Peter Fragiskatos

[Housing, November 4th, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, they want to pay for this idea by slashing the housing accelerator fund, so let us understand what that means.

This is support for communities across the country, large and small, support for communities to get people off the street and into homes; support for zoning changes that will allow for more building, giving young people, the ones they talk about and claim to care about here today, more options. If we give people more options, the costs come down. This is infrastructure support, so that water connections, for example, can be connected to housing. They do not believe in that either. As well, this is support for vacant buildings to be converted into housing.

All of this is on the table.

[Housing, November 4th, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, as we have seen, the Conservatives continue to say they will make cuts to pay for their proposals, including this so-called GST initiative. What will that mean? It means the accelerator fund will come to an end. The member is from Kelowna. A few weeks ago, I met with Kelowna's mayor, Mayor Tom Dyas, who shared with me that federal funding secured through the housing accelerator fund has led to a digital permit system that has improved approvals that would have taken, even a year ago, a year and a half-plus to approve. That approval permit process now is less than 10 days.

[Housing, November 4th, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, like former Conservatives, people like Joe Clark, for example, I recognize that Canada is a community of communities. As an urban-based MP, I want to assure the hon. member opposite that I read the Huntsville Doppler, the newspaper of record in his community. He increased development charges by 16%. It was reported time and again in that newspaper. They want to cut support for communities. They want to cut support for housing. Do not be fooled.

The Leader of the Opposition ditched his glasses. It is the same guy who wants to cut pensions, support for housing, support for young people and support for EI. They are not serious.

[Housing, November 4th, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, I worked with the hon. member on the House of Commons committee that is responsible for housing. He almost always brings up good points, except today there is a credibility issue at stake.

When the member was mayor of Huntsville, prior to becoming a member of Parliament, he increased development charges, which we agree are an impediment to homebuilding and a tax on homebuilding. How much did he increase development charges? It was not by 2% or 3%, but by 16%.

The Conservatives cannot speak about these issues. They have no credibility on the matter.

[Housing, November 4th, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, the member talks about young Canadians and about homebuilding in Canada. However, the Conservatives have six homes to point to from when they were in office. That is the sum total of their work when they were in office, when the Leader of the Opposition held the so-called role of minister of housing. He was not a minister at all. In fact, if we look at the 190,000 number that they talk about from their time in office, that was home builders who did that. It was not them. They know nothing about getting homes built. They only know about cuts. They would make cuts to communities. It is not an acceptable position.

[Housing, November 4th, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, the member said that the housing accelerator fund is a joke. Has he consulted with his caucus? A dozen, probably more, Conservative members have advocated specifically for that program. They went behind the back of the Leader of the Opposition because they wanted to advocate for their constituents to see more homes built.

By calling for the end of the housing accelerator fund, which is how the Conservatives would pay for this so-called new, bold idea, they would end support to communities for homelessness, and they would end support for more building for middle-class Canadians. It is an unacceptable, untenable position.

[Housing, October 31st, 2024]

We hear more slogans, Mr. Speaker. If we scratched the surface of that so-called idea, what would we find? The Conservatives would axe something. They would get rid of the housing accelerator fund, which is so crucial. What does it do? It provides funding for affordable housing to counter homelessness. It provides funding for zoning changes. It provides funding for housing-enabling infrastructure, for community centres and even for vacant buildings in downtown areas, so they can be converted for housing.

If the member does not believe me, he should take the word of the member for Central Okanagan—Similkameen—Nicola who advocated for it. He is their former finance critic who unfortunately is on the back benches because he advocates for good programs.

[Housing, October 31st, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, years ago, when I worked with the Leader of the Opposition on the finance committee, he told me something that might shock everyone, that it is hard for him to make friends because of his personality. What we look at now is that he has at least one friend on the opposite side. His best friend, as I understand it, is the MP for St. Albert—Edmonton. In fact, that member has advocated for the housing accelerator fund. He went behind his leader's back. I hope it does not affect their friendship. He went behind his leader's back to advocate for the HAF, and the Conservatives want to get rid of it.

[Housing, October 31st, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, if the member is going to quote Mike Moffatt, she ought to include the entire quote. What he said was that if the Conservative proposal was to go ahead, they ought not propose things like getting rid of the housing accelerator fund and ought not get rid of infrastructure programs that enable housing.

If the Conservative leader does not want to listen to Liberal MPs, that is fine. He should listen to Conservative MPs, the dozen, probably more, who want the accelerator fund and have advocated for it because they know it is vital to getting more homes built.

[Liberal Party of Canada, October 25th, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, the Conservative Party sure does a lot of talking about the current problems in the country.

The member keeps talking about people's problems, but where is her plan? The first step is clear, but for the second step there is no plan.

That is what you get from the Conservative Party, a populist party, a right-wing party.