Business of Supply  Madam Speaker, the federal government has a responsibility to indigenous Canadians and to federal front-line health care workers. The federal government should focus on getting those people vaccinated first. The reality is that if we talk to any provincial leader, they will say, as they have said consistently, that they have not received enough vaccines.

Business of Supply  Madam Speaker, I stand in this place today to highlight the federal government’s failure to stop the current third wave of COVID-19, and to press it to secure faster access to much-needed vaccines. While we see the EU and the United States took swift action to secure life-saving vaccines for their citizens, the government here is standing idle as our vaccine shipments get delayed and cut amidst this deadly third wave.

Business of Supply  Madam Speaker, I apologize. The lack of transparency from the Liberals has left Canadians confused and anxiously waiting for their turn. In the midst of the third wave, Canadians are struggling to cope with the rise of COVID-19 cases, COVID-19 variants and increasing ICU admissions, never mind the ripple effect of these circumstances, including job losses, reduced hours, travel restrictions, charter infringements, a mental health crisis and an ever-expanding taxpayer-funded deficit.

Port of Montreal Operations Act, 2021  Mr. Speaker, the member just mentioned our beautiful British Columbia. I would like to get her comments on the community benefit agreements, which are a provincial matter, but given we just went in that direction, I do not think it is completely irrelevant. In British Columbia, the Christian Labour Association has been excluded by the New Democratic Party and Premier John Horgan from bidding on major infrastructure projects because it is not one of the unions, or what the NDP government believes is actually a union, even though the Christian Labour Association members believe they are a union.

Port of Montreal Operations Act, 2021  Mr. Speaker, does the member believe that the Christian Labour Association of Canada, or CLAC, is a real union and that CLAC should have the opportunity to bid on infrastructure projects like the designated unions under the provincial government of B.C.?

Port of Montreal Operations Act, 2021  Mr. Speaker, could the member from the Bloc Québécois outline again how the Government of Canada has infringed upon the rights of these Canadian workers? I need a little clarification there.

Housing  Mr. Speaker, home ownership is becoming impossible for Canadians to attain, a trend that has only grown exponentially worse over the course of this pandemic. The stats back this up. CREA reports that the national average home price rose 31.6% compared to March of last year. Why has the Liberal government’s 2021 budget completely ignored first-time homebuyers and the housing needs of young Canadians?

Housing  Mr. Speaker, I will take no advice from the member opposite, who believes that foreign buyers should have more access to purchasing a home in Canada than a young Canadian. I could go on all day about the failures of the Liberal government to address young homebuyers. The new housing program has not even made changes yet to address the rising house prices in Vancouver.

The Budget  Madam Speaker, as I mentioned in my speech related to AHMA, federal money for indigenous people would be better spent if we empowered indigenous Canadians to take control over their own housing needs. Right now, we have too much of an Ottawa-knows-best approach and we need to empower indigenous Canadians both with home ownership and with a new co-op arrangement, for example, to give them the tools they need to meet their housing needs.

The Budget  Madam Speaker, we need to take actions at the federal level to ensure Canadians have a better chance of home ownership. As the housing shadow minister, I am committed to provide hope to Canadians to get into the market. Canadians need to come first over foreign buyers. The member is right to point out many people who are say living in Victoria, Burnaby or Nanaimo have been left out because they were outbid by a foreign buyer.

The Budget  Madam Speaker, I am not an economist, so I am not going to go very deep into the quantitative easing program, but I do know that we are seeing record inflation as it relates to housing. We need to get that under control, and that starts with the Government of Canada getting its spending under control and putting forward a reasonable pathway to balance budgets to protect the long-term interests of Canadians.

The Budget  Madam Speaker, the one aspect of the national housing strategy that is really good is the rental construction financing initiative. However, the reality is that we have a supply shortage in Canada and we need to do more through taxation measures to produce even more building. The Liberal program focuses a lot on social housing, but it does not address those who do not want to live in a social housing unit and want to have something offered by the private sector.

The Budget  Madam Speaker, it is a real honour to be back in Ottawa and to have the opportunity to respond to the budget. Today I will be speaking on housing. I want to begin by sharing a personal story. In 2016, I distinctly remember reading in the Abbotsford News that house prices had increased over 30% during the spring season.

Petitions  Mr. Speaker, I move: That the House provide unanimous consent for me to present a second petition today.

Petitions  Mr. Speaker, it was an honour to move my first motion in the House of Commons. The second petition I am presenting today is on behalf of my constituents in the Agassiz and Harrison Hot Springs areas of my riding. They are concerned about grow ops in residential neighbourhoods and the negative impact these are having on the health of nearby residents.