Justin Trudeau

[Housing, May 29th, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, we are leading on the efforts to solve the housing crisis with a plan that is ambitious and concrete. Meanwhile, after having his housing bill panned by experts as being an “exceptionally weak response to the housing crisis, riddled with loopholes”, the Conservative leader has chosen to repeatedly delay debate in the House since October on his bill. That is is because he just does not care. When he was minister, he lost 800,000 affordable apartments and built only six affordable homes.

[Housing, May 29th, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, we are leading efforts to address the housing crisis with an ambitious and achievable plan.

Let us talk about how housing experts have characterized his housing bill. They said it was an exceptionally weak response to the housing crisis and that it was full of loopholes. Perhaps that is why the Conservative leader has postponed the debate on his non-plan for several weeks.

The reality is that he does not want to have that debate, because when he was housing minister he lost 800,000 apartments and built only six.

[Housing, May 29th, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, unlike the member opposite, we have a solid approach that involves working in partnership with the municipalities and provinces to invest and to build more homes in the most comprehensive and ambitious way that this country has ever seen. When he was the minister responsible for housing under the Harper government, he created six affordable housing units for Canadians. That is not going to help. According to the experts who analyze these plans, the plan he is now proposing is extremely weak.

We have a concrete plan. He refuses to invest in helping Canadians.

[Housing, May 29th, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, instead of attacking elected officials, as the Conservative leader is doing, we choose to invest in reducing red tape and speeding up the process.

That is what we are doing with our 179 housing accelerator agreements that we signed with municipalities across the country. This will deliver more housing more quickly. These are agreements that the Conservative leader plans to cancel.

That is not going to help Canadians get more housing faster. We certainly did not see that when he was the minister responsible for housing.

[Foreign Affairs, May 29th, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, from day one we have been actively engaged in promoting and establishing peace and humanitarian aid. We are among the biggest UNRWA donor countries per capita in the world. We will continue to be there to help provide humanitarian care, medical aid, food and supplies.

We will also do the necessary work to continue to establish a path to a two-state solution, despite efforts by the Netanyahu government to undermine any possible two-state solution.

We will continue to be there and we will continue to seek peace.

[Foreign Affairs, May 29th, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, we are horrified by the civilian deaths caused by the Israeli strikes in Rafah. We need to see an end to the violence and the humanitarian tragedy that is ongoing, which is why we are continuing to put pressure on the Israeli government to cease its military operations in Rafah. That is why we are calling for more humanitarian aid to get in. That is why we have been calling for a ceasefire since December, including in votes at the UN, and we will continue to.

We need to see more humanitarian aid get in. We need to see hostages released. We need to see an end to the violence and a path toward a two-state solution once again.

[Foreign Affairs, May 29th, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, we have been working for months with our G7 allies and other democracies around the world. We are also working with partners in the region, such as the governments of Egypt, Jordan and other countries. We are all committed to trying to find a solution, a way of getting back on track towards a two-state solution, which both Netanyahu and Hamas have rejected. We need to find a two-state solution as quickly as possible and we are continuing to work towards that goal, because it is necessary.

[Foreign Affairs, May 29th, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, we are deeply concerned about the violence in Gaza and the devastating actions of the Israeli army in Rafah.

We continue to call for an immediate ceasefire, as we have been doing since December. We are calling for much more humanitarian aid to be delivered to the people of Gaza. We continue to work with our partners, allies and friends in the region to establish a process towards a two-state solution, with a secure and recognized Palestinian state.

Yes, we are working towards that.

[The Economy, May 29th, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, let me put in perspective the fundamental difference between Conservatives and the Liberal government. The macroeconomic situation of Canada is one of the best in the G7, one of the best in the world, and the independent credit rating agencies continue to give us AAA scores.

The federal government is doing well, but Canadians need support, so we are choosing to deliver supports to Canadians with this solid fiscal position, supports such as dental care, a national food policy, national disability benefits and help for housing, which are investments and the kinds of supports for Canadians that the Leader of the Opposition has stood against every step of the way.

[The Economy, May 29th, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, that is exactly why, over the past years, we have been focused on bringing down inflation by supporting Canadians, and it is working. For the past four months, inflation has been down in the Bank of Canada's target range, while we have continued to increase supports for Canadians; increase dental care for Canadians, which Conservatives have campaigned against; supports for seniors and supports for young people; and increased investments in child care, bringing child care fees down to $10 a day. These are the investments we are making that do not add to inflation, but add to the well-being of Canadians as they are making ends meet. That is what we stand for.