Denis Trudel

[Economic and Fiscal Update Implementation Act, 2021, February 3rd, 2022]

Madam Speaker, that was quite a remarkable speech. I am impressed. The member managed to give an infomercial for the Government of Canada. My colleague claims that everything is fine, everything is going well and there are no problems in Canada.

However, there are 90,000 people waiting for an EI cheque, people who have not been able to pay rent in three months. They are waiting because the government cannot hire public servants. Seniors under the age of 75 have also received no support during the pandemic, even though they face the same housing problems as all other seniors.

Let us talk about housing. Canada has a shortage of 1.8 million housing units. The Parliamentary Budget Officer has reported that this is the number of housing units that will have to be built in the next five years. Canada ranks last in the G7 when it comes to the average number of housing units per capita. This is a huge job.

How does the Liberal government plan to address the massive housing crisis we are experiencing in Canada right now?

[Economic and Fiscal Update Implementation Act, 2021, February 3rd, 2022]

Madam Speaker, I find it difficult to follow my Conservative friends when talking about housing. They are obsessed with the deficit, and rightly so, because the deficit is increasing and we do not print money.

However, the housing crisis is very real. How can we fix it? My colleague mentioned the Parliamentary Budget Officer, who estimates that the number of Canadian households in need of affordable housing will increase to 1.8 million within five years.

This will be a huge undertaking. The Liberal government is currently investing, giving and lending money through different programs to create affordable housing, but priced at $2,200 a month in Montreal. That is outrageous and only helps the private sector.

It is clear that the government is going to have to get involved in this major housing crisis. What are the Conservatives' proposals for fixing this problem?

[Economic and Fiscal Update Implementation Act, 2021, February 3rd, 2022]

Madam Speaker, I am going to go off on a bit of a tangent because something has been nagging at me since this morning.

I am sure my colleague knows that the survival of French in Quebec and Canada is a big challenge right now. Last spring, the Conservatives even voted in favour of a Bloc motion recognizing that Quebec is a nation whose only official language is French. That is quite an important symbol.

The government, though, is sending all the wrong messages. For one thing, it appointed a unilingual anglophone Governor General, and this week, the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, a department that is key to the survival of French, held a press conference in English only.

Yesterday we learned that the new interim leader of the Conservative Party does not speak French. In other words, the new leader of Canada's official opposition is unable to understand one-quarter of the country's population. Does my colleague feel that sends the wrong message?

[Resumption of Debate on Address in Reply, February 1st, 2022]

Madam Speaker, I would like to ask my colleague a question about the survival of French in Quebec and Canada.

I have been in Parliament for two years now, and this issue is very close to my heart because the percentage of francophones in Quebec is less than 80%. In Montreal, the proportion of people whose first language is French is about to fall below 50%. This is unheard of.

I have heard a lot of rhetoric in Parliament over the past two years. We talk about how we are going to save the French language. Liberal members even voted to recognize Quebec as a nation with French as its only official language, but then the government turns around and appoints a Governor General who speaks only English.

We know that the CEO of Air Canada, which is subject to the Official Languages Act, does not speak French. We recently learned that the majority of CN's board of directors do not even speak French, even though the company is also subject to the Official Languages Act.

Yesterday the hon. Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship held a press conference in English only. This makes no sense for a department that is so critical to the survival of French in Quebec.

Does my colleague agree that it is time to add targeted measures in the next Official Languages Act to save the French language in Quebec?

[Resumption of Debate on Address in Reply, February 1st, 2022]

Madam Speaker, I want to congratulate my colleague on her remarkable maiden speech in the House. That is a milestone in the life of a member. I applaud her and also want to commend her on the quality of her French.

She spoke at length about women and housing. The two are interrelated. For example, every day a woman in Quebec knocks on the door of a shelter that helps women who are victims of domestic violence and is sent away because of a lack of resources.

Last week Scotiabank reported that Quebec was the worst country in the G7 for its average number of housing units per 1,000 inhabitants. We are at 424, and the average is 471. To get to 471, the G7 average, we would have to build 1.8 million housing units in Canada, which would be a huge job.

