Sean Fraser

[Housing, December 4th, 2023]

Mr. Speaker, I do not think any member of the House, of any party, takes any pleasure in seeing anyone in this country live on the street. It would be a shame if the hon. member were suggesting that is the case.

When it comes to the supports that we are actually putting in place in the city of St. John's, which the member referenced in his question, I would point him to the recent exchange we had with the mayor of St. John's, in which we encouraged the city to increase their housing ambition so they could actually provide homes for more people and reduce the cost of rent. The funding that we hope to provide to the City of St. John's, should it meet the moment, comes through a program that the member is personally committing to oppose. The Conservatives believe the solution to the housing crisis is to spend less money on housing. I fundamentally disagree.

[Housing, December 4th, 2023]

Mr. Speaker, I am fond of the hon. member's soliloquies on biblical passages. I read scripture in church growing up, and if there is one lesson I took, it is that we all have a responsibility to help the vulnerable members of our community.

The reality is that we have been investing since 2017 to put money in place for supporting people who do not have a roof over their head and for building more affordable housing after 30 years of Liberal and Conservative governments not taking the issue of housing seriously. The hon. member plans to make cuts when we will make investments. I know which path will put a roof over more of my neighbours' heads.

[Housing, December 4th, 2023]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member's argument falls apart when we come to understand that he ignores the good work that has been done since the national housing strategy was adopted in 2017. There are hundreds of thousands of homes that exist today that have been built or retrofitted as a direct result of government supports that have put them in place.

When we actually look at what the hon. member's policy would do, it would raise taxes on middle-class home construction. It would cut funding to cities that desperately need the infrastructure so they can build more homes. He would remove support for affordable housing altogether, which is a cardinal sin we cannot repeat after a 30-year history when we should have learned those lessons.

[Housing, December 4th, 2023]

Mr. Speaker, the irony, when I take criticism about photo ops from that member, is shocking, because he continues to use his opportunities to travel around the country on the government's dime to take pictures in front of projects that our government funded.

The reality is that the fund he is talking about has secured agreements that will change the way cities are built, not just in Halifax but in Moncton, Kitchener, Kelowna, Calgary, Vaughan, Brampton, Richmond Hill, London, Hamilton, the province of Quebec, and I will continue the more time he gives me.

[Housing, December 4th, 2023]

Mr. Speaker, it is fascinating. For him, it is about how many people are going to watch his Twitter videos. For me, it is about how many people are going to have a roof over their head.

The right path forward is going to have Canada make investments in home building, not cuts to home builders. The right investment will reduce taxes on the construction of homes, not put taxes on them.

The right path forward will not repeat the mistakes of the past by cutting funding for affordable housing for 30 years, as that hon. member pledges to do. We will make the investments. We will not accept that cuts are the right approach.

[Housing, December 4th, 2023]

Mr. Speaker, it is a shame that the hon. member does not put as much energy into generating housing policies as he does to generating housing videos.

The reality is that when I actually look at the measures he is putting forward, including in the video, they will result in fewer homes being constructed than we are already on pace to build. He plans to put the GST back on some home construction. He plans to cut funding for cities that are trying to build more housing. He plans for Canada to get out of the homebuilding game altogether.

We will make the investments necessary to build more homes, not a strategy to cut home funding like the Conservatives would.

[Infrastructure, November 28th, 2023]

Mr. Speaker, it is essential that we continue to make the investments and work with partners to keep our trade corridors open, including making the necessary investments to improve our country's national infrastructure that helps drive our local economy.

With respect to the hon. member's very specific local concerns about the bridge he raised in his question, I would be happy to speak with him after question period and set up a time to discuss the details in person as our schedules allow.

[Housing, November 28th, 2023]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for joining me this morning to discuss the need to build more affordable housing with community housing providers, who are in Ottawa today.

With respect, the crisis we are dealing with nationally is a result of 30 years of failure to invest in affordable housing. We changed that with the adoption of the national housing strategy in 2017 and continue to advance measures today. The fall economic statement included a recapitalization of our affordable housing programs to the tune of $1 billion and an additional $300 million that will flow early in the new year, just weeks from now.

[Housing, November 23rd, 2023]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague for her concern and her continued support for people in need of housing urgently.

I am pleased to share with her that there are existing programs that have money that continue to support the construction of new homes both in the market and for affordable housing for low-income families. What we have done in the fall economic statement is demonstrate our long-term commitment so that people who are making decisions to go ahead with projects will apply for their building permits now and will get their designs done now.

I am pleased to share that the Co-operative Housing Federation indicated that the statement “shows action from the federal government to support more non-market and affordable housing.” It was pleased with the new investments, including $1 billion in affordable housing for co-op, non-profit and social housing.

[Housing, November 23rd, 2023]

Mr. Speaker, it is fascinating and clear that the hon. member has not read the document. He seems to have missed $15 billion in low-cost loans, which is going to get Canada building. He missed a $1-billion investment to keep affordable housing going. He missed the fact that we are cracking down on short-term rentals to release tens of thousands of homes to increase supply.

When I look at their plan, they want to raise taxes on home builders by putting the GST back on, they want to cut funding for cities that build homes with the housing accelerator fund and they want to add layers of bureaucracy to do it. We are going to do what it takes to get more homes built. I invite the Conservatives to join us.