Sean Fraser

[Housing, February 1st, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, I sincerely thank my hon. colleague for her advocacy for vulnerable people who are struggling with the cost of finding a place to live. The fact that people are in dire need of housing is why we have significantly increased the pace of introducing policies to build more homes in this country. We have removed taxes from new apartment construction so more apartments will be built, committed an additional $1 billion through the affordable housing fund to get more affordable homes built for low-income families and put federal money on the table to incentivize cities to change their ways, to increase their ambition and to speed up the process of homebuilding. We are going to continue to do what it takes to end the national housing crisis.

[Carbon Pricing, February 1st, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, I am sure members will agree with me that it is hard to accept criticism from Conservatives when the person responsible for running their campaign is getting paid on the side to lobby to government Loblaws, the giant grocery chain, which is causing families to pay so much more for groceries than they were previously.

On this side of the House, we are going to put measures on the table that are going to help families put food on the table.

The Conservatives will align themselves with big grocery chains. We are going to do everything we can to make life more affordable.

[Carbon Pricing, February 1st, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, families in my community do raise the cost of food as a very real concern. That is why we put forward measures like the grocery rebate. That is why we are introducing new reforms that will increase competition.

If the Conservatives would like to help, there is something the opposition leader can do. He can pick up the phone. As I am sure he knows, his chief adviser, Jenni Byrne, is actually a registered lobbyist for Loblaws in Ontario.

Before the Conservatives sling arrows at this side of the House, I would invite the opposition leader to do what we all know is one of his favourite things: take a look in the mirror.

[Grocery Industry, February 1st, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, every day, we are going to do our work to make life more affordable for Canadians, including addressing the issue of food prices in our country.

Of course, members will recall the introduction of the grocery rebate recently, but we are also putting forward new measures to strengthen our competition laws and are launching recruitment efforts to bring more international grocery chains into Canada, which will create competition in the market place, creating better prices for families.

We are going to continue to do what we can to help people who are struggling, including implementing reforms that will help address the cost of food.

[Housing, January 30th, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, since the adoption of the national housing strategy, hundreds of thousands of homes have been constructed or renovated to support Canadians who need help. There are millions of Canadians who have benefited directly from government supports to ensure that they could keep a roof over their head. We are going to continue to put policies in place that will improve the quality of life people get to enjoy, by helping them find a place they can afford.

The Conservative plan would raise taxes on home building, cut funding for cities that are trying to change their rules and eliminate supports for affordable housing altogether. That is the wrong approach. It was tried; it has failed.

We will build the homes to support Canadians.

[Housing, January 30th, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, perhaps my hon. colleague is confused about the pace at which we are advancing new policies, because on the Conservative side he is not used to seeing the work actually getting done.

Let us compare our plan to theirs, They would put Canada on a track to build fewer homes than we were already projecting to have built in the years ahead. We have cut taxes; they will raise them. We have made investments; they will cut them. We have completely changed the way large cities in this country are zoning to build more housing; the Conservatives oppose that too.

We will do what it takes to build homes, to bring down rents and to make sure every Canadian has a roof over their head.

[Housing, January 30th, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, we understand well the challenges that young people in this country are facing when it comes to finding a place to live that they can actually afford.

That is why, just yesterday, we advanced a new policy that is going to make low-cost loans available to build more student residences across this country. We are going to continue to advance policies that do not just allow students to find places they can afford next to where they go to school but that are going to free up supply that exists within communities today.

The Conservatives will tap into people's anxieties for their political gain. We will advance policies that actually address them.

[Housing, January 30th, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, for years, the Conservative approach to policies that would actually help people was to prey on their anxieties rather than to advance ideas that would actually address them.

The member is supporting her leader's plan, which is going to build fewer homes than we are already on track to build. We have removed the GST from apartments to help bring down rent. She is campaigning on a commitment to put that GST back on for a lot of middle-class apartments, which would increase the cost of living. When it comes to affordable housing, we have put programs in place to support their construction. They have promised to cut it.

We are going to continue to put money on the table to build more homes. The Conservative's policies would drive up rent.

[Housing, January 30th, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, with respect, my hon. colleague is simply trying to prey on the very real anxiety that families are feeling across this country. At the same time, she advances a plan that will build fewer homes than we are already on track to build.

We have removed the GST from homebuilding in this country. The Conservatives want to put it back on. We are investing directly in affordable housing. The Conservatives want to cut it. We have put a $4 billion fund on the table to reduce red tape with cities, and they have committed to doing away with that too.

We will get the homes built. They only stand in the way.

[Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, January 30th, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, we can welcome newcomers and build housing at the same time. That is why we negotiated a $1.8-billion contribution agreement with la belle province to build 23,000 housing units and 8,000 affordable housing units.

We are going to continue to work with our partners in Quebec to welcome newcomers who contribute essential skills to our economy and build houses at the same time.