Discussion · Government Orders
Gord Johns NDP
“Canada has 65,000 homeless people, and very little social housing compared to other countries. I want the member to agree that building a strong country means ending homelessness.”
“Mr. Speaker, of course, there are things that my colleague and I may not agree on, but there are certainly things that we do. He talked about how the bill does not go far enough in terms of infrastructure. I think about the Prime Minister’s words about nation building, about building Canada strong. Right now, there are 65,000 Canadians who are homeless. They cite that this costs us about $3 billion a year and that it would save us $2 billion if they were to be housed. Right now, in Canada, 3.3% of our housing is non-market housing, compared to France and Britain, which are at about 16% to 17%, Denmark, 21%, the Netherlands, 34%. We do not have to look far to see what 3.3% looks like. Does my colleague agree that nation building, in a country as wealthy as Canada, should mean making sure that we do not have any homeless people in the country?”
Mr. Speaker, of course, there are things that my colleague and I may not agree on, but there are certainly things that we do. He talked about how the bill does not go far enough in terms of infrastructure. I think about the Prime Minister’s words about nation building, about building Canada strong. Right now, there are 65,000 Canadians who are homeless. They cite that this costs us about $3 billion a year and that it would save us $2 billion if they were to be housed. Right now, in Canada, 3.3% of our housing is non-market housing, compared to France and Britain, which are at about 16% to 17%, Denmark, 21%, the Netherlands, 34%. We do not have to look far to see what 3.3% looks like. Does my colleague agree that nation building, in a country as wealthy as Canada, should mean making sure that we do not have any homeless people in the country?