Justin Trudeau

[Housing, June 20th, 2023]

Mr. Speaker, the Leader of the Opposition is proposing cuts in supports to Canadians at the same time as Canada actually has the lowest deficit in the G7, has the best debt-to-GDP ratio of the G7 and has preserved its AAA credit rating. That is so we can continue to be there to support Canadians with investments in them, in their families, in housing and in the kinds of supports that the Leader of the Opposition would cut.

The Leader of the Opposition is just continuing his attacks to try to distract from the underwhelming election results he got last night.

[Housing, June 20th, 2023]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians are struggling, and that is why we continue to step up with investments to help them out: with dental care, with support for low-income renters, with investments in housing and with investments in supporting families. At the same time as the Conservative Party is proposing cuts and austerity, we are continuing to invest.

If the Leader of the Opposition really wants to come clean with Canadians, will he talk about whether he is going to cut child care for families, dental care for children or better health care services? These are the things he will be cutting.

[Housing, June 20th, 2023]

Mr. Speaker, our government implemented concrete measures to help families like Émilie's. The Conservative Party voted against those measures.

For example, the dental benefit will help Émilie's kids and those of families like hers. There is also assistance for low-income renters and the grocery rebate. We are making these investments to help families get through this. Meanwhile, we are building a stronger economy with good jobs for years to come and investing in housing.

[Democratic Institutions, June 20th, 2023]

Mr. Speaker, as we have said all along, foreign interference should not be a partisan issue. That is why, in the coming days, the Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs, Infrastructure and Communities will continue to consult experts, lawyers and the opposition parties to determine the next steps and the best person to lead this work.

In the meantime, we will continue working to combat foreign interference in our democracy, as we have done since taking office. We hope that the opposition parties will treat this issue with the seriousness that it deserves and that Canadians expect.

[Housing, June 13th, 2023]

Mr. Speaker, we took this issue seriously back in 2017 when we put forward a $40-billion national housing strategy that the Conservatives opposed, even though they had not engaged in housing for 10 years and then got up to about $70 billion in the national housing strategy.

More recently, we put $4 billion on the table directly to invest with municipalities instead of fighting with them like the Conservatives wanted to do; to work with them, to accelerate investments, to accelerate zoning processes, to accelerate permitting, to build more supply of housing and to take the pressure off so many Canadians around the housing market.

[Housing, June 13th, 2023]

Mr. Speaker, for years, we have been investing in housing, in various programs to help students and low-income families and to encourage housing construction. We will continue to do that.

We know we have to be there for our students, because support for them in the short term will contribute to society in the long term. That is why we eliminated interest on federal student loans in the last budget. We will continue to be there with more help for students, which includes continuing to look at ways to help them with rent.

[Democratic Institutions, June 13th, 2023]

Mr. Speaker, we agree that we need to move forward quickly and appropriately. I am very open to such discussions with the opposition parties. Unfortunately, over the past few months, we have seen a lot of partisanship, toxicity and personal attacks, which is shameful, but I am pleased that people are now open to taking the matter of foreign interference seriously.

We are here to work in good faith and to continue our work on foreign interference in order to protect our democracy, our institutions and our electoral system.

[Democratic Institutions, June 13th, 2023]

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the Bloc Québécois leader for suggesting some credible and reasonable names. We are quite willing to look at them and to continue working with the Bloc to establish a process that has the confidence of the House and of Canadians. The importance of the foreign interference issue far transcends partisan rhetoric or personal attacks.

We will work constructively, as we always have, to take this issue seriously, to continue the work we started and to restore Canadians' confidence in our electoral system and in our democracy.

[Housing, June 13th, 2023]

Mr. Speaker, over the past few years, we have helped Canadians save for their first home through measures like the first-time homebuyer incentive and the tax-free first home savings account. We are investing in building and repairing more housing, including by helping municipalities accelerate the construction of 100,000 new units. We are making sure housing units are used as homes by putting an end to unfair practices that drive up prices. For example, we are prohibiting foreign actors from buying a home, and we are introducing a federal rule to discourage flipping.

[Housing, June 13th, 2023]

Mr. Speaker, if the Leader of the Opposition were serious about housing, he would have supported our housing investments. Instead, he is focused on cutting services, picking fights with municipalities and protecting wealthy landlords.

On this side, our plan includes collaborating with municipalities, including investing $4 billion to fast-track new housing approvals to create 100,000 new homes; tying infrastructure investments to housing; helping Canadians save up for their first homes; providing support for low-income renters; and converting surplus federal lands into affordable housing.