TranslatePolitics.ca

Recent debates

8 latest topics

06-18 Spring Economic Update 2026 Implementation Act 57 statements 06-18 Spring Economic Update 2026 Implementation Act 19 statements 06-18 Arab Heritage Month Act 5 statements 06-18 The Economy 15 statements 06-18 Government Priorities 2 statements 06-18 Government Priorities 2 statements 06-18 Housing 12 statements 06-18 The Environment 2 statements

Government Orders

Build Canada Homes Act

2026-06-09 Sitting 132 Showing 1–9 of 9

A bill to create yet another government agency to supposedly build houses. In debate, the Liberals insisted this new bureaucracy is needed and useful, while the Conservatives pointed out it's just adding red tape that won't actually get homes built. The Bloc complained it might infringe on Quebec's jurisdiction.

Official Hansard ↗

Mario Simard

Bloc Québécois 6:30 p.m.

“The federal government is making housing funding too complex. They add needless red tape when they should trust Quebec's housing agency to do the job. The feds force our builders to wait for yet another new program. Why not let Quebec's housing agency handle the funding directly? It would unblock housing projects in my riding.”

Official Hansard

Mr. Speaker, I would like to ask my colleague a question in the same vein. Earlier in my speech, I said that the government was adding a layer of bureaucracy. In the past, there used to be programs managed by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, or CMHC. In my riding, I see a lot of social housing development projects that are unfortunately not being funded. They have funding from Quebec through the Société d'habitation du Québec, or SHQ, but they have not received federal funding for several months because they have been asked to wait for Build Canada Homes. CMHC used to be able to provide funding, however. Does my colleague agree that there is an added layer of complexity here? Perhaps he is seeing the same type of problem in his own riding, where projects are ready to move forward but are being held up by the slow federal government.

View on ourcommons.ca ↗

Mario Simard

Bloc Québécois 6:45 p.m.

“I want less federal control. Quebec knows what Quebec needs. Adding another big federal agency will just make things slower and more complicated. Maybe that's not a problem in your province, but it is in mine.”

Mario Simard

Bloc Québécois 7:00 p.m.

“The government keeps announcing programs but nothing happens. A group in my riding can't get the money it was promised. I'm frustrated and I want my riding's program to get their money already.”

Official Hansard

Mr. Speaker, one thing that has come up a lot this evening is the fact that, unfortunately, the government makes many announcements, but it is neither effective nor efficient. I gave the example of an organization in my riding, Loge m'entraide, which was supposed to receive its funding through CMHC. Unfortunately, it was told to wait and see whether that CMHC program would be funded again. Now the organization has been told to wait for Build Canada Homes to take over. The federal government is now delaying the construction of social housing in my riding. I wonder if my colleague is experiencing the same thing, because right now, the delays mean that social housing projects may have to wait up to 18 months to see the light of day.

View on ourcommons.ca ↗

Xavier Barsalou-Duval

Bloc Québécois 7:15 p.m.

“I'm sad about the housing crisis. The government isn't doing enough. I want less immigration.”

Andréanne Larouche

Bloc Québécois 7:30 p.m.

“I don't think this bill is very clear. I want Quebec to control the money. Quebec knows best.”

Official Hansard

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague and fellow member of the Standing Committee on Human Resources, Skills and Social Development and the Status of Persons with Disabilities, which is examining Bill C-20, the Build Canada Homes act. We heard that Quebec, through the Société d'habitation du Québec, will have the final say on the Build Canada Homes projects. However, several witnesses who appeared before the committee told us that there is a lot of uncertainty surrounding Build Canada Homes. How is affordability defined? Will rural municipalities get their share of the market? What will happen with seniors and women who are facing housing challenges? In short, there is still a lot of uncertainty. Does my colleague not agree that it would have been better to just transfer the amounts to Quebec and the provinces, since they are likely more attuned to their communities' housing needs?

View on ourcommons.ca ↗

Xavier Barsalou-Duval

Bloc Québécois 7:40 p.m.

“I'm filling time with a long, folksy setup for my real question. I want to make the government look sloppy and embarrass the Prime Minister. I don't like how they translate things.”

Official Hansard

Mr. Speaker, I congratulate my colleague on his speech. We might say that he tirelessly defends his party with all the enthusiasm he is known for. That said, although we may not agree on much, I am going to take the liberty of asking him a question. We are all familiar with the Build Canada Homes program, which was previously called “Bâtir Maisons Canada” in French. This sparked a lot of reactions, particularly because some people felt the name was a clunky word-for-word translation. This led the government to change the the name of the program. This brings to mind other situations we have seen, including the discovery in January 2025 that the website of the Liberal leader, who has since become Prime Minister, was riddled with errors and appeared to have been translated with Google Translate. Then there is the campaign slogan “Elbows up”, which was translated into French as “On lève le coude”. Unfortunately, that phrase actually means raising a glass, as in having a drink. All of this led us to March 25, 2026, when we found out that there were no francophones on the team that wrote Mark Carney's speech. When I—

View on ourcommons.ca ↗

Xavier Barsalou-Duval

Bloc Québécois 7:45 p.m.

“Stop telling me what to say. I'm going to keep complaining that Quebec gets a raw deal.”

Xavier Barsalou-Duval

Bloc Québécois 7:45 p.m.

“I want to know if I can say the Prime Minister's name when I read a news headline out loud. I want you to tell me if that's okay.”

Marie-Hélène Gaudreau

Bloc Québécois 8:00 p.m.

“I want the federal government to stop interfering. Quebec knows best. Just send us the money and we'll handle the rest.”

What they said. What they meant.

Recent debates