municipalities. There were no housing programs for not-for-profits. I wonder if the hon. member could reiterate parts of his speech that talked about policy support, the national housing strategy and what that means for not-for-profits and housing providers across the country, versus what we experienced during the Harper years.

[Business of Supply, May 2nd, 2023]

Madam Speaker, I really enjoyed the member's speech and I endorse his call for an acquisition fund as part of the national housing strategy. He talked about vulnerable Canadians and supporting vulnerable Canadians through a national housing strategy. That includes seniors, homeless youth and victims of domestic violence.

Could he talk about the importance of having programs, as we have under the national housing strategy, that help those vulnerable communities as they relate to providing affordable social units to those in all provinces and municipalities across the country?

[Jim Howlett, April 28th, 2023]

Madam Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to Jim Howlett, who, after a brief battle with cancer, passed away on April 9 of this year. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family: his wife Carol; their children and partners, Jessi and Keith, Katie and Vlad, and Aaron and Stephanie; their grandchild, Evan; and his close family friend, and honorary mother, Lydia Cartlidge.

Jim dedicated nearly 30 years of his life serving as a volunteer on local boards and committees, including 17 years at the Hamilton Conservation Authority, and up until the time of his passing, as a board member of the Hamilton-Oshawa Port Authority. He was an environmental pioneer, advocating for a clean airshed, clean soil in Hamilton’s industrial lands and clean water in Hamilton harbour. He pushed all levels of government to make the environment a priority in his neighbourhood, and much of the progress we have witnessed in and around Hamilton harbour can be attributed to Jim’s efforts.

Most important to me, Jim Howlett was my friend, and I am going to miss our conversations about all things Hamilton. His passing is an incredible loss for the beach community, the city of Hamilton and our country. He will be sorely missed.

[Budget Implementation Act, 2023, No. 1, April 27th, 2023]

Madam Speaker, some of the narrative tonight is a bit stranger than fiction. I have been keeping a mental note in terms of some of the criticisms that have been levelled against the budget and the investments that we are making.

We heard, this evening, the reference to transit and that we should be doing more. We have heard housing has been a consistent theme. We have heard about infrastructure. We have even heard about support for private investment. We have had lots of discussions tonight about our investments in Volkswagen, which is incentivizing the private sector to create jobs and assessment for municipalities. We have talked extensively about our national housing strategy and all the programs that we have and so we are making those investments. For whatever reason, there is an ignorance on the other side of the House as it relates to recognizing that all the things the members are complaining about are in the budget and there is support there for all the sectors they have complained about.

[Budget Implementation Act, 2023, No. 1, April 27th, 2023]

Madam Speaker, parts of that were really hard to listen to in terms of some of the revisionist history as it relates to support for municipalities and for housing.

I think the member opposite was part of the previous government. I was a city counsellor during that time. There was no support for infrastructure for municipalities in her time in office. There was no housing support for municipalities. The Conservative government relied on trickle-down economics, hoping that someone, somewhere in the private sector would help with affordable housing. That did not happen. Our national housing strategy is doing that and providing support.

What was she doing for all those years she was in office? Why could she not provide consistent support to municipalities and housing providers?

[Budget Implementation Act, 2023, No. 1, April 27th, 2023]

Madam Speaker, I heard the word “shameful”. I want to focus on that issue in terms of what is shameful. What I find shameful is that when we make historic investments, whether in housing, the environment, manufacturing or jobs, Conservative members who voted against these initiatives show up to cut ribbons and show up with a shovel for the ceremonies that are taking place in communities across Canada. What I find interesting is that we have heard consistently today that the party opposite is obviously opposed to the historic investment we have made in the Volkswagen facility in St. Thomas. Does the member know whether the member for Elgin—Middlesex—London has shared her opposition to that investment with her constituents?

[Budget Implementation Act, 2023, No. 1, April 27th, 2023]

Madam Speaker, there is nothing flaky about standing up for people who need affordable housing support. I really respect the member's interventions every time he gets up and speaks in the House.

I would ask the member about the comments he made on real estate investment trusts and the issue we are dealing with as it relates to the commodification of housing and the impact it is having on people in terms of rising rents, renovictions and other things. I really respected the fact that he got up and talked about it a number of times. Could he expand on it in terms of what that means for renters and what the government needs to do to provide assistance regarding the same?