Will my colleague advocate within her party for massive investments in social housing in the coming years? We really need them.

[Resumption of Debate on Address in Reply, February 1st, 2022]

Madam Speaker, I was quite surprised to hear my colleague speak about the Liberals' greenhouse gas emissions. He sounded like he was complaining, even though we know that our Conservative friends are seen as an oil lobby across Canada. I was pleased to hear his comments.

The Liberals' efforts to fight climate change have been pathetic. Since coming to power, they have invested an average of $14 billion a year in direct and indirect aid to the oil sector, they have built a pipeline, and greenhouse gas emissions have continued to increase.

I am curious to know if my colleague could speak about the Conservative plan to fight greenhouse gas emissions.

[Questions Passed as Orders for Return, January 31st, 2022]

With regard to government investments in housing, for each fiscal year since the introduction of the National Housing Strategy in 2017, broken down by province and territory: (a) what was the total amount of funding allocated to housing; (b) how many applications were received for (i) the National Housing Strategy (NHS) overall, (ii) the Affordable Housing Innovation Fund, (iii) the Rental Construction Financing Initiative, (iv) the National Housing Co-Investment Fund, (v) the Rapid Housing Initiative under the projects stream, (vi) the Rapid Housing Initiative under the major cities stream, (vii) the Federal Lands Initiative, (viii) the Federal Community Housing Initiative, (ix) A Place to Call Home, (x) the Shared Equity Mortgage Providers Fund, (xi) the First-Time Home Buyer Incentive, (xii) the NHS’s Solutions Labs Initiative; (c) of the applications under (b), for each funding program and initiative, how many were accepted; (d) of the applications under (c), for each funding program and initiative, what was the amount of federal funding allocated or committed; (e) of the amounts in (d) allocated in the Province of Quebec, for each funding program and initiative, what is the breakdown per region; (f) of the amounts in (b)(v), what is the breakdown per project and per region; and (g) of the applications in (b)(v), what criteria were used for project selection?

[Resumption of Debate on Address in Reply, January 31st, 2022]

Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for his speech.

In the spring, in response to the Quebec government's Bill 96, the Bloc Québécois moved a motion calling on the House to recognize that French is the only official language of the Quebec nation.

My hon. colleague abstained from the vote that day. I imagine he had something else to do. Today, I would like to give him the opportunity to tell all of Canada whether he believes that Quebec is a nation.

[Resumption of Debate on Address in Reply, January 31st, 2022]

Mr. Speaker, in Longueuil—Saint-Hubert, people from organizations that fight homelessness, that care for the elderly or that deal with mental health problems tell us that the social fallout from the pandemic will last five to 10 years.

One of the things I hear about most is mental health. Last week, we celebrated Bell Let's Talk Day. We posted on social media and were flooded with comments. Mental health is a major problem.

How do we address this mental health issue? We do it by investing in health. The federal government has once again refused to increase health transfers. Despite the fact that Quebec and all the provinces have collectively been calling for this for years, the federal government continues to avoid investing in health. However, if we want to solve this problem as quickly as possible and enable adults, children and teenagers across the country who have mental health issues to have access to a psychologist, the federal government must contribute. The money is in Ottawa.

Does my colleague agree that it is time to invest in putting an end to mental health issues and issues associated with the pandemic?

[Resumption of Debate on Address in Reply, January 31st, 2022]

Mr. Speaker, my comment is along the same lines as my Conservative colleague's question.

Canada and Quebec are in the midst of a severe housing crisis. I do not think that comes as news to anyone. Last week, a study revealed that Canada has fewer housing units per 1,000 inhabitants than any other G7 country. We have around 424; the G7 average is 471. Canada is 1.8 million housing units short of the average number. This study was not done by some left-wing housing advocacy group; it was done by Scotiabank.

I think that means it is time to take action. Housing affordability is an issue, but so is accessibility, because we are 1.8 million units short. It is time to take the bull by the horns and deal with this crisis, just like the government is dealing with the pandemic. That means taking decisive, impactful action.