Matt Jeneroux

[Ukraine International Airlines Flight PS752, May 4th, 2022]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday the University of Alberta announced a dedicated place of quiet reflection in memory of friends and family lost in the downing of Ukraine International Airlines flight PS752. As we reflect on the tragedy of this event, we are reminded of the profound effect it has had on the Edmonton Iranian family.

I met personally with families of the victims, who were integral members of our community. We lost beloved university students, professors, doctors and community volunteers. Notably, we lost parents, children, siblings, family and friends.

This tragedy and its effects continue to be felt in Edmonton. As days and years go by, our community continues to mourn and remember those whom we lost. However, this also presents an opportunity to reflect on the importance of those we hold dear and to continue to recognize the amazing community that we call home.

[Housing, April 25th, 2022]

Mr. Speaker, the Liberals have had six years to fix the housing market. Instead, under their policies, house prices have doubled under their watch.

Let us go back and take a look at some of their programs. The first-time homebuyers program failed; the shared equity mortgage program failed; the housing co-investment fund failed. With new programs announced in the budget, Canadians are asking how the government will fail this time.

[Housing, April 5th, 2022]

Mr. Speaker, “crushing”, “stunning” and “frenzy” are words the Royal Bank is using to describe the housing crisis in Canada. The Bank of Montreal is calling it a full-scale attack. Housing experts are calling the minister's programs absolute failures.

When will the minister listen to the experts and stop blaming others for his failures?

[Housing, April 4th, 2022]

Mr. Speaker, this minister continues to be obsessed by speeches given by my colleagues on this side of the House, so let me offer him another quote. Last week, Mortgage Professionals Canada said, “The government's well-intended...First-Time Home Buyers...program...is simply failing”.

It does not get clearer than that. Canadians do not want to co-own their home with the government, so when will the minister scrap this failed program?

[Housing, March 31st, 2022]

Mr. Speaker, the Bank of Montreal is now saying there is a full-scale attack on Canadian home prices. Banks are raising interest rates and housing inventory is at an all-time low.

The budget is next week and the average Canadian home price is a staggering $868,000. To the minister, how much of this budget will Canadians actually be able to afford?

[Housing, March 30th, 2022]

Mr. Speaker, Conservatives have started a housing task force. Does anyone want to know why? It is because the government continues to fail Canadians when it comes to the price of homes. Here is one example. When it comes to the first-time homebuyer program, the Liberals have changed the criteria three times in the last two years. Does anyone want another example? On the shared equity mortgage program, there have only been nine applications in three years of a five-year program. They have doubled the average price of homes in Canada.

How can the minister continue to say his programs work?

[Emissions Reduction Plan, March 30th, 2022]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday the environment minister released a new greenhouse gas emissions reduction plan, which is being called “insane” by some in Alberta. This new plan is a direct attack on the energy sector, on Alberta and on Canada. Even the far left-leaning opposition party from Alberta has called the Liberal-NDP government's emissions goals a fantasy.

The energy policies introduced by the government are detrimental to our economy, yet on April 1, the government will also be increasing the carbon tax. Canadian families are struggling with the highest levels of inflation in 30 years. They are struggling to pay their bills, buy food and commute. These are essential needs that Liberals, supported by the NDP, are making more and more unaffordable.

The government needs to stop attacking Alberta's energy sector, and it needs to stop making life more unaffordable.

[Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, March 21st, 2022]

Mr. Speaker, all the programs the minister just spoke of fall under the CMHC. The CMHC is a government agency that, according to its website, is driven by one goal, housing affordability for all, yet newly revealed documents show that CMHC employees received $48 million in bonuses in the last year.

The average home price went up 21% in the last year. How can the minister award the CMHC bonuses, when Canadians cannot afford to buy a home?

[Housing, March 21st, 2022]

Mr. Speaker, a few weeks back I alerted the House that the average home price in Canada had hit $720,000. Do members know what it is today? It is $868,000. I want to remind members what a house's price was when the Prime Minister came into office: $434,000. The Liberals officially did it. It took them six years, but they have doubled the average home price here in Canada.

How can the minister continue to ignore these numbers?

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

Mr. Speaker, I was hoping that the hon. member would be joining me once again. I am looking forward to getting other members to also address it in the House and I am glad he will be supporting our event again this year.

The member is right. This is something he is incredibly passionate about, and it is an honour to be able to call him a friend. We have been able to bridge a lot of those conversations, as they do not need to be partisan. We can get some really good work done, and I think we saw that during the vote for the national hotline in the motion by the member for Timmins—James Bay. Ultimately, if we can work together in Parliament on things like mental health, there is nothing we cannot do in this Parliament